New Year's Eve and Prayer (Friday)

Here are some pictures from the day. We were able to observe the Muslim prayer time again, as well as roaming around Dhaka. Later on in the night we raced rickshaws and crashed one on accident. Tomorrow morning (the 1st), we are going to Sylhet. It is a region outside of Dhaka that has tea gardens, should be an interesting trip!

JAAGO

Today I had the great opportunity of visiting a local Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Dhaka. JAAGO Foundation aims to help alleviate poverty and help the poverty stricken people of Bangladesh, while ensuring sustainability of this betterment through ensuring the education of the slum and street children. Jaago has a school educating children from 4 years old up to 1st grade. They add one grade each year to keep the oldest children in the Jaago program. I was able to help teach a kindergarten class, where the children were very excited to learn! When I would walk into the classroom they would all stand  up and say, "Hello sir how are you doing?" The children are able to go to school through sponsorship. It costs 1,000 taka (approximately $15) per month to send one child to school. If you would like more information on JAAGO or sponsorship check out: http://www.jaago.com.bd/

Each child at the school plants a tree. They take care of it throughout their education at Jaago.

This was the first grade class. When they saw they were getting their picture taken, they were climbing all over me...

Jaago is currently located in one of the poorer areas in Dhaka, next to a slum. Jaago plans to open up two other locations in Dhaka where there is the greatest need for children.

Market Shopping

Today we went to the market in Dhaka. We were able to barter for clothes and other items. It was very crowded and the traffic was ridiculous. I was able to get some good deals on clothing. The ventilation was pretty poor in the crowded market. Several people were curious as to where we were from. The price of clothing was a bit more expensive, because we were foreign, but it was still really cheap.

Pictures from Outside of Dhaka

Touring Outside of Dhaka

Today I was able to go outside of Dhaka. The rural scene is much different from that of the city. It is interesting to see the difference in lifestyles. The pace of life is slower and agriculture is prominent. I was able to see rice paddies, as well as visiting a beautiful nursing home in the country-side. We went out for dinner again tonight at a local Thai Restaraunt, great food! I will upload pictures later.

The last couple of Days

Christmas day was really chill. We rode around town on some rickshaws and saw some more of Dhaka. It's different not seeing snow on the ground for Christmas. We were able to go to another wedding function tonight and dress up in traditional clothing. The one picture shows Raja and his buddy Faraz talking with, feeding the bride, and painting her face. These are all traditions for the multi-day wedding ceremonies. The last picture is of us celebrating Dillon's birthday. Raja's parents bought gifts and a cake to celebrate at midnight.

the rest of the pictures...

See if you can find Raja in the 2nd picture...

Merry Christmas Everyone!

We were able to do some more sightseeing today. We went and saw an old fort "the pink castle." Here we gained a following, being the only white people in sight. There were about 15 kids following us by the time we got done sightseeing (the picture with the kids shows a few of the curious followers). Dillon and I went to church tonight as well. Friday is the Holy Day for Muslims, so I was able to observe the end of prayer at the local mosque. Merry Christmas to everyone, hope all is well back home!

Pictures from The Garment Factory

Garment Factory and More

We toured a garment factory in the city today. It was interesting to see the setup and all of the workers. Makes me look at wearing jeans and a t-shirt quite differently. Each worker is assigned a different task in making the garments (jeans, t-shirts, etc). I was also able to get a shave and haircut for quite cheap ($4-$5). The difference in the upper and lower class is still quite evident. Beggers outside of a five star hotel, just seems a bit off to me. The garment factory pictures will come at a late date, they wouldn't upload.

Wedding Reception and Rickshaw Pulling

Today was interesting. I was able to drive a rickshaw with the rickshaw puller in the back seat. I think most of the people on Raja's street were out watching a big white guy pulling the rickshaw, not a site they normally get to see! We also went to a traditional wedding reception tonight. We were decked out in the traditional clothing, and got several weird looks because of it... Also were able to do a little bit of shopping, things are much cheaper in Bangladesh. 72 taka= $1

Dhaka, Bangladesh: The Experience So Far

We have been in Dhaka Bangladesh for about 3 full days now. There are definetely lots of people in the city (12 million or more). The traffic is crazy and there are several forms of transportation to get around. The poverty is hard not to notice with beggers everywhere you look. We have seen many kids, women, and children everywhere on the streets asking for money or looking to sell something. We were able to view a garment factory in the city as well. Everywhere we go we are stared at, because with Dillon and I both being 6'5" and white we stand out quite a bit. I have several experiences I haven't talked about yet as well. Keep looking for more posts. The green vehicles are called CNG's, the carts are called rickshaws, and the one picture shows a few men pushing a wagon made of bamboo with several bags of concrete mix on them. I was able to give a presentation at an education center today to Bangladeshis who are interested in going to college in the Unnited States.

The Route Taken to Dhaka, Bangladesh

Here is a picture of Google maps and the route I have taken to get to Dhaka, Bangladesh. New York City to Moscow, Russia to Dubai, UAE to Dhaka, Bangladesh. We have been in Dhaka for about 24 hours. Keep looking for updates as I have free internet access now at Raja's family's house.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates December 12th-16th, 2010

We landed in Dubai, UAE about 5 days ago. It's a great city with lots of money, mainly from oil. United Arab Emirates (UAE) is located on the gulf, so they are able to import and export several products as well. We were able to go on the world's fastest rollercoaster (0-240km in 5 seconds), go up the world's tallest tower (Burj Kalifa), as well as going on a Desert Safari. Only 22% of UAE's population are natives, the rest are workers from Asia, the Middle East, and other countries. There is a lot of work for business, tourism, and construction. The temperature was around 80 F the whole time. Enjoy the pictures!

Day 3...

Time zone change is a bit confusing. We left JFK Airport in New York around 7pm and landed in Moscow at 1:30pm the next day (Monday). The flight was quite long. Before the flight we went and walked around in Central Park, The American Museum of Natural History, and other sites. Jet lag will probably be setting in soon.
Enjoy the new pics of New York City. As for now we are waiting in the former USSR Airport in Moscow.

Pictures of New York City and The Way There

Day 2: New York City

Made it out of the cities this morning and surprisingly our flights weren't delayed. Flew out at 6am and made it to New York by 11:30. It's nice to slowly ease into the long flights coming up tomorrow. We did a bus tour of NYC and saw the Statue of Liberty, TImes Square, Brooklyn Bridge, Empore State Building, Grand Central Station, Central Park, China Town, and other sites. The city of 8 million people is no doubt very diverse. It's nice to see the range of cultures and several different languages spoken. Don't know when I will have internet access next. Headed to Dubai tomorrow via Moscow (20 plus hours of travel). until next time

Day 1: The Adventure Begins

We traveled to Minneapolis tonight. Dillon, Raja, and I will fly out of MSP tomorrow morning 6am (snow storm pending) and head off to New York. The stay in New York will last approximately 36 hours. Should be a short nights sleep tonight. We will get up around 3 am to head to the airport. Hoping for the best at this point. It will be nice to keep in contact with everyone through this blog post. Hope you all like it.