First Impressions (Eric)

The most remarkable thing about Dhaka that I noticed on the first day is how friendly everybody is. Because they are living in a city with 11 million other people, the people here could easily become tired of constantly interacting with others which could lead them to basically ignore most other people, a result common to the people in American cities. However, I find it amazing that the people do not do this—in fact, they actively seek out others to engage them in conversation.

When we first arrived at the Training and Resource Center, which is the facility in which we are staying, we were greeted by many others who are also staying here. This facility is basically like a hotel, so the people who we meet here are probably not from the city of Dhaka, but many are from Bangladesh, which still happens to be the most densely populated country in the world, so I am sure that they, too, are always interacting with other people. I met four or five people on the first night here, all of whom approached me and engaged me in conversation. It is hard for me to imagine this sort of interaction in hotels in the United States. In fact, I would probably be a little annoyed by someone randomly coming up to me in a hotel in the U.S., and I was born in raised in the state with the second-least population density in the U.S. so it’s not like I would have an excuse to say I am tired of human interaction and just need some alone time.

I think this speaks volumes to the individualistic nature of our culture relative to the culture of Bangladesh. The people here seem to have a much bigger sense of community involvement, which is something that the BRAC programs seem to highlight and take advantage of. Many of their programs involve getting groups of people together to support one another in their struggle for empowerment. As poverty is such a demoralizing state and isolation can only further suppress the feelings of hopelessness that accompany it, I think that this cultural support for one another is one of the biggest strengths for the people in Bangladesh to utilize in their effort to improve the quality of their lives, and it is this community-oriented culture that gives me faith that a better life for many is achievable.