A few things Bangladesh gets right.

There is a lot  could say about the challenges of living in a developing country but that seems typical and whiney so I decided to mention a few things that Bangladesh gets right.

Plastic bags. Shops are not allowed to give plastic bags to customers. Net bags, thin cloth, or paper bags are offered instead. Sometimes, if the shop receives products wrapped in plastic bags they will give those out instead of throwing them out. Which brings me to the next point…

Reuse. My mother-in-law is the best at this. Very few things are actual trash to her and the things that she cannot reuse she sells to a man that collects “trash” to reuse or recycle. The “trash” that leaves the house everyday is about half a bucket of food scrap.

Clothes are made to order. Sure, you can buy premade clothes of all sorts but it is more common to buy fabric and bring it to a tailor who makes it to fit you (sometimes it takes a few tries to get the right fit, depending on the tailor and what he is good at making).

Hospitality. You will always feel welcome in the home of a Bangladeshi. If you are a fourth cousin twice removed, you are still treated like the closest of family members. Drinks and snacks will be offered in abundance and you never feel unwanted.

Invitations are accepted. You know when you have a party, wedding, graduation, birthday, or whatever, if it is a big thing you may send out a save the date card. Next, you send evites, facebook events, paper invitations and you ask for RSVPs. Maybe a quarter of the people RSVP with a definitive ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and everyone else says ‘maybe’ or just doesn’t reply. When the event finally arrives, you really have no idea who will be there. People who said they would go do not show up, one or two of the ‘maybe’ people go and, if you are lucky, some of the people who did not respond at all will go. This sort of thing does not happen here. When we arrived last year, just before Sara’s birthday we organized a party for her and invited people the day before the party. Everyone, save a handful of people, showed up, I was amazed. I continue to see this with each party I attend. Unless you are ill or have a different invitation at the same time, you go if you are invited. During the holidays or wedding season, some people will have three invitations in one day, one for each meal and they will attend them all.

Salons are affordable. I understand why the prices are high in the US. The overhead is high, the people working there do not get benefits, I get it, but I still love the fact that I can get pretty much my whole face threaded (which we should all do in place of waxing, it’s great!) for about $2.

There are switches on all the outlets. No need to unplug your appliances after each use. Just switch off the power to that plug. Instant conservation. 

The food is made from scratch. Again, I understand why this does not happen in the US. We do not have maids and cooks and drivers but that does not mean I cannot appreciate it. 

There are many other good things, mixed blessings and challenges of living in Bangladesh and it is always interesting to experience each one.