Just another Weekend In Bangladesh

A producer working with Jute fibers. To the right: Reba, Shingita (an MCC administrator) and I in our sharis, ready for the wedding....

Paper making below. These are super hot metal cannisters used to dry the paper. To the right a couple of the producers I met--one with her baby.

The bride (left) and the Groom (right) share their first look under this long towel. Can you imagine? To the right, the Priests and the groom say prayers and other marriage things.

Bride. looking gorgeous and oh so decorated. She had some attitude, which I found refreshing and fantastic. check out her Mahindi (henna).

This past weekend has been a good one. I first attended a wedding for a Co-worker's daughter in Fenney, a long journey south from Mymensingh. They are Hindu, so it was quite a new experience for me, and so fascinating. The wedding was still going on when we left at midnight! It is more than a "walk down the aisle, get married, run out and have the reception." First we ate a great meal (with vegetarian options, I was lucky this time), looked at the bride and groom who were on separate stages. Chatted amongst ourselves...and waited for the Hindu priests to name the "auspicious hour" when the couple would actually be married. Much ceremony, much decoration and really loud live music with about 4 kinds of drums.

The next day we (about 7 co-workers from Mymensingh) visited a paper project near Fenney. First we stopped for a nice breakfast of tea, pyrota (fried chapati), egg and dhal. Then we all took 2 CNGs (small go-kart/dune buggy/small taxi type transport that is everywhere here) to the project. It was my second trip to such a place, but my first trip was during orientation while I was very jet lagged, so this trip was much richer. I met some of the producers and chatted with them about their work, if they like what they do. They were telling me I should chew "pan"--a leaf with a betel nut inside that you chew sort of like chewing tobacco. I tried it once and don't think I will be trying it again as it made my mouth go numb and made me drool. It makes your teeth all red and they say it's "not good for the teeth" but so many people here really enjoy it, especially after meals.

After we saw the work, we were (of course) invited for tea and snacks. We had oranges, chana chur --kind of like chex mix, mishti, and other good cakes. We stood around and chatted, then were all surprised with a gift of a beautiful red, paper box made right there. The paper is gorgeous. If the srapbookers in North America only knew about this place, they'd be going crazy over it.

We departed by rickshaw, to the bus stand. Loaded up. and headed for Dhaka. About half way through our bus driver stopped for prayer and Bita, being the boldest Bengali woman I know rushed us across the street to use a stranger's toilet. I was very happy. Then we got back and I bought Samosas for everyone..but then I look and the bus is pulling away, honking! Who does this bus driver think he is? Also he thought the bus was actually a jeep and was off roading. I was super happy to get to Dhaka and be off his crazy bus. The busses are always kind of scary, but this one was execptionally scary.

The next day, Friday, we had to get ready for Robin's surprise birthday party. It all went off with almost no glitches and she was truly surprised. It was fun to hang out with people and to chat and be social. I love the sisters at the convent, but sometimes I need more of an outlet than the mission provides.

The weekend was also good because I heard some local live bengali musicians at Probortena. Probortena is an orgainzation that works for Women's rights here in Bangladesh. They have a cafe as well as sell beautiful fabric and clothes. If men want to go there, they must be accompanied by a woman! That is truly revolutionary in this culture. We listened to music, had fushka and drank lassis. Now I am winding down and getting ready to head back to Mymensingh by train, for another week of teaching....

Pictures

Cultural dance. My students are going to teach me one... i am a liiiiittle nervous.

right outside my room. aloe vera plants that sister lourdes mary takes good care of. if i ever get burned i know where to go.

My room. very organized. in my own system, of course.
this is where I do my laundry. by hand.

i taught my students how to make bananna bread yesterday. they loved it. i think we will be baking every week from now on. they have never used an oven before, so it was really fun to show them how. (they are used to clay ovens w/ fire underneath)
baking. Sister Florence peels the bannanas.

L to R: Bashobi, Joba, Nandita, chandra, Nonjury, Amrita and Ruby. (sister florence, obviously)

sifting the rice. the rice is dried in the sun, and so lots of stones get in. This young woman lives at the mission--she is mute and deaf. The Sisters have taken her in so she has a job working in the kitchen and is not on the streets, begging. She always has a smile and we exchange non verbal greetings a few times a day. she's great.
view from one of the verandas outside my room. Laundry drying everywhere.

a collective birthday party.
my other veranda, right outside my room. this chair is especially good for guitar playing and newspaper reading. It overlooks 2 large gardens.

Mission

I have been living at Holy Family Convent for over 3 months now, and am feeling more like a part of the community. I can't believe that I am at the 1/2 mark of my time here in Bangladesh...

Here are a few pictures. I would post more, but I am so hungry and about to go eat some Naan ruti. maybe dhal bhaat too..... the winter food here is good. winter veggies like carrots, cauliflower and beans are plentiful. Also pitas --- these pancake-like round good things that I buy off the street, fresh from a mud "oven."


sorry no pics.

another day maybe they will work.

O-K

So, amidst my midslump meanderings about being bored, several very un boring things happened that made me realize that nothing here is really boring. I may be feeling bored, but really adventures and the unexpected still surprise me and the rest of the country apparently.

The very next day after my "I am bored" post these things happened.

1. I was traveling with Fellow MCCer Rebecca (who works in the Peace program) and her 15 month old daughter, Hannah, by rickshaw to the Dhaka bus stand. A car pulled out in front of us and another rickshaw hit us from behind, throwing both Rebecca and Hannah to the ground. Thankfully, Rebecca's hand protected Hannah's face and no serious injuries occured--we were just shaken up.

2. We got to the bus stand and realized we were going to have to wait for 2 hours. Ususally busses go every 1/2 hr at least from Mymensingh to Dhaka. There was going to be another road blockade so people were trying to get where they needed to be. The place was a mad house. To kill time we wandered through a Mymensingh slum (that I thought was going to be a very beautiful road to have a relaxing walk on--ooops..and when that got old quick we went on a rickshaw ride....

3. We fin-ally got on board, were traveling at a reasonable rate, our bus driver was not even honking that much, making for a time of good conversation with Rebecca. Hannah was sleeping. We are almost to Dhaka, when our bus driver stopped to let more people on the bus. Apparently he stopped somewhere he shouldn't have b/c the next thing we knew the police pulled him over (I didn't even know there were actual traffic laws or who enforced them) and asked for a drivers liscense or else be arrested. Well, our bus driver didn't have one, and got yanked off the bus, and arrested, right before all 60 passenger's eyes. Now we were on the side of the road with no bus driver. Awesome.

4. As it would go, we met a man who told us where the city bus stand was, to get us the rest of the way in to Dhaka. He helped us buy tickets etc. Now we are on the bus with terrible traffic, but still moving at least. As we got closer, Rebecca recognized where we were and suggested walking as a better way to get to our destination. So we hastily got off the bus, ran across 5 lanes of traffic to get to the road that would lead us to Asad Gate (our destination). It's dark by now.

5. As we are walking, with Hannah on my shoulders, I get a phone call from Ethel, the country representative, (our supervisor) saying that a curfew has been put in place and to get where we were going as soon as possible. She sounded serious, but didn't say why the curfew was being implemented as she knew we were still outside.

6. We finish walking down Parliment road, get to our flat, and Ethel calls again. She tells us that there is a Curfew because the Military has taken over and that Bangladesh has declared a "state of emergency." She tells us the President has resigned and that it looks very serious and to stay inside.

7. BBC news has tons of TV coverage about it. Today, things seem to be under a bit more control, but the situation is definately still shaky. Nobody really knows what will happen. The elections have been postponed until they can be arranged in a neutral way. We'll see if that happens and when it will happen.....

8. To top it all off on the return trip home we got a brick thrown through our train window. No injuries occured.

The end.

Back to work...

I am very much back to teaching at the mission. It is going along just fine. I added another class for my beginners which will hopefully speed things up a little and give them more of a chance to practice speaking. I can tell they are improving and gaining confidence which is rewarding for them and me--I actually am helping them learn! The sisters are all back into their routines as well--teaching, working in the sewing center, taking care of the young girls who stay there. I feel very comfortable here in Mymensingh and at times a little bored! Can you believe that?! I am bored, living in Bangladesh, teaching English, living at a convent, riding rickshaws, getting myself into accidental situations because of language barriers.... I think it is just a little midway slump and the fact that Thailand was so great. I am sure things will pick up again and I will find myself in new adventures....like when my dear friend Emily Alsum comes for a visit in a month, and traveling to Nepal for our South Asia retreat (for all MCC workers in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) as well as a trip to see the Taj Mahal and other wonders of India. Not to mention fun weekends in Dhaka, life with the Sisters and traveling around Bangladesh.

oh yeah, and I joined an all male, muslim gym the other day. More stories to come about that. HA!

Isaac, Robin, Me, Reba, Toby..dancing...22 minutes till 2007!
Downtown Bangkok....all the parties there got cancelled though because of the bombings. We walked through, b/c our original plan was to be there, but it was so empty, police everywhere, no festivities of any kind.

Tourists unite! Robin, Reba and I....
New Years eve...got my dancin' shoes on.

yes. we were tourists and somehow got talked into riding this hideous bus for 5 1/2 hrs from Ko Chang to Bangkok. looks like it is straight out of austin powers, eh? the inside was worse. Bright red leather everywhere with lacy curtains.
palace in bangkok

view from our "long beach, the last lost paradise"..we looked at this every day while on the island of Ko Chang, south of Bangkok. Georgeous, warm for swimming and not too hot. Waking up and drinking Thai coffee (strong coffee w/ sweetened condensed milk) on the deck overlooking the ocean was so great. I needed to be in an untouched, wild place, open.......no development..... no people. we slept in rustic bungalows, no electricity, showers down the way a bit...hippie heaven this was. We (like 20 people) got trucked in from a more populated place on the island--the road to get to this place has not been built so we did a bit of off roading to get to it; fantastic.
the Thai flag, and our 2nd snorkling spot. We took a boat with other snorklers to a couple different places. <<<<>>>>>

PS. I am in love with snorkling. the fish and coral were absolutely amazing and I really want to do more of this sport. I think I want to eventually try diving as well. the world underneath the surface is beautiful.

Thai cultural dress. this was taken in Chiang Mai--this woman was actually in our group, and paid to wear the clothes for a bit.
Ruins. lots of ruins here in Thailand.

So, yes. thailand was great. a bit touristy, but overall just the break I needed. Tomorrow we head home to Bangladesh.

Goodbye Thailand..

safe and sound

no worries, there were bombs here in bangkok, but I am fine.


Happy 2007!