Week 21: Cool weather and rain can ruin your health, trade fairs, and large religious gatherings (BUT NOT MONEY!)

21^st-1st in Dhaka 1/23

It has been a bit cooler and windier these last few days. Not as sunny out either. Perhaps it’s the start of the seasons changing. On a side note, I’m so intrigued by the idea of the monsoon season. It’ll be my last season I experience here. And it’s the most unique. I’m always wondering what life will be like then.

Washed our bed sheet, I will finally feel clean sleeping in that bed.

At BUET I was waiting to get my computer access approved today. So while I waited I did some research work on crowded buses, collecting my last bit of literature before I start reading into it more critically.
When the director was finally available to approve my computer usage application, the security guard told me to come in. They were very hesitant to give me access as I wasn’t an official student. I didn’t have an official letter showing where I came from either, and only my professor’s signature proved someone knew I was supposed to be at BUET at all. After lots of discussing amongst each other, it was decided if the director’s boss approves me, I’m ok. So another bit of waiting, then that top guy approved me. They gave me a username and password and showed me the computer lab. The internet isn’t especially fast, but it’ll be good enough, and it’ll be nice to be able to use programs and internet without bringing my laptop to campus.

When I got home, Ashrafi called me and said he and Popel were going to go see Radioactive at Decagon Café. Radioactive is a band I saw the night of Cyclone Sidr, with the spectacular vocalist. They also were the winners of DRockstars, a rock band American Idol-esque competition in Bangladesh last year. Wasn’t really a concert, more of a café performance. They did two sets. Mostly English songs. They played a few of their own numbers. During the intermission, Popel introduced me to the vocalist who was his roommate for a year. I asked when their CD is coming out, and he said soon enough.

Spent the rest of the night trying to get a currency converter to work in the sidebar of my blog. Required me to learn a bit of HTML to edit what was already available on the internet. Wanted people to be able to convert from taka to popular viewers’ currencies to understand the values I’m throwing out.

21^st-2nd in Dhaka 1/24

Went to HSBC to get money for the Bangkok trip, and because I needed an encashment slip to show the money I was paying with was originally US dollars. But there, I realized that Megan still hadn’t given me a firm yes/no on whether she’ll come or not. Called her, and she said it was likely. So I’m going to wait until Sunday then see if the answer is still yes, then rebook the ticket on GMG if she comes.

Three weeks ago, I completed my collection. Of what? Money! And by that I mean the bills of Bangladesh. Waited until a week with less to write about in the blog to put all these pictures up.

For weeks now I’ve been trying to gather all the taka notes, but with a certain aim in mind. I was trying to get a brand new and a real old bill of each denomination then take their photo together for comparison. The main motivation behind taking these comparison pictures was the Tk2 note. The old ones are so unrecognizable, they might as well just be scraps of paper. They are torn, brown, and look like garbage. And they are probably the most often exchanged note because of this. No one wants it in their wallet, and whoever you give it to will give it away just as quick. As well, local bus fares are usually around Tk2, so Tk 2 notes are commonly being passed around.

As you can see, the oldest Tk500 note I could find still doesn’t look so bad, despite it being old enough (at least 2004 or earlier) to have a different picture on it altogether! The holes in the new notes are because they come in bundles with a string passing through them all. I took shots of each bill front and back. Each bill is a different size and color. (pics: what I felt was the "front" and "back" of the Tk2, Tk5, Tk10, Tk20, Tk50, Tk100, and Tk500 notes. New above old in each)

The only time I actually had all the notes in my wallet at one time, happened in Khulna, and I took a picture of them all spread out. Also took a photo of the three coins, and the one different Tk1 coin I had. The coins differ in that the Tk5 coin is actually 12-sided (that’s the Jamuna Bridge on it,) the Tk2 coin is a bit thicker and its edge is smooth, and the Tk1 coin’s edge is reeded, like the US quarter. (pics: "front" and "back" of Tk5, Tk2, and two different Tk1 coins; all bills spread out the first time I noticed I had all of them in my wallet at one time.)

And that last note which took me many months to find….the newer Tk20 note.
The following link has information on all the bills, you just have to click through to read it all.
In my collection I also have a 50 poisha coin (half of Tk1) and a Tk1 note, but don’t know where they are packed up right now.

Went to Shawarma House for lunch and to do research. The staff watched me the full 4 hours I was there. Finished gathering the articles for my literature review there. I think I have what I want now to understand my topic fully. Diya came by for a half hour or so. Showed her pictures on my laptop of friends and home.

Naira invited me to come watch a movie at Probal’s big movie watching room. When we picked up Probal and Nerpa, we got to see their new place they’ve moved into after marrying. Not much furniture yet, so it looks enormous. They even have a pool in their apartment building. That’s really unheard of here.
We went to Probal’s movie place, and we watched Shoot Em Up. What a violent bloody shooting movie. Still cool. The girls really didn’t like it. But for the theater like environment there, the guys felt watching a drama would be a waste of the big screen and sound system.

Rained today. A lot cooler. This is surprising weather actually for this time of year. There really isn’t supposed to be rain in the dry season. People are blaming global warming.

21^st-3rd in Dhaka 1/25

This morning I woke up to see it was raining still. It was very cool outside, and the rain was light. Apparently the cold and rain caused seven deaths in northern districts of the country, people who can’t afford warm clothes even for 55 degree temperatures.

Went to the trade fair. It’s a big annual event which lasts a month. It’s set up behind the Chinese-Bangladesh Friendship Center, a big convention center. Fair had pavilions and shops. There’s apparently a competition for the company who creates the best pavilion. In the past, when it came, the Trade Fair used to be the only time and place you could buy international goods, but that time is long passed. (pics: entrance gate to the trade fair with pavillions in background, fountain and pavillions at trade fair and in the background is the big central spire with a globe on top.)

I was supposed to go with Ayon, Saquib, Nipu, and others, but as of last night they all backed out. So Megan came with me, and she invited Karen as well, so it ultimately was the three of us.
Walked around, asked about prices. Though I heard it’s supposed to be really cheap here, I’ve seen cheaper prices elsewhere in the city. Looked at a few shirts, but they were all too small. It was wet and a bit cool, but not too bad. (pics: many of the stalls which form the border of the trade fair, Karen and Megan inside a stall that sold Bangladeshi made handbags.)

By the way, in Bangladeshi shirt sizes, I’m a XXXL. Crazy that I’m the big guy around! The XXL size is usually too short in the arms.

Also a major event happening in Bangladesh right now is Biswa Itjema. Its technically in Tongi, next to the Turag River, but that’s still in the Dhaka Metro Area.
It’s the second largest gathering of Muslims in the world, after Hajj in Mecca. Over three million people will come in the next three days. I know many people who are attending. It’s a big prayer gathering. Throughout its duration, the event causes a lot of traffic in the area. And a lot of extra flights are coming in and out of Bangladesh.
But as I was writing this, I read a news report that the event is getting cut short this year because of the rain and the cold, which left three people dead. Such a shame. Since this just happened, I updated the wikipedia article (go see from the link before.)

Ate lunch at Diya/Farhanaz’s place, which has been in planning for a few weeks. Delicious home cooked food. Was there until 5:00.

Today I started really looking at graduate schools. Made a spreadsheet to compare them, like my father made for me when I was choosing undergraduate schools. Have several points for comparison including what the school’s most popular transportation research topics are, how many transportation professors they have, and if they have a student section of ITE. However, just as important items like how good the weather is, how their football team performs each year, and of course the likelihood of rowing there or not is included in the spreadsheet! Tonight I completed my analysis of Cornell. I have eleven universities on my initial list, which was pulled from a list of the best civil engineering schools. Texas, Berkeley, Stanford, Cornell, Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Purdue, Georgia Tech, Northwestern, Michigan and MIT, as well as Virginia Tech’s Metropolitan Institute and comparing them all to what I know already about NCSU.

21^st-4th in Dhaka 1/26

Supposed to go to Sonargaon today. But the rain and the cold made Megan and I decide to cancel it. It’s mostly an outdoor affair there, and it wouldn’t be fun with 60 degree rainy weather.

Today is the KKC back at NC State. 3000 people registered, and they had to cap it there because of t-shirt limits. Wonder what it could’ve grown to. It is so exciting. Can’t wait to see how it goes. I care about it from an organizational standpoint, as well as how it succeeds in raising money for the NC Children’s Hospital. Saket, Greg, Peyton and I, as the past organizers, keep sending emails around and commenting on how we think it’ll turn out. (graph link) The way registration grew day by day compared to last year is spectacular (graph thanks to Saket.) Incredible what happened. 400 people in one day near the end!

Was home most of the day. Started a literature review document which I’ll gather all my thoughts on the articles in.

Met up with Saifullah, Ashrafi, and Sunny at Anam Rangs Plaza. First helped Saifullah buy some CDs of American music for his new car. He wanted some faster stuff and slower stuff, but not rock. So I suggested Justin Timberlake, Black Eyed Peas, and Coldplay. Hopefully he’ll enjoy. I know Coldplay is rock, but it’s not heavy metal or punk, which was what he was trying to avoid. Back at Popel’s house later we had some snacks and hung around and talked. Celebrating that Ashrafi will be going to the US next month.

Newspapers posted on walls everywhere. I’m going to make the guess that this is the way that most people in Dhaka get their news. In many locations around the city, the daily paper from different newspapers are posted on the walls of buildings and fences. Sometimes just one newspaper, sometimes up to eight different newspapers. New editions are put up each day. No English papers, only the Bengali ones. There’s usually a crowd of four to five guys reading the papers each time you pass by. I also see rickshaw drivers stop to take a break and read too. A lot are put up near bus stands as something to do while you wait. This practice seems to be a good way to keep the general population, who can’t afford a TV or a daily paper, up to speed on local, national, and world affairs. It certainly promotes knowledge and discussion among the readers. Couldn’t imagine how else they would get the news if this wasn’t done. (pics: five men separately passing by stop to read newspapers on a board in front of the Jigatola bus stop, two men stop to read newspapers on a wall near Dhaka University/BUET)

21^st-5th in Dhaka 1/27

BUET students are doing online course registration for the first time ever this semester. They are continually coming into the computer lab in which I’m sitting to register. Many times in pairs to explain to each other how to navigate the nuances of the new system. I see a lot of them staring at the registration page for minutes on end, trying to understand what exactly needs to be done, and exploring the possibilities of this new online system.

The computer lab I’m in is fairly nice. Twenty computers, all Dells. Not that fast, but fast enough. Most people are coming to browse the internet. We remove our shoes before we come in. and we leave our bags in cubby holes near the entrance. Meaning I have to empty the contents of my bag at my computer station, then bring the bag back to the door.

Went walking to find a place for lunch. Went south from BUET to see what was there. Found a restaurant that looked really nice inside. Well designed tables and chairs and a neat interior. I ate lunch there, and it took about 45 minutes, and in that time, NO ONE ELSE CAME IN. Felt bad for the owners. They obviously put a lot of effort into the place, and no one is coming. I wonder if I was the first all day. Took them forever to make my food, and although I’d like to blame their lack of customers on bad service, I think the case is rather that they had to fire the stove up and cook everything fresh since I was the first.

Going carefully through each document for the literature review, and taking notes on the parts which are important to my project. There are no studies that I can find that did exactly what I want to do, or even 50% of what I want to do. In what I’ve found, buses are simply deemed overcrowded, but how that affects operations is rarely even mentioned.

21^st-6th in Dhaka 1/28

Today’s plan was to buy tickets for my flight to Bangkok. Last night Megan confirmed she’ll be staying in Bangladesh an extra month and a half so she’s definitely interested in coming to Bangkok with me. So we made plans to get that done today.

First I went to the American Center to pick up a letter telling of my affiliation with Fulbright. I’ll be giving this to my professor at BUET so we can get me access to other places on campus. While there, Harvey told me about the conference for Fulbrighters that India holds twice a year. All South Asian Fulbrights are invited, but we have to pay our own way. Honestly, I’d go if it wasn’t so expensive. It’s a $500 dollar plane ticket to get there and the hotel is $150 bucks a night, all inclusive. That one trip could be almost two months of living for me. I just can’t take that kind of time and money to do this. Although it’d be nice, I’ll have to say no.

From Megan’s job we headed by bus to my travel agent from last week in Motijheel. We booked our tickets at the travel agent, but not without them serving us lunch first: fried chicken, fries, and a roll. Just like last time. And it’s not like they were trying to win our business anymore, really not sure why we’re fed there.
We got the GMG deal just fine, Buy 1 Get 1 Free to Bangkok. Had to shift our travel dates because of flight availability, so now we’re traveling from February 15-19. Will be a fun trip to see Bart and Shariful and now have Megan there too. Hope to see a lot of the sites in Bangkok and see what the rave about the city is. Had to go to the bank to take out the big wad of cash…handed over 91 Tk500 bills to pay for the tickets!

When I got home this evening I couldn’t find my disembarkation card. This piece of paper is given to you when you arrive in Dhaka at the airport. They stamp it and it says you entered Bangladesh through the airport. Very necessary if you leave the country over land to prove how you go there. It’s a big deal. I had brought it with me to the travel agency inside my passport. Must’ve lost it there went they went to make photocopies of the passport. Quite frustrating. Wondering if I’m will have to fight to leave the country next time. Will try calling agency tomorrow to see if they have it, but not crossing my fingers.

Got sick again tonight. Stomach problems. And no one can see it was street food this time, as I’ve only eaten at good restaurants the last few days. Was not happy get sick again. It always seems to start at night too. Don’t know what’s causing it.

21^st-7th in Dhaka 1/29

Today I’ve been sick. At home all day. Worked on my literature review from home. Reading about New Zealand's mens single sculling rivalry. Watched videos from KKC coverage(including Technician slideshow and UNCTV pre-event coverage.) But mostly just recovering and drinking oral saline.

Called the travel agency to see if they had my disembarkation card I lost at their place. Nope, they hadn’t seen it. So now I’m going to try and see what will happen. I’ll try and see if I can get it all worked out before I arrive at the airport on February 15.

Had cereal for breakfast. And managed to have rice and some blandish curry for lunch. Potato and tomato curry only. Felt good to eat the warm food. It’s been cold in the house lately too. Given me a sore throat as well.

Talked to Lauren online, one of the other Fulbrights. She’s going to be leaving early. She was mugged once, and recently her roommate got mugged for the second time, all in their neighborhood. Well its enough that she’s calling it quits and doesn’t want to stay anymore. I’m likely going to buy her TV, DVD player, and fridge. Win-win for both of us as she gets some money for the stuff she bought and I get cheaper prices for used items.

Throat this evening has gotten worse. Hard to swallow food, and also hard to swallow water. Will go to doctor tomorrow. Diya and Farhanaz’s parents are both doctors, and their mom’s hospital is real close by. So I’m going to get this checked out if it’s not better tomorrow.

Week 14: Class wraps up, unwrapping my research, and getting tied in knots at dance practice

At Saket's request, I've started making a map which I've pinpointed the places in Dhaka that I mention in my blog. I've linked it at the side for future reference, but here it is for the first time!

14^th-1st in Dhaka 12/5

Today finishes up 3 months.

Class was slow today. Last day before exam. Will be really sad when its all over.

After class, went to American Center to pick up two postcards from Sandee and a wedding gift thank you note from Jenna.

Went to the bank to get Tk10 notes. I gave two Tk500 notes, and got one hundred Tk10 notes in exchange. Tk10 notes, as I’ve mentioned, are “worth” more than their value, since no one ever accepts a Tk500 note, but Tk10 are always being used. They are a hot commodity to hold onto. But now no worry, I have a plethora!

Spent most of the afternoon and late night studying for exam. Prepped one more time to make sure I knew all the names of the districts.

I went to Naira’s house for our first gaye holud dance practice. It looks like it’ll be 4 guys and not sure yet how many girls. The guys, I knew two already, are Naira’s younger brother’s friends. Her sister was there, the one getting married, so I met her the first time. We worked on Mast Kalander, which actually was one of the songs that was at the last gaye holud I went to…looks like we’ll be dancing to it too. Got sweaty. It’s a lot of fun. I can’t wait to perform. More on this later, but not much now, scheduled next practice for tomorrow. Think we’ll maybe practice every day now til wedding.

There are no ovens (okay, of course there are some) in Bangladesh. My house doesn’t have one, very few people I know have them. As far as I can tell, no main dish here requires the oven’s use in preparation. Curries and rice dishes which are primarily eaten, are cooked over a stove. However, the microwave oven is essential! With only a few stove tops, and so many dishes, you have to be able to reheat the food quickly before the meal. But, maybe I’m just not looking in the right places.

14^th-2nd in Dhaka 12/6

Today was the final exam. It had 5 parts: writing, listening, grammar, reading, and conversation. Then there was the final extra credit that we had set up, to name all the districts of Bangladesh and the 6 main rivers…for a total of 70 items. I did as good as I thought I would. Didn’t do as well on the conversation as I did on the midterm, and that was a bit upsetting. Did perfect on the grammar. Listening and writing were both good, but a made some vocabulary mistakes on the writing. The reading was okay, missed a few things though. Overall 81/100. Then got all 7 possible points for extra credit, correctly spelling all 64 districts and 6 rivers. Was very proud of that. So total 88/100.
A bit sad to end. This was a fun class, and it was a great way to spend my first 3 months. I couldn’t imagine living in this country without knowing the language. I hope I can continue to improve now that the official education is over.

Went to lunch with Farah, Erin, Shakil and Santa. Some real nice Indian restaurant in Gulshan. Pretty delicious. It just took us forever to get ready, choose the place, and then order the food.

Badminton was fun tonight. I played 4 games. The first we lost 15-14. In Bangladesh, when you get to 14 when playing doubles, only one person gets to serve instead of the typical two man rotation. Gives the other team a chance to catch up. I won three games with another guy after that against different teams. Was real glad to actually make my hits. He kept telling me to hit it harder, but I’m not a fast hitter. I need to work on my power now.
Still don’t understand the way they figure out who plays. There was an entire court open, and there were four of us sitting there waiting to play. So I asked why don’t we play. One guy told me tons of things in Bengali, and I couldn’t make out why. And when the other court’s game finished, only one man would get off, and only one new person would get on. So I just left, it looked like I was not going to be having another game. There is some sort of hierarchy here I think, and the younger guys are trying to work their way into it.

14^th-3rd in Tangail 12/7

Today I went to Tangail.
Megan and I took a bus from Mohakali bus station. Never takes long to find one going your way, they’re everywhere. We bought a newspaper and read some of it on the bus. Also played some 9-card after I taught her how to play.
We arrived in Tangail, and asked a rickshaw to take us to a place where we could get some good food. He took us a bit into town from the bus station to a place that looked pretty good. We told him not to wait. Lunch was rice, mutton, spinach with shrimps, and dhal. All served very quick as usual.
The ride to Atia Mosque, our final destination, was supposed to be 3 miles but seemed a lot longer. It’s slow going on a rickshaw for 3 miles. At one point, a piece of wood on his rickshaw snapped, and we felt it was our fault even though the wood was rotting. Either way we decided we’d give him more when it came time to pay. We crossed many very green and yellow fields. People farming. Several small bridges, which sometimes required us to get down from the rickshaw because it’s too hard to make it up the hill. Went through several villages. Bumpy ride at many points. Sounded like the driver was grumbling at points. (pics: Tangail fields)

Well he brings us to a place we didn’t expect, Atia Mosque, but not the right one. It is actually a mazar, which I don’t know what the difference is. Atia Mosque we are looking for was built in 1608, this structure at which we have arrived was built in 1988. hmmm. Big difference.

We tried to figure out what to do now. We had to get back to make the bus. We thought maybe we should just get some petha and some tea. But then this younger guy around our age came up to us. He asked what we were doing. In English. We chatted for a bit, and then figured why not ask him if he knew where the other Atia Mosque is. He said of course, this way, and starts walking us. Low and behold, it was right around the corner, maybe 100 meters down the road. Wow, if he had not found us, we literally would’ve gone so close but so far. Thanks to him, we made it to our destination. He offered to show us around.
The mosque was built in 1608 and refurbished at some point in the last century, it was in great shape. Our new guide took us around. The place wasn’t very big. Maybe 30 meters long, 15 meters wide, and 6 meters tall, with an additional 3 meters of the main dome on top. It was very ornamented, with incredible detail carved into the exterior walls. It’s still in use. We arrived during the afternoon prayer, and there were people praying inside. It had one large dome on top, three smaller domes toward the front side. Four minarets, one at each corner. In the front, three arched doorways. At the back, a pond. There was a crypt in the front. The photo session in front of the mosque was humorous, our friend wanted to take photos with only me, not Megan (even though he was talking to her more)…but was inviting complete strangers to take pictures with us. Although we were only there for 20 minutes or so, since he rushed us around and out, it was enough to make its impact. I’m not sure if we had enough to time to absorb, so much was happening so quick. (pics: Atia Mosque in Tangail viewed from back side at pond, Atia Mosque's front side, myself next to one of the minarets, guide/me/stranger in front of Atia Mosque, ornamented exterior wall close-up, Megan in front of Atia Mosque)

He then helped us arrange a way to get back to Tangail to catch a bus back to Dhaka. We got ourselves a tempo (a CNG with seating for 6 people in a cage in back…cross a CNG with a rickshaw school van) to ride to a nearby village where we could get another tempo. He was going to follow us on his bike. He looked pretty awesome riding after us in his shades and flashy orange shirt. (pic: our guide looking awesome on his bike riding after our tempo)

In the village, got some petha and jumped in the tempo to go back to Tangail. Tight squeeze. At one point, some passengers got off, and some others got on. A boy with down syndrome was with his family who got on. And since we all couldn’t fit in back, someone needed to go up front. The only other man besides the boy had a small child with him. So once I realized what all the commotion was about, I told them I’d sit up front. Sitting up front involves hanging on for dear life as you squeeze to one side of the driver, on a seat not meant for more than two…and there’s a third guy on the other side of the driver. Some tempos I saw had 4 guys in the front seat! (pic: front seat passenger in a tempo holding on)

Bus ride home was feeling very long. Stuck in Savar for a bit in traffic. At beginning of bus ride a man came onto the bus selling hard boiled eggs. For Tk 6 he would peel the egg, cut it down the middle, and then sprinkle spices on it. Everyone wanted one it seemed, so we got one as well. I was surprised to find that it was warm.

Megan and I ate at a restaurant which I’m considering one of the better ones I’ve been to in Dhaka. It was a small place, typical Bangladeshi hotel thing. Meaning tiled floors and walls, and wooden tables. But the naan here was amazing, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar…oh my… I ate two. And the rotisseries spiced chicken was just as good. They even had this interesting salad dressing we’d never seen before. That was a winner too! Definitely where I’ll take friends from now on. Oh my!

14^th-4th in Dhaka 12/8

Went to the head instructor Farah’s house for a picnic. One reason for the picnic was to celebrate the completion of our course, but a lot of Farah’s family was there too, so perhaps it was already planned and we were invited along. Good food, and very greasy. The meal was termed a “picnic” but was different than what picnics are considered in the U.S. For what I can tell, here, picnics are just meals eaten outside. The same food you would eat normally. We ate our food on the porch of the home, not sitting in the grass, like the word picnic might make you imagine. But technically you’re not indoors, so thus, picnic. (pics: big pots of food for picnic, Erin/Jen/Ben enjoying picnic)

I was told once that this time of year is picnic season, where people have picnics. But they said it in the context that people go somewhere to have these picnics, like a park. So perhaps other picnics would be outside, but I’ve heard, still the same food as you would eat at other times of the year.

14^th-5th in Dhaka 12/9

I know have a better understanding on why the Jatrabari-Gulistan flyover isn’t being built after spending a good part of my day collecting sources. This article covers what happened earlier this year best. First, it was determined by a committee which had some BUET professors on it that the project’s on/off ramps were going to make overall traffic worse in the area, because they would obstruct traffic flow on the roads below. Five of the thirteen ramps were proposed to be removed in the revised plan. It was said that the builders of the project proposed those ramps not to improve the traffic but to increase revenue by being able to collect more tolls (more access points would mean more people getting on the flyover.) Also, it was said that the builders of the project used bribery and corruption to win the project improperly. There is a big issue over how much they said it would really cost and the like. Folks in the DCC and in the building groups who gave it the go ahead apparently did not follow ethical procedures. All of this has lead to the project being stalled, even after breaking ground.

Had lunch with Toma at Sub City. This place clearly exemplifies one thing I’ve been wanting to mention. No place ever just sells what they advertise. Yes, Sub City sells subs, but it also has the option for pizza, burgers, Chinese, Thai, and Indian! This isn’t rare. Most places here don’t just offer one type of food. There is usually a variety of foods you can get. So if you go to an Indian restaurant, you’ll likely to be able to get Chinese and Thai as well. If you want Vietnamese, don’t forget to browse over the Korean part of the menu. Italian restaurants have ensured to have Greek and French parts of their menus. Okay, so not all restaurants are like this, but many places offer a variety. The menus become quite long with various sections of food choices.

Well I was a bit saddened by my Sub City experience. I wanted to get the turkey sub on the menu, but when the guy came to take the order, he said there was a problem, they didn’t have any turkey left. So I said I’d take the roast beef and beef salami sandwich, and he said, no we don’t have any of that either. How about the beef pepperoni sandwich, nope not that either. So what do you have? We have chicken, shrimp, or tuna. Sigh…I’ll take the chicken, just make sure you put that oil and vinegar on it. Nope, you’re out of that too. Ok…whatever…just get me a sandwich. Sigh. Nothing I wanted they had. In fact every cold sub on the menu was not available. Sigh. I wanted potato chips too, but I had to settle for french fries. I should come back when Bangladesh’s turkey stock is replenished. This lack of food offered on menus is not uncommon. I’ve been to many places where I order a dish, and they look at me and say “no, we don’t have that”…so really, you need to go to a restaurant and ask them, “What can I order today?”

Did a lot of reading on my first day of research! Read the first part of the Dhaka STP, and went through many internet articles seeing what projects are currently happening in Dhaka, and what their history has been the last two years. Just trying to gain the true context of all the situations.

Dance practice was not really successful tonight. Only half of us showed up and only could practice pieces of two dances. So tomorrow night we’ll meet up again. So right after I went next door with some of Naira’s friends/family and played badminton. Got three games in. I really need to learn how to smash and hit it to the backcourt. Then I’ll be a more complete player.

I left my keys at the badminton house I think….gotta go back tomorrow to get them.

14^th-6th in Dhaka 12/10

Today was a bit hectic in the middle. I didn’t get much sleep last night because of fantasy football. Woke up and looked into it. left some guys on the bench who scored lots of points. After breakfast was working on the computer, not research, when saifullah called. Told me to come by the aktel office

Went by the Aktel office because Saifullah called me up to come by. He’s just left Aktel, and was dropping in only because our trip this weekend has many Aktel folks coming along. Met some of the guys going. We’re planning to play some cricket and badminton on top of the mountain we go to, so we’re making sure to bring our sports stuff. Also heard my ad will be out soon enough, things got held up somewhere. Pictures will come I promise.Went to guide tours to find out some details. Saw my permission papers were completed to get me into Bandarban as a foreigner.

Went by the house I was at last night and asked about my keys. Glad I could be understood by the guard about what was happening. He told me to come back at 7 when the home owner would be home. I did during dance practice since Naira’s house was right next door.

14^th-7th in Dhaka 12/11

Got more reading done on the STP and looking up current projects here in Dhaka.

Talked to Sandee for 3 hours this morning on Skype, first time we’ve talked since I’ve arrived. But once she got Skype, it didn’t take long for us to plan this.

Dance practice was good. After a slow start, sitting around and eating for about an hour and a half, we finally started doing some things. Tashfique and Tawfique did their dance first, and then later Tawfique showed us the dance for Dekha Jo Tujhe Yaar. Pretty cool. Can’t wait to perform all these. Dance practice, even when we don’t do much, is very fun. Tomorrow we’ll work on the same dances again.

After, went by Ishfaq and Ishraq’s place to meet with Nafisa and them about the concert we’d been planning to benefit Sidr victims. Nafisa and I had first talked about this last week over dinner at Khalid’s place and that’s when I jumped on board, but this week things have started to materialize over email, and tonight, us four organizers finally all got together to talk about the budget and things that need to happen before Eid.
Anyway, we were trying to nail some really big bands for this, and a big name venue. I didn’t want to bring this up in the blog until I really knew some good details, so as not to release things too early. But we have confirmed some pretty major acts. Top of the list is Warfaze, Aurthohin, Artcell, Black, Nemesis, Vibe, Powersurge, and Radioactive. Some of the biggest bands in Bangladesh right now. Looks like the name will be Save Our Souls and the date will be January 4^th at Bashundara Baridhara complex. We are ordering several thousand posters, bills, and tickets. Ishfaq, at just 17, has really used some impressive contacts he has. I’m very impressed by what he’s accomplished. Nafisa has a lot of say in what’s happening, and I’m trying to give as much input as I can on running large events (LINKssss from what I learned from organizing the Krispy Kreme Challenge, Walk for PKD, and Million Meter Rows) we’ve already got some pretty hefty donations too. Many of the bands are playing for free, and some major bands gave us big discounts. This event should be huge. Ishfaq thinks maybe 2500+ people. We’ll see. I’m excited. Things are materializing, and very quickly. I’m in contact with Diya, Farhanaz’s younger sister, since she works for the music section of the city’s biggest english newspaper, talking about publicity and what we can do to make this event bigger.

Interesting thing Farhan told me today. I was trying to set up with him when I can go by his home to use his landline phone, since I need to use it for my Fulbright exit language test…for the language grant. Anyway, he told me he may not have class next week. I asked why, and he said students are demanding an earlier break. He says that, as a private university, this happens at his school a lot. They demand more break so they can go home for the holidays, and the school usually gives it. Is this common for private universities? Or just here? I have no clue. But I was shocked the students could influence the faculty that much by promising a walk out.

Week 9: Modelling causes bad eyesight (or A trip to the Martyr's Memorial)

9^th-1st in Dhaka 10/31

After class, Shakil and I went to Aarong to return my two fotua I thought were too big. For the price of those two, and a small bit more amount of cash, I was able to buy four new shirts. Tried on a whole bunch and found the ones I liked. Then realized I had forgotten my credit card and didn’t have much taka on me. So I couldn’t buy one of the shirts, and to make up the price of my returned items, had to buy a small something to meet the price: bought a small rickshaw toy.

Afterwards I dropped by Aktel’s advertising agency Benchmark. We discussed the advertisement they want me to model for. They said they were looking for an international, young, professional looking person to model for them…supposedly I fit the bill. The ad, which will be for the Virtual Local Number option in Aktel’s service, will run for about a month in The Daily Star, the biggest English newspaper in the city. There are also might be billboard. So in the photo shoot, which will be Saturday at the airport, I am to bring my nice clothes (jacket, shirt and tie) so I look professional. Also was asked that I be clean shaven and trim my hair just a bit. All makeup will be done at the airport. I’m real interested to see what’s going to come of this.

Forgot when it was, but I saw fights 7 and 8 the other day.

9^th-2nd in Dhaka 11/1

Santa and I went down to Ahsan Manzil to go inside as class trip. She had never been down there, and I had never been inside. Went through the Hindu part of Old Dhaka, and she told me how she loves the smell of it, since she is Hindu. Well Ahsan Manzil was closed, only on Thursdays…of course. Why would you ever want to have something open? So now we needed something to make of our trip. We decided to just walk down the river to see if there was anything else. We walked until the road turned to mud, then decided to hire a rickshaw to take us back to Gulistan.

In Gulistan, couldn’t find anything to eat, so she came with me to Dhanmondi where we got some fast food for a late lunch. Ended up not being that eventful, despite our big plans.

Afterwards met Farhan and Ayon and some others at a concert in Dhanmondi. It was inside in a café, and although it was billed it as the Wireless Sessions, implying acoustic, the bands played anything they wanted on whatever electrified instrument they wanted, except they were sitting down instead of sitting. I liked it better than acoustic…which I don’t really care to go watch. The bands mostly played American popular hard rock songs, some alternative, and Bangladeshi rock songs. Very few bands actually played their own music. A few bands were bad enough to get booed, and told to leave stage: this happens by the whole crowd chanting ”boowa boowa”…the band on stage looked like it’s about to cry. One band gave a horrible performance of Korn’s “Freak on a Leash”…they ruined it entirely.

Midway through we got some fuchka and some water. But otherwise just chilled and watched the bands. The crowd mostly sat on the floor in front of the stage, rimmed by two rows of standing folks…perhaps a crowd of 100-150 people watching, with another 30-50 sitting on the couches, unable to see. It was a continuous stream of people walking in and out. (pics: two bands from the show with crowd in front)

I’m glad this was in Dhanmondi, because it’s so close to where I’m going to live soon.

I left the concert late, around 10 pm, and by that point, the buses I’m used to taking home weren’t running anymore. So I needed to figure out how to get across the city. Luckily it was late enough that rickshaws could go wherever they wanted, no street restrictions. I ended up taking a rickshaw to Farmgate, where many of the local buses have a hub, took a bus to Gulshan 2, then from there to my house. It was more expensive than a bus, but in all reality, 3 rickshaw rides and the local bus cost me less than $1.

9^th-3rd in Dhaka 11/2

Went to Ayon’s for the day. Farhan, him, and myself chilled in his room, looked through his sister’s wedding photos, listened to music, and worked on fixing his computer. Had lunch at his place, his mom made excellent food. Was very filling. He used to share a room with his sister, but now that she’s married and moved out, he has it all to himself.

Note on new money: New money is delivered in an interesting way. As far as I can tell, new notes are delivered on a piece of string. So each note has a little hole through it, as it is forcibly removed from the end of the string (in a knot.) It looks like the bigger notes have this, Tk 100 and Tk 500, and less often on the smaller notes. Obviously I’m not an expert, can’t say for sure.

Also, one of the most watched sports on TV here, besides soccer and cricket, is pro wrestling, I’m talking about WWE. Vince McMahon and his entertainment wrestling is popular here. Many times I’ll see many men gathered around a TV on the street, and peering over their shoulders, I’ll see men in spandex bodyslamming each other in the ring. Friends always ask if I watch the WWE, and I have to tell them, “No, I think its silly.”

Went to dinner with Nafisa and some of her friends. Pretty good Italian food. Fun dinner, lots of joking around. Afterwards, checked out the upstairs of the restaurant which is a dance club, couples lounge, and movie lounge. Interesting place to say the least. Nafisa left but the rest of us went to Cofi 11, where we got some coffee beverages.

9^th-4th in Dhaka 11/3

Today Jennifer McFadden, another Fulbright, and her husband Ben arrived. Really cool to have two new roommates.

Went to play ultimate this morning at the American Comissary, the place where you can get American goods. They have a big field apparently. Well when I got there, about 6 people were outside waiting. They said they commissary complex wasn’t letting them in. They weren’t “on the list”…people who were “on the list’ were inside the guardhouse fighting for us to be let in, because they obviously wanted more people to play. We all waited for about 45 minutes, growing to be about 8 upset people, and ultimately they didn’t let us in, we even had an American security chief come to help us…it sucked. Next week I’ll make sure I’m on that list. It also sucks because they guy who invited me, Steve, a Fulbright from last year, is leaving soon, and I just met him, and will never see him again.

Megan came over to cut my hair later, to trim my neck line, since I needed it for the photo shoot.

Rajibul, one of the guys from Benchmark came over around 1 to pick me up for the Aktel photoshoot. He reviewed my wardrobe here, and also told me to bring a suitcase as a prop. We went to Benchmark’s office first. There they review my wardrobe again. They sent some of my clothing with an office helper to get them ironed at a dry cleaners. We chose my red tie, Aktel’s color. I sat around and waited, talked to the photographer and some other employees. Lunch was served, some rice and egg curry. Afterwards I had makeup done. This was my first time ever having this happen. It was real weird to have some guy adding all this stuff to my face…but truthfully afterwards it didn’t look like I had anything on, I guess that’s a job well done? They then re-did my hair, to make it look young executive style…I would never style it they way they did.

We headed out to the airport for the photoshoot afterwards. This is my first time at the airport since I arrived two months ago, and it was my first time seeing it during the daytime. We had special clearances to come in today, for a short time. We were escorted to the baggage claim area by an airport employee, where we were planning on doing the photo shoot. All the columns had Aktel’s ads on them, so it made sense to do it here I guess. They had to make sure they didn’t have the GrameenPhone signs in the background of shots, or the Banglalink trolleys! The whole airport is sponsored by the phone companies!

During the photoshoot they had me wear glasses to make me look “more executive.” I was fine with this except that they didn’t give me fake glasses, they just gave me some guy’s glasses. So wearing them hurt my eyes and during the shots I had to deal with blurry vision. I rested them on the end of my nose between shots. The photographer took a bunch of different angles, me looking different places, holding my arms different ways, smiling different ways. He shot from different distances, and with and without the suitcase. With me standing, and with me “walking.” For every shot I had a phone to my ear and was smiling. The phone was from one of the Benchmark employees, mine isn’t fancy enough!

On the ride back from the airport, I saw a CNG bus which had exploded. It was still raging in flames when we passed. Tons of people were watching, but didn’t look like anyone was hurt. Later saw fire trucks rushing to the scene, first time seeing fire service here! I see ambulances frequently, and police vehicles sometimes.

And one other neat thing, Rajibul asked me come with his friends and him to Kuakata next weekend. I told him definitely, never thought I’d make it there. Its at the bottom side of the county on the ocean. For some reason at this place you can see the sun rise and sun set over the ocean…don’t exactly understand how this works, but I’ll get to see!

Went to internet café to get emailing/facebooking/fantasy football done. Internet has been down for too long now, and I need to get things done. Only Tk20/hr!!! And real fast connection too! Was there for 1.5 hours. And got a lot done.

Got some pizza at Margherita Pizza and brought it home to eat. Then studied for test as much as I could.

9^th-5th in Dhaka 11/4

Today’s midterm was fun. I think I did real well. The listening portion was good. I only missed a little bit of grammar, and wrote a good passage. And in the speaking part, we all ended up laughing and having a good time.

After class I came home found internet to be working after 3 days of being down, and got some needed browsing done.

Headed over to Lauren Clay’s place after, she’s the newest Fulbrighter. Right now she’s house sitting some really rich woman’s place. We chilled there and talked for about 2 hours. The place is on the edge of the Army Cantonement, so you could see inside!

We went around to buy her a fridge, AC unit, hot water heater, and TV. I ended up talking to many of the store owners in Bengali about their products…that was interesting. Was a struggle at times, but fun. Not a situation I usually put myself in. the whole thing was good for me as well since I learned the prices of certain things I’ll have to buy soon enough.

We went to dinner at Nirfa’s…had Thai food. Really creepy Mickey Mouse costumed entertainer there for a child’s first birthday. It had the head of Mickey and big orange furry body…very creepy looking. And it stood there bouncing two balloons. For some reason I found it very scary. Took a picture with it. Dinner was good, and Megan came as well. (pics: view from Nirfa's onto Gulshan-2, scary Mickey Mouse beast watching me eat dinner while waving his balloons, me and the Mickey Mouse & Pluto monsters)

9^th-6th in Dhaka 11/5

Today marks two months here!

Today in class got my test back! 41/50…they were very proud of me. Found out Shakil won’t be here certain days now, since he is helping Jen with her Fulbright research.

After class, Shakil, Santa, and I went to the Mag Pai Restaurant and had some chicken briyani. We then hopped on a bus to Farmgate and from there on a bus to Savar. We were off to the see Sriti Shoudho, the National Martyr’s Monument. Took us awhile to get out there due to traffic, I ended up dozing off, and when the bus braked hard one time, my head flew forward and hit the seat ahead of me, despite Santa’s attempt to prevent it.

The monument is made of seven isosceles triangles, stacked one behind the other of different sizes. It honors the three million people who died in the struggle for freedom in 1971. The seven triangles honor the seven stages of the national movement that led to the independence of the nation: starting with the language movement in 1952, five major uprisings in the following two decades, and lastly the war in 1971. Its purpose is to honor the victory fought for by a country full of patriots and freedom fighters. Construction began in 1972, and the entire grounds are 84 acres in size. The place was gorgeous, amazingly landscaped, with bridges and walkways going all over the property. The centerpiece, the monument, can be seen from all different angles, and looks different from behind, the side, and the front. It was very impressive. I took tons of pictures, and so did Shakil, we’re nuts about it. There is a helipad from which there is a great view of the monument. Was very proud to see it. It closed after sundown, and we were there for about 45 minutes. After we went to a restaurant, had a deep fried omelet and some tea. (pics: Shakil/Santa at Sriti Shoudho, myself in front of the monument, monument from the side (looks very different), monument from the border of the grounds, Shakil/Santa walking the grounds, Sriti Shoudho near closing time from outside the grounds)

And funny story: finally brought my fingernails into equilibrium. A few weeks ago I clipped my right hand’s fingernails first, like I usually do, but then got a phone call and had to leave my house. Didn’t have time to clip my left hand. And just forgot to do this for a week when I noticed the left had gotten really long. However, at the time of the second clipping, the right hand wasn’t read to be clipped yet. The left was unbearable, and had to be done…so over the last few weeks I consciously adjusted my nail clipping schedule so that I could bring both hands to a point where they weren’t too short to cut, but not too long that I couldn’t bear it anymore…

Perhaps only I think this was quite a predicament, or I’m that bored here (not true,) but this the whole situation was very interesting for me. I’ve never had my fingernails on my hands be on different clipping schedules.

9^th-7th in Dhaka 11/6

Since I snapped a photo of some this week, let me talk about wedding lights. When a family is having a wedding, they hang lights from their house. Usually its just long chains of Christmas-like lights, all white, but I did spot one house with a pretty “elaborate” display (unless it’s not for a wedding, which could very well be, see pic below.) It’s neat to see these hanging around. And I guess during “wedding season” in December, the town will be lit up!

Later met up at NSU to see Jayita. We got some food at Western Grill and talked for 2.5 hours.

Went bowling with Tamzid after. Bowling alley had 6 lanes, electronic scoring, and some greasy bowling balls. The lanes looked in decent condition, couldn’t tell if there were any deformations in it, but maybe. Tamzid has only bowled a few times. We played 3 games, I got 100, 160, then a pitiful 89, worst score in years. 160 is my best since I bowled 190 this summer, and I was glad since I have been averaging 136 since then. Well until my 100 and 89 today. We’ll blame those two scores on first time in bowling in Bangladesh! (pics: Tamzid bowling, myself bowling...and I swear I got a strike on that throw)

After we went to a Vietnamese restaurant. I couldn’t tell you if it was authentic or not, but it was delicious. We got the wrong food, and ended up being there a long time since we had to wait for the order to be fixed.

One note on menus, since I’m talking about restaurants. Errors in English on menus or shop signs are very frequent. In fact, the majority of menus at a cafés may have between 15-20 errors in spelling. Never to the point where you can’t determine it, but enough to the point that it makes reading an adventure.