The glorious, magical Dhaka commissary

One of the privileges we are so grateful for here in Dhaka is definitely the US Commissary. This is the grocery store that serves the diplomatic personnel. It is about the size of a small neighborhood market store and carries most of the brands and stuff you would see in the US.

Not all the foreign diplomats in Dhaka have the same privilege. The Canadians don't have anything similar and cannot shop there. For the most part the prices are comparable, but there will be a premium for items that need to be transported in a refrigerated container all the way from US. However, it is comforting to shop for something familiar once in a while.

The Bangladeshi markets are just fine and anyone would be able to get along great once they learn how to navigate them. But I have to tell you, it is a nice to walk into the Commissary and see the frozen pizza in the refrigerated case, the Mac ‘n Cheese, Tostitos, cheese, ice cream, frozen OJ, soups, Reeses Pieces, garlic bread pretzels, frozen salmon fillets, Dr Pepper.

And don't forget the virtually impossible to come by here in Dhaka: the ALCOHOL (any beer beer, wine or hard liquor you can think of at duty free price). And yes, the bacon Vlad is so found of!

One year anniversary

This week I celebrated one year since I joined the Foreign Service. And what a year this has been!

Left peaceful Michigan, made a stop in beautiful DC and ended up in sunny Bangladesh.

As a newcomer in the Foreign Service the questions I found most annoying are also the ones the most often asked:

"Tell me, what is this Foreign Service, is it like the French Foreign Legion?"

While I might look a little bit like Jean Claude Van Damme, I never owned a white cap and getting one is not on my to do list yet.

"Tell me, what is this Foreign Service, is it like the CIA?"

This one is by far the trickiest. Whoever is asking it already knows the answer, so it is not even worth trying to argue. Yes, I am sort of a 007, but I can't show my gun, dude! Sorry about that. And yes, my shoes can turn into a weapon on top of being a listening device.

The Foreign Service is a very low-key organization, that is why only few people have any idea what we are or do. The only time any attention is paid to us is when there's a catastrophe overseas, like the killing in Libya. Otherwise, Americans really don't care very much, as long as other countries do things the way we want them to.  Also, unlike the military, the Foreign Service has no political clout like the military does. We have no political clout or domestic constituency, we have no uniforms and no one knows what we're doing out in Dhaka or Katmandu or wherever the hell we are.

And yet we are America's other “army”. Often misunderstood, misperceived, and, sometimes maligned. But our "fight" affects the everyday lives of all Americans, their safety, security, ability to travel and communicate with people in other countries, their employment and prosperity. And yes, I can  hold my head high when I think I am part of it.

Dressing down in Bangladesh

The country has been engulfed in endless political protests. Meanwhile, a demonstration of a different kind took place over a ban on rickshaw drivers wearing a traditional garment that is worn by millions throughout the country.

Crowds of young Bangladeshis filled the streets of Dhaka three weeks ago wearing colorful lungi to protest the ban on the dress in our diplomatic enclave, Baridhara.

Vlad and I witnessed the ban first hand when our favorite rickshaw driver, Babu was pulled over and not allowed into Baridhara because he was wearing a lungi. We fought with the police officer and managed to somehow get him instead. We ended up inviting him for dinner and Vlad donated him some of his clothes which amazingly were the right size.

Anyway, about 400 marchers protested the recent ban on rickshaw drivers from wearing the lungi in Baridhara. Most of them wore the traditional lungi. The peaceful rally was announced on Facebook just days after the chairman of the Baridhara housing association, said only rickshaw pullers wearing trousers would be allowed to work the area.
Lungi are in some circles considered to be worn by the lower class, but is the most commonly worn garment by men in Bangladesh. Even the father of the nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, wore a white lungi often to show his solidarity with the people of his homeland. The ban is even sadder since the average income of a rickshaw-wallah is about $4 a day, excluding rental fees for the rickshaws of around $1 per day.

As the demonstrators marched towards Baridhara chanting "lungi, lungi", they were stopped by dozens of police blocking the entrance with guns and batons in hand. Protesting is not allowed in diplomatic zones, they were reminded by the officers on the scene.