Yesterday I was walking out of my house to the MCC office when the guard started yelling, "na, na!" (no, no!!) I had noticed some coconuts laying around, but didn't think much of that...then I looked up. Riiiight above me was a man with a very thin rope tied around him, shimming up the palm tree, about to cut off the coconuts. that was a close one.
Later that night Kakon served Reba, Darren and I fresh coconut water, from those very coconuts. It is a strange thick nectar/water taste. I think it is growing on me. It is also good for treating dehydration. (right now the coconut water reminds me of my first weekend here when I was SO sick, so I am hoping to overcome that negative association)
It's ramadan, so everyone is fasting all day. For an entire month. Not one iota of anything can pass through their mouths. No water, no teeth brushing etc etc....until the sun sets. It's great for me because I am not fasting and I get to participate in Iftar (the breaking of the fast) which means all kinds of special foods (of course ddddeeeeeepppppp fried), sweets (mishti), and mango juice. So I get to eat normally all day and have Iftar for dinner. At about 5:30 there is a bustle around the city, all the small shops have iftar waiting.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Nothing and lots of things
I've been here in Mymensingh a month. It would appear to be the same as before but it is not the same. I have a couple of small daily committments: learning bangla and practicing bangla. The rest of my time goes to relaxing via music, reading, laughing, talking, making stuff and pondering lots of things or going to the MCC office to read the newspaper and drink tea. (and distract Reba, who actually has work to do) Or I stop by Darren's place or wander around Mymensingh. It feels pretty normal to do these things, I am at home here. Whatever home means, I am feeling it today.
I am not quite so exhausted at the end of each day from the outpouring of emotional energy it takes to be new and to have my world turned upside down. I am learning what I need and how to make that happen, or to be okay with things just spilling out and accepting fact that I am not in control. It is amazing how much more I understand international students at Calvin or immigrants of any sort coming to a new land to establish a home. I know and I have no idea.
Some days here I wish I was back home reminiscing about Bangladesh and not actually still living here, and other days I forget that this is not how my life always was. Somedays the staring and comments leave me hostile, other days I have patience and realize they are just curious....some days I need to get away, retreat and can't find a place, other days I don't notice the million people that are in Mymensingh. Some days I notice the beggars, other days I am too focused on not getting attention that I do not even see them. Other days I have an outpouring of empathy and emotion for the girl without legs begging for food right on my way to my bangla lesson.... Sometimes this place feels so old and foreign, and today it feels like any city I know in NA would: noisy, honking, pollution, people, poverty, beauty, laughter, smoking, food, fun, antics waiting to happen....(there just are not any houses with great front porches on which to listen to the rain)
For sure, being here is not what I expectected, but I do not want my expectations to dictate how the year will go.
I am not quite so exhausted at the end of each day from the outpouring of emotional energy it takes to be new and to have my world turned upside down. I am learning what I need and how to make that happen, or to be okay with things just spilling out and accepting fact that I am not in control. It is amazing how much more I understand international students at Calvin or immigrants of any sort coming to a new land to establish a home. I know and I have no idea.
Some days here I wish I was back home reminiscing about Bangladesh and not actually still living here, and other days I forget that this is not how my life always was. Somedays the staring and comments leave me hostile, other days I have patience and realize they are just curious....some days I need to get away, retreat and can't find a place, other days I don't notice the million people that are in Mymensingh. Some days I notice the beggars, other days I am too focused on not getting attention that I do not even see them. Other days I have an outpouring of empathy and emotion for the girl without legs begging for food right on my way to my bangla lesson.... Sometimes this place feels so old and foreign, and today it feels like any city I know in NA would: noisy, honking, pollution, people, poverty, beauty, laughter, smoking, food, fun, antics waiting to happen....(there just are not any houses with great front porches on which to listen to the rain)
For sure, being here is not what I expectected, but I do not want my expectations to dictate how the year will go.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Small things
It is very easy for me to tell you all the crazy things, the blur that was my first experience of Bangladesh. I am beginning to notice and appreciate the small things now, which makes me happy.
A list of my favorite, unnoticed (at first) things here in Bangladesh, in no particular order of importance: (could that be anymore wordy??)
-people take showers in the rain, even in cities.
-small lizards are everywhere and are cute and zippy
-a cup of tea is the solution for most things. stressed? Have some cha. teary? have some cha. sweating? here have some hot cha to make you hotter
-palm trees
-the Mandhi people--from a tribe up north are kind--treat me better and with more respect that the general population on the street who only blast their 4 english words at me.
-eating with my hand (only the right one)--this makes eating truly a 5 senses experience
(okay, maybe not hearing)
-the lightning fills the sky all around
-stargazing
-Taize, a community of monks and boys in their late teens and early 20s-creates space and sometimes peace in my life. Prayers are 3 times a day. I go about 3 times a week and then share a simple meal of curried veggies and rice.
-the river in the evening
-people sing alot here and ask me "sing please, you"
-walks
-learning guitar
-my sweat is starting to smell like tumeric and garlic
-no planning needed, just show up
-small cha dokans -tea shops--the tea is black tea with sweetened condensed milk and sugar. mmm. sweet delight.
-shops are open late and everything is only a 5 minute rickshaw ride away
-sweating--(yes, it does have an upside) do you know how good my skin and hair look? no processed foods, tons of sweating, lots of water equals healthy skin.
-the smokey smell in the morning as the store owners are starting their grills for the day
-the call to prayer
-colors, smells, fabric, paint, everywhere
-I have lots of free time for all my hobbies
(side note: Darren and I cannot figure out what hobbies people have here--we think they should begin to build weather kites)
-fishing ponds
-"corner stores" everywhere
-everything is reused here--I was walking home from Bangla yesterday and saw a huge pile of the plastic part of flip flops, waiting to be reused
-tailored clothes
-handmade sandals, just how you like them
-lassee (a yogurt sweet drink)
-ceiling fans
-people are happy with the basics. Even my host family, who is upper middle class, have a smallish place by NA standards, but are very happy and make good use of the space
-interesting architechture-left over from the british and also all the mosques
-the way I have time for conversations, over tea of course
-the market with all sorts of fresh fruit the store owners sitting in the middle of the produce, I even found tomatoes yesterday. :)
Bangladesh is feeling like home, I am amazed at how adaptable we humans are. It's a good place for me to be, to learn and to question the things I have always thought.
peace.
Cicely or "shish" (they don't really say "s" here, so my name comes out "shish)
A list of my favorite, unnoticed (at first) things here in Bangladesh, in no particular order of importance: (could that be anymore wordy??)
-people take showers in the rain, even in cities.
-small lizards are everywhere and are cute and zippy
-a cup of tea is the solution for most things. stressed? Have some cha. teary? have some cha. sweating? here have some hot cha to make you hotter
-palm trees
-the Mandhi people--from a tribe up north are kind--treat me better and with more respect that the general population on the street who only blast their 4 english words at me.
-eating with my hand (only the right one)--this makes eating truly a 5 senses experience
(okay, maybe not hearing)
-the lightning fills the sky all around
-stargazing
-Taize, a community of monks and boys in their late teens and early 20s-creates space and sometimes peace in my life. Prayers are 3 times a day. I go about 3 times a week and then share a simple meal of curried veggies and rice.
-the river in the evening
-people sing alot here and ask me "sing please, you"
-walks
-learning guitar
-my sweat is starting to smell like tumeric and garlic
-no planning needed, just show up
-small cha dokans -tea shops--the tea is black tea with sweetened condensed milk and sugar. mmm. sweet delight.
-shops are open late and everything is only a 5 minute rickshaw ride away
-sweating--(yes, it does have an upside) do you know how good my skin and hair look? no processed foods, tons of sweating, lots of water equals healthy skin.
-the smokey smell in the morning as the store owners are starting their grills for the day
-the call to prayer
-colors, smells, fabric, paint, everywhere
-I have lots of free time for all my hobbies
(side note: Darren and I cannot figure out what hobbies people have here--we think they should begin to build weather kites)
-fishing ponds
-"corner stores" everywhere
-everything is reused here--I was walking home from Bangla yesterday and saw a huge pile of the plastic part of flip flops, waiting to be reused
-tailored clothes
-handmade sandals, just how you like them
-lassee (a yogurt sweet drink)
-ceiling fans
-people are happy with the basics. Even my host family, who is upper middle class, have a smallish place by NA standards, but are very happy and make good use of the space
-interesting architechture-left over from the british and also all the mosques
-the way I have time for conversations, over tea of course
-the market with all sorts of fresh fruit the store owners sitting in the middle of the produce, I even found tomatoes yesterday. :)
Bangladesh is feeling like home, I am amazed at how adaptable we humans are. It's a good place for me to be, to learn and to question the things I have always thought.
peace.
Cicely or "shish" (they don't really say "s" here, so my name comes out "shish)
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Birthday and Bike rides
A limerick from my Ama/Mom:
-Fireworks! The Badeshi’s friends met,
-Planned a birthday she’d never forget.
-But the blasts made a breeze
-Caught her salwar kameeze,
-Blew her up in the air like a jet!
Henna, My hand to the Left, Mo's to the Right. Mo is my upstairs 15 year old beautiful neighbor and new friend. it was a birthday present.
Maheen and me at my birthday party. We had a delicious fare of ruti/popadem, veggies with curry of course, yummy semolina sweets (I forget the bangla name) and a chocolate cake that I baked. My host family, their in laws and Darren, Reba and Robin brought in my 25th year with me.
This past weekend, I enjoyed going to Pirogatcha with Darren, Robin and Reba. It was a much needed break from the Bangla and the craziness that is daily life in Mymensingh. To get there we took a bus, and I was excited to get my own seat... then we took a "van" which is a flatbedded rickshaw for 45 minutes on a bumpy, muddy, red brick road, through rice fields, bannana groves, pineapple fields, and villages.
We stayed at the St Pauls Mission, close to where new friends Rebecca and Phillip live with their 1 year old. It was such a nice break, to be out in the middle of nowhere, and I am realizing that it is not just north american cities that leave me craving the wilderness--here too I will have to find ways to get away.
On Saturday we went on a super long bike ride, through the muddy roads, more villages, more bannana trees and cool bridges. Have you ever seen a chinese bicycle? Well, they are like the old school bikes...one gear, thin tire, heavy, low postioned handle bars. Well, that's the sort of bike I rode "offroading" through out the villages yesterday. It was so incredibly muddy--which made it hilarious, scary and I felt like I would tumble into the mud at any moment. I did fall off a couple of times which made for some good comic relief for everyone involved. we stopped by a "tourist area" (which by the way, NOBODY tours bangladesh, as far as I can tell--I have yet to see another foreigner that is not an MCC worker) where there were monkeys swinging from trees, and a deer park--which was thoroughly fenced in with barbed wire so the deer couldn't escape and we couldn't get in. I didn't need to see deer, they are overpopulated in the midwest anyway.
After our 13 mile village ride, we went swimming! I can't tell you how happy that made me. I have been wanting to jump into a body of water for about 3 weeks now, b/c it is so blasted hot here. The tricky part? Swimming in my salwar kameeze. hmmm. recipe for drowning if you ask me. I ended up discreetly taking off the pants and tying them around my waist so I could acutally move.
Modesty can kill.
After a long swim we went for a late dinner at Phillip and Rebecca's house. We cooked fish over a fire pit. We had badeshi food and even ate with forks. Living in the village and here in Mymensingh at times feels alot like perma camping, and it's a good thing I like camping...
I have a renewed desire to learn Bangla...which is good b/c starting tomorrow my long 3 hour a day/6 days a week Bangla boot camp starts again.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Reba, cleaning out her closet because cockroaches have decided to take up residence.
a park on the Bramaputra river where I frequently go for walks.
KAKON, We were making "pizza" --it was the strangest pizza I ever had. It contained a sweet sauce, like ketchup, mint leaves, cucumbers(cooked), pickled mushrooms and wet cheeze. mmmm. (I told her it was delicous!) I am continuously telling myself to "adjust your expectations, Cicely :)
Inensity, all day, everyday. Notice the Mosque in the background, the rickshaw traffic jam, the umbrellas--they are smart, they use them for sun protection too. I bought one yesterday.
Mahin, above (pronounced Maheen) wearing his spiderman costume and mimicking my guitar playing. I'm not that much of a rock star though. and I want a spiderman costume.
------
Learning Bangla is so hard for me! It's like doing story problems all day long. I hate story problems. I nearly cried on Ms Nat today b/c I could not remember anything, despite the fact that we go over the SAME thing everyday. It is super overwhelming sometimes. Then 30 minutes later, I was so excited b/c I understood a minor conversation, and wanted to go study. Bangla and I have a love/hate relationship that is OCD, and probably MPD. Up and Down. Me and everything these days.
------
Tonight we are baking a cake for my birthday bash, and I am determined to figure out this coffee making jazz. It went better last night, but we didn't roast it long enough, so tonight I am going to try to roast it longer and stir it more. I am also getting some HENNA done by my downstairs neighbor, I am super excited to get all painted up.
well, enjoy the pictures, they took 2 hours do upload! I'm not kidding!
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
What would you do for a cup of coffee?
These last few mornings, I have been drinking 2 or 3 mugs of tea. Not bad, but it's not coffee. I have been craving some freshly ground, brewed strong, with a touch of half and half in my favorite mug, while I read a good novel.
Last night Reba came back from Dhaka (and whenever you go to Dhaka you always bring important things back to Mymensingh--things like flour, paper, clothes, cheeze--things you can't buy here) and brought back about 8 pounds of coffee--unshucked, unroasted, un everything. That made me excited because we have so much free time on our hands, and I have always wanted to roast my own beans. I had a vision of Reba, Darren and I drinking a cup of joe on Reba's balcony, with the full moon shining and me smiling because the coffee was just that good.
So, last night after we went out to dinner we came back and decided to start this process. It was 11:30pm. The shucking of the beans takes a while, and each bean needs individual attention. The roasting takes even longer. We had some discord about what temperature, how long, and "should they be smoking like that!?" After about 2 hours of this hoop la, the beans are roasted/burned/black enough to look like coffee beans. We put them in the blender. grind em up. Then we remember that we have to boil water for 20 minutes to kill all the germs that give us diarrhia. Then we are nearly falling alseep because it is so late. Finally the water is hot and safe, the coffee looks like coffee...we put it in the water, let it steep. We then pour it anxiously into our mugs/tea cups. Will this be the nirvana we crave?
NO. it was TERRIBLE. aweful, possibly the WORST coffee I have ever had. I will not be defeated, though. My goal is by my birthday on Thursday I will have figured out how to make it and roast it and grind it and drink it. And I will love it.
---
In other news. My host family is throwing me a birthday party. My new friend Robin is coming from Dhaka for the occasion, I am going to help cook something "north american" and a good time will be had by all. Darren and I want to have fireworks, but I am not sure about the logistics of that, since we can barely hail our own rickshaws....:) I will be sure to take a few photos to let you in on the good times we have. Kakon, the mom of the family (who's 27) bought me a new salwar kameeze, 4 glass bangles, and a new nose ring for my birthday. The nose ring is a bit larger as that's how they like em here. We'll see if it suits me or not.
---
This weekend we are going to Mutagatcha, where Philip and Rebecca live--it's a village dwelling that is for sure, and they have a pond. A pond we can swim in. I have been wanting to swim for a long time, because it is so dang hot here.
But, now it seems that the rainy season is back in full force. We've been having huge amounts of rain, everything is dripping wet, thunder, lightning, grey skys. It's a good change, and it is a bit cooler. In Dhaka, the roads were completely flooded, up to your thighs, and there wasa hartel (strike), so that made for a very interesting day--on Hartel days nobody goes to work, or if they go, they don't have to work b/c "its a hartel"-- I personally like hartel days because that means there are no cars or busses out with their incessant honking.
As for the guitar, we are becoming good friends. I know A, E, G, and C. minor and major. My guitar is terrible, so sometimes it sounds like I am playing out of a bucket. But I think that when I get back to the US, and I get a better one, I will be so surprised at how good I actually sound.
This is getting excessively long, but I am waiting for the rain to let up a bit....
okay, take it easy, enjoy the beginnings of autumn.
PEACE.
Cicely
Last night Reba came back from Dhaka (and whenever you go to Dhaka you always bring important things back to Mymensingh--things like flour, paper, clothes, cheeze--things you can't buy here) and brought back about 8 pounds of coffee--unshucked, unroasted, un everything. That made me excited because we have so much free time on our hands, and I have always wanted to roast my own beans. I had a vision of Reba, Darren and I drinking a cup of joe on Reba's balcony, with the full moon shining and me smiling because the coffee was just that good.
So, last night after we went out to dinner we came back and decided to start this process. It was 11:30pm. The shucking of the beans takes a while, and each bean needs individual attention. The roasting takes even longer. We had some discord about what temperature, how long, and "should they be smoking like that!?" After about 2 hours of this hoop la, the beans are roasted/burned/black enough to look like coffee beans. We put them in the blender. grind em up. Then we remember that we have to boil water for 20 minutes to kill all the germs that give us diarrhia. Then we are nearly falling alseep because it is so late. Finally the water is hot and safe, the coffee looks like coffee...we put it in the water, let it steep. We then pour it anxiously into our mugs/tea cups. Will this be the nirvana we crave?
NO. it was TERRIBLE. aweful, possibly the WORST coffee I have ever had. I will not be defeated, though. My goal is by my birthday on Thursday I will have figured out how to make it and roast it and grind it and drink it. And I will love it.
---
In other news. My host family is throwing me a birthday party. My new friend Robin is coming from Dhaka for the occasion, I am going to help cook something "north american" and a good time will be had by all. Darren and I want to have fireworks, but I am not sure about the logistics of that, since we can barely hail our own rickshaws....:) I will be sure to take a few photos to let you in on the good times we have. Kakon, the mom of the family (who's 27) bought me a new salwar kameeze, 4 glass bangles, and a new nose ring for my birthday. The nose ring is a bit larger as that's how they like em here. We'll see if it suits me or not.
---
This weekend we are going to Mutagatcha, where Philip and Rebecca live--it's a village dwelling that is for sure, and they have a pond. A pond we can swim in. I have been wanting to swim for a long time, because it is so dang hot here.
But, now it seems that the rainy season is back in full force. We've been having huge amounts of rain, everything is dripping wet, thunder, lightning, grey skys. It's a good change, and it is a bit cooler. In Dhaka, the roads were completely flooded, up to your thighs, and there wasa hartel (strike), so that made for a very interesting day--on Hartel days nobody goes to work, or if they go, they don't have to work b/c "its a hartel"-- I personally like hartel days because that means there are no cars or busses out with their incessant honking.
As for the guitar, we are becoming good friends. I know A, E, G, and C. minor and major. My guitar is terrible, so sometimes it sounds like I am playing out of a bucket. But I think that when I get back to the US, and I get a better one, I will be so surprised at how good I actually sound.
This is getting excessively long, but I am waiting for the rain to let up a bit....
okay, take it easy, enjoy the beginnings of autumn.
PEACE.
Cicely
Saturday, September 09, 2006
pictures...
Salwar Kameeze
above, darren and I at Rebecca and Philip's village dwelling (fellow mccers)
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Bangladeshi Birthday Bash
Currently listening to the whiny and sad sound of the Call to prayer. It's an eerie sound--this Call to prayer. Five times a day, over loudspeakers from different Mosques, I hear this Call to prayer, watch men go into Mosques, and women cover their heads in respect for Allah. It's been interesting to learn about the ins and outs Muslim culture, nothing like going straight to the source, eh?
Muslims, Hindus and Christians all have their ways of speaking to eachother..."Namushcar" is a hindu or maybe a christian greeting and "alasalamhalikum" is a Muslim greeting. (still working on that one) The government recognizes the different religions and punishes people according to what their religious customs say is the correct punishment for the crime. A pseudo separation of Church and State?
The family I live with is Muslim, so I am learning Muslim versions of words and my Bangla teacher is Christian so I am also learning Christian ways of talking. I am thankful to be living with a Muslim family for a few reasons: 1. they are super nice, caring and kind and have a really cute kid who jumps on my bed. 2. I can learn cultural things in a safe environment. (for instance when I cross my legs, my foot shouldn't point at anyone b/c that is a huge insult, given that the feet are the grossest part of the body) (and I never use my left hand to touch things, or to eat with b/c that's the hand you do your buisness with in the bathroom) 3. It makes learning the language so much easier--the wife speaks english, but not the mother in law, the son or the husband....
Last night Reba and I got invited to a 10 year old's birthday party. It was Cackon's (the wife) collegue's daughter. When you are Badeshi, you get invited via the grapevine to all sorts of functions. Everyone is so curious about me, why I've come, where I live, if I speak Bangla etc etc. We walk in and there are all these beautiful Bangladeshi women wearing sari's,(saris are for special occasions) the air was thick with perfume, Bangla music blaring, kids running around, balloons hanging from the ceiling. The women are excited to meet us and offer their seats to us. (I am not used to being catered to soooooo much!) We sit down, Reba speaks in Bangla to the women, and I smile and awkwardly nod, but totally content just to be there. "Life is funny" I kept thinking...I am at a Bangladeshi Birthday party, mingling with the upper class of women, eating rice with my hands, and even tasting my first bite of GOAT. I am wearing my orange salwar kameeze with cool mirrors and embroidered flowers, chatting with the woman next to me about her Ph. D. program. 3 weeks ago, I was walking around Reeds Lake, drinking oberon with Alaina on the sunporch! life is so funny.
Have I expounded on women here yet?
A few Things I am learning about women and women's rights:
... women are expected to get married as early as 12 (it depends on your class how young you get married) and mostly through arranged marriages
.."Love Marriages" are rare
.. women are exepected to be VERY modest. My "orna" is a long scarf that I wear to cover my breasts. and if I am not wearing my orna and a man looks at my chest lustfully, then it is my fault for not covering them up.
.. Men never help in the kitchen/serve food--unless they are the exception
...women wear burkahs here if their husbands make them.
*when I get a little more acclimatized I am going to wear one for a day to see how it feels
...women are not welcome in Mosques
...women never have friends of the opposite sex
hmmm. yeah. this is rubbing me the wrong way. It is hard to be sensitive to the culture when I have such strong reactions to these rules. The good thing for me is that I am Badeshi so the expectations on me are much different.
Life here is starting to be routine, and the charm of the differentness is wearing off a bit. Now, I want to be able to order my own food and get to my tutor's with out any help. haha. one step at a time.
So much more to say, but that's for later. Now I must attempt to hail a rickshaw and not get ripped off, make flashcards before my Bangla lessons, and find some food from the market, b/c I forgot to eat lunch.
(have I mentioned the CRAZY amount of STARING??) yeah. lots of staring happening here. I am beginning to get as curious as they are and stare back. ahhaha
PEACE.
Muslims, Hindus and Christians all have their ways of speaking to eachother..."Namushcar" is a hindu or maybe a christian greeting and "alasalamhalikum" is a Muslim greeting. (still working on that one) The government recognizes the different religions and punishes people according to what their religious customs say is the correct punishment for the crime. A pseudo separation of Church and State?
The family I live with is Muslim, so I am learning Muslim versions of words and my Bangla teacher is Christian so I am also learning Christian ways of talking. I am thankful to be living with a Muslim family for a few reasons: 1. they are super nice, caring and kind and have a really cute kid who jumps on my bed. 2. I can learn cultural things in a safe environment. (for instance when I cross my legs, my foot shouldn't point at anyone b/c that is a huge insult, given that the feet are the grossest part of the body) (and I never use my left hand to touch things, or to eat with b/c that's the hand you do your buisness with in the bathroom) 3. It makes learning the language so much easier--the wife speaks english, but not the mother in law, the son or the husband....
Last night Reba and I got invited to a 10 year old's birthday party. It was Cackon's (the wife) collegue's daughter. When you are Badeshi, you get invited via the grapevine to all sorts of functions. Everyone is so curious about me, why I've come, where I live, if I speak Bangla etc etc. We walk in and there are all these beautiful Bangladeshi women wearing sari's,(saris are for special occasions) the air was thick with perfume, Bangla music blaring, kids running around, balloons hanging from the ceiling. The women are excited to meet us and offer their seats to us. (I am not used to being catered to soooooo much!) We sit down, Reba speaks in Bangla to the women, and I smile and awkwardly nod, but totally content just to be there. "Life is funny" I kept thinking...I am at a Bangladeshi Birthday party, mingling with the upper class of women, eating rice with my hands, and even tasting my first bite of GOAT. I am wearing my orange salwar kameeze with cool mirrors and embroidered flowers, chatting with the woman next to me about her Ph. D. program. 3 weeks ago, I was walking around Reeds Lake, drinking oberon with Alaina on the sunporch! life is so funny.
Have I expounded on women here yet?
A few Things I am learning about women and women's rights:
... women are expected to get married as early as 12 (it depends on your class how young you get married) and mostly through arranged marriages
.."Love Marriages" are rare
.. women are exepected to be VERY modest. My "orna" is a long scarf that I wear to cover my breasts. and if I am not wearing my orna and a man looks at my chest lustfully, then it is my fault for not covering them up.
.. Men never help in the kitchen/serve food--unless they are the exception
...women wear burkahs here if their husbands make them.
*when I get a little more acclimatized I am going to wear one for a day to see how it feels
...women are not welcome in Mosques
...women never have friends of the opposite sex
hmmm. yeah. this is rubbing me the wrong way. It is hard to be sensitive to the culture when I have such strong reactions to these rules. The good thing for me is that I am Badeshi so the expectations on me are much different.
Life here is starting to be routine, and the charm of the differentness is wearing off a bit. Now, I want to be able to order my own food and get to my tutor's with out any help. haha. one step at a time.
So much more to say, but that's for later. Now I must attempt to hail a rickshaw and not get ripped off, make flashcards before my Bangla lessons, and find some food from the market, b/c I forgot to eat lunch.
(have I mentioned the CRAZY amount of STARING??) yeah. lots of staring happening here. I am beginning to get as curious as they are and stare back. ahhaha
PEACE.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Pictures of my new home
Arugh. pictures not working...welcome to bangladesh. ;)
summarizing the last few days:
we stayed in siragjang an extra day b/c both Darren and I were sick....feeling much better now, thank you very much.
the ag program is small scale and very cool. think of feeding fish chicken poop. and other things doing what they are supposed to do, no chemicals needed.
Yesterday went shopping for Darren's newly made sandals and my newly tailored shalwar kameez, buying mangos, banannas and pineapple straight from the source...
riding rickshaws and getting clipped by a rickshaw--look out.
wearing more color than I have seen in a long time...its all about the contrast....;)
feeling like a small child who has no idea how to talk, buy things or what to do with my shoes. thank goodness for Reba who has been here a year and for Darren who also feels like a small child and who can laugh uproriously when things are so awkward they are funny. Which is most of the time. haha.
now i must go to lunch. hope I can find my way back....later is my language lesson w/ Ms Nat... and Taize service later on still.
more later.
summarizing the last few days:
we stayed in siragjang an extra day b/c both Darren and I were sick....feeling much better now, thank you very much.
the ag program is small scale and very cool. think of feeding fish chicken poop. and other things doing what they are supposed to do, no chemicals needed.
Yesterday went shopping for Darren's newly made sandals and my newly tailored shalwar kameez, buying mangos, banannas and pineapple straight from the source...
riding rickshaws and getting clipped by a rickshaw--look out.
wearing more color than I have seen in a long time...its all about the contrast....;)
feeling like a small child who has no idea how to talk, buy things or what to do with my shoes. thank goodness for Reba who has been here a year and for Darren who also feels like a small child and who can laugh uproriously when things are so awkward they are funny. Which is most of the time. haha.
now i must go to lunch. hope I can find my way back....later is my language lesson w/ Ms Nat... and Taize service later on still.
more later.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Agriculture galore
This morning I woke up to the whirring of the fans in my room and the feel of the mosquito net. I slept well. This is good. I am still adjusting to the 11 hour time difference and get reaaaally sleepy at 4pm..
We are in Siranjganj checking out their Agricultural program. I am surrounded by books all about Ag development.
Today brings more seeing MCC programs and learning how they connect, how they help people survive and the ways to do this ethically.
It's going to be a hot one.
We are in Siranjganj checking out their Agricultural program. I am surrounded by books all about Ag development.
Today brings more seeing MCC programs and learning how they connect, how they help people survive and the ways to do this ethically.
It's going to be a hot one.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
