The last new volunteer arrived in the flat on Saturday. He's called Ric, he's from the Philippines and will be based in Dhaka. The day following his arrival I was awoken by women screaming with joy in the living room. It was 2 other philippino volunteers who, despite the fact they'd never met Ric before, were very excited to see him. You've got to love that sort of joyful approach to life.

I've started to notice a new layer of detail in life here. It's as if when you first arrive you can only take in so much new information (sights, sounds, smells etc.) but over time you start to notice more. Some of it is good, but most of it is tough, like a boy scratching around in the dirt for food, or piles of chicken remains just rotting on the floor next to the market.

We started Bangla lessons this week and I'm really rather enjoying it. Getting to know the language gives confidence, especially when directing rickshaw drivers, but it also gives me the impression I'm getting into the culture. We do conversation for 1 hour followed by new vocabulary and finally Bangla script! I find our teacher quite effective, and the script is a nightmare but I can write my own name at least. It's also pretty cool when we recognise symbols, even words, written on buildings etc, around town.

As you all well know, Bangladesh has a huge textile industry. I didn't pack many clothes as I'd assumed I'd buy more appropriate clothing for far less out here. That process has begun! We've found a drapers and tailor in a local market that, once you've chosen your cloth, will make it into the exact copy of any shirt you lend them for 2 pounds. So far I've had a shirt made from some very fine cotton, and I'll order more if it survives being hand-washed... So yes, you could say that I now have a tailor in Dhaka!

We finally made it up to the BAGHA club (British Aid Guest House Association) which is an oasis of Britishness with beer, good food, sport and satellite TV! The prices are cheap by home standards but expensive for volunteers, but many VSO chaps go there for some R and R at some stage on a more or less regular basis. Apart from us volunteers most westerners in town are diplomatic staff or civil engineers working on major infrastructure projects so they earn a wage that goes a long way around here and live in the expat part of town i.e. Gulsan (see below).

The reason I went to the BAGHA on Thursday (apart from the lure of half price drinks during happy hour obviously) was to meet a volunteer who's based near to where I'll be and who knew my predecessor. We had a long chat about her experiences up there, the highs and many lows, and it was really useful. Truth be told I've been getting worrying questions from other volunteers ever since I arrived along the lines of "Oh so you're going to be up in that isolated placement. Do you think you'll cope?!" Funnily enough, my chat that night enabled me to realise that I probably will be OK as a) I have no trouble with being alone of an evening, and b) I don't mind being the token foreigner as I played that role in France. That said, I've no idea how I'll take to having half the village following me around each time I venture out for a walk or shopping at the market. Hmmm, only time will tell...

Gulsan really is a different world. We spend our time in town and are considered by the locals as novelty items wherever we go. Until this Friday I had not seen another white face out and about other than my fellow volunteers, so no wonder people stare! Gulsan on the other hand is visibly wealthy and westernised, and I understand there are expats who live, eat, drink, work and sleep without leaving the area. That's a bit of a shame I'd say, but we all have different ideas about how we want to live our lives.

I couldn't write this week's entry without mentioning the start of the Rugby World Cup now could I. I've not seen a game yet (it's Friday today) but we're all going to the BAGHA on Sunday to watch the 3 games, with our Canadian flatmate Allison particularly keen to watch her nation lose to a superior Welsh outfit. Fingers crossed anyway...

An ad for a men's clothing store that read "For when you don't want to impress them with your mind";

The size of policemen and soldiers compared to the average Bangladeshi i.e. a lot taller (noticed outside the England cricket team's hotel);

How easy it was for us to just ask security to let us onto the national cricket pitch and take photos;

All the kids suddenly playing cricket in the streets in anticipation of the upcoming test series;

Suddenly realising I was the only white face traveling through a sea of thousands of Bangladeshis, and trying to imagine what the equivalent would be like back home;

Having someone tap me on the shoulder in the BAGHA and say " Don't I know you?". It was in fact the husband of one of my VSO trainers who I had met at the VSO training centre in Birmingham, but still!