Shawl we dance?

Another sunny day here in Dhaka. I'm sharing a corner office with one of my advisors from Harvard since he's out a lot, and I have to say, it's probably the nicest working space I've ever had. We're up on the 16th floor and it has a great view of the city. I find it hard to work sometimes with such a first-hand view of the going ons in the slums.
Yesterday I finally had a chance to explore on my own a little bit. I went for a walk at daybreak and walked up the main street of this neighborhood, Gulshan, which I took to work every day last year so know pretty well, relatively. There is a new citibank, which is exciting, but other than that, things look at the same. It was hot--I had to change when I got back because my shalwar (tunic-like top) was so sweaty!
I went out again this morning after breakfast without a shawl (I didn't have one that matched this particular shalwar, so decided that w/o shawl was less of a fashion faux paus than with a mismatched one), so after visiting the tourist agency (more on that when I actually book my trip!), I stopped by a market and purchased a new shawl. I put myself at the mercy of a man and his two sons, maybe 18 and 13 years old. With some gesturing and their basic english, we communicated that I needed a shawl to go with the tunic (turquoise with green and blue geometric patterns), and they brought out a full arsenal. I went with one of the lightest ones--no need for thick fabric right now--and took the blue and white checkered one that they suggested. It is a not a combination that I would have chosen, but once I was back on the streets, I felt like it did the job (I wrapped in around my head to protect me from the sun). Both of my shalwars are from Aarong, a great store with a nice selection but that probably is more popular among foreigners than locals (more expensive, but definitely more intuitive to a western newcomer and has sticker prices, so you can avoid haggling. The markets can also be pretty overwhelming since everyone tries to show you what they are offering), and this was my "authentic" shawl (cost tk 250--About $3.50. Might have been marked up, but my feeling is that if I don't know what a fair price is, and I'm in respectful position to negotiate, and it was cheap enough to assume that they were giving me a good price). It's already paid off--stopped by a store to buy a bottle of water and it was tk 5 ($0.06, but 20% reduction from the original tk 25 price!) cheaper than it was two days ago. At this rate, if there was a foreigner mark up on the shawl, it will pay for itself soon enough.
Beginning a homestay in Uttara (slightly north of Dhaka) tonight. Looking forward to being in a more home-like environment, and since most of the household is Bengali, it has great potential to be an unbeatable window into the local culture and norms. Interested to see if they use forks and knives, and what breakfast looks like.

Happy thanksgiving! I will post some pictures in the next few days. So far I have only taken pictures of others and of health facilities/personnel!