Week 26: Mohan's move was faster than some of the crowded buses I ride (Living and Working alone)

26^th-1st in Dhaka 2/27

Moweena, my boua, is talking to someone in the house next to us, both out the window. Moweena is picking up Mohan’s stuff on the verandah and their chatting away like best friends. I don’t think it is an overstatement when I say that everyone talks to everyone in Bangladesh. When out on the streets there hardly is a soul you would not talk to. Perhaps not a full conversation, but a little chit chat. Kids talk with adults. Police with beggars. Rickshaw drivers with bus drivers. Rich with poor. Store owners with shoppers. Men with women. On the bus everyone talks with strangers. And amongst big groups, no one hesitates to yell their opinion. I’m not sure how else to emphasize that everyone is talking to each other all the time.
This really does help to explain why so many people come up to me and ask me questions on a daily basis. A day doesn’t go by where someone has a conversation with me about what I’m doing here. They are not singling me out as a foreigner and pestering me, but rather acting how they would with any of their fellow countrymen.
One aspect of this, which I’m not sure causes the freedom to chat, or is an effect of it, is the way people address each other. The titles they use create the effect of having a big family, calling each other “brother”, “sister”, “uncle”, etc.

Today Mohan moved. We woke up early to help the rickshaw van drivers. We had to clear the room for them to get the bed, cabinet, and other furniture out for Mohan. There was no advance packing. Mohan that morning threw things on top of blankets, and then around the contents he tied the blankets into bags. Moweena really did most of the work for him. He had her pack all the blanket packages up. My assigned job was to wait in our flat and make sure nothing got stolen by the rickshaw van drivers who were doing the moving. I was also moving my stuff around into one neat pile so that they didn’t take any of that to Mohan’s new place. (pics: Moweena and Mohan sort through some of his stuff, a blanket splayed out with a pile of stuff on top, a blanket bag, the two rickshaw vans brining the second batch of Mohan's stuff down our street)

After the move was complete I got to by his new flat and see it. It is on the 6^th floor, no elevator. Although huge, it’s cheap because it’s up so high. He has a lot of space to waste.

Moweena was very helpful today. She assisted so much during the move, and then came back with me after and helped me clean the whole place up. She swept the floor and then cleaned it with water. The place looked so much better. It allowed me to put everything in the right spots without having to worry about cleaning the floors later.

The rest of the day I spent setting up my house. I went to Pantha Path and bought a desk, a bed, a folding table, and two chairs. This involved a bit of bargaining and finding the best deals. Brought them home riding on a rickshaw van. Was an easy move up the stairs and setting up in the flat as they were all relatively small compared to the cabinet I brought last week.

I set my room up which was lots of fun. I still need a good desk chair, something to put my TV on, and somewhere to put all my toiletries. I decided not to have everything pushed against the wall, but instead make it a tad interesting with my mattress couch jutting out into the middle of the room. (pics: my bedroom at time of posting, opposite view of bedroom with my couch (which is a mattress), and my dining area in the front room)

Went back out and picked up my curtains form the tailor, and some light bulbs since I’ll need them when Mohan takes his.

When Mohan came back at night from work, to grab a few things. He was amazed to see what I’d done with the place. Shocked that I’d completely changed the room around.

Tonight I finished reviewing Purdue University. Then started on Northwestern University.

26^th-2nd in Dhaka 2/28

Went to get coffee at Mango Café in Dhanmondi with Diya. Were there for an hour. Got an egg and cheese sandwich, interesting to see their interpretation of this staple of the American on-the-run breakfast. We walked back via Dhanmondi Lake.

Bought a ceiling fan, need two, but found one for what I thought was a good price, and hopefully might find one cheaper elsewhere. Tried finding some blankets, but none were at any stores in my area. Later I decided I’m just going to buy bed sheets. No reason to buy a blanket if come summertime I won’t even want to use it, and I leave in early September. A thin sheet will suit me just fine.

In afternoon I went searching for some DVDs. Was looking for three: Glengarry Glen Ross, Dune, and Willow. I went to Rifles Square because they have several DVD outlets. (had some good petha on the way over!)
Found Glengarry Glen Ross after a lot of searching, but no one had Willow or Dune. Oh well. Will check Bashundhara City sometime. I don't expect them to have it I guess. They mostly have new movies, with a very very small selection of older ones.

For dinner I met up with Karen, Erin, Erin’s husband (who arrived today from the US!), Nadia, and Laurel. Since all but Karen were coming from across town, they hit traffic, and so I showed Karen my home in the meantime. Also showed her the famous opening scene of Glengarry Glen Ross. Neat to have my first visitor to my place.
Ending up eating at Kozmo Lounge. Were there for about two hours. Met Erin’s husband, neat to meet the man she’s talked about for all this time. He was very glad to be back in his homeland.

Tonight I finished Northwestern University. That makes me more than halfway done with the review. I have completed 6 and have 5 to go. Tonight I did some extra color coding on the spreadsheet. Think it looks real sharp now. #7 to review is UC-Berkeley.

26^th-3rd in Dhaka 2/29

I spent some time researching Berkeley this morning. Also watching Bangladesh lose horribly at cricket over the internet.

Went to New Market. Bought more bed sheets and kitchen supplies. Hopefully that’s the end of my supply shopping. Also checked out a TV stand and a medium sized cane shelf, which I might go back tomorrow and buy. This furniture was being sold street side. Bought a measuring tape to measure the places at home to see if they’ll fit.

In the evening played badminton for first time in awhile. Was fun. Went 2-2 tonight. Came home and heated up my dinner from what Moweena made this morning, egg curry!

Let me describe to you what it means to be the densest country in the world. Okay, so maybe Bangladesh, according to wikipedia, is not the densest in the world, but honestly it’s the densest non-small country in the world. All ten of the countries ahead of it, including Monaco, Hong Kong, Bahrain, and Singapore are islands, city-states, or really small (Monaco is 1.5 sq km!) All of these are smaller than 1100 sq. km, meaning all of them are less than 2/3 the size of my home county, Monmouth County, in central New Jersey! Bangladesh on the other hand is the size of Minnesota.
Comparing Bangladesh in terms of population is one thing. US is #3 in the world, Bangladesh is #7, with about half the number of people. But in terms of density, Bangladesh is 33 times more dense!
What does that mean? How do you make someone understand what that means? It is hard to show that in Dhaka, since the whole city is surely like any other large South Asian city, with people every which way. In some places in New York City it may very well feel like Dhaka. Hidden amongst the buildings though, live many more people. Some women still don’t leave the house except to buy things, and even that could be rare. Thus you might be missing out on seeing a large part of the entire population! As well, there are semi-permanent communities built up in many patches of open land, and these can house more people than you can imagine.
But it’s not until you leave the city that the density of Bangladesh begins to make sense. Outside the city, driving across the fields by car, bus, or rickshaw, you see people everywhere. Wherever you go in Bangladesh, there is always someone else in view. There are no empty spots. When you drive in the United States, you can go miles without seeing another person, especially out west. But in Bangladesh, even in the hills of Bandarban there were still people walking along the roads from place to place. In the remotest fields, there are people farming. On the widest rivers, there are small boats ferrying a crowd of people across. I am serious when I say there are no empty places in Bangladesh. It is when you realize this, and take into account what this means, that you begin to understand the density of Bangladesh more. And once you understand and grasp this density, it helps to understand Bangladeshis as a people.

26^th-4th in Dhaka 3/1

Today I came almost to the end of my furniture shopping. I would like to find a desk chair as I spend most of time at my desk, but will go back to Pantha Path to find one. But today I bought from the side of Mirpur Rd furniture which looked handmade, and the cost seemed to prove it. A TV stand with two shelves below (Tk400), and cane four-level cabinet thing (Tk 200), that I’m using to hold toiletries and commonly needed items.

I just gave my rent and the rest of my advance. They explained to me how I’m going to get my advance back. I now understand that my two month’s advance is actually to partly pay for my last month’s rent. So when I leave in September, I don’t have to pay my rent that month. They will use part of the advance to pay my last month’s gas/electric bill too, so that I don’t “forget” to pay it. Ultimately, of the Tk12,000 I gave as an advance, I get Tk5500 back.

Mohan came by with a young electrician, who took out the fans, and installed mine. Mohan grabbed the majority of the rest of his stuff, and along with his brother-in-law, we all walked the stuff to Mohan’s place down the road. There the electrician installed Mohan’s fans. I also got to meet Mohan’s wife, and his son. His son is now 2.5 months old, his name is Rihan. An adorable boy. They referred to me as uncle.

On the topic of babies, many babies here have a black dot, about half an inch in diameter drawn on their forehead. It is called a “tip”, and its purpose is to ward off bad spirits from causing bad things to happen to the baby. The local belief is that the tip will keep the baby safe. The parents draw this on the baby’s forehead using what was described as something similar to mascara. (pic: look closely at the young kid next to the guy sitting in the window...above the kid's left eye is a tip)

Another tradition in regards to young children is to shave the heads of young girls regularly until a certain age. Tradition says that if this is done, the girl’s hair will come out much fuller when it is finally allow to grow. Thus, many young girls are seen with hair which is still very short at ages which you would expect it to be longer. (pics: young kids marching in a parade in Chittagong division...look closely to see that many of the girls have short hair, a mother and short-haired daughter at the Dhaka Zoo)

Today finished reviewing UC Berkeley, next up is Georgia Tech

26^th-5th in Dhaka 3/2

Today was my first day of data collecting with the aim of actually keeping the data. It wasn’t practice anymore. Took four bus rides, and was feeling pretty good about the data collection. Started wondering with the data I am using, if I could simply collect from street side, and thus get more buses per hour. However, I began to realize that with the amount of activity that happens on buses when it is not at the stop, it is necessary to spend time actually riding the routes. This is especially true for local buses. Also decided that without time on the bus, I would not be able to see the effect crowding has on overall travel time. Might spend sometime curbside later to complement the work I’m doing now.

Bought many things today including fish, pohnir, and lentils for the first time. Excited for the cooking Moweena will do when I know there are more ingredients to vary the dishes

After coming back from research I’m pretty beat. And disgustingly sweaty. After eating I take a cold shower (unless I want to boil water, it’s always cold) and then watched a movie, read, went to bed.

26^th-6th in Dhaka 3/3

Made a list of buses to ride this morning. I’m going to ride 3 buses of each type, 10 times. That’s 5 types for ticket buses, meaning 15 buses to ride, meaning 150 rides. If I can do four a day, that’s 37 days. I have enough time for that. Then afterwards I’ll do the local buses. I want to be done with the ticket buses my mid to late April

After doing my bus riding today, decided I had to scrap yesterday’s and today’s earlier data. I was missing things in my recordings that I wanted to have for all, and so I decided to only keep the later ones from today. One of the conductors on my last bus today asked what I was doing, as he saw I wasn’t getting off the bus. After telling him his expression seemed to say, “I can’t believe you’d CHOOSE to do this.”

Went by the American Center today. Picked up some mail and had a short meeting with Harvey and Shaheen about my progress here. After met up with Jen and Ben, since they were at the Center too, and we had lunch at a Korean restaurant that Jen loves. Also went to the Embassy, needed to add extra pages to my passport because I’m out of room. They’ll do it for free, just have to leave it for a day. The security at the Embassy today was especially friendly once they knew I spoke Bengali. Was actually hard to leave because they kept talking to me, asking and asking questions! I prefer that over the typical brashness I receive.

Stopped by DPavement on way home tonight, a neat restaurant that my friend Nipu keeps talking about. I was only asking to see their menu. But while I stood there for a less than a minute looking at it, the owner brought me a complementary lime juice felt great to my body, exhausted and hot from the bus all day.

26^th-7th in Dhaka 3/4

Got a text message on my phone this morning from my cell phone provider, forwarding a message from the government telling people that it IS safe to eat properly cooked poultry and eggs even under bird flu conditions. Very interesting.
I’ve seen some restaurants and stores which have hung signs saying they no longer will be serving chicken or eggs during bird flu conditions.

So half of my apartment building’s staircase and garage got painted white, and the other half did not. What I think happened is that one landlord (who owns the flats on the right side of the building) wanted to paint the place white to make it nice looking, but the other landlord (who owns the flats on the left) didn’t. So they got in an argument, and the right-sider decided to paint it white to show that the left-sider was being ridiculous. So now when I climb the stairs, I climb through a hallway of white, I turn the corner, and then it’s not white anymore, and I turn the next corner and it’s white again, and so on. (pics: the ground floor of the my building...half-painted, my landing...half-painted)

Did four routes today. Did a fifth but sat in a bad seat and it just didn’t work out, I couldn’t count what I needed, so I had to scrap it. Not a bad day. Got the data I needed, and did it correctly.

It’s been storming really bad at nights, and nights only, for the past few. I always wake up in the late hours of the night and hear major gusts of wind blowing. Sounds like a hurricane out there. Last night it was accompanied by a major thunderstorm. (UPDATE: Found this news article on March 9, it tells of 74kmh winds in Dhaka these nights!)

Today heard music being played on a bus for the first time. That was weird. I feel like all day I have interesting stories that could be shared, but by the time I get home I’ve forgotten them all. At least I’ll say that I usually am well entertained by the day’s activities.

Week 25: Ekushe February, let's trek to Shahid Minar at 3 AM

25^th-1st in Dhaka 2/20

Ayon came by in the afternoon with his friend from Dhaka University. He had just bought the flowers for Ekushe February that we would bring to Shahid Minar tonight. A bunch of roses. So excited for this evening.

Took a nap to get some rest, knowing I’d have to stay up to 6 am tomorrow morning for Ekushe February.
Woke up later. Brought my panjabi to a tailor to get it ironed.

Farhan came over first. He was playing a trick on everyone, including me, that he wouldn’t come. But he was going to show up anyway. Well he surprised me, until I heard a dog barking as he told me the bad news over the phone, and I heard the dog barking in my building as well…I opened my front door and saw him standing there on the phone. But we let him complete his joke by being the one to open my front door later when everyone else showed up. They all got a kick out of it.

We had a great evening leading up to heading to Shahid Minar. We played cards games and ludu, went to dinner and had briyani, and watched movies. It was a good evening. Overall, eight people showed up for my Ekushe February event. I was real happy with the turnout. We spread out my new mattresses and pillows and we all sat on the floor enjoying our time. At one point Nipu brought out an ice cream cake he had bought for the occasion. They had me cut it, and we all enjoyed. This was an interesting situation because at my flat I only have three spoons and a couple of bowls. A lot of sharing had to happen. (pics: Farhan/Opu/Ayon playing Ludu, teaching Bilash how to play 9-card, all of us at dinner at a hotel, myself/Ayon/Nipu eating our ice cream cake)

25^th-2nd in Dhaka 2/21

Well technically the evening extended into this day to. We did what I mention above until 3 AM.

At 3 AM we set out for Shahid Minar. I had been looking forward to this event for a long time. I had first heard about the events which happen on this holiday from Naira and Farhanaz last fall at their apartment. They were showing me pictures using Banglapedia, and they showed me videos and photos from this holiday. I was amazed to see the passion and history behind the event, and how the country and its people embraced it. I wanted so much to experience the event. Now, over a year later, and with a much greater knowledge, respect, and love for Bengali as a language, the event meant even more to me, and I saw it as the one event I wanted to do in Bangladesh over everything else.

Let me describe a little bit about what Ekushe February is all about. When Bangladesh was East Pakistan, West Pakistan declared that Urdu would be the official language of the Pakistani nations. This enraged Bangladeshis whose native language was Bengali, yet the only national language would be Urdu, despite the fact that in the two Pakistans, more people spoke Bengali (since Bangladesh had a higher population.)
Although the language movement was a long violent process, the event for which Ekushe February (which means February 21^st) occurred on February 21, 1952. On this day, students at Dhaka University organized a procession against the Provincial Assembly against the national language being Urdu. Police threw tear gas against the students, and riots broke out on all the campuses of the university. Later in the day, while protesting five people are killed by police gunfire, including students of Dhaka University. It is from these events that Ekushe February occurs. It was the starting point of the nationalism movement which would result in the country’s independence from Pakistan 19 years later. Bengali became an official national language in 1954.
International Mother Language Day is held on February 21^st because of this day’s events in Bangladesh.

Processions to Shahid Minar begin at midnight, starting with the Prime Minister and other governmental leaders of the country, who place the first flowers on the monument. Following that, the general public places flowers on the monument. It is customary that women wear black and white to this event. The flowers contrast this, mostly yellows and oranges. The many songs which have been written over the years about the language struggle are played over speakers in the streets surrounding Shahid Minar. The monument is immediately in front of Dhaka Medical College, and the procession starts from the west, from near Dhaka University. The streets are painted with many colors and designs. One first removes their shoes before stepping on the monument’s grounds, and then carries them with themselves. Once one places a flower on the monument, they proceed east to leave. Long lines are typical. I was told that the true way to experience the event was at night, as that is the start. You can still go during the day, but the white and red of the monument are not as powerful in daylight. (pics: artwork on the wall near Shahid Minar, streets painted for Ekushe February, painted streets and Shahid Minar complex in the background, Shahid Minar with flowers on it for Ekushe February)

So I told my friends we would go during the night. Due to their safety concerns of going at midnight, that we would have to return home at 3 am, we decided to go at 3am, and return home at 6am, thinking it’d be less likely for someone to mug us at 6 am, when it was getting light. Either way, we were 9 people total, so if anyone decided to mess with us, we’d be a powerful force.

We left at 3 AM and saw empty streets. No one around. As we got to more major streets, we found some rickshaws, and decided to take them instead of walking the few kilometers to Shahid Minar. The streets around the monument were blocked off. So from a good distance away we still had to walk. Of course these streets would be jammed during the day with lines to go. Faces of the people killed on Ekushe February could be seen painted on the street side. We had to go through two security checks on the way there, one which included a pat-down. (pics: just outside my flat in Jigatola on our way to Shahid Minar, 2 out of our 3 rickshaws he jumped on to quicken our travels, posing in the street on our last leg of walking to Shahid Minar, my friends approaching Shahid Minar)

There were no lines at 3 AM. Absolutely no one. We honestly could’ve done all we wanted in two minutes. Around the monument were several military groups from different branches paying their respects. Some journalists were taking photos and videos. The monument already had flowers form governmental organizations placed around it, and a large pile from the general public in front. Each of us took one of the roses we brought and placed them in front. We took photos in front of Shahid Minar and the flowers. We stood and admired the scene. I kept processing what it meant for Bangladeshis, and all I’ve thought about while learning the language. I felt very honored to be there with my friends. To take part in the ceremony. It really was the center point of my experience here. (pics: Nipu holding our flowers we would place at Shahid Minar, posing after placing flowers in memory of the martyrs, military and journalists in front of monument, closer look at monument with journalists in front, our group sitting on the steps of Shahid Minar, Opu/Farhan posing in front of one of the many quotes painted on the walls near the monument)

Afterwards, since we had expected to have to wait in a line, and there wasn’t one, we just sat outside the monuments’ grounds and watched the few people walking up. I was told lots of people would start arriving between 5 and 6 am. We really came at the right time to avoid a wait. But honestly, I wouldn’t have minded a wait. I would’ve had more time to reflect and think about it all. Plus to see a crowd of people honoring the fight for their language would’ve been a lot more moving. As well, there were only a handful of woman there at that hour, so didn’t get to see a mass of women dressed in black and white. It would’ve been neat to hear a huge crowd singing the songs being played, but at least my friends sang along. If I were to do it again, I’d definitely go at midnight, or at least go back during the day.

I was exhausted coming back. I mean I was exhausted before going. But coming back every part of me hurt. I was in such pain. So tired. Feet ached. Legs ached. Head ached. Back ached. Long walk back, we didn’t take rickshaws until the last little bit.
On the walk home we walked through Dhaka University where there was a musical performance happening in the middle of the night, and to see some artwork which was done by the fine arts students of the university. (pics: paintings on the streets of Dhaka University, artwork made of painted sculpted sand near Dhaka University)

We came home and I passed out. They all left at 9:30, and I went back to sleep until noon. Ultimately only a few hours asleep. So tired. Woke up in pain, exhausted, and sore. Wanted to sit and watch movies all day. Went to grab some pizza to put some food in my stomach, and right after I got a call form Ashrafi. He leaves for the US tomorrow, and it was now or never to pick up his cabinet. I preferred now.

We took a CNG across town to his parent’s home where the cabinet was. It was the farthest east I’d ever been in Dhaka, apart from those times I actually left the city to the east. He had to prepare the cabinet, empty it out and stuff, so he told me to sit and rest. And rest I did! I actually fell asleep, that’s how tired and sore I was.
Getting the cabinet out of his house was a pain. It doesn’t go up and down stairwells well, and I was fearing bringing it up to my apartment. One of the drawers fell and broke taking it from his house.
It took time to find a rickshaw van and a regular rickshaw to take the cabinet and myself across town respectively. It’s a long way. Two minutes after we left I realized I had left my house keys at Ashrafi’s…that would’ve been a hugeeeee mistake. Imagine getting to my house and not being able to go upstairs. Stopped the rickshaw and the rickshaw van and ran all the way back to Ashrafi's to get the keys (were only 200 m away) then ran back.
Arrived at my house after about 1.5 hours on the road. Had to bring it upstairs two floors. This was real tough. We had to grab a random rickshaw driver from the street to help. It took us 20 minutes. My stairs are real thin.

Fell asleep after putting some stuff into the cabinet. Slept for 12 hours.

25^th-3rd in Dhaka 2/22

Got a call from Asha. Asha is Khalid’s girlfriend. Khalid is Shariful’s friend in Thailand. He had bought a gift for her for Valentine’s Day and had wanted me to deliver it for him, (Shariful also asked me call his girlfriend Mahenaz to tell her he loved her)
So I was supposed to call Asha and get in contact to give her the gift. But her phone wasn’t receiving my calls. Well Khalid finally gave up on the surprise, called Asha, and told her about me surprising her, and simply had her call me so at least she had the gift. We met up at Anam Rangs Plaza, and got a snack at Kozmo Lounge. I got an Oreo milkshake! She then came back to my flat and I got the gift for her. She opened right then and there in front of me. She looked pretty happy to get the Valentine’s gift, even though it was no longer a surprise.

How to drink from a bottle in Bangladesh: don’t let it touch your mouth! This is standard drinking procedure for most liquids. When you drink water from a bottle, tip the bottle to pour the water in your mouth, but don’t let it touch your lips. You can either hold it around the rim so as to put your hand between your mouth and the bottle, or just simply hold it an inch or two above the mouth. Then pour. The same works for Sprite or Coke too, but careful of the fizz.
The reason this drinking style has adapted is because water bottles are commonly kept in the house to keep clean water. Since the water from the tap is not good to drink, you boil it, filter it, then bottle it. Drinking straight from the bottle is much easier than pouring it into a separate glass, unless you’re eating dinner. Since the bottles are kept and reused, and other people will be drinking from it, you drink in the manner described above so as not to add your germs to the bottle.
I mention this because it is such an ingrained habit with bottles. Even when you have your own personal small bottle of water or Coke, I still see this manner being used. Mohan says its just a force of habit. One gets so used to drinking from bottles in that way because of doing it at home, that when you get your own bottle at a restaurant, you still do the same thing.

25^th-4th in Dhaka 2/23

Tried calling STA Travel. Wanted to start seeing about prices for me to head home. The ticket home will determine where I end my travels in October. Whether it’s cheaper to fly home from Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, or Singapore, will help me decide which of the three cities I will end my travels. I’d prefer Bangkok maybe, because it’s central to all of southeast Asia.

Called up Tamzid and said I’d be in Uttara later on a bus, and I could stop by if he was there. He said sure.
Today I was practicing my back seat researcher techniques. The back seat researcher is the half of the research team who would be doing the timings on the bus. This includes things like timing when people stand up before the bus comes to a stop, when people board, how long it takes to find seats, etc. It is a bit complex as there are 13 time points I’m desiring and some are hard to grab. I practiced on three different routes. I got better as the day went along, but also thought of a new method in which I could be even more effective. Video would just be too complex, but I could audio record, and speak into my voice recorder when certain things happen, and the voice recorder will keep the time. I’ll try it out tomorrow. I then could come home and quickly upload my recordings to my computer and pull out what I need.
Had lunch over at Tamzid’s. his mom served Chinese food. It was good to catch up with him. He has applied to do his Masters degree at University of Florida on Chemistry, and is waiting to hear back. I hope he gets it.

This evening, I completed by review of MIT, was very impressed. I think I have to apply, the program there just blew me away. Saket confirmed it in his blog and with my chat with him tonight, that MIT is the best place to go for transportation (so says the president of Stanford!!) Next up: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

25^th-5th in Dhaka 2/24

Today I took the same buses as yesterday, and was trying out a new system of data recording, using only a voice recorder. Took routes criss crossing the city, to every corner, 4 routes today. But I was having doubts about it all.

After thinking about it more, realized that some of the data I was collecting just really wants going to get me where I want. There was data that would be much more worth my time. Decided that I will be scrapping many of the timings I had initially thought important in order maintain the scope of the project.

For lunch I had Thai food, trying it out again, and it just wasn’t as good as Thailand. Watched the cricket match, Bangladesh vs. South Africa. It actually was happening just down the street, but I wasn’t going to buy a ticket. Bangladesh played well yesterday in day 2 of the test, but here on day 3, they really blew it.

Went all the way out to Jatrabari on last bus ride. Then took a bus back home, stopping at New Market to buy shower sandals, a shower mat, and some knives. Needing to buy all this stuff, but not exactly sure what Mohan will and will not take, need to ask him tonight.

Had dinner at Spicy Broast. They had little chicken signs all over the place, saying in Bengali that to prevent avian flu spreading you have to cook all chicken and eggs fully. There were at least 30 hanging up in this place which is no bigger than a bedroom. They’ve turned a warning sign into a decoration, but hopefully it gets the point across to readers.

So I was told that when Bangladeshis move to a new home, they take everything. Every last item. They leave the apartment just as they found it, and in Bangladesh this is usually bare bones. So I was unsure about what EVERYTHING meant. So I made a list and asked Mohan what he was taking. Just to clarify.
So:
Stove, YES. Door locks, YES. Light bulbs, YES (AND the light bulb fixtures he said). Bathroom pot and brush, NO. Well at least he is leaving me the stuff covered in feces. Every item he purchased he will make sure he takes. Nothing gets left behind. As he described, if a single taka was spent, it MUST go.

Researched UIUC tonight. Saw that although it’s a great CE university, its interests don’t match up with mine, so I don’t think I’ll be applying. Especially when the other stuff isn’t good either in my opinion: weather, town, sports teams, and no rowing team (that I can see.)

25^th-6th in Dhaka 2/25

This morning Mohan explained to Moweena how he won’t be using her services in his new home, but how she should continue to work for me.

Today needed to get a handle on my parent’s trip. Our tour company is not confirming the trip because they are lacking guests. So today I went to see them in person as well as find a backup company. Went to the Sheraton Hotel as our tour group has an office there. While there I saw the South African cricket team returning from the day’s match, which meant the test match was over, they had won. Dang. Talked to my tour company, said they’ll cancel only 10 days before, but will wait for more people.
Took a bus to Banani and went searching for another tour company. Their office was not there anymore. My tour book is really old! Finally found a third company, who really didn’t seem that great. I used them just to ask where the second company was. Got directed there. Found their office. They are running the tour, already with 17 people. I booked. Sounded great. And the dates are better than the first tour group.

Had lunch at Boomer’s Café, a philly cheese steak! It was good, but obviously far far far from Philly-level tastiness.

Went to New Market in the evening and bought buckets for showering, garbage cans, shower pail, pots for cooking, spoons, cups and bowls. Tried bargaining some prices, but didn’t get far, as this place was mostly wholesale goods, and already really cheap.

When I got home. I asked Moweena what else she needed for cooking. And she showed me all of Mohan’s stuff she needed when he left, so I’ll go back tomorrow and get all that.

Tonight I researched Purdue University. Liked it. Will add it to the list of ones to consider in the next round. 5 down, 6 to go.

25^th-7th in Dhaka 2/26

On the way to BUET I dropped off the cloth that I got from Lauren for window drapes at the tailor, who will turn the four sheets into drapes at Tk 30 each.

At BUET worked on my database of the buses. Created new elements and linked them together to what I think could be a good data management system, with good entry systems. I hope it works how I like. It’s my first time really structuring my own database. Had to make a lot of choices on the way.

Met up with Toma at the Boi Mela, the big book fair which is held each February. In honor of the Bengali language, and the struggle to speak it during the language movement, this book fair is held the entire month of February. It sells only Bengali books, and books about Bangladesh in English. Its huge. Over 350+ stalls selling books, all major and minor publishers of Bangladesh. My mother would be proud.
The Boi Mela, is held on the grounds of Bangla Academy (which was founded to develop the Bengali language through literature, research, and publication.)

The place was big, and it was packed. The streets outside the Bangla Academy were blocked off, and vendors roamed the streets selling small things and snacks. But inside it was only books. And lots of them. Kids books, sci-fi books, history books, academic books, comic books, and everything in between. It was fun just to move with the crowd in the aisles. Toma wasn’t buying anything but I decided I should.
After some browsing, I bought three children’s books, a Tom & Jerry comic book, and an easy to read fact book on geography and one on transportation. It’ll be fun to read these, get practice in my Bengali reading and comprehension. Buying children's books was intense as little kids kept taking the books I was looking at. I was the oldest guy there buying those kinds of books (which is actually a bit surprising since the literacy rate of Bangladesh is not high, and I feel it could be likely that an adult could have the same reading level as me.)
After, on the street, I also bought a Bengali map of Bangladesh to hang in my flat. (pics: many book stalls at the Boi Mela, Toma browsing a stall's selection of Bengali literature, a selection of children's books that I was browsing through, myself and my purchases which are equivalent to epic novels to me.)

Went to New Market. Had to buy more things for the living alone. Bought some more kitchen supplies, a countertop stove, and some more containers.

Week 17: New ______ (insert one of the following: year, clothes, home)

17^th-1st in Dhaka 12/26

This morning my roommate Mohan arrived from his village. Him, Saifullah and I went out to a hotel for breakfast. He then went to work and was in and out all day, sharing meals with me only. Saifullah left right after breakfast. Asked Mohan when he came home for lunch about our house address and how bills work. Found out I technically am living in Jigatola (sometimes spelled Zigatola.) (pics: street leading up to my apartment building, my apartment building, half of bedroom with all my stuff everywhere since i'm only here temporary, our bathroom, our kitchen, our kitchen, half of our drawing room, Mohan sitting on our bed )

So I’ve learned that my apartment was broken into not very long ago. They took Tk5000 and a cell phone. Since then my roommate Mohan installed a deadbolt lock, so that it can’t happen again. Well it might, but it’ll much harder. But when the thief came, he didn’t take the laptop here or other technology. That’s a bit comforting, probably would only take the easy to grab stuff if they ever came. Either way, motivation to always be cautious and lock things well.

We have a cook/cleaner. The term for such a person in Bangladesh, which I never referred to Sujit as, is boua. She is very sweet and Mohan says she always works with a smile. He also says she’ll do errands other bouas will refuse to do, like going to buy food before she comes to the home. She works at one other home, but comes here first. Besides cooking breakfast this morning, she washed the floor and clothes.

Mohan and I went to Rifles Square after he got back from work, a real nice shopping center on the southern end of Dhanmondi. Its is named as such because it’s on the property of Bangladesh Rifles (the border patrol of the country.) We just browsed the shops. I was looking at places I might want to buy clothes or shoes. Even looked at DVDs I might want to buy when I have a new place. Almost bought some DVDs of Entourage. Found the first three seasons for a good price. I was talking to the store owner about purchasing, but how I only wanted to buy one season right now. It was then he interrupted me and asked why I didn’t speak to him English. He’s not stupid he said, that he knows English. I said to him, well I’m here in your country so I’m just speaking and practicing Bengali. And he scoffed at me! So I took one look at the DVDs, Tk1200 worth, looked up at him, shook my head, and took Mohan by the arm and walked out.

Took the bus to get to Bashundara for the reception of Numayer and Nashad’s wedding. Then a rickshaw to the convention center for the actual reception. Perhaps the only attendee who didn’t come by car. The convention center was way back at the back of Bashundara. Nothing is there! Nothing. Empty space except for the convention center. Walked in and saw I was one of the first ten people. Even Nashad wasn’t there yet. Numayer shook my hand and joked with me that I was early. I chuckled. I had two cups of Nescafe coffee to pass the time. Nashad arrived and took her place on the stage. Friends slowly arrived and talked to them as they did.
Had dinner with Risal’s cousins Jihan and Aqib who I met for the first time tonight. Found out Aqib is coached in basketball by my friend raja.
Found Tamzid and Siraj after. Also sat and watched them eat dinner. And chatted.
Risal arranged for one of his uncles to take me home. So I had to leave a bit earlier since the uncle was leaving. (pics: Numayer waits for all the guests to arrive and greet them, Cynthia/Nashad/myself at wedding reception)

He dropped me off and I had to wake up Mohan to unlock the door form the inside. The door has many locks, some of which can only be unlocked when someone is inside, and we always use those when we’re inside, safety. There’s also a chained gate downstairs which gets locked by the landlord around 11:30pm.

17^th-2nd in Dhaka 12/27

Boua came at 7 am. I heard her knocking. I got up to unlock the doors. I had deadbolted it last night. Mohan and I had just gotten a new key made yesterday, so I had used it last night to lock the door. Well this morning, I went to unlock the deadbolt and my key snapped apart. Second time using it. Shocked/annoyed/angry. Now we’re locked in, and she can’t come in. Well after trying to pull the remainder of the key out of the lock with pliers while she was waiting outside, Mohan woke up, and got his key. He slid it under the door so she could unlock it. I felt like such an idiot, but it’s not my fault, the key was soft, and couldn’t take the pressure of doing its job. But now we can’t use the deadbolt. Our best line of defense is gone. Will have to get deadbolt fixed, and another key made. Until then, we’re going to lock the bedroom as well when we’re out.

Mohan said he talked to the landlord last night. She said an apartment will open up at the start of February for me to move into by myself. Still wanting to have my own place. It’s next door to Mohan’s actually. And it’s a bit more expensive since its bigger, at Tk9000. But it’d be cool to live there. A month is a long time to wait, but it’ll go by fast.

My first breakfast prepared by the boua was good. Mohan asked her how many places she was working right now, and she said confirmed only 2. So he asked if she would want to be my boua when I move into my own place. And she said yes. So at least that’d be settled. He said her cooking is very good compared to other bouas, and because of her willingness to help run errands, she’s good to have.

Worked all day. Got through a lot of the STP. Read some real interesting stuff. Thinking about ideas of what I can turn this project into, something tangible.

We had lunch here, fish heads. You just got pick it apart to find all the meat. Went down to the landlords house. He and his wife, and his eldest daughter talked with us. Actually by that I mean his daughter did almost 95% of the talking. We arranged that it would be okay for me to stay there, in the big room above, starting in February. They will require a deposit of two months rent. They also warned about being aware that is not socially accepted that bachelors live alone, and I should respect the cultural attitudes about that. People always worry about bachelors and the perceived problems they will cause. Said neighbors might try to oppose me moving in. And single girls, well they have a near impossible time finding a place to live alone.

I’m going to take it. It’s a great place with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a veranda, a sitting room, and kitchen. I’m excited. One month and I’ll move in.

Around 4, I was feeling antsy. Wanted to get out. So I decided I would go to New Market and look around. And I would walk there to waste some time. On the way to New Market stopped in many clothing stalls to see what they had. Asked about some prices to gage what I should be spending on a sweater. Tk300-500 for a decent zip up sweater and an attractive style. Was trying to wait to see what I else I could find, then bargain. Also was looking for a scarf, which required me learning the Bangladeshi name for it, because the term “scarf” is something different from what I was looking for, a “mafla” as I learned.

New market is a neat place. It’s huge. Stalls go on forever. People everywhere. Clothes and items hanging from the ceiling. Narrow alleys to walk through stalls. It’s full of activity.

So after shopping and bargaining prices, I bought two sweaters and two maflas (the maflas off the street.). Got a text form Ayon asking me a question, but he also mentioned he was at Rifles Square. Right near by! And Farhan was coming too. So I went by on rickshaw and met up with them. Along with Saquib and two guys I met, Nipu and Imu, we went up to the top of rifles square, and sat next to the bowling alley. They had all met to discuss the plans for New Years. Good timing for me to come by, as I was there for the planning. We discussed where to celebrate, what food to bring, and what we’ll do.

After this, went to the HSBC bank, took out money to make a deposit on the apartment. Went back to Jigatola and looked around for a hotel to eat at. Found one. I asked what they were serving and he said pumpkin, egg, and rice. So I took all three, Tk32. Got some interested looks as this was the first time I’m eating at a hotel by myself.

Also bought some medicine for this cough I’ve had for a month.

17^th-3rd in Dhaka 12/28

Watched Die Hard 4 (not called Live Free Or Die Hard here) with Mohan when we woke up. Ate our breakfast which was combination of fried rice, fried chicken, and veggies.

I’ve really started to like Ernest Hemingway’s novels. I like his thinking, and his commentary. I love how he said he writes about food well because he writes when he’s hungry. I love his style. I like how I have to reread some sentences to really understand everything. It makes me happy to open the book. I want to reread the books to get everything very well. I like his humorous situations he writes about. I like how I can relate to his thoughts, things he describes are sometimes things I think about, and that makes me happy. Nice to see my thoughts in someone else’s words. I want to hear more of thaw he has to say. I’ll buy more of his books in years to come. His famous ones and his non-famous ones. Always nice to read about food J I want reread both books I’ve read and write down my favorite quotes.

Walked around Jigatola. Looking for internet café. But all were closed for Friday prayer. Bought some snacks and some fruit.

Important story of the day. Coming very close to get beaten by a baton by police officers. Went to a concert Sunny invited me too, and he was trying to navigate me upon arrival to come through the VIP gate, as he was inside there. But there was huge crowd in front also trying to get in, and that wasn’t there gate. It was getting hectic, but Sunny kept just waving to me from behind the gate to come on in. So I start coming through the crowd, then all of a sudden the police burst through the gate and started beating everyone with batons. I was standing right next to people who got hit. I moved to the side the best I could, but I really was afraid the next hit would come on me. Once the crowd parted because of the police, Sunny made sure to get me in by telling some security guy to grab me and drag me inside. I made sure to sardonically thank Sunny for putting me in such a wonderful situation where I got to experience almost getting beaten.

Concert was good. Saw “Aurthohin” or the perhaps it was just the lead singer Sumon. He performs solo sometimes. But still plays the songs which are his. Pretty cool to hear songs I know.

Saw Ayub Bacchu and found out it was a guys name, not the band. But he didn’t play the song I like of his.

Place was packed. Must be at least 20000+. People were everywhere trying to get in. pushing shoving. Trying to hop the fences, then getting beaten by police officers. Lots of people sat in trees around the property or along the wall. This show was obviously unattainable for some but they wanted to watch no matter what.

Sunny had backstage and VIP access for the concert since he worked for Warid, the cell phone company sponsoring the concert. So we got to watch from close to stage, and go backstage to see where all the artists were hanging out, and watch from behind the stage. But I would’ve been more than fine watching form the crowd.

Oh, and got a phone call today from Tanvir, my ad is out in the Daily Star today! Need to get a copy.

17^th-4th in Dhaka 12/29

Tried giving a deposit to the landlord to reserve my house, but they wouldn’t take it. I’m not sure they understood what I was trying to do since my Bengali isn’t the best. But they mentioned Mohan’s name, so maybe they want him there.

Really sick of internet cafes, went to check out how much citycell ZOOM internet would cost. Went to the actual store. They didn’t have the internet devices in stock. But they said they’d come in tomorrow, but I found out the cost, an that I’ll need passport sized photos and copies of my passport. So in the evening I got the copies of the passport and went to a photo studio to get passport sized photos taken.

Around 3pm, met up with Dr. Hassan, a mechanics engineer from NCSU, who is visiting his mother and brother in Bangladesh for 3 weeks, as well as keeping in touch with old friends. I had met with him before I left NCSU to let him know I was coming here, and we said then we’d meet up there. So we did! We went to Boomer’s café and I got some lunch and himself a sprite. Later two coffees were ordered. We talked about Bangladesh, how I liked it and such, what’d I’d been up to, the engineering issues involved with the country, transportation, and what Dhaka was like 25 or more years ago when he lived here. Told me how the city was so easy to get around, that when saying one’s goodbyes on the last day, you could see everyone you knew all over the city in one evening. And how now you have time for only one person because of the traffic. Also talked about religion, Pakistan’s recent assassination, NCSU sports and NCSU in general. Really enjoyed it. and he invited tomorrow to come to BUET where he’d meet some of his friends.

Headed over by bus in my sport coat to be at Naira’s beforehand for Nehrir and Probal’s wedding. There happened to find a copy of the Daily Star and saw my ad. Showed it to the guys . (pics: 3 different shots from the photo shoot at Zia International Airport over 2 months ago, actual ad in The Daily Star newspaper)

Tent for wedding was at Gulshan club. Big giant field. And the white tent with all its lights looked an island oasis in the middle of the night. Lights everywhere, and streams of cloth coming form the ceiling. Looked like a heavenly place. (pics: tent for wedding from outside, from inside)

When the groom’s family arrived, we were to form a chain at the front of the tent called the “gate”. The reason this is done is so the groom cannot enter until he pays a price. Although I didn’t get the history of why this is (dowry?) the modern day practice is that the folks on the bride’s side who form the chain bargain for some money from the groom’s side, and then use the money to take all the key members of the bride’s side out to dinner, or do something fun. It’s a lot of money they were asking for, and I guess they know they’ll be bargained down a lot. They started asking for 2 lakh (200,000) taka…a lot. We locked arms so they couldn’t enter. The younger kids were in front of the chain yelling for money. At one point the groom’s side charged us, and tried to push through. I’m quite sure this is all in good fun. They obviously know this is going to happen. I’m also quite sure an amount is determined beforehand. Anyway, after the charge, which sadly broke our linked arm chain, they ended up giving us 20,000 taka. 10% of what we asked. It was a lot of fun, holding back the charge and all the yelling to get the money. The groom himself didn’t do anything, all his relatives did. He stood in back and just grinned at the whole thing.

At one point we had to steal the groom’s shoes, this also was meant to get something out of him. He has to pay to get them back. Not sure if this is different money from what the gate was for. Anyway, we all went on stage to take a picture, then Tashfique and Naira grabbed his shoes and we all ran. Somehow I ended up with one of the shoes, and I hid it in my jacket. I carried it around all night. And I had to leave before we did the bargaining to get the shoes back. So I don’t know what actually happened. But I guess I did my part to hold onto the shoe. I’m hoping some good amount of money came from that.

I left early because Mudasser’s car was to bring me home. But at least I got to watch the actual wedding which happened around 11:00. The following is what I observed without much explanation on reasons or specifics. First they covered the groom and bridge with a cloth. Then held the Koran out (I’m guessing it was the Koran, what else?) and something is said. Next they hold a mirror in front of bride and the groom looks into the mirror and tells what he sees when he looks at his bride. The most typical response is to say “I see the moon” or “I see the most beautiful girl in the world.” Each then fed each other something. They each draped a necklace of flowers around each others neck. Lastly, he put the wedding ring on her. (pics: draped in cloth with Koran being held in front, Probal looking at his bride in the mirror, draping Nehrir with flowers, giving the ring, Taufique/Shariful/Tashfique/Akbar at wedding, bride's family photo with Naira and Akbar in back)

That’s when I had to leave. Wish I could’ve seen the rest. But since Mudasser’s car was bringing me home, I had no choice but to go.

17^th-5th in Dhaka 12/30

Picked up passport sized photos for citycell ZOOM. Went to HSBC to take out the Tk9000 for the zoom. Got some breakfast at a bakery. Went to BUET to meet Dr. Hassan at 11am. Found out that rickshaws, when going past New Market have to go all the way around it, going through the backside instead of the more direct front side. No wonder they charge so much.

At BUET Dr. Hassan and I met up with several of his old friends (now professors) and old professors (still professors!). It was good to make some more contacts there. Met a professor who is involved with transportation planning. Also met Dr. Hassan’s old professor who now runs the Accident Research Center. Also a guy visiting from Clemson who knew all my professors from NC State. While at the ARC met a student who had similar interests as me. Was excited to chat with him for a few minutes. Transportation planning with a touch of safety. We also explored the library. I was glad to see his university now 25 years after he went and hear his stories. The whole experience was motivating, and throughout the rest of the day I was bubbling over with ideas for my research.

Going on at BUET today there was a technology fair to celebrate the 60^th anniversary of the university. Many displays from local companies promoting their products. And citycell ZOOM was there too. So I went by to check out the connection, a random test. While there I told them I was buying it today, and they said I could buy it right there. For just Tk6000. A 33% off sale if I buy it from the booth. Um yes. That’s an incredibly large discount. Sat around and waited until the product could come from another store. Bought it, but they wanted me to bring my laptop to ensure it all would be all right. They said if I took the product, and it didn’t work, I can’t return it. hmm, that’s inconvenient. So I went all the way back home and all the way back to BUET, to get my laptop. Luckily it worked. And I now have internet. I felt bad that I didn’t take Naira’s device like I said I would, and knew I would have to apologize to her.

Went to the bazaar to buy a suit. At the wedding last night I was jealous that all the guys had nice suits, and I was without one, wearing my blue blazer and slacks. So I went back to the stall I had inquired about the price of fabric and suits a few days ago and told them I wanted to buy one much earlier than I had expected. I chose my fabric, black with faint stripes. Total, with the fabric and the tailoring, it’ll be Tk5000 because its nicer fabric I chose. It could be as low as Tk4000 if I bought less nice fabric, which I’ll probably do in the future.

Went upstairs with the tailor and he measured me in all directions. Chose what styles I’ll like my suit to be, and arranged that I’ll pick the suit up the day of the wedding reception.

Headed out to Mirpur. Rob Bradley from the crew team had a professor from Bangladesh, Dr. Saad Khan, who is visiting for a few weeks. Rob had suggested Dr. Khan and I meet up. So I said sure, and Dr. Khan and I arranged this evening for me to come to his family’s home in Mirpur. Found their house on foot after getting off the bus, and spent about two hours there. We enjoyed some snacks and chatted, very easy to find conversation topics as we’d actually never met before. Met his family and had conversations with them all. Very nice to drop in and spend just a short amount of time. It’s great also to connect with someone else from NCSU. It’s neat to have those connections here when they come.

17^th-6th in Dhaka 12/31

Set out for Imu’s place for New Year’s celebration. Met Farhan at his place, had lunch, and jumped on a bus to Uttara. Went to Saquib’s place first to meet up with Ayon, Faisal, and Saquib. The five of us then went to Imu’s place.

At Imu’s we had a fun night. We cooked some chicken BBQ, some french fries, had some beef and veggies, and sodas. We were up on the roof of his apartment building and the weather was cool. We brought up his computer speakers and could play music all night, even to the late hours of the morning to which we stayed up. We were even dancing to the music, having a blast. His mom helped us get the grill going well and helped us cook. Dinner was delicious. There were three other guys there who I met for the first time Bilash, another Faisal, and Malesh. Saquib, Ayon, and I set up some candles to spell out “08” and we were going to light it after the new year came.

And then the new year came! We cheered and whooped. This was the first time they’d celebrated the new year together. Never before had they had a party, and they were all pretty excited. They’ve been schoolmates for a long time and were excited to do this. (pics: BBQing Nipu/Farhan/myself/Faisal/Malesh, our rooftop party setup)

17^th-7th in Dhaka 1/1

After the new year came. We went downstairs and had some cake. Then went back upstairs, and lit the candles, to spell out “08”. Played lots of games throughout the night. My favorite was “who’s the worst singer?” and I was glad to sing my rendition of Saves the Day’s “Sell My Old Clothes I’m Off to Heaven”, and be told I would not be winning the game which rewards bad singers. We had prizes for the “winners” of each game that Nipu had picked up from Aarong. He also bought each of us a flute. (pics: New Year's cake excitement, posing for a shot with all 10 of us plus Imu's little cousin, Saquib's hand makes the final touches to our "08" candle display, looking at the prizes Nipu brought and the flutes Saquib/Ayon/Nipu/Imu)

After cleaning up the upstairs around 4 am, I went to bed on the floor for a few hours, but most of the guys stayed up and didn’t sleep.

Woke up around 8 am and Saquib, Ayon, and Faisal and I went back to Saquib’s. Napped for a bit, had some breakfast.

Went to Harvey’s for brunch. Right before, since I was in the area, dropped by my old apartment to pick up the rest of my clothes from Sujit. Lots of embassy workers at the brunch. I was the only Fulbright student for a long time. Erin, Karen, and Megan showed up about 1.5-2 hours later. So for awhile I talked to random people and Harvey. Delicious brunch food: Turkey bacon, mangoes and berries, french toast, and orange juice. The girls showed up later and we all chatted. Some woman told us a story how her CNG tipped over the other day. WHOA!!

Went to Megan’s after with Karen and Erin and just chatted for awhile. Then took a bus home finally to Jigatola. So tired from little sleep. Almost dozed off on bus several times, which would be bad.

Mohan and I went to the landlord’s apartment to give my deposit. She gave us news. I couldn’t move into the place we had mentioned previously. Said that the neighbors didn’t like the idea of a bachelor living near them. However, she did say that half of her apartment, which can be separated to be its own apartment will open up in February too when she herself moves to the third floor. So we took a look around that part of the apartment. Very clean. Kitchen is a bit different, no counters, just floor sink and stove. But its okay they said because our bouas are more accustomed to that from their time in their villages. Bathroom is very nice. Place is actually a bit bigger than what I’m in with Mohan now, but it’s the same room set up. Anyway, rent is 2/3 as cheap as the place I couldn’t live in because of bachelor-disliking. Good deal. Perfect size for me actually. Won’t have space to waste. I’m going to take it. Gave her a deposit of one month rent. Done and done. I’ll move in a month.

Our boua showed up today for the first time in a long while. She’s been sick. Nice to have a home cooked meal, and our place is now cleaner.