Professor Zook warned me, Bangladesh would be a culture shock. I believed him, but didn’t expect the shock to start as early as getting off the plane.
My first shock was the amount of mosquitoes that were in the airport. While withdrawing cash, at least a dozen flew in front of me. While waiting at baggage claim, I could see several dozen flying around. They were very aggressive.
I was scared. The malaria pills I had been taking do not cure malaria, they only stop the viral proteins from maturing into its adult viral form (do I sound smart or what?) My 30% DEET mosquito repellent had exploded in my luggage from Bangalore to Sri Lanka, so my main method of surviving was hopping around nonstop.
That was very tiring, considering it was 11pm, and I had been flying all day. I don’t understand why no one else cared, were they not afraid of Dengue Fever or malaria?
The taxi from the airport to my hotel is something I will never forget. The roads were almost completely dark, hardly any street lights anywhere. Moreover, the dust/fog (most likely dust) was thick, and made car lights seem like Slender Man. The visibility was comparable to that of a moderate snow storm.
Considering I had spent the past four days in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in a nice area, I was extremely shocked. Not a good first impression, but I will never forget this for the rest of my life.
Andy Cheng 