Week 15: You can wave your Victory Day flag from Bandarban to Dhaka, it's all Bangladesh!

15^th-1st in Dhaka 12/12

Dance practice, showed up, but no one else did. So after talking to Naira’s sister for a bit, came home and went to play badminton.

I’ve been posting to skyscrapercity.com for Dhaka. Really like this new forum, people give positive comments for everything you post. I’ve been taking photos of buildings under construction, and posted them up. It’s a neat forum, helps me keep up with current large projects here. (pics: Nafi Tower in Gulshan 1 going up, Doreen Tower in Gulshan 2 which has topped off but no siding)

Got a lot done with the concert today. Got contacts from Diya for Radio Foorti, one of the biggest radio stations here, and amadergaan.com, a big website concert promoter. It’ll be great to have both of these on board. Arranged that Diya will cover our concert for The Daily Star. And got the band lineup together, and arranged how much time each will play.

15^th-2nd in Dhaka 12/13

Flags are everywhere. Victory Day is approaching! At every major intersection several men are selling large flags, small flags, and every size in between. Headbands you can wear, and flags to hang from your car antenna. They are all hand made. Victory Day is Dec 16^th, and it’s the day Bangladesh won the war Liberation War in 1971 with the help of India over West Pakistan. I bought a large flag a week ago and a headband as well. Flags are flying everywhere, from homes, from cars, buses, rickshaws and shops. Very patriotic. Victory Day is the most popular holiday to fly flags, and it also happens to a lesser extent on Independence Day, March 26.(pics: look for the small flag at the front of his rickshaw, flag seller walking Gulshan Avenue, on a car's radio antenna, two flag sellers on either of side of Gulshan Avenue)

Met up with Saifullah and other folks going on the trip at Fridays Fast Food for lunch and a briefing on what’s up with the trip this weekend.

Dance practice. We practiced two songs tonight a little. Found out how big the stage was. We’ll be putting 4-10 people per song on a stage which is 8’ x 12’

Got picked up by Rana to head off to the bus to Bandarban. Headed to the bus station. Bus came a bit late. Another foreigner on the trip, her name was Claudia, a mathematician from Switzerland visiting a friend of hers here. She’s here for 6 weeks and is traveling without her friend on the trip. We were assigned to sit with each other on the bus. Before attempting to doze off on the bus, we chatted for a bit. Was an AC bus, first I’d been on in Bangladesh.

15^th-3rd in Bandarban 12/14

Arrive at rest stop at 4 am in the middle of nowhere. And it was packed!!! Tons of buses, and everyone was eating meals. So much commotion for such an hour. What was crazy, was that all the buses left at the same time! We were one of the last of about 30 buses to leave, and I swear, the complex was empty after. There must be scheduled meal times at this rest stop that buses know about, because there was no reason for it to be a mad rush at 4 am, and not a single bus arriving after. Were there for 20 minutes but I wasn’t really hungry. Instead stood and watched buses zoom by on the narrow 2 lane highway, and talked to the guy who was directing the buses in and out of the parking lot.

The highway from Dhaka to Chittagong is the busiest in the country. All exports and imports go through Chittagong’s port, and a lot of this is produced and used respectively in Dhaka and to the north. But, the highway is still only a 2 lane highway, no bigger than a rural road in the US. Buses zig and zag down this road, passing each other, entering each other’s lanes, trying to arrive as fast as they can. Rickshaws are also on the shoulders. And other smaller vehicles still use the road. Plus the road passes through many small towns. Overall, its very dangerous and scary, and I’m surprised that I never see a single collision. Check out a minute clip below or here and count how many times your heart skips a beat. I'm at 4.

Dozed off and woke up when we got to Chittagong. Saifullah pointed out to me that you could see the famous Chittagong ship deconstruction yards from the highway between some of the trees. Couldn’t see any of it though. We crossed the Karnaphuli River on a bridge which is only one lane. And the lane is also used by a train. Totally cool! What a good idea for a low volume bridge. (pics: one lane bridge for motor vehicles and train rails down the middle, at the end of the bridge where the rail tracks and the road go their separate ways)

The hill tracts are the only place in Bangladesh to have mountains and hills. They are along the southeastern part of Bangladesh, on the border of Myanmar. Very beautiful and green. Bandarban is one of the main cities here. The hill tracts are where many tribes live, who don’t speak Bangla as their primary language. The religion of most tribes is Buddhism. (pics: views of the Bandarban Hill Tracts)

Too bad it’s hard to get to for foreigners. Checkpoints are along the way to Bandarban when you get close. It’s because the hill tracts, which is where Bandarban is, have been known for outbursts of violence and attacks on visiting groups in recent times. I had to have prior permission from the government to enter here. I had to check in at the border of the district. Signed a log and they checked my passport and my permission papers. It was a very intimidating procedure. At some checkpoints, a police officer came on the bus and checked it for things. They are very serious about not allowing more problems to happen here. Especially to foreigners. That’s why the government does what it can to keep foreigners out. If something happens to the foreigner, it’s on the back of the government, and it’s a burden they’d rather not hold, so best to keep foreigners out as much as possible.

Arrived, and had breakfast. Would be the same breakfast every day. Some perota, potato and veggies, and an omelet. Beautiful view from the whole resort. It’s the guide tours resort. Nice place, well kept. Several cabins, some made of woven materials, and on stilts, so the floors are bouncy. I was in the dorm with the other bachelors. About 8 of us in there, no bouncy floor though. (pics: dining hall, dorm bedroom)

A few of us, before lunch, hiked down to the Sangu River, the main river in Bandarban. It could be seen from our resort. We hiked the 40 minutes down to the river down some pretty steep hillsides. Got real sweaty. Walked through some groves of palm trees. Past some households made of organic material. Reached the river. Some activity. Some boats. Terraced plantings on the riverside. Played a bit in the water. Hiked back up and got ridiculously sweaty. (pics: myself on the short hike, the steep climb with three of my friends coming down, Sangu River, Tanveer playing in boat)

Went to Tiger Hill in the afternoon, a high point close to our resort. Form there you can see in many directions. Meandered around. Took photos. Had some snacks. (pics: on top of Tiger Hill Huda/myself/Imran, @Tiger Hill Imran/Hasan/Badruddoza/Huda, snack seller selling a typical array of Bangladeshi snacks)

Later to a very touristy spot which surrounded a lake. Had a zoo and many food vendors. Plus two very rickety rope/plank bridges. I didn't appreciate those very much. I knew my dad wouldn't either. Also ate sugar cane for the first time. Very difficult for me for some reason. Supposed to peel off the outside with your back teeth and my teeth hurt for a few days because of this. I didn't get very far with it. The place also had a small zoo with a bear, monkeys, and deer. (pics: trying to chow down on sugar cane, on the rope/plank bridge with Imran and Hasan)

Showered at some point in the icy cold shower.

15^th-4th in Bandarban 12/15

Woke up to fog in the river valley. (pic: fog in valley)

Got in trucks and headed to a mountaintop over 25 km away. This place had an army outpost. On the way there, crossed some pretty rickety bridges. Some villages along this road, which pretty much snaked along the top of the mountains. Pretty bad conditions on the road. Very bumpy. One guy threw up. (pics: snaking along the mountains in our vehicles, Ashrafi and girlfriend holding on for the rickety ride, roaming around at the army outpost, Imran/myself, sign saying your cell phones actually get reception here, everyone taking advantage of the cell phone reception they found...not much in the hill tracts)

Second stop was the top of one the most easternmost mountains in Bangladesh. Also the highest mountain accessible by road. Some structures on top, and well decorated area. A helipad. We took photos. Found the most beautiful bathroom in the world. It was three urinals on the side of the mountain, but facing outwards, so you can see the mountains as you pee. (pics: myself using the most beautiful toilet in the world and enjoying the view, Imran doing the same, Saifullah and me on top of the mountain, Saifullah and his daughter walking at the top of Bangladesh)

Stopped at one more mountain before seeing our fourth stop which was a waterfall. But since this is the dry season, wasn’t much water at all. very dry. But still very slippery. Almost took a big fall. Others did. Meandered through the river bed. Some village women were washing clothes in the river, and taking baths with their sarees on. (pics: posing in the river with Ashrafi/Parvej/myself/Badruddoza/Imran, view down the river, women washing clothes in the river, the waterfall but without the water since its the dry season)

After lunch and nap everyone went to see a Buddhist temple. Apparently one of the biggest in Bangladesh, and one of the most beautiful as well. We got there too late, sun was setting, so we couldn’t stay long; in fact had to convince them, the Buddhist monks there, to even let us see it. They let us walk around it for 5 minutes. No pictures allowed to be taken of the shrine inside. Had some models on the way out that depicted the history of Buddha. Wish I could’ve spent more time there and seen more.(pics: top of Buddhist temple, view one direction, view the other direction, one of the models depicting the Buddha's history)

Came back for dinner. Was BBQ chicken!! Yumm and French fries too. Good job on the chicken. After dinner, one guy on the trip, Popel, played guitar for everyone, and they sang some Bangladeshi rock/folk songs, but I didn’t know any.

Wore a lungi for the first time today. This is the national dress for men, as a saree would be for women. It’s a big piece of fabric in the shape of a cylinder, so no ends. You tie it basically by pulling it tight against you, twisting the top until its snug, then tuck the ends of the twisted fabric into the waist…and it holds up. Very comfortable. No underwear below. Very popular for men to wear this around the house. I’m definitely going to buy one. It’s useful for also changing your clothes among other people. (pics: sporting a lungi for the first time, posing with Badruddoza)

15^th-5th in Dhaka 12/16

Today was the bus ride home. Had breakfast and we headed out. Sat next to Claudia on the bus again. Talked a bit about her time in the US, and what she thought were some weird things that Americans did. I also asked her many questions about Switzerland.

As today is victory day (Happy Victory Day!) there were two parades we saw from the bus in the streets in some of the small towns we went through. (pics: Victory Day parade, same)

If I haven’t talked about the flag yet, I’m linking it here to describe it, but I have yet to find why the circle is where it is. What is the meaning, if you know…please comment!! The flag is everywhere today! Buildings, cars, kids, stores, homes, rickshaws, CNGs, buses…all had flags out. It’s very patriotic. Cool to think just 36 years ago, on this land, a war was won to give this country its freedom.

Saw a quick glimpse of the ship deconstruction yards between the trees. Incredible sight even for just a second. Saw a half dismantled ship just docked on the sand. Wow! Want to find a way to see this up close.

Saifullah told me I won’t be able to move into tomorrow because my future roommate won’t be at home. That he’d gone home to his village. I was surprised, we had made plans. So wasn’t sure when I’d be moving now. Didn’t find this information out until today. Wonder how I would’ve found out if I hadn’t asked Saifullah about him helping me move. Oh well.

Came home. Hung out with Megan at Margherita Pizza and scarfed down a cheese pizza. Went back to her house and met Tony, the professor whose house she’s living in while he’s away. He’s back for 2 weeks or so. He’s a professor at NCSU, but also is the organizer of my language program. He had just gotten back from Calcutta, so was a bit tired and was off to bed soon after I arrived. Megan and I looked at my fantasy football team, and she asked me many questions about it. Showed her why it’s so addicting to me.

15^th-6th in Dhaka 12/17

Woke up and saw parents had called. Called Sandee on skype and told her I had been asleep. Set up a time to talk tomorrow.

Had lunch with Tony, teachers, and Erin. Went to Déjà Vu Café, I feel like I’d been there before…haha.

Good food. Salad bar which was very ornate, but really had tomatoes and cucumbers prepared in four different ways, some sliced baby corn, some random peppers and onions, and 6 dressings. And egg and crouton. Got some seafood soup which was good. Some roast beef for lunch. And a crepe for desert. Tony treated.

Dance practice was fun/productive. We got a lot done, now have 4 songs I know.

15^th-7th in Dhaka 12/18

Spent time reading this morning and afternoon. Going through the STP slowly. Very complete document. Really covers so many aspects of the city’s past, present, and future transportation issues. Never knew how much went into this. I guess I’ve thought of all of this before, but to see it done so thoroughly is impressive.

Fixed with Nafisa more details about the concert, and talked about my visit to her place in Khulna tomorrow.

Bought my first lungi. Should be very comfortable to sit around in at home. Also some underwear, and not knowing what size to buy since the measurement system was different from what I know, asked the guy in the bazaar what he wore. He proceeded to laugh at me. Anyway, bargained the price of the underwear down to 70% original cost, but when I got home, found it to be too small. After dropped in to cofi 11 for some coffee and ice cream and brownie and hung out there until dance practice.

Dance practice was great. Practiced all 4 songs I was in several times, and felt like we were doing them pretty well. Found out how we specifically are incorporating the firespinning into one of our dances. It’s all going be pretty exciting. Watched the girls do their dance, and watched the two guy/girl dances I’m not in. It’s all going be a great show!

Hung out with Faisal, Megan, and Kira after. Kira was in the same language program with Megan this summer. She was visiting from Kolkata for a few days where she is studying her 3^rd year of Bengali. Went to cofi 11, my 2^nd time today, and we had dinner.

Language test at 5:30am tomorrow morning on the phone…thus gone to bed early. Its for the Fulbright’s language grant, so they can evaluate if their invested money was well spent on me.

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 13: Are you a soccer, cricket, or museum kind of guy?

13^th-1st in Dhaka 11/28

Today was museum day. Both classes took a trip to the Liberation War Museum and the National Museum.
The Liberation Museum was very powerful. It goes through an incredible amount of detail describing what led up to the war in 1971, and then even more information about what happened during the war, including personal stories. They’ve collected tons of documents, photos, and objects from the war period, and aim to describe every painful detail.
The museum showed a 10 minute long film while we there, so we went in the theater to watch. It was very engaging, and showed excellent footage, showing the mostly foreign audience views of the war they were likely largely unfamiliar with.
The displays were both in Bengali and English. Sometimes I saw that the Bengali description was a few times longer than the English, but I was okay with it. Even with that, it still took me two hours to go through the 2-story museum which wasn’t much bigger than a house. There was just so much to read, absorb, and understand. For someone who knows only a handful of dates and names, it’s a bit difficult to grasp it all. For someone who knows nothing at all, this museum would be very overwhelming, not just in the volume of information, but also in the emotion behind it all.
Seeing and reading about some of the things that Pakistan did to the Bangladeshis when they were still in control made me tear at points. For me, and others, the worst event was what occurred two nights before Pakistan surrendered. They decided before they left they should kill all of Bangladesh's top doctors, educators, scientists, and philosophers. In the middle of the night they went to their homes, took them away, and murdered hundreds of them. Then left Bangladesh two days later. There was no strategic purpose to this; they knew they were surrendering soon, so to do just one more bit of damage before departing, they did this.
What’s incredible to me is that people here still remember the horrors of that war.
Three million people were killed in genocide then. People have mothers who were raped during the war. It’s incredible. I can't imagine living in the US thirty years after the civil war for example. To know of the horrors which happened on your land just such a short time ago...(pics: displays at Liberation War Museum, Erin/Santa at lunch between museums)

The National Museum is exactly the opposite of the Liberation War Museum. It’s several stories tall and looks like a museum; a large imposing structure with beautiful grounds. And inside, it is full of, well, very little information compared to the size of the building. The top floor has some reproduction of paintings from elsewhere in the world, a room of international dolls (the US dolls were represented by two Barbies and a doll that was obviously a gift shop toy purchased in New Orleans (the words New Orleans were on the doll’s dress,) and some other raggedy gift-shop like doll.)
Downstairs there were floors with Bangladeshi art, historical items, clothing, musical instruments….just a collection of everything a national museum should have about its respective country. Downstairs there were more scientific displays about Bangladesh’s geological history and agricultural history. Also displays on cultural life.

Went to Megan’s in the evening and we listened to the first 12 tracks of the Radiohead 01 and 10 mix that I’ve mentioned before. So, I did my senior English thesis on OK Computer, a bit of a concept album, and compared it to Catcher in the Rye. I remember when I was analyzing the album that many times I felt stuff was happening between songs that wasn’t being explained. For example, between Exit Music and Letdown, I felt something tragic must’ve happened and I could only postulate what. But when you stick Weird Fishes/Arpeggi in there, it’s like turning on a light and you see what happened to the two lovers in the songs who’ve escape. Or, how about Bodysnatchers right before Subterranean Homesick Alien! We only did the first half because it was getting late, but supposedly the last 10 songs is where the two albums really mesh. Will give my final opinion after it’s all over.

13^th-2nd in Dhaka 11/29

Starting to be sad that class is going to be over soon. Will miss the fun we have every day.

In class we learned to cook. Farah taught us how to make pulao and chicken gorma. Everything has a lot of fat, I’ll tell you that. But also a variety of spices: mostly cardamom and cinnamon. We put that in both dishes. It took 2 hours to cook it all. It was fun to learn everything, and see how some of my two favorite dishes are cooked. Erin wrote down what we were doing step by step, so many ingredients. Ultimately, I’ll copy them down from her, but these dishes look like it takes practice to get just right. If I make them in the US I’ll likely have to go Indian grocery store to buy all the ingredients.

I’m not sure if I ever officially said that food is eaten with your hand here. All food, well except soup. And it’s always the right hand…never never your left. Your left hand is reserved for bathroom business. I was once told, when you use the hand to eat, it’s supposed to make you feel closer to your food. You get to feel the textures, which they say makes things taste better. Yes, your hand gets very messy, but it’s not rude to lick your hand and fingers. Since the staple of all food is rice, it’s important to understand how to eat it correctly. You push your rice grains together, mushing them into a ball almost, then pick up the ball with your four fingers, and bring it up to your mouth, then push it into your mouth using the thumb. Because your left hand isn’t being used for eating, you can use it to grasp your water glass and drink. However, I’ve noticed that many folks here don’t drink a sip until the meal is over, then they drink the whole thing in one gulp.
Anyway, because you eat with your hand, you want to make sure it’s clean before you eat with it. So that’s why all restaurants have several sinks right in the restaurant, and you wash your hands after you order. And then, since your hand is all messy and greasy, you wash it at the same sinks afterwards. In homes, sometimes there is a sink right in the dining room for washing.

In the evening I went to Nafisa’s aunts house for dinner. Talked with her uncle and his friends for the beginning. One guy was in from Florida and he works for the Florida DOT, so we talked about one project he is working on, the new Orlando beltway.
Hung out with Ishraq for dinner. Dinner was delicious as usual. They had a lot of company over. After dinner had a conversation with one of their sons there. A 9 year old boy who was proud to show me he could speak English. So we had a conversation, him speaking English and myself speaking Bengali.

13^th-3rd in Dhaka 11/30

Went to Saquib’s house today. Was a great time.
I waited for Farhan at the bus stand since I got there when he told me to meet him but he arrived 30 minutes late. While I waited I talked to two of the bus ticket guys sitting at their tables under their umbrellas. They asked what I was doing, how I know Bengali, the typical questions. I asked them how long they sit there every day, what time they arrive. 8 hours a day, 7 days a week they work these counters. I think it’s a fun job. All this action around you, ever few minutes a mad rush for tickets. Friends come to hang out with you and talk. In fact, conversations always seem to spring up at these ticket counters.
Farhan arrived and we took the bus to Uttara.

We chilled in Saquib’s room for most of the day. Looked at pictures, listened to music, and watched music videos. Opu and Ayon showed up after about an hour separately, it was the 5 of us all day. Arm wrestled, listened to music. Sometime after a delicious lunch served my Saquib’s mom, we went up to the roof, cricket ball and bat in hand! (pics: Farhan/Ayon arm wrestling, Saquib taking a photo of Farhan/Opu arm wrestling, Ayon sporting Saquib's hat, Saquib/Opu)

On the roof we played cricket. It was a lot of fun. For the first time I got to bowl and bat. Ayon taught me the basic points of each. We switched off who was bowling, batting, and fielding in a cycle. We had to bowl and bat softly since we didn’t want the ball going off the edge of the roof and falling seven stories to the ground. Well, one of my bowls was maybe too hard, and Opu’s hit too hard as well, and the ball went over the side into the grassy area 7 stories below next to the apartment building. Three of us went downstairs and had to get some kid to hop the fence for us to get our ball back. (pics: our playing area with Saquib/Farhan/Opu, Opu hitting a ball bowled by Ayon, Ayon batting, oooooopsssss ball is now 7 stories down, myself batting, Ayon giving me pointers on batting, myself hitting a ball bowled by Farhan)

Later we climbed above the elevator shaft building to get an even better view. Uttara is quite impressive. 5-8 story apartment buildings as far as the eye can see. And it’s growing! It’s the main suburb of Dhaka. People are migrating out here at a good rate. In fact, just from the roof of Saquib’s apartment building, a 360 degree turn will allow you to spot over 50 new apartment buildings nearby. The growth is incredible. Its places like Uttara that is causing Dhaka is growing as fast as it is. (pics: how many new apartments being built can you spot in Uttara?, Saquib/Farhan on Saquib's roof in Uttara, Opu/Ayon, Opu/Ayon/me/Farhan posing)

I took a bus to Dhanmondi where I was meeting Nafisa and Khalid for a late Thanksgiving dinner at Khalid’s grandmothers house. Lot of people I knew there, Elizabeth and her Australian roommate, Naira’s and Khalid’s friends Nadia and Samia.
Desert was pretty delicious. They made a pumpkin “cake” and were worried about the results. A delicious chocolate cake, the kind that makes you want to get a drink afterward…milk would be best, but even a coke or water will do. Yum. (pic: Nafisa/Khalid cutting the pumpkin "cake")

13^th-4th in Dhaka 12/1

I went running, longest yet. Measured out that Baridhara is roughly 1000 meters long for running, and about ¼ mile wide. My old runs were about 2 miles, and the run I did today was about 2.75

How do you count? Just with you fingers? Well the Bangladeshi way is much more effective. I’d seen it for a few weeks, but I’d never thought twice about what was happening. But it was Megan who finally pointed it out to me. Bangladeshis use the lines on their fingers to count. Look at your hand, on each finger there are 3 pronounced lines, even on your thumb…look close! Then, if you add your fingertip, each finger has 4 points to count. Bangladeshis count this way, tapping their thumb along each line and then on the finger tip…and lastly use their index finger to count the thumb. In this way, you can get up to 20 on just one hand! 40 using both hands! It’s quadrupling your hand counting capacity! Pretty neat. Try it out, maybe you’ll get converted.

13^th-5th in Dhaka 12/2

I headed out to find Guide Tours to book my parents and my trip to the Sundarbans in March. Finding the office was a bit of an issue. Sat down with them and received trip options that I’ll explore and choose for my parents and myself. It’ll be a 4-day 3-night trip, likely at the end of their stay due to the timing of things.
Left, and went across the circle to check out if I could get the strap on my hat shortened…my favorite cap from H&M has a real long strap, and I thought it looked silly. And since they say you can get anything and everything done on the streets here, I was searching out someone to cut it and resew it. Found a guy with a sewing machine on the streetside, in the back of bazaar, asked him. He did, and I gave him Tk 20. We chatted about his son and my studies while he worked. Some other guy came over during and also talked with us.
Next went to find a badminton racket. Checked three stores, two sport specific stores and one shop in the bazaar. After asking about prices and the like finally decided on a racket in my price range. Also but a shuttlecock. I bought a low-to-mid range racket so if it gets stolen I won’t be sad. And at least its not cheap and break in the first game.

After dinner went to Gulshan Park to play badminton. It’s been a few months, so my lack of skill to those I was playing with really showed. I got to play 4 games, the first 2 with a guy who asked me if it was my first time every playing L Played the other 2 games with folks who seemed to be of lesser skill level, the category I fit into. I only played co-ed intramurals with Kristen in college and took badminton as a course sophomore year.

I like that pickup games just happen at local parks, every night, for a few hours. They only play in the winter because it’s cooler out unlike the hot hot summer. But they’ll play all winter. I’m looking forward to doing this most nights. Talked to a few people there, but was nervous to say the least. My skill isn’t as good, in badminton or in Bengali, so I’m sure I look a bit foolish. I’ll try my best to keep my head up.

13^th-6th in Dhaka 12/3

Headed down to Bangabandhu national stadium. A big soccer match today! Mohammedan vs. Abahani, the two best teams in the country. It was a best-of-3 series, with proceeds benefiting the Sidr victims. This was game 1. Apparently whenever the two teams play, it is always very heated, so even though these were Friendly matches, they aren’t necessarily friendly. Fans or players. A bit of history on what makes these teams such big rivals, as explained to me by Shakil:
Sheikh Mujib Rahman’s (the leader of the Liberation Movement in Bangladesh in 1971) eldest son started Abahani. Because the Awami League political party rose out of this family, leading eventually to Sheikh Hasina, recent president of Bangladesh and now in jail, this team is frequently supported by those who are in the Awami League.
Mohammedan was first organized by the royal family of Dhaka who lived in Ahsan Manzil in Old Dhaka. It was started in the 1930s and in modern times has received support from those in the government of Bangladesh, mainly because the Bangladesh National Party has been in power, and they are rivals of the Awami League. In fact, those who don’t like the Awami League support Mohammedan, plain and simple. Much of this team’s fan base is in Old Dhaka, because the ties the royal family had with that part of the city.

Abahani has its own practice field in Dhanmondi, while Mohammedan practices on either some of the Army’s fields, or the police’s fields.
Abahani’s colors are light blue and yellow and Mohammedan is black and white.
Because Ayon supported Abahani, I decided I would too, but by the end of the game, I was against Mohammedan for valid reasons.

The game resulted in a tie. Many scoring chances throughout the game, but nothing materialized. The action got hotter throughout the game. With about 10 minutes left, a fight broke out in the midfield. And the captain of Abahani (also the captain of the Bangladesh national team) and one of the best defensemen of Mohammedan were ejected. They both left the stadium to much riled yells from both sides of the crowd. The crowd, just like at concerts when they don’t like a band, started yelling “boo-wah, boo-wah!” (pic: the fight which got the two players ejected)

The crowd was definitely heated toward each other, even in the more expensive seating section in which Ayon and I were sitting. At one point, the Abahani goalkeeper made a miraculous save, and one guy supporting that side next to us stood up and gave a yelp of joy, shaking his arms in the air. Some guy 5 seats over, supporting Mohammedan, immediately stood up and started barking at the Abahani fan, “Sit down, sit down, shut up!!”…very emotional on both sides. And this wasn’t even that crazy of a match apparently! (pic: guy on far right was the Abahani supporter and four guys over is the Mohammedan supporter during a heated point in the match)

What made me decide to dislike Mohammedan was how they treated the end of the game. After the two squads tied, Abahani quickly came back to wait on the field for the expected shoot-out. However, Mohammedan went to their bench and started collecting their things. No one knew what was happening. Then Mohammedan began to walk off the field! Mayhem! Crowd is booing/cheering, going crazy. Abahani is just standing there wondering what is going on. Then, one of the VIPs who was sitting near us in a special booth goes down to the field. Ayon pointed out to me earlier this man was one of the great players in Bangladesh history, now much older. He used to play for Mohammedan. He goes down and talks the players back into doing the shootout. Meanwhile people all over the field are yelling at each other. The crowd is cheering going wild and seem to be on the verge of fighting. I was pretty turned off by Mohammedan’s action. What would stop you from playing a shootout for CHARITY?! Anyway, they ended up winning the shootout…dang, I wanted Abahani to win. (pics: Abahani waits midfield for a shootout while Mohammedan walks off, ex-Bangladeshi soccer star convincing his former team to do the shootout, Mohammedan wins the shootout they didn't even want to play)

The food during the game was interesting. There weren’t any official stadium food vendors. All food vendors were from the street who bought a ticket to come into the stands, and then sold their food. Peanuts, tea, potato chips, water, and soda were some of the options. As well you could buy a crushed chick pea, tomato, and onion with spices mixture which is real popular. We bought some peanuts, tea, and the chick pea stuff. Prices weren’t any higher than they would be on the street, except for the tea guy, who blamed it on having to buy a ticket to the game. (pics: Ayon with his tea, nuts wrapped in old Bangladeshi newspaper, food hawker who had to buy a ticket to sell his food, the popular snack he sells)

From the stadium you can see the National Mosque. The game lasted through two azans, so it was neat to hear the azan singing while the game was happening. About 50 fans gathered near the north end of the stadium and did their prayers in the stands during the game. (pic: white building outside stadium is the National Mosque)

The Boy Scouts were helping out at the game. They helped collect tickets and during the game they were the ballboys. Also carried a banner when the teams were brought out. They had similar uniforms and some of the same patches as those in the US. I got some pictures with some of them after the game. We talked about scouting in our own countries for only a short time, but enough to exchange some ideas. Since we shook with our right hand, I asked them why they don’t shake with their left, as this is supposed to be the international scout handshake. Well they explained to Ayon and me that Bangladeshi scouts used to shake with their left hand, like all scouts in the world, but when Ziaur Rahman was President of Bangladesh, he gave a decree that all Bangladeshis should shake with their right hand, and thus the scouts followed suit, a show of loyalty to the then young nation. I also asked where they meet, and with the help of Ayon’s translation, we understood that there are two branches of scouting here, the educational branch and the non-educational branch, the latter which he was part of. Not exactly sure what that meant, but I’ll guess and say it means certain troops are associated with schools, while he, at 21, is not in school anymore, and its only a club. I think what he does is similar to the US’s Venture Scouts. Ayon told me that the common activities Boy Scouts are known for in Bangladesh is camping and service projects. Just like American scouts! Was very excited to meet them, and I hope vice versa. (pics: Boy Scouts with a banner midfield before the game, a Boy Scout ballboy, Bangladeshi Boy Scouts, and a shot with me)

After the game, I bought a Bangladeshi flag on the street and a headband for Ayon and myself for next time we go to a match. Victory Day is coming up, so flags are being sold all over now.

Day ended poorly. Sadly. I accidentally put a lock on my phone, and don’t have the code to unlock it. Spent a lot of time tonight trying to figure out what to do. Sujit tried taking it to the store to get it unlocked, and they couldn’t help. My friend Toma, who works at Aktel, my service provider, assured me online she could get it to work, so I’ll go by tomorrow.
Also got upset at badminton, I think I was being teased in Bengali for my lack of skill. Eh, that’s never fun.

13^th-7th in Dhaka 12/4

We cooked khichuri and three types of fish today in class. Our second cooking class in one week. Food was good again. We made a dessert this time called firnni. It requires to be stirred the entire time! So that was my job for about 15 minutes. All was delicious in the end.

Midway through, I had to go to the Aktel office to get my phone fixed. Toma met me there, and gave me all my codes, and helped me get the phone working again.

Went to Lavendar’s (grocery/everything store) upstairs where they have toys. Saw a really cool board game where you have to navigate the streets of Delhi, India in your taxis, collecting fares, avoiding traffic signals, and competing for things…I thought it was a real cool transportation related game! I’ll buy it at some point.

The use of bamboo here is quite impressive. Its strength is used in many applications, whether to construct carts to pull heavy machinery around or to make ladders for workers. But one of the most impressive uses is to support the formwork for setting concrete. As buildings go up floor by floor, the bamboo takes the load of the wet concrete. Also, on this note, many buildings are occupied even while being constructed. Many buildings are occupied in the lower levels since they have been completed, and as the owner’s get more money, they complete the building floor by floor. So it’s common to see a several story apartment building, with drying clothes hanging out windows, and the top floor is a forest of bamboo posts holding up the next floor of setting concrete. (pic: bamboo supporting new concrete)