Blogs from Bangladesh, Asia - page 17

"There is a certain haphazardness to the way things happen in Bangladesh." A friend of mine who has been doing research here on and off for a few years knows the country well and in a sentence describes the way that life works in this country. For the most part life is simply not something you can plan or anticipate. Life in Bangladesh is not an inert concept but a force of its own--something that happens to you and seems to express its own mad logic and designs. In perfect illustration of this principle, a family friend showed up in Bangladesh in October to volunteer for a few weeks, having otherwise never set foot in a low income country. Bangladesh is not an easy place to suffer your introduction to urban third world poverty. The streets ... read more

After we got back from our nice long break, I thought it would be a good idea to get out a bit and learn more about Dhaka. It's easy to get into a routine here, and most of the time we hardly leave the dip zone (or the club...) so it was nice to see a different side of the city for a bit. So I decided to go on a walking tour with a few colleagues for the day. We went into downtown Dhaka, to the area known as Old Dhaka. There we met up with a local Bangladeshi couple who were to be our tour guides. They were also professional architects and local activists for conservation/restoration of local and historic building in Old Dhaka, so knew lots of great historical places to take us ... read more

Bangladeshis have an incredible willingness to perform in front of audiences. Kids here are raised to sing on command (in front of relatives, visitors, strangers), and girls in particular are pretty much expected to have some kind of dance or song up their sleeve in the event that they are called on to entertain. The pressure to perform doesn't disappear with age, and adults will just as easily break into song if necessary. I haven't been to a single meeting that didn't involve at least two or three impromptu performances. And despite the fact that some people's talents are clearly much more worthy than others, nobody seems terribly shy about belting out a folk song or two. Inevitably Parendi and I get asked to sing all the time--in Safe Spaces, during meetings, etc. Until now we've ... read more

So turns out when you start a blog, you actually have to write in it!!! We have definitely gotten a bit lazy since creating our blog and after coming back from a nice long visit for Christmas break with family & friends we are now making a concentrated effort to regularly upate/write in it. So, stay tuned for a few upcoming entries which will be our best (and belated) attempts to "fill you in" on what's been going on here with us!... read more

Yes, another trip to BD (6th to 23rd December 08). Started from Dhaka and boat to Barisal on the "Sunderban 7" launch, a mighty river boat with people everywhere from the deck to the roof ! In Barisal this time i stayed in the Athena Hotel, cleaner than the Hotel Ali International and only three minutes walk from the latter ! I went to different villages, first to Bolohar and Boliarkathi, small villages, tranquil and inviting. Then to Borakotha, another village and this time went by boat. To reach there we crossed the Sandha river (Sandha means evening : thanks Mahmud !) and went along a smaller river, the Chotolbari canal ! It was a very nice boat-trip and seeing life along the Chotolbari with people waving and smiling ... ! Just imagine ! Also visited ... read more