I arrived in Dhaka just 2 days ago, and I am constantly amazed by my surroundings. I am fortunate enough to stay in the house of Dr. Anis and his wife Juditha, further allowing me to immerse myself into this beautiful culture.
Upon my arrival, I immediately took note of the local people. They are extremely polite and just as curious about me as I am about them. On my drive from the airport to the Tetulia offices, I noticed a couple of things that may be common living to the people here, but to me were just plain fascinating.
First – no stop lights or stop signs. In a busy road filled with cars, motorized rickshaws, bicycle rickshaws, hauling wagons, and many many people – they somehow manage to travel with caution coming with inches of one another, but not actually hitting each other! They merge into each others spaces easily by using hand gestures and honking horns. Maybe New York could learn something from these professional drivers!
Second- There is more color here than in any rainbow I’ve ever seen. Every square inch has about 50 colors in it. From the lush green trees, to the bright vibrant sari’s, and even the various kinds of produce being carted down the streets. It is by far one of the most beautiful cultures one could ever witness.
Third – The food! Oh my the food. I have not stopped eating since I left the US! Most of what we dine on are various kinds of vegetables and rice. However, last night I attended the birthday celebration of the Nephew and Niece of Dr. Anis and the spread of food was unreal. The children celebrated their birthday with Pizza Hut Pizza and hamburgers. The adults ( of which about 200 were in attendance) dined on a variety of grilled meat, traditional potatoes and vegetables, and watermelon juice (I highly recommend you try this, even if you have to squeeze a watermelon yourself). For desert we had the traditional Bangladeshi dessert which I can only describe as a light doughnut soaked in something like a simple syrup. Very sweet, very delicious.
Today I travel to the Tetulia tea garden, just North of here. It is about a 200 mile journey that will take us approximately 10 hours. We will take this in 2 parts, arriving tomorrow morning.
Stay tuned as I will be blogging more from the tea garden about the actual tea, the tea process, and the wonderful people and culture that allow us to indulge in such a wonderful drink. Also, please be sure to keep checking our Flickr Page for more photos to be added each day!