I’m already living the next chapter of my quest so I figure I better wrap up the first. Below the cut you’ll learn what San Pedro Sula, Honduras, is like and how I was received at the factory that made my t-shirt.
Go here to read about the Honduras experience in its entirety
The boat trip south of Dhaka took all night…
In the morning, fog clung to the Padma River…
I played a full-contact game of tag in which whoever is IT had to chant Kabaddi Kabaddi Kabaddi…
I got tackled…
And most of all, people stared.
…
Obviously, I’m a label watcher. Whenever I’m bored on a bus, in a line, or on the can, and there isn’t any acceptable reading material within reach, I start reading labels
I was reading the label of my Bangladeshi-bottled water today and came across a few frightening things in the mineral composition list. It included such lovely death-bringing, birth-defect-giving minerals such as Arsenic and Cyanide. Now I’m no chemist, but I’ve seen enough spy films to know that cyanide isn’t the peachiest of substances.
Nil – thankfully, that’s the quantity of arsenic and cyanide in the water. But what disturbs me is that the bottler here in Dhaka felt the need or was required to list these items.
How much arsenic and cyanide am I being exposed to…
I’m in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where my underwear were made.
The people of Bangladesh are awesome. I have yet to catch one look or grimace that had any bad intent. There is indifference, disbelief, and joy, but no ill-will. No equivalent of “Go Home Gringo” exists.
Their willingness to help me, almost makes up for the complete lack of road signs. If I don’t know where I am or where I am going, I stop and ask somebody and soon a crowd forms, sometimes as many as 10 or 12 people. After a little deliberation, the crowd decides what it is exactly I’m saying and how I should proceed. If I think a taxi driver is sticking it to me,…
I spent the day before I left calling the corporations that made my clothes. So far only Levi’s have responded.
They gave me names of who to contact in Cambodia and where to reach them.
I think it could be a struggle to see the production floor at most of the factories I will be visiting, but I’m liking my chances at Levi’s. I’ll find out for sure in about 1 month.
After browsing this site it sure looks like they are leading the way in the ethical globalization garment front. From the site:
In the late 1980s, employees at Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&CO.) began to raise concerns about the working conditions of people making our products overseas. This led executives to begin work on a supplier code…
I’m so tired that I’m nauseous. I haven’t slept anywhere that wasn’t in a plane or an airport in days.
I’m lazy, so I’ll just paste an old column in after the jump. It’s about farting on airplanes. You know you do it. Go read it.
And so I’m off to discover Where Am I Wearing. The next time I post will be from somewhere far from Ohio. Until then, enjoy this audio-slideshow that introduces the quest.
WARNING: This feature is rated PG-13 for excessive body hair.
…
I received my passport yesterday complete with Visas for Bangladesh and China. Back in January, I started the process of renewing my old one and getting the visas. I thought I had plenty of time to get all of this accomplished with room to spare. I didn’t. Unless you count two days as “room to spare.”
It took the government 10 weeks!!!! (7 more than their website promised) to get my passport back to me. When I finally got it back I had to use a pricey visa service and expedite all of the shipping.
I’ve changed a little.
In the 1997 photo I was a senior in high school. The world was one big unexplored adventure waiting for me to discover…
Tired of reading? It’s your lucky day. Listen to a story about Kyle and me playing soccer in Mocoron.
A few notes about the recording:
- I sound a little like Joe Dirt. There’s nothing I can do about it. People from Ohio aren’t supposed to have a southern accent, but I do. Lucky me.
- I will be calling into the World Vision Report radio program during the WAIW? Trip. I’ll probably do so twice. Once, when I’m ready to leave Bangladesh from Cambodia and again when I’m back home. The format will be an informal chat with the host Peggy who sounds ultra-intelligent. Speaking of which…
- I think my favorite part of the soccer recording is when…
The winners (that’s right 2 of ‘em) of the Where am I Wearing? Contest of Destiny are…
MELISSA & KEPPIE
Show ’em what they won you handsome, red-faced, long-nosed, model you.
How to collect your one-of-a kind organic cotton, officially unlicensed Touron T-shirt – Email your address to kelsey@travelin-light.com and I’ll send you one right out. If you want it any time soon email me in the next two days. After that I’ll be in Bangladesh and and the United Bangladesh Postal Service just ain’t what it used to be.
Melissa’s entry was selected for its absolute shoe insanity. Who the heck has a 5-slot shoe rotation? Melissa, that’s who.
Keppie’s muse is a grey sweater. That’s exactly the kind of passion I was looking for.
Reasons people…
