Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 28, 2024, 09:42:18 AM

Login with username, password and session length

has anyone ever been to Bangladesh?

Started by the science eel, November 24, 2021, 03:02:42 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

the science eel

I've just been offered a job with the BC in Dhaka. I haven't the first idea about the place.

Blinder Data

according to my brother, it's "better than India". hope this helps

madhair60

Quote from: the science eel on November 24, 2021, 03:02:42 PMI've just been offered a job with the BC in Dhaka. I haven't the first idea about the place.

What's Glinner doing in Dhaka?

Cuellar


PlanktonSideburns

Delighted to hear you got a job on the oil rigs

shoulders

Not been no, but worth bearing in mind Bangladesh of the most densely populated countries on Earth, Dhaka is supposed to be an unfathomably sprawling chaotic ungovernable place. Go if you like people, pace and excitement, can tolerate stifling weather, mad monsoon rains. Being bothered a lot if you are a Whitey.

While Bangladesh is to an extent tolerant of other religions and on name a secular state it is extremely intolerant of atheism and attitudes surveys put Bangladeshis as one of the more conservative when it comes to personal freedom which unless you are going to exist in a Western enclave may make it difficult to truly 'be yourself', especially so if you are gay or even a woman trying to exist in an independent way. Sometimes conservative cultures can actually be protective though and you will find some people work to codes of honour that are very upright and go to efforts in terms of hospitality, courtesy that frankly shame most Westerners.

Like most of these countries you probably can't develop a full picture of why people are how they are without visiting, no matter how much you read about it.

PlanktonSideburns

Also might not be very good internet when working on the actual oil rig, so might have less time for CAB

Icehaven

Is it a permanent job? If so I'd definitely visit first to see if it's somewhere you could live. If it's only temporary then fuck it, dive in. How much would it mess your career/life up if you ended up quitting because you didn't like it?

the science eel

Quote from: shoulders on November 24, 2021, 03:25:14 PMNot been no, but worth bearing in mind Bangladesh of the most densely populated countries on Earth, Dhaka is supposed to be an unfathomably sprawling chaotic ungovernable place. Go if you like people, pace and excitement, can tolerate stifling weather, mad monsoon rains. Being bothered a lot if you are a Whitey.

While Bangladesh is to an extent tolerant of other religions and on name a secular state it is extremely intolerant of atheism and attitudes surveys put Bangladeshis as one of the more conservative when it comes to personal freedom which unless you are going to exist in a Western enclave may make it difficult to truly 'be yourself', especially so if you are gay or even a woman trying to exist in an independent way. Sometimes conservative cultures can actually be protective though and you will find some people work to codes of honour that are very upright and go to efforts in terms of hospitality, courtesy that frankly shame most Westerners.

Like most of these countries you probably can't develop a full picture of why people are how they are without visiting, no matter how much you read about it.

Yeah, this is the thing.

And they want to put us in shared flats which I really don't like the sound of.

Good work training primary school teachers, tho'. And it'll stand me in good stead for possible future BC work.

Oh I don't know.

the science eel

Quote from: icehaven on November 24, 2021, 03:35:03 PMIs it a permanent job? If so I'd definitely visit first to see if it's somewhere you could live. If it's only temporary then fuck it, dive in. How much would it mess your career/life up if you ended up quitting because you didn't like it?

It's just eight months from next February. But it's British Council so they'll probably telegram the Queen if I quit early and I'll be whipped and forbidden from leaving the country ever again

Brundle-Fly

It would scare the hell out me going to live anywhere like how Shoulders describes, but what an adventure you'd have. As suggested, I think you should definitely dip your toe in first and visit the place, if you can. You don't want to be staring at the ceiling of your shared flat at 1am on the day of arrival and think, "WTF have I done?".

purlieu

Only country whose English name ends in an 'h'. Pretty good to pop on your CV, that.

shoulders


badaids


What come after? Is there a guaranteed job to come back to?  Do you have family to support / take out there?

If I were single, and had at least reasonable exit strategy of job / somewhere to live back in UK I'd be saying sod it and going. 8 months isn't that long.

I've spent short periods of time like that working in horrible places that I never visited first, and though they were mixed up experiences that I'd never willingly repeat, I'm glad that I did them and the experience was valuable and worthwhile.

SpiderChrist

Yes I imagine lots of people have tbh.

the science eel

Quote from: badaids on November 24, 2021, 04:49:27 PMWhat come after? Is there a guaranteed job to come back to?  Do you have family to support / take out there?

If I were single, and had at least reasonable exit strategy of job / somewhere to live back in UK I'd be saying sod it and going. 8 months isn't that long.

I've spent short periods of time like that working in horrible places that I never visited first, and though they were mixed up experiences that I'd never willingly repeat, I'm glad that I did them and the experience was valuable and worthwhile.

I'm single, would be going alone. Not working right now, do bits of English language teaching work over summer for the unis.

But the place is very densely populated and there's a lot of crime. If I was 20 years younger and there wasn't a pandemic then I'd probably go for it.

Pavlov`s Dog`s Dad`s Dead

I had a terrible experience with BC in a SE Asian country around the end of last year/beginning of this. Sure, some of it was to do with a couple of individuals in the centre where I was working, but note that their recruitment process has been really messed up by a number of outsourcing decisions they have made.

For instance, I never actually got to see a full contract, never mind sign one; my probationary contract expired and was never replaced. To cap it all, once I'd been hospitalised by the stress, and decided to quit, they initially tried to insist that I should see out the three month notice period stipulated in my contract. That they'd never bothered to issue me with... The people making these decisions never actually spoke to me directly, it all came through my long-suffering line manager. Of course, it might all be very different in a different country. But I'm pretty sure it's the same region, so...

So my advice would be to think very carefully if you've not had prior BC experience - I genuinely thought I'd made it to the top of the heap when I was offered that role, but it soon transpired they aren't the fabulous employer that we TEFL drones have been led to believe.

ETA: my experience of my actual fellow teachers was overwhelmingly positive, however: interesting and supportive people without exception. The teachers room also did reflect the organisation's rhetoric on inclusion, which was lovely to see in what is often an industry dominated by straight white conventionally attractive people.

the science eel

Quote from: Pavlov`s Dog`s Dad`s Dead on November 24, 2021, 05:03:02 PMI had a terrible experience with BC in a SE Asian country around the end of last year/beginning of this. Sure, some of it was to do with a couple of individuals in the centre where I was working, but note that their recruitment process has been really messed up by a number of outsourcing decisions they have made.

For instance, I never actually got to see a full contract, never mind sign one; my probationary contract expired and was never replaced. To cap it all, once I'd been hospitalised by the stress, and decided to quit, they initially tried to insist that I should see out the three month notice period stipulated in my contract. That they'd never bothered to issue me with... The people making these decisions never actually spoke to me directly, it all came through my long-suffering line manager. Of course, it might all be very different in a different country. But I'm pretty sure it's the same region, so...

So my advice would be to think very carefully if you've not had prior BC experience - I genuinely thought I'd made it to the top of the heap when I was offered that role, but it soon transpired they aren't the fabulous employer that we TEFL drones have been led to believe.

ETA: my experience of my actual fellow teachers was overwhelmingly positive, however: interesting and supportive people without exception. The teachers room also did reflect the organisation's rhetoric on inclusion, which was lovely to see in what is often an industry dominated by straight white conventionally attractive people.

Thank you. I've worked for the BC in Europe on straight teaching contracts - this of course would be a quite different thing.

I was surprised that they rejected me for an online teaching position just a couple of months ago. I'm not implying I'm a brilliant teacher or anything but I've earned my BC stripes, been doing this for nearly 30 years now. Their recruitment process does indeed look fucked.

dr beat

I visited Bangladesh in 2013, in and around Dhaka but travelled north.  Fascinating place, chaotic in an organized way.  Seemed relatively secular, people there talked with pride about male/female equality but not sure how far that tolerance would extend to other areas.  People in general seemed very friendly. 

Be aware of the propensity for 'hartals', mass walkouts/shutdowns often as political protests which I'm told can get violent, although that didn't happen during the one I experienced.  The political situation does appears to have got drastically worse over the last decade.  From what was a reasonably stable democracy seems now to be turning into a one-party state.  I've heard accounts from a colleague there about harassment of the press, and political violence.

PlanktonSideburns


Alberon

Bangladesh has never bothered visiting me so I don't see why I should visit it.

BlodwynPig


Twit 2

I live in Dhaka and it's great! Don't listen to the naysayers, come at once.

SpiderChrist

Quote from: Alberon on November 24, 2021, 06:36:00 PMBangladesh has never bothered visiting me so I don't see why I should visit it.

That's a very good point, actually. I feel much the same about Wisbech.

the science eel

Quote from: Twit 2 on November 24, 2021, 07:20:28 PMI live in Dhaka and it's great! Don't listen to the naysayers, come at once.

Christ no

Twit 2


the science eel

Quote from: Twit 2 on November 24, 2021, 10:06:50 PMJust checked and I live in Norfolk.

The only place worse than Dhaka! well done

Fr.Bigley

I've never been but my pants are made there, so my cock, bollocks and arsehole have a slightly more tenuous link to old 'ladesh

Lisa Jesusandmarychain

Have a listen to "Location Bangladesh" by Marc Riley and the Creepers, that paints a pretty vivid picture of the place ( although you might be put off a bit by the line " extras dying, dig a ditch" ).

Sherringford Hovis



Bangladesh Dupree is the Girl Genius universe analogue of Corto Maltese, but with airships and many, many more murders.

I'm not helping, am I?