"Five Bengal are the chaos".

So much dirt and noise - Kerstin Humbergs classmates in the course of his host country Bangladesh completely annoyed. Kerstin PhD student is the life in Dhaka and relaxed listening to the director of the school: Just a bit more optimism practice.

 

For over a week I sit every morning in a
international Bengali course. Like his weekend was, the director of the school from which Susan Englishman Richard know. "I was with my wife visiting a hospital for the poor," says Richard. "To be honest, it was so far the only positive thing I've seen here." Wordless Susan shakes her head. "Why do you see your environment is not positive?" Natural disasters, poverty, corruption - certainly in Bangladesh was not all good, but just all bad.

Dhaka: The Bangladeshi capital, Kerstin studied Humberg the national language - and new approaches to poverty reduction

Susan is right. Positive view, Bangladesh is like a colorful cocktail. With over 1000 people per square kilometer, the former Ostpakistan of the most densely populated area in the world. Alone in the Dhaka metropolitan crowd good twelve million inhabitants. Everywhere Scheppers colorfully decorated rickshaws blowing and colorful dresses.

Anything less than a leg or two wheels, pushes itself during the day through the streets of the city. A rock concert of bicycle bells and horns. Wherever you look, the next cycle-rickshaw is not ten steps away. For less than 100 Taka, cent amounts to get almost anywhere. The rickshaw rides are also available for Bangladeschis so cheap that hardly any who go on foot.

The Briton Richard is completely annoyed. "Sometimes I get tired of it easily. The chaos, the noise," says the theologian, studied over a cup Massalatee. According to Dhaka, he had for his wife, who works here. He found a job so that he has five months of his time spent learning Bengali. The fact that this language is still among the top ten most widely spoken languages in the world, comforted him.

The garbage is everywhere

Nowhere to be alone, but also have advantages, however, the American says Jill. Almost always friendly smile, give one the many Bangladeschis the feeling of security. I was already in the main cities of Ghana and Peru and the Philippines - indeed, I have so far not a developing country felt as safe as in Bangladesh.

FOR SERIES

Private

A counselor sets of: Kerstin Humberg flew from Hamburg two years as a consultant to the World. Now pause the 31 - year-old graduate geographer for two months in Bangladesh and wants ideas to explore entrepreneurial poverty reduction. They reported in Uniblogs of her life in the land of Bengal.

The garbage that so many people do, however, is a real problem. Even in Banani, one of the better neighborhoods, allow large square holes in the sidewalk to gaze into the sewers. In a soup breiartigen toilet waste water to swim because besides food and plastic waste.

The Bangladeschis have identified the problem and steer against. Since 2002, plastic bags in Bangladesh largely prohibited. In stores there are only paper or Jutetüten to simple street stalls carrying networks. Even against the increasing pollution in Dhaka, the government has become active since 2003 in Dhaka only green, with pressure gas operated auto-rickshaws allowed.

Free W-LAN instead of crank phones

Bangladesh is for positive surprises. Who would have thought that the conclusion of a cell phone contract here less than five minutes? Even more surprising is the spread of the Internet. W-LAN in public cafes in Dhaka are also no longer a rarity.

Tibor, a student colleague from Cologne, is fascinated: "Ten years ago I was in rural Bangladesh still several hours on the phone to the next. At the time the phones were still gekurbelt lines and switches in small umgesteckt." This sufficed him a call to a local telephone operator, to within half a day from their own homes via the Internet to make phone calls home can be.

And if it look somewhere hooks, the next Bangladeschi equal to the site. The general interest in foreign visitors, their origin and activities is boundless. Indian joke joy summarizes the discussion and the political interests of Bangladeschis well together: "How could the character of a Bengal best describe? Bengal is either a poet or philosopher. meeting has two Bengal, they form a literary circle. Three Bengalis is a political move magazine, a publisher, editor and reader. Four Bengalis is a political demonstration. And five of Bengal are the chaos. "