tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85646681447451477552024-02-07T21:49:28.447-08:00BlogladeshCaton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-91120122487883315262013-07-26T04:08:00.001-07:002013-07-26T04:08:26.602-07:00Friday, July 26th (Nepal Post!)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So, I have been VERY lazy all week about getting my Nepal pictures organized so that I could write my blog post and put some of them up. But finally, here I am. It's Friday afternoon, and I am at Bittersweet, which is a coffee shop near my house. It's my first time coming, and it's nice! It's closer than North End Coffee Roasters, so it's much more convenient. I ordered a cappucino and they even had fancy little foam art:<br />
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So anyway, I've come here to get some speedy internet and finally update everyone on Nepal! It was an amazing trip. I figure I will let it speak for itself for the most part through pictures, but I'll explain them along the way.<br />
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So, I know I got up until my first night in Nepal, and my flight there went smoothly. My hotel was absolutely GORGEOUS. The architecture was inspired by traditional Nepali architecture, and like I said last week it was its own little peaceful compound amidst a city. Here are some pictures to give you an idea:<br />
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Really beautiful, right? I sat right out at those tables for breakfast my last morning. The weather was absolutely AMAZING in Nepal! Well, some would say it wasn't because Friday it was sort of rainy all day. But it was just sprinkling rain; I am used to hot hot hot weather or POURING rain in Dhaka. This was a little rain here and there and absolutely no humidity. It was cool out on Friday! I could've been wearing a light jacket. It was such an incredible break from the heat. </div>
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So, Friday morning my tour guide came to pick me up to go on a mountain flight....at 5:45am. Just a little early. We drove to the domestic terminal of the airport and I headed in. Again, I was shocked by how lax security was. You just threw your bag on a conveyor and then got a quick pat down. I checked in, got my ticket, and went through to wait in the one big room that made up the entire terminal. I was worried I was missing something. There were almost no announcements, people were sort of just milling around and nobody was going anywhere. An hour in, I went to ask what was going on and was told they were going to wait 30 more minutes to see if the weather/clouds would clear up. They didn't. It got cancelled. So, after a nice hour and a half wait I headed back out. Actually rushed out. I needed to get my ticket rescheduled for the next day and luckily was almost first in line to do this. Saturday morning would be take two. I was determined to come Saturday and Sunday if necessary to try and make this flight work. I could sleep back in Dhaka. </div>
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So, we headed back to the hotel and I went back to sleep for a little. Then I headed down for some breakfast (a delicious big buffet that even had peanut butter yum) and then met with my tour guide to head out for a day of sightseeing. </div>
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Our first stop: Bhaktapur. Well to start, my first drive really around Kathmandu was very entertaining. The city has so much character; it's so quaint. A lot of the buildings are colorful and they each have their own look. I guess i didn't even realize until getting out of Dhaka how monotonous and stark it is. I guess when you're dealing with trying to house so many people, efficiency is your priority. The city is mostly tall, cement blocks of buildings going on forever. Kathmandu, though, had buildings of all different colors and sizes and styles. Also, mixed with the hilly terrain and the mountains surrounding the entire city it really is a beautiful city even just to drive through. And people seemed so happy and content walking around. Another thing I guess I didn't really notice about Dhaka until leaving. People aren't really out on the streets enjoying themselves it seems. It's a small observation that I would normally take for granted, but in Kathmandu seeing people walking around, laughing and just enjoying being out and about milling around in the streets and hanging out--people just seemed happier and freer. </div>
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Other observations: SO many less people! And less honking and cars and chaos, etc. My tour guide asked if the traffic was as bad in Dhaka and almost laughed. I wouldn't even consider what we were "stuck" in for like ten minutes traffic. I said it was much, much worse in Dhaka and he was shocked. We also got into talking about the size of Nepal versus Bangladesh. All of Nepal has about 26 million people he said, with Kathmandu around 1.7 million. Well no wonder it seemed quiet compared to Dhaka. Dhaka alone--we're talking the city not the country of Bangladesh--has FIFTY MILLION people in it. It's insane. But anyway, yes, Nepal was a very nice quiet escape even within its biggest city. </div>
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So, after driving for awhile we made it to Bhaktapur. Bhaktapur was the original capital of Nepal and is now considered the cultural capital of the city. The area is very historical and has been preserved as it was centuries ago. It's full of old, beautiful buildings, temples, squares, and narrow winding roads connecting them all together. It really was like stepping back in time. And the roads are too narrow for cars, so it's only motorbikes and walking. It was incredibly entertaining wandering through the streets just taking it all in. We also stopped in a few temples. The architecture, especially the wood carvings on these old buildings (all preserved), is absolutely incredible. Here are some pictures I took wandering through: </div>
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The narrow streets</div>
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The doors on the buildings are all very short and narrow. You have to duck to get in. The houses are built narrow and tall. So most of the houses were three stories high of single rooms.</div>
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The first temple we went into. </div>
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Some kids playing on a homemade swing. </div>
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We stopped in a paper-making factory and went through and saw the process of making paper with a special type of bark found in Nepal. Here is me on the roof of the factor; it had a great view (which you can't really see through the fog in this picture...)</div>
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View from the factory roof. </div>
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Another temple. </div>
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Street view. </div>
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Prayer wheels in one of the temples. Insides are prayers and you spin them; one turn of the wheel is like saying one prayer. </div>
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So, after Bhaktapur, we headed to the Great stupa of Boudhanath, which is a Bhuddist monument. It is one of the largest and most significant Buddhist monuments in the world and it's a very important place of pilgrimage for Buddhists. The stupa was huge! Surrounding it were little shops and tons of rooftop restaurants you could go up and eat in to get a better view of the stupa and surrounding areas. We stopped in one of them for lunch and I got chicken momo, which is a traditional Nepali dumpling Ariadna and Prabhat had talked about in the office, and I wanted to try. They are DELICIOUS! We hung out up on one of the rooftops and it really was a great view--a nice break. Here are some pictures from the stupa of Boudhanath: </div>
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The stupa from the ground</div>
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People walking around the stupa. People walk clockwise around the stupa as a form of worship. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP63mGMYkArRHrXotvu_ao3UGYOm2vhIaa2D2u-L3mEKilU_NlIrdLMbgyJ3HKGNJ9rg1bi0OaBqQwghCpZVG1qspQGFzaO1e6I5kr7vDs8PiaYFpts7JZirvLe8rn3BjUFkAeTxGnW4zL/s1600/IMG_1531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP63mGMYkArRHrXotvu_ao3UGYOm2vhIaa2D2u-L3mEKilU_NlIrdLMbgyJ3HKGNJ9rg1bi0OaBqQwghCpZVG1qspQGFzaO1e6I5kr7vDs8PiaYFpts7JZirvLe8rn3BjUFkAeTxGnW4zL/s640/IMG_1531.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The view from our rooftop restaurant. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxbXCNmY1ZgWWeREACYyqYYbv2JD8Ude_wemrn1NUatC87Q72P4sLbb04SNutVYPasdn-zKMdkj5IrpRZ-8LI8hCDysImnY-h5ESgRpdmCqFPIxw7ESPrprD6GzNsf-7s4YCnZQkQDGTd5/s1600/IMG_1536.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxbXCNmY1ZgWWeREACYyqYYbv2JD8Ude_wemrn1NUatC87Q72P4sLbb04SNutVYPasdn-zKMdkj5IrpRZ-8LI8hCDysImnY-h5ESgRpdmCqFPIxw7ESPrprD6GzNsf-7s4YCnZQkQDGTd5/s640/IMG_1536.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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In a Buddhist temple that was next to the stupa.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLgBqzSprNYVsGH0h1SDoPih_gHTpHMUKHb2A8FzdOrUiDyZK4OBy0zUiufJwt176JQbgbQVv9NlV9rbFFEQLRI1wvdeogoEPchL-7XtxoZYLT2oxnVs6LOO501FPTZRRtBDtof-uL4mDC/s1600/IMG_1537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLgBqzSprNYVsGH0h1SDoPih_gHTpHMUKHb2A8FzdOrUiDyZK4OBy0zUiufJwt176JQbgbQVv9NlV9rbFFEQLRI1wvdeogoEPchL-7XtxoZYLT2oxnVs6LOO501FPTZRRtBDtof-uL4mDC/s640/IMG_1537.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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The shops lining the stupa. </div>
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So after the stupa we headed to a Hindu temple called Pashupatinath that I actually wasn't allowed in because I'm not Hindu, but we were able to walk the perimeters and go up to an area that overlooked the holy area. It was very beautiful and there were several different buildings within the area. There were also a few cremations going in. This is a very popular spot for cremation. It is a public affair and they were going on right out in the open. The ashes are dumped into the river, which ends in a holy site. Here are pictures from Pashupatinath: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjabnOCMPEp5PIn1xl-N-uDBYlZSGXLi7-YGpb-XGYzoruJKYlYbeLysNo7k2eLRkos9ntNRyRpcM0zzZikC81HxiHsO-3hLL852mAdgAX8Hyyq7-bM4vwOMeCxX2LwjkcgVQMg-hrDyxQU/s1600/IMG_1548.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjabnOCMPEp5PIn1xl-N-uDBYlZSGXLi7-YGpb-XGYzoruJKYlYbeLysNo7k2eLRkos9ntNRyRpcM0zzZikC81HxiHsO-3hLL852mAdgAX8Hyyq7-bM4vwOMeCxX2LwjkcgVQMg-hrDyxQU/s640/IMG_1548.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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The entrance. I couldn't walk in past there. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyq85qBgcqtbhNly7Lp4kT1dt_Y0cBF1CLoof5LPfxU6VVlmVebxYd2wJpWSigAMk8teA3WgQ6LiHSgSxuC2_eZzmdWeDl0N5HLCM3GE9xJpEd3h2Vf0pf7YEq86fpSZKyp7OMhf9tRm00/s1600/IMG_1552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyq85qBgcqtbhNly7Lp4kT1dt_Y0cBF1CLoof5LPfxU6VVlmVebxYd2wJpWSigAMk8teA3WgQ6LiHSgSxuC2_eZzmdWeDl0N5HLCM3GE9xJpEd3h2Vf0pf7YEq86fpSZKyp7OMhf9tRm00/s640/IMG_1552.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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The view of the temple and other buildings from across the river where I was allowed to go. </div>
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From the other side of the river. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjliJOX-GtBOtVtLOp4BjoQVtRUOia6VOn0qTSne74xmq_Uf5y_zbZZOQXOLNo0tMNNXVICDZjWkclA0eqsZF7OlFR0m6bEw-Nw6PTyQQDE2cnKVnaFjqrucMF0fCPS6gVQ79W6ptUkTvUw/s1600/IMG_0148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjliJOX-GtBOtVtLOp4BjoQVtRUOia6VOn0qTSne74xmq_Uf5y_zbZZOQXOLNo0tMNNXVICDZjWkclA0eqsZF7OlFR0m6bEw-Nw6PTyQQDE2cnKVnaFjqrucMF0fCPS6gVQ79W6ptUkTvUw/s640/IMG_0148.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The river</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCnWUqx5L-SkW0IHX_gwjWv1LRB6aTdJcZtIvxloaIemAB8VY4fiKis5Gw1Ho6dN3KrAl2EQn0acaaf8Hx2SLVFunrg_Z_TWtXsTxmjNoLJa6QDzagHVNuB7ur3zGNXq_bO5kWJWDbnxXj/s1600/IMG_1553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCnWUqx5L-SkW0IHX_gwjWv1LRB6aTdJcZtIvxloaIemAB8VY4fiKis5Gw1Ho6dN3KrAl2EQn0acaaf8Hx2SLVFunrg_Z_TWtXsTxmjNoLJa6QDzagHVNuB7ur3zGNXq_bO5kWJWDbnxXj/s640/IMG_1553.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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A cremation ceremony before the cremation had begun. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguqUnvE5T51EB7qfZZewDAH4Q5eRukXV8fP7Di8a8_bjxBAlm6wtixrA0uTsFEmMfat6tvfRGHdN-FZwZyXYziyks5G3OUL0AiXVuSUitv3O0aN2mqzcb6KkILrjoR6dicbVlnYq0aP-J2/s1600/IMG_0153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguqUnvE5T51EB7qfZZewDAH4Q5eRukXV8fP7Di8a8_bjxBAlm6wtixrA0uTsFEmMfat6tvfRGHdN-FZwZyXYziyks5G3OUL0AiXVuSUitv3O0aN2mqzcb6KkILrjoR6dicbVlnYq0aP-J2/s640/IMG_0153.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Two other cremations happening. </div>
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So, after Pashupatinath, I headed back to the hotel. I was EXHAUSTED. After my 5:15am wake up call and a full day of sightseeing I was really done. I ordered room service and spent the night just hanging out. Like I said in my last post, the hot shower felt incredible. It was so, so nice. I headed to bed early, since I was getting up for the mountain flight once again. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0-E-_o5-Y9emElQk-30gPpvsSbomfxGfDhuxh4CHuCGrIXiqnzeNwuX_39SQqOPUydtNYlKtHnx38hZODEFVNzY8yG1p-xwZRoHVesadtu3Wwk2nD2S7Nmuia3Zs9c_2jhWz7gBXQpqMd/s1600/IMG_1554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0-E-_o5-Y9emElQk-30gPpvsSbomfxGfDhuxh4CHuCGrIXiqnzeNwuX_39SQqOPUydtNYlKtHnx38hZODEFVNzY8yG1p-xwZRoHVesadtu3Wwk2nD2S7Nmuia3Zs9c_2jhWz7gBXQpqMd/s320/IMG_1554.JPG" width="320" /></a>Saturday morning I got up crazy early again, and this time the weather seemed more promising. It wasn't raining and there weren't as many clouds. My tour guide was optimistic. And sure enough, after getting to the airport and checking in and waiting for a little, we boarded the plane! The views were incredible. I wish the pictures did them justice (they don't....at all...also the window glass was foggy/dirty). We each got to go up to the cockpit and see Mt. Everest from the front. That was a really incredible view. Here are a couple of pictures: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAeFcHqq0Y3JP29Fq5RbNTF4ad4QE1u3HW5WC97-j4r-uYW64ojikYEaWL7QpZDhwlyNSb82YCuJgD5J3tdDzttZIKzSdIGbT_nP7Tg4zoS98cZlz8Y036dR-S8ejslUMMGImOGQoPnfSY/s1600/IMG_1554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAeFcHqq0Y3JP29Fq5RbNTF4ad4QE1u3HW5WC97-j4r-uYW64ojikYEaWL7QpZDhwlyNSb82YCuJgD5J3tdDzttZIKzSdIGbT_nP7Tg4zoS98cZlz8Y036dR-S8ejslUMMGImOGQoPnfSY/s640/IMG_1554.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The plane!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEise1HeFKkyiCXhXwr1ZF5u_7f22qIrwwyoN1_TzYE60rYY5BbKIagEev92fGtgddTezrSjSzvrzOTyCfCjhGfl5b4T_fjndJpw-3AECIq_f5MasOhVOvvsPS7JyvuKTIbe9mSDiBHh3Jmg/s1600/IMG_0156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEise1HeFKkyiCXhXwr1ZF5u_7f22qIrwwyoN1_TzYE60rYY5BbKIagEev92fGtgddTezrSjSzvrzOTyCfCjhGfl5b4T_fjndJpw-3AECIq_f5MasOhVOvvsPS7JyvuKTIbe9mSDiBHh3Jmg/s640/IMG_0156.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Right as we were getting started. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZTiceyXMlIWA_brXcGkHDPcax8POOhXoRxMzr6HfEYL84VDpJf2WuM8UnuEmluXkO0MotzFCKQNrwkpJywu7D3rIDr45amnee8fE2SdT2WwOK8n0SjS58SvAmxGVmVc4l3d5D_-RA6XO/s1600/IMG_0168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZTiceyXMlIWA_brXcGkHDPcax8POOhXoRxMzr6HfEYL84VDpJf2WuM8UnuEmluXkO0MotzFCKQNrwkpJywu7D3rIDr45amnee8fE2SdT2WwOK8n0SjS58SvAmxGVmVc4l3d5D_-RA6XO/s640/IMG_0168.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Beautiful view--this one was taken from the cockpit. The left, taller mountain between the two peaks to the right in the picture is Mt. Everest.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitGOWQLVoAr6uPqjAS8W9rX_-81FeV8mS0aiET7iwYX8VgKDJHUcxVA0LBhgv_vz288FPcFNgdhAphgpCHhhlkW1kIUwhX2Ad7KCN3EAKIUWCvzXKODUCaaGz32j0St3elUPpRp-baObD-/s1600/IMG_0167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitGOWQLVoAr6uPqjAS8W9rX_-81FeV8mS0aiET7iwYX8VgKDJHUcxVA0LBhgv_vz288FPcFNgdhAphgpCHhhlkW1kIUwhX2Ad7KCN3EAKIUWCvzXKODUCaaGz32j0St3elUPpRp-baObD-/s640/IMG_0167.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Mt. Everest is the one on the left!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig8H3PL-zd3YGLJ1eDbDOnoulm3tyZkeZFLrQd7rtQQrzrGczYCmvrEFdgUyYlKpi94LWmZKRSn5ghz5Yn9DZkpKoKjsE35yd1G2-29vuwNkcTIzPbLovRh3Q8AsVne7fxDMpyj8xx29Zs/s1600/IMG_0194.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig8H3PL-zd3YGLJ1eDbDOnoulm3tyZkeZFLrQd7rtQQrzrGczYCmvrEFdgUyYlKpi94LWmZKRSn5ghz5Yn9DZkpKoKjsE35yd1G2-29vuwNkcTIzPbLovRh3Q8AsVne7fxDMpyj8xx29Zs/s640/IMG_0194.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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A picture of some peaks on our way back. </div>
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So, overall it was an amazing flight! I was so glad the weather held out. Afterward, I headed back to the hotel, took a nap and had some breakfast, and then met up with my tour guide for a morning of sightseeing. The two places I went on Saturday were Durbar Square and a stupa called Swayambhu. Durbar Square is where the previous king's palace was. The whole square used to be taken up by the palace but after a bad earthquake in the 30's only part of the palace remained. Part of it had been turned into a biographical museum of one of the kings that opened up the country to outsiders. Here are some pictures of Durbar square: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTZ13dEPGMbA6p96dceiRJ613sHJAso52INgi3tyh38t4XFX_4JyLm8EeTqS8xRN77wB3YB1ZetXWeTvbRLTz-KTpwKDTkXwObAlAhvNy-S-WWzztAU2bvma8to9vhzj6y6iqaX3WQXBpp/s1600/IMG_0140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTZ13dEPGMbA6p96dceiRJ613sHJAso52INgi3tyh38t4XFX_4JyLm8EeTqS8xRN77wB3YB1ZetXWeTvbRLTz-KTpwKDTkXwObAlAhvNy-S-WWzztAU2bvma8to9vhzj6y6iqaX3WQXBpp/s640/IMG_0140.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-loHlcCAV5aKk9YcioNvzzRlHTnGTiDVHacHG6KQtJxBQntShKCEYHNc8br97rleSnV5kGsNQS99U6YaDYyLEsbuXUpR6_NkUIV0oUO_ONZxKIhlXmY2Cl0RBl3s8PYdQ05rYUg_ZKtM/s1600/IMG_0198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-loHlcCAV5aKk9YcioNvzzRlHTnGTiDVHacHG6KQtJxBQntShKCEYHNc8br97rleSnV5kGsNQS99U6YaDYyLEsbuXUpR6_NkUIV0oUO_ONZxKIhlXmY2Cl0RBl3s8PYdQ05rYUg_ZKtM/s640/IMG_0198.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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So this was the inside of a temple where the Kumari lives. The Kumari is a young girl believed to be the reincarnation of a goddess. She is picked when she is two or three and then her family and her move into this building and live here until she is no longer the Kumari--I guess around her early teens. People come worship her and in the past the king had to be blessed by her before being crowned. She is only allowed to leave this house like 12 times a year (for holidays and special occasions) and she isn't allowed to touch the ground so is carried everywhere. Twice a day (we timed it so we were there) she comes and sits at the window for a minute (you're not allowed to take pictures of her). Overall, it was pretty eery and I mostly felt bad for the girl. It was quite the experience. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEaZiD4Ql-NiYUs6InWM3vzt_GGijiQRkH10rt-3JtlTclzy3e0Uql7HvJ8aescsjCYI_aKq0c6JJmxYkrXM2bNIuuTzlWRi1jAZhUk_T1LX7nOeCDJYVSXIuLLVW0mzQLZ8E_fzl08rqa/s1600/IMG_0199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEaZiD4Ql-NiYUs6InWM3vzt_GGijiQRkH10rt-3JtlTclzy3e0Uql7HvJ8aescsjCYI_aKq0c6JJmxYkrXM2bNIuuTzlWRi1jAZhUk_T1LX7nOeCDJYVSXIuLLVW0mzQLZ8E_fzl08rqa/s640/IMG_0199.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Sooo manyyy pigeons. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDrDbFxQsr8B_HfufVqey7qR-YZQuYWpCNr0PD098UAdFJ5Umeo7VtKeYYNd2YLZMBFpRDgGknioa14s-R2-5qdlHdvwRr4I9E0bhH82EM58Ec_Q9U2DuQlbpiTlNv7JRnbr_cEqwJSx5o/s1600/IMG_0202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDrDbFxQsr8B_HfufVqey7qR-YZQuYWpCNr0PD098UAdFJ5Umeo7VtKeYYNd2YLZMBFpRDgGknioa14s-R2-5qdlHdvwRr4I9E0bhH82EM58Ec_Q9U2DuQlbpiTlNv7JRnbr_cEqwJSx5o/s640/IMG_0202.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Temple. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyVPm-IM2QS9j4s3aAePvLPxuOlIqAxpZ8JO6E-dusOGp4o-0Z15CkGZcgn_6djWujBaEd6Ckrq4Eexe1hNH-Mer8NIWu06rOqa2lnO9vkV0eQc7uWub3DmNnccv0lLHS-qDhSjBfGQnLx/s1600/IMG_0204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyVPm-IM2QS9j4s3aAePvLPxuOlIqAxpZ8JO6E-dusOGp4o-0Z15CkGZcgn_6djWujBaEd6Ckrq4Eexe1hNH-Mer8NIWu06rOqa2lnO9vkV0eQc7uWub3DmNnccv0lLHS-qDhSjBfGQnLx/s640/IMG_0204.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The view from the roof of a nine-story tower in the palace (I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside the palace/museum)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBNuvN7kehjfgXJsyoov8cp0U3y0J56JQ7BP1E4ECbSOSZEoUhvK9Vt481cuolZkJPJCyfd_7MsY7a4jL8jHOiclxC1a7IyBfljt3laFXVL-uMpX9hlXh0NUcY3mUu2d0WlkK8sSRAb4Dl/s1600/IMG_0206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBNuvN7kehjfgXJsyoov8cp0U3y0J56JQ7BP1E4ECbSOSZEoUhvK9Vt481cuolZkJPJCyfd_7MsY7a4jL8jHOiclxC1a7IyBfljt3laFXVL-uMpX9hlXh0NUcY3mUu2d0WlkK8sSRAb4Dl/s640/IMG_0206.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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View from the same roof. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5dxpKQxfBhRD9HVUzMUxT7NdIXCxwS923rrBgniJpy2U5-WSdMDML8CNZn5AEKWkYmVSU940WXhm09vmSGzIcVzJui6n5D9Sq8zcPhDhGpeddwVmeN9gLfrw44ZXHAgQUXO5Pfa4unH_M/s1600/IMG_0209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5dxpKQxfBhRD9HVUzMUxT7NdIXCxwS923rrBgniJpy2U5-WSdMDML8CNZn5AEKWkYmVSU940WXhm09vmSGzIcVzJui6n5D9Sq8zcPhDhGpeddwVmeN9gLfrw44ZXHAgQUXO5Pfa4unH_M/s640/IMG_0209.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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View from the same roof. </div>
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View from the same roof--that was the stupa we were headed to next!</div>
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Part of the palace. </div>
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So, after Durbar square, we headed to the other Stupa (shown above in that picture). It was up on top of a hill and had beautiful views of the city. The whole area it was situated in was gorgeous and very nice to walk around. Here are some pictures: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCR8ex_I0dEDJMtpMH4M8o1KLyGkyWw75qmRx8Y2206xZ-pz7iTB-8WqGLx8V4wyV4OYLBBtTUcEYFLRAe3UYSSeJSCwLnCGJGStS0RuxgMhdlCGZZBxhE_poBCJDstCOxn_1pp3oGN8cq/s1600/IMG_0226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCR8ex_I0dEDJMtpMH4M8o1KLyGkyWw75qmRx8Y2206xZ-pz7iTB-8WqGLx8V4wyV4OYLBBtTUcEYFLRAe3UYSSeJSCwLnCGJGStS0RuxgMhdlCGZZBxhE_poBCJDstCOxn_1pp3oGN8cq/s640/IMG_0226.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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People toss coins into that little bucket; it's good luck if you get it in (I didn't...)</div>
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Tibetan prayer flags</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV1pFV-KT066w6iXMZPuu-7HfUEiHSysF498axEy4s4ELsWe4ya4HpBQtv3Ly02M7tpOyWCXEchlCJcXiWaCLJ6wemePVkSQr8AZquz8A3flOwXrIOni6P_4lv6FgBCU_66MgwEaLy7CIG/s1600/IMG_0232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV1pFV-KT066w6iXMZPuu-7HfUEiHSysF498axEy4s4ELsWe4ya4HpBQtv3Ly02M7tpOyWCXEchlCJcXiWaCLJ6wemePVkSQr8AZquz8A3flOwXrIOni6P_4lv6FgBCU_66MgwEaLy7CIG/s640/IMG_0232.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Me with a Buddha!</div>
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The stupa</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiMvLQm20znbf7Vcs6ZmB3GKxEOSfeecDxAfPlb4ZTIheF6C_9JB0KTpMGzTLIegOIpfaemB9K2O9x7IQWi2EIL76cMsc-99OfT1kGwG6eaFs3vEKkl7M88K3DpSNxhQbXui9J2ribiYj7/s1600/IMG_0244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiMvLQm20znbf7Vcs6ZmB3GKxEOSfeecDxAfPlb4ZTIheF6C_9JB0KTpMGzTLIegOIpfaemB9K2O9x7IQWi2EIL76cMsc-99OfT1kGwG6eaFs3vEKkl7M88K3DpSNxhQbXui9J2ribiYj7/s640/IMG_0244.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Views of the city and mountains from around the stupa</div>
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In front of the stupa</div>
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So after the last of my sightseeing, I headed back to the hotel. I worked out and then got a massage, which was one of the best massages I've ever had. It was amazing! I was then able to relax until I went to meet up with Prabhat for dinner. We met at a coffee shop and hung out for a little and then went to some gardens nearby. They were absolutely beautiful even at night and so peaceful. Then we headed to dinner. We went to a cute little place with outdoor seating (the weather--so nice!) and we sat outside and enjoyed a good meal. The area we were in is called Thamel. It's a popular tourist area and the streets were lined with lots of shops as well as bars and clubs, because I guess it's also a going out area. We walked around a little after dinner and then took a cab back to my hotel. It was a really great dinner and Thamel was fun to explore a little. It was full of energy and had a lot going on. </div>
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The next day I woke up and headed out. I didn't have any problems getting home, which was great. I did struggle to find a CNG from the airport in Dhaka though. A guard took it upon himself to help me find one and walked out to help me. As we walked out he went straight into asking, "Are you married?" to which I said "Yes, yes I am." and he said "You have a husband?" "Yep." It's easier that way....we stopped talking after that, I found a cab and got home. Home sweet home Banani. </div>
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The week has been uneventful. Work has been busy with my trying to wrap up some projects before I leave next week. I can't believe I leave in four days! I'm getting to the point where I am really, really ready to go home, so I'm pretty excited for Tuesday. Tomorrow we are headed to Sonarga--the old capital of Dhaka, which is supposed to be very pretty and historical and a neat place to explore. Then we are having Iftar at someone at the office's house, which will be fun. And Saturday night I'm headed to the field--finally! We are taking the overnight train Saturday, meeting with some people Sunday, and then taking the Sunday over night train back to Dhaka. A pretty busy 48 hours! My fingers are crossed that there will be no problems with hartals or train delays, and I'll get back with no problems for my Tuesday night flight. I will be traveling a lot this next week--sleeping on all sorts of moving vehicles. </div>
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Okay, but there's my update for you. And just as a finishing little touch, here is a picture of one of the cockroaches I caught in my room. Disgusting. They are HUGE. So gross. </div>
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Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-79061532573490992592013-07-21T07:49:00.001-07:002013-07-21T07:49:47.522-07:00Friday, July 18th <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Ahh so I’m writing from Nepal! I just enjoyed a delicious
plate of fruit in bed after a longggg day of sightseeing, and I am feeling
great. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Just as a recap of my week, because I haven’t posted ALL
week (I had a good streak gong there…) it was a pretty good one. Sunday
afternoon the whole office headed to a conference that one of the PI’s on my
project was presenting at. He was presenting on a project that involved using
the sanitation data I have been working on, so it was very neat hearing how he
used a portion of our surveys to write a research paper regarding aid and
political responsibility in the context of our sanitation program. One other economist presented on a project
currently being implemented having to do with empowering girls, and it was a
very interesting conference; I’m glad we were able to go. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Monday was a normal day at work. We went with the PI to a
meeting with WaterAid to end our contract and that went smoothly. Monday night
a group of us from the office went out to Japanese for Iftar. A couple of the
people in our group were actually fasting, so this was a legitimate Iftar for
them. For the rest of us, it was just a delicious early dinner. The food was
amazing! And it was such a treat to have sushi.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tuesday was a hartal. Actually, we have had hartals all week
and they have gotten pretty heated in parts of Bangladesh (there was also one
Monday—Monday through Thursday). Luckily, nothing too drastic has happened in
Dhaka, especially close to us, but we definitely have not been hearing good
news from the rest of the country. A couple of Jamaat members that were
previously leaders received 90-year prison sentences this week. So the Jamaat
are angry and have held hartals to protest this long sentence. A different
political party have had a couple of hartals on the same days demanding a
harsher sentence—they want the death penalty for these Jamaat members. So a lot
of the violence has centered around clashes between the two parties striking
for completely opposite reasons. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Tuesday we stayed home. I spent the morning dealing with my
Nepal plane tickets, actually. I discovered that I had been booked on the wrong
day, so I had to go into the office and figure it all out, rebook the tickets,
etc. Of course, one of the days I needed a flight on was sold out so I had to
cancel half of my reservation completely, book half of my trip through a
different airlines…ahh the whole thing was just a mess! BUT I figured it out.
After that craziness, the afternoon was relaxing and we just hung out and did
some work from home. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Wednesday—another strike. Hartal days the office is
technically not open open and you are supposed to use your own discretion on
whether to go to work, so there is a mix between who goes and who doesn’t. I
just follow Ariadna’s lead. She tends to stay home or go somewhere else to work,
I think mostly just to mix up the work environment. So we actually went and met
at a branch of North End Coffee Roasters that is closer to my house in the
lobby of a hotel. We spent the morning getting work done and I was able to get
some real coffee (after not having coffee for so long it REALLY wakes me up). <o:p></o:p></div>
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Thursday was Nepal time! I woke up and had to get some work
done and pack and make sure I had my tickets and money and everything in order.
It was a sort of hectic morning. Alamgir helped me book a car, and I booked it
WAY ahead of time just to be safe and luckily I did. It came over 30 minutes
late…but I still was at the airport SO far ahead of time; I couldn’t even check
in when I first arrived…still, I didn’t know what the process would be so I was
more than happy to get there early. The security was such a joke I was shocked.
There was just one security detector you walked through to enter the airport
(shoes, belt, jewelry, etc. still on), a very quick pat-down type thing, and
your bag went through a conveyor to get checked but no rules on taking anything
out or liquids or anything like that. Something even came up in my bag on the
machine but the guy was like do you have a mobile in there, and I said yes, and
he was like oh just go ahead. The same was the case for the mini security we
went through to get into the actual gate. It was so strange how lax it was…<o:p></o:p></div>
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There was a Lavazza at the airport so I just hung out, had
some tea and read while I waited for my flight. There were no delays and no
problems boarding. We actually left a few minutes early…unheard of apparently
with these smaller local airlines. I’m not complaining. The flight was short
and we stayed below the clouds for most of it, which was great, because I saw
some really amazing views of Bangladesh and Nepal. Landing in Nepal was crazy.
We were in the clouds until what felt like 10 feet above the ground—then we
popped out of the cloud coverage and hit the ground. I don’t know how they saw
the runway. I had no problem getting through customs (even though I had to fill
out a visa application upon arrival) and had no problem finding my driver to
take me to the hotel, even though I had a scare for a minute when I walked out
from baggage claim and didn't see him. I also had no cell service at this
point. But it turns out all of the drivers stand outside outside to wait, so
once I was pointed in the right direction, I was fine. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The hotel I am staying at is BEAUTIFUL. I will have to post
pictures, because I don’t even know how to describe it. It is a little compound
of historical-looking, dark brick buildings with tons of floor to ceiling
windows, tile floors and neutral colors all around. Everything is open and
peaceful and beautiful. There is a great pool, a little bar/grill area next to
the pool, a library to have tea and hang out in, a spa, and a couple of
different restaurants. And the rooms are great. It really is such a peaceful
setting in a pretty hectic city (nothing compared to Dhaka hectic…but still,
you would never guess while in the hotel grounds you were in any city at all). <o:p></o:p></div>
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Thursday night I just ordered room service and hung out. It
was relaxing after all the travelling. I also took a hot shower, which actually
felt AMAZING. I know I said the last one wasn’t THAT great, but I have missed
hot water. This one felt great. And getting into a clean, ant-free,
cockroach-free bed was pretty incredible too. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Okay, I know I had a full day in Nepal and should write
about it, but I’m pretty exhausted! I woke up at 5:15am this morning to try and
go to a mountain flight—just an hour flight in a small plane where they fly you
through the Himalayas to see Mt. Everest and the mountain views. I woke up that
early, went and waited in the airport for an hour and a half, and then it got
cancelled….during the monsoon season (right now) I guess this is expected, so I
went in knowing that. But still. I am going to try again tomorrow; hopefully
the weather will hold out! We’ll see. But tomorrow (or the next?) I promise a
detailed recap of my entire day and experience so far in Nepal. It has been
absolutely amazing and I LOVE the country so far! And it has been a great break
from Dhaka—the weather is cool, the city less loud, and SO many less people. It
doesn’t feel so crazy and hectic. Also there is just so much history and
culture and character on every street and at every site and view I see. And the
mountains that surround the entire city are just beautiful even with a lot of
cloud coverage hiding parts of the view. Okay, more tomorrow, but I am loving
it so far! I wish I could stay longer than two days…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-52590971861610920342013-07-13T22:08:00.000-07:002013-07-13T22:08:05.067-07:00Sunday, July 14th--Weekend Pictures! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The lake at the end of the road that our apartment is on (Banani Lake)</div>
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<span style="color: black;">Hussaini Dalan--the Shiite mosque we visited on Friday (view from the back in the graveyard)</span><br />
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The front</div>
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Prabhat lighting candles outside of the mosque. The little wrappers tied to the window are incense wrappers. People make wishes on them and tie them to the mosque and light the incense to make them come true. </div>
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A view from inside of the mosque</div>
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Prabhat and I inside the mosque overlooking the pond </div>
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Setting up for Iftar!</div>
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The main prayer room. Unfortunately the picture doesn't capture how sparkly the ceiling and chandeliers were!</div>
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The graveyard </div>
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The back of the mosque</div>
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Some solo pics in front of one of the doors </div>
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Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-49182269148703492442013-07-13T21:27:00.002-07:002013-07-13T22:38:51.525-07:00Saturday, July 13th<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So yesterday was a really good day! I didn’t sleep well
(again), but I woke up and made some breakfast and just hung out for a while. Then,
I packed up a swimsuit, sunscreen and a book and went to the Westin. A really
nice rickshaw wallah took me who spoke some English so I took down his phone number.
FINALLY a good go-to rickshaw if I need to travel somewhere complicated (the
day was already off to a good start!). At the Westin, I swam some laps, which
was a good mix-up from the monotony of a treadmill, and then hung out by the
pool and read my book. It was sort of a cloudy, windy,
feels-like-its-about-to-rain type of day, but it was still so relaxing. After,
I took my first hot shower in almost a month. But honestly? It didn’t feel that
great. It just sort of felt weird. I kept the hot water on to will myself to
love it, but it wasn’t like I was cold and needed the hot water. I guess I’m
getting accustomed to the whole cold shower thing? Maybe it was just yesterday,
though. Most mornings I would LOVE to be climbing into a hot shower over a cold
one. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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After showering and using nice towels (ah it was all such a
treat!) I stopped by Lavender on my way home (the supermarket—my favorite) and
picked up some groceries. Once I got home, I had some lunch and the guys were
up so we just hung out for a little. I was exhausted after barely sleeping the
night before so Prabhat told me to go take a nap before we went out. I listened
to him and did and it felt great. I also have been trying to plan this trip to
Nepal! I am officially going alone, which is such a bummer. But Prabhat can
only go next weekend because he’s going to the field and I can only go the
weekend after that because of the field. So, I have been exploring some hotels
and there are SO many great options! The city looks beautiful. I am going to try
and find a tour company that does group hikes (or maybe through the hotel)
because I reallyyyy want the chance to go hiking while I'm there. We’ll see
what I’m able to work out. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So after my nap, we headed down to Old Dhaka to see some
mosques. I was REALLY nervous about traffic after our last trip and the fact
that it’s Ramadan (so the traffic is usually worse) but it was a miracle. The
roads were CLEAR. It was shocking, unheard of, amazing. It took us like 15
minutes to get down there. I guess since it’s Friday people are at home with
their families, praying, getting ready for Iftar (it was already 5:00pm when we
left and Iftar is at like 7pm). It was SO nice though to not have traffic! The
mosque we went to was really pretty and so peaceful despite being in the middle
of such a crazy city. The grounds were a pretty good size. It was white with
beautiful blue mosaic tiling and accents of green throughout the building. A
big pond was to one side and on the other side was a graveyard. We went
“inside” (it was a pretty open space with no completely closed walls) and
walked around and people were hanging out and some praying. A group of young
men on the far side were getting prepared for Iftar. The food was already out
and they were starting to line up hundreds of plates. I guess a lot of people
come to the mosque to break fast. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We hung out over in the far area by the pond for a while.
One guy was looking at us very intensely and with a sad face. He started
talking to us. He asked tons of questions about what we were doing there, where
we worked, etc. He said he used to work for an NGO and had been unemployed for
about a year. He seemed to have this permanent confused, sad expression on his
face. One thing he KEPT asking and could not understand was the nature of our
relationship. He kept asking if we were just friends and we were like yep all JUST
friends. It’s turned into a pretty common (and funny) occurrence that people
think I am dating Kishan or Prabhat (usually Kishan for some reason! Prabhat is
just our older brother or something?). People don’t really understand the
concept of girls and guys just being friends. Also, I think by my age here I am
not really supposed to be single. But yeah, he was definitely confused and
trying to figure out the nature of our relationships. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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As we left, he followed us out on the street. He tried to
tell us to come to his house for Iftar. Well, first he asked Kishan and when
Kishan said no, he asked me. We were like no, no, no, no. He also could NOT say
my name. He was going between “kitten” (a pretty common pronunciation among
foreigners, actually) and “Clinton,” which, well, is just not my names. So he
asked me, “Clinton” if I would come to Iftar. It was an interesting
interaction. Finally we hopped in a rickshaw to go grab a CNG to go home. We
were going to go to another mosque, the national mosque, but it was almost
Iftar so it would’ve been PACKED. Actually, walking home from lavender earlier,
the street it’s on has a mosque. I left at prayer time and the street was
FILLED—completely filled you couldn't walk through—of people that were
overflowing from the mosque and therefore praying out in the streets. It was a
pretty incredible sight. I went the other way to go home, obviously. But
anyway, yes, the national mosque would’ve been a HUGE scene, and we didn’t want
to be imposing during such an important and religious time. The reason the
mosque we visited wasn’t crazy overflowing is because it is a Shiite mosque
and Shi’ites are definitely a minority in Bangladesh. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So, we grabbed a CNG no problem (again, incredible) and headed
home on clear, empty roads. The whole experience was amazingly stress-free and
the mosque had been so peaceful. I was shocked how calm I felt re-entering
Banani. It was so pleasant. We decided to go get an Iftar meal at Star Kebab—a
traditional Bengali restaurant in Banani that I’ve mentioned. It was PACKED.
For the most part, restaurants set up stands outside with tons of food options
to-go and people pick this up to take home and have Iftar with their families.
But I guess it is also popular to eat out. Star Kebab is a big three-story
maze. The first floor is like fast food/pick up. The second floor has one room
where you can get kebabs and a different room that at least tonight was serving
pre-created Iftar plates. Iftar items are generally ALL fried. Like tons of
snack-food-type fried items and a lot of them. So that is what the plate seemed
to consist of. The third floor was an even bigger room serving the Iftar plate.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We opted for the menu room with kebabs. It was also packed.
They ended up putting two two-person tables together (that were already filled
with people eating) and had us sit in between these two parties, with all three
of us parties sharing the now big table. It was so strange, but everyone was
completely fine with it, so it must be a normal thing to do. Can you imagine a
restaurant trying to do that in the US? Everyone in the room ate in almost
completely silence. We figured it was either because everyone was so hungry
after not eating all day or a religious practice of respect (probably had to do
with respect). So we ordered kebabs, jahl fry, naan, and paratha and basically
ate in silence. It was a HEAVY meal. The jahl fry there is just chicken
drowning in a very oily, sort of spicy sauce. And paratha and naan are always
very filling, sine they are generous with how much they give you. We packaged
up a bunch to take home, but we ended up just giving it to some kids outside
the restaurant. We didn’t need all that extra naan and they were thrilled. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We walked home, which was nice after our huge meal, and sat
down to find a movie. All the movies on, I’ve noticed (or most of them) or
sci-fi. They must be really into their sci-fi here. BUT, with this day going so
well and generally going my way thus far, my luck continued, and there happened
to be a rom-com on, which I was absolutely thrilled about. Made of Honor. Not
the best movie, very predictable, sort of whatever, but I was just excited to
not be watching sci-fi! So we lounged and watched the movie and then I headed
back to bed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Sitting in bed, I suddenly saw a big black bud scuttle by on
the floor. The cockroach! I crept out of the kitchen and grabbed a Tupperware
and snuck back in and put it right down on top of it—I got him! We slid a bag
under the Tupperware and took him outside. RIGHT after, we found ANOTHER one in
the kitchen! We did the same thing. And thennnnn going back in my room to
finally go to sleep I saw ANOTHER one. It was nice we were catching all them,
but ugh just to deal with them is gross and the fact that there are SO many. And
they are HUGE. We are going to buy some chalk and or spray. Chalk works wonders
apparently. You just put it around your bed, in doorways, in the kitchen, etc.
They won’t cross it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Well, besides dealing with cockroaches (although that’s two
less living in my room!), as you can see I had a really great day. Things just really
went my way. It was relaxing and fun and easy. Not adjectives I use a lot to
describe days in crazy Dhaka. So, I am up now, it’s Saturday, and I don’t know
what we’ll do. We were going to try and go to Dhaka’s old capital—it’s supposed
to be a really beautiful and historical little city--but we were going to take
IPA’s car to do it (it’s an hour away, maybe more) and we couldn’t plan it so
last minute. Maybe we can make it work another day! Although, depending on my
field dates, which will probably be the end of this week, this is most likely
my last weekend in Dhaka! So crazy! We should have big plans for today, but I think
we’ll just hang out, maybe visit another mosque, and then go see the Liberation
War Museum (which is supposed to be the best museum here). I also would love to
go to a movie, so we may try and sort out buying tickets. We’re probably too
late for a show tonight, but maybe we can get tickets for tomorrow. Okay, anyway,
I think that’s all for now! I’ll keep you posted (so many posts lately, right?
I’m doing better!). <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-46291381536504689162013-07-10T11:00:00.003-07:002013-07-10T11:00:54.356-07:00Wednesday, July 10th <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
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So Ramadan officially starts tomorrow. We got a text today
from the office head, Alamgir, that the office will officially be open from 9am
to 3:30pm for Ramadan. I’m not sure how closely the non-Muslims (like the PCs
and PAs aka my bosses) follow this schedule, but I guess I will see tomorrow. I
will not complain if I we end work at 3:30pm. Although, honestly, there isn’t
too much to do with all of the extra free time. But still. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Only 6 of us in the office will be eating office lunch now,
so we had to figure that out today with the woman that cooks. It’s crazy
everyone else will be fasting all day every day for an entire month. I can’t
even imagine. We are going to try and fast one day and then go out somewhere
delicious for Iftar. I suggested we do it on a weekend day so that we can lay
low and not be expected to use our brains. It’s sort of cheating considering
everyone else continues on with their lives (the poor rickshaw wallahs!) but
still. Also we are going to cheat and drink water, because it is just way too
hot here to not drink water all day! I can’t believe people do it. I feel like
everyone will be fainting left and right. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyway, this morning we got locked into our apartment.
Prabhat woke up early to go on a run and used the key to lock us in. We have
two sets of keys so normally this wouldn’t be a problem and we could just
unlock the door from the inside with the key (it’s an old school dead bolt that
you have to lock/unlock with the key from the inside or out). Well, we couldn’t
find the key. So the cleaning woman came and was knocking and knocking and
Kishan tried to get out the phrase book to explain what was going on and we
were calling down for the building supervisor and he didn’t really understand so
kept calling back and meanwhile I was looking everywhere for the key and trying
to get a hold of Prabhat and the whole thing was a scene. And all at 8am right
after crawling out of bed and a very deep sleep. We ended up not being able to
open the door, so the cleaning woman left. Once Prabhat came home we were free,
but after a bunch of searching we still couldn’t find the other set, so we are
getting a new set made tomorrow. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Today after work I went to the gym. I had no small bills so
I couldn’t take a rickshaw home afterwards, which was a bummer. If you don’t
have 10’s or 20’s and you take a rickshaw you end up way overpaying because
they won’t give you change. They’re smart and pretend they don’t understand
what you’re saying when you ask for change or they say they don’t have any
smaller bills. Smart, but it’s annoying. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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After the gym and dinner, Kishan and I went to meet Prabhat
at the market to load up on some fruits and vegetables. I usually get the fruit
and Prabhat gets the vegetables, because he knows all the names for them (they
are the same as in Nepal) and he is a better bargainer. Fruit prices are more
fixed, so I stick with those. But tonight we bought both. I usually beeline
past the vegetable stands to the back where the fruit is. The vegetable stands
are the most overwhelming, because they are big and very tall (the venders
stand up above on stools, I guess) and are along the sides of a very narrow
path through the market and everyone on both sides is always yelling out
“Madame! Madame!” and so I usually just keep on going. Also, I don’t recognize
half the vegetables. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Tonight was interesting though, because we went to Prabhat’s
regular stand and they were showing us all of the options. They were smart and
kept showing them to me and having me smell the different herbs, because I was
so interested in everything and kept wanting to buy everything they showed me.
They picked up on me as the consumer of the group quickly. Prabhat showed me
and named a lot of new vegetables, and we picked up a new spinach-like green and
some herbs I have never tried and another small green vegetable that looks like
a mini cucumber that Prabhat is going to cook for us. We also bought baby corn.
I never knew what baby corn even looked like. I had only seen it already
shucked and prepared at salad bars or in stir-fry’s. From the outside it
basically just looks like mini shucks of corn. I guess I should’ve expected that,
but I was still surprised. Also, I love baby corn, so I was pretty excited (and
therefore bought some). We had to finally say no after buying a bunch of
greens, carrots, potatoes, onions, baby corn, those new green vegetables and a
few new herbs. We definitely loaded up, partially due to my consumer attitude
to all the new vegetables they kept showing us, but regardless. This HUGE bag
and just a ton of vegetables for Tk320 ($4….). I have pretty much switched my
price expectations and gotten used to using taka so am always surprised now when
I do do the conversions. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tonight we laid low. We bought a bootleg version of Scrabble
from Lavender last week, so we opened that up and played a game. It was
basically the same as Scrabble, just with some notably cheaper parts. Otherwise,
not very much to report since my last update. We are going to book everything
for Nepal tomorrow, so I am really excited about that! One of the PI’s on my
project is coming this weekend. He’s a professor from Yale and is doing a trip
to check up on all of his projects in India and Bangladesh. It will be very
interesting to meet him and discuss the project. Also we will be having another
(final!) meeting with WaterAid that he will come to on Monday so that will good.
Then, we will be planning a trip to the field for next week, so I'm looking
forward to that! I’ll keep you posted on the upcoming weekend. I think we are
going to try and fast Friday—should be interesting. I can be a bit cranky some
may say when I’m hungry, so I have already warned Prabhat and Kishan that I
need to do a lot of laying and lounging and sleeping while we fast. I wouldn’t
make a very good Muslim…<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-81632264939871693972013-07-09T08:30:00.001-07:002013-07-09T08:30:18.500-07:00Tuesday, July 9th <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So where to begin. It’s been a few days! I guess I can start
with 4<sup>th</sup> of July, last Thursday. I keep breaking my promise to
update more often...I’m sorry! And then I end up with these long posts that
cover a week at a time….ah, okay, well anyway, 4<sup>th</sup> of July. We
WANTED to do something, but we really didn’t have too much luck. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In the afternoon, I had a meeting with WaterAid, which is an
NGO that we have partnered with on my project up until now. However, we are
trying to stop working with them. It seems like we are paying way too much for
them to not do very much and they are trying to run the show with this next
intervention (even though we pay them…), so we went to discuss their ideas for
the intervention and tell them ours. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Oh, wow, was this a ridiculous meeting. It was like we were
speaking two different languages (granted, there was some Bangla used on their
end to discuss amongst themselves every once in awhile). They explained their
intervention enthusiastically, despite some enormously major flaws in design
that they couldn’t explain (they were still “working out the details”). Every
question we asked they looked at us like it was the dumbest question ever. One
of Ariadna’s comments they laughed at (or maybe they were laughing with us?).
It was all SO unclear. By the time we got to explaining our intervention, we
were pretty exasperated. They did NOT understand it. A major component is
having people make a public or private pledge to improve sanitation to see the
given effect on whether people actually improve. After explaining everything,
we asked if they could at least keep this commitment aspect in mind as they
wrote up their intervention proposal and got back to us. They looked at us
incredulously: of course we have commitment in our design. And there is a
pledge but it is best made at the end after the household has reached full
sanitation. What? Oh my god, we didn’t even try. Clearly everything we said had
gone right over their heads. Looking back, we laughed at the meeting. But
during it, it was very frustrating. While the PI’s (Project Investigators—the
two professors that run the project) are keen on working with WaterAid, this
meeting really pushed the limit. We can’t afford to work with them and we are
just completely on different pages. So we were happy when the meeting notes got
sent out and the PI’s officially said we could wrap up the contract with them.
Very good news! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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So, that was a good two-hour meeting that took up a lot of
my afternoon—what with the hour long trip there and hour long trip back. I
headed home and Kishan brought home apple pies to try and be festive. Well,
they ended up being mini “blueberry” pies. I quote blueberries because not
totally convinced what this blue/purple jam stuff in the middle was. But,
heated up with some ice cream, it was pretty good! Sadly, that was about all we
did for the Fourth of July. We tried?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next day was Friday, and we decided we would go track
down North End Coffee Roasters, which is a coffee shop that is popular among
expats here and run by an American couple. I had to go into work for a meeting
in the morning, which also ended in good news. We want to hire one WaterAid
worker who we have had a particularly close connection with and who has been
very helpful to us—he’s well connected in the field. He is willing to come work
for us, so our meetings last week were both win wins (in the end). After work,
I attempted to go find a dry cleaners so I could drop the sari off that I had
borrowed for the wedding last week. I headed down a long road to find the first
dry cleaners suggested to me, but it had shut down, even though the sign was
deceivingly still up. So, I had to go two blocks over and head back in the same
exact direction I had come from. It was hot and definitely time for lunch so my
patience was fading. I walked until I got to where the building should have
been based on the address. No sign of it. I kept walking a little ways and then
asked a guy outside a food place where a dry cleaners was. He pointed to have
me keep going. After a few more blocks I went into a store and asked another
guy. He pointed me the other direction. This happened two more times just like
this, with me heading back and forth within four blocks, assuming I had missed
it or something. Exasperated, I gave up. I grabbed a rickshaw and headed home
for some much needed lunch (I finally found a place Sunday…). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After lunch we headed out to find the coffee shop. We knew
the general area and it was near the American Embassy, so we took a rickshaw
right past there. Interestingly, the American Embassy is very discreet here.
And other than one American flag, the large ominous brick building is pretty
discreet. Well, the area was pretty crazy and on a busy street and there was no
sign of any buildings that may house coffee shops. We crossed the road and
walked a ways, but we knew it would be pointless to just wander. We decided to
sit ourselves down outside a little tea stall, whip out a laptop and our
internet USB stick, and look the place up. Very subtle. Very discreet. I was a
little less engaged in the search and bought a couple kids some bananas while I
waited for the boys to figure out where we should go. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finally, they figured it out. And we headed in the right
direction. It was sort of a ways away, so I was excited when we got there. The
coffee shop was on the second floor, so you couldn’t hear the noise of the
street once you were inside. The windows had a white tint over them, so you
couldn’t see out either (but light still got in). There were tables and couches
and a barista bar that looked straight out of Starbucks. They even had a big
chalkboard menu with all sorts of drink options. We literally could’ve been
right back in the US at a nice coffee shop. I’m not going to lie; it was a really
nice escape. We ordered coffee and got comfortable and hung out, read, and did
some work.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Friday night, Alamgir, the head of the office, invited a
group of us over to his house for dinner. He had the IPA car pick us up and we
headed to his apartment. We met his wife and two kids. There were about 5 other
people from the office there—Ariadna, Prabhat and Kishan’s boss, Martin, and a
couple others. It was a lot of fun getting out and hanging out with a group.
There was SO MUCH food, too! His wife made a huge spread. Well, to start, for
appetizers we had mango and these spring roll things and little samosas. There
were also these sweets I can’t remember what they’re called but I need to look
them up! They’re like little cake balls—delicious. For dinner, it was like 20 different
dishes: two fish curries, two different chicken curries, beef, rice, two
vegetables dishes, fresh vegetables, these green vegetables I’d never seen but
were good, potatoes, and the list goes on. Those are just the ones I can think
of off the top of my head. Also, we didn’t eat until 10:30pm! That’s when
Bangladeshis normally eat—well, at 10pm but still! I can’t even imagine. And
they have these heavy rice and curry meals. I guess they do make you sleepy, so
it’s convenient if you can just go to sleep afterwards. I don’t know. After
eating we got a ride home. And even on a Friday at 11pm we hit traffic. Of
course. It took a good hour to get home. It was the four interns in the car and
we ended up having a very interesting conversation about Hinduism, Christianity,
and Norse Gods/myths. Basically just sharing information with each other. Pretty
diverse group in the car. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Saturday we had another low-key day. I feel restless coming
out of the weekend and know I will definitely need to plan more to do this
weekend! We meant to go check out some mosques, but we never got around to
doing it. This weekend! We are also working on going to see the new Superman
movie this week. You have to buy your movie tickets (in person) a day or two in
advanced here, though. It’s quite the ordeal and not some casual activity. So,
we are working on it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Saturday I woke up and went to the gym. The guys sleep past noon like every
weekend and I haven’t been able to sleep, so this has been a good option to
kill time. People are VERY loud here at the gym! It’s sort of funny. Like as
people are lifting weights or even just doing abs on the mat they are grunting
and moaning and sometimes straight up yelling. It’s pretty strange. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
After the gym, I went home and Prabhat was making kathi
rolls. He was improvising making some peanut sauce for them and ended up using
peanut butter, balsamic vinegar, and a few other ingredients. I was skeptical.
He cooked up the cubed chicken with tomatoes and onions and the sauce and then
got out frozen paratha we keep in the apartment and cooked that up with a layer
of egg on it. Then he rolled the chicken in the egg paratha to make the roll. It was SO GOOD. An
accidental dish that ended up being beyond delicious (accidental because the peanut sauce didn’t
really taste like peanut sauce…but we were both happy with the results). </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For
those of you that don’t know what paratha is, it’s delicious. It's the shape of
a tortilla and basically just fried layered dough. Think a super thin croissant
in tortilla form. They are absolutely delicious and can be found everywhere
over here. This and naan are the standard bread options served with food (and
roti, which is more like naan than paratha). Anyway, the makeshift kathi roll
was delicious and we’re going to make them again soon. I’m trying to pick up
some things Prabhat has been cooking, since they are seasoned and made so
differently and in a way I would never think of but at the same time all end up
being so good. Like the other night he cooked okra, tomatoes, and onions with
yogurt and masala seasoning. He ate it with paratha and shared a bite with me
and again—so delicious! I don’t know if I winged it like him with those
ingredients and flavors whether I would have quite the same success, but we’ll
see. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After lunch, we headed back to North End Coffee Roasters
just to hang out again. The guys had work, and I just read. I have been reading
a LOT here—I’m on my tenth book…I did the majority of that while the guys were
away, but still, clearly I’ve had some time on my hands. Kishan ordered a
brownie and it was sooo good. Their cinnamon rolls are what they’re known
for—we’ll have to get them next time. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sunday was back to work. I started the day in a sort of
short, cranky mood and it ended up lasting all day. All the honking and yelling
on the street sounded louder, the people staring and calling out were more
irritating and my attempt to buy fruit at the market after work ended with me
paying what I know was WAY too much (relative to what it should be—still so
cheap compared to at home). Gah I was just having an
I-don’t-want-to-be-here-day. I think it was partly after doing almost nothing
all weekend and then I knew I had a full week of work ahead of me with nothing
fun planned either. So, when the guys got home we started brainstorming what we
could do. We were all admitting that Dhaka isn’t too plentiful with fun
activities and options to do after work (or during the day…), which we hear
other expats say a lot. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Prabhat and I ended up making a late trip out to Lavender to
get some groceries. It was really nice out and not too hot, so the walk was
nice. Unfortunately, Lavender was closed when we got there. On our walk back, a
little boy started following us wanting money. Prabhat told him to follow us to
the market. They talked a little and we found out he was 9. We went to the
market by our house and picked up a few things. The little boy picked out
powdered milk and biscuits, so we bought those for him and he was thrilled
(mostly over the biscuits; I don’t think he meant to point to the milk). Prabhat
hadn’t eaten dinner, so we stopped into Dhaba, which is a very good, cheap
restaurant near out house. It’s Indian and Thai food, although I’ve just had
the Indian. We hung out and talked and he ate, and it was a nice little
excursion after my restless, cranky day. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Yesterday, fish was being served in the office, and when I
do this, I normally try to figure it out early enough to say I’m going out to
eat. Lunch in the office has been good! It’s rice every day and dahl, which
I’ve come to really like together, especially when I add squeeze some lime juice
on top. Then it’s usually a couple bites of chicken or beef (literally, two
bites) and some potatoes and veggies that have usually been cooked with fish so
are not my favorite, but I eat them. Today we had this amazing vegetable mix
that I guess translates literally to “sweet pumpkin” but Martin was saying he
wasn’t sure if it was actually what we would think of as pumpkin, but it
could’ve been because it was a squash-like consistency and sweet. Either way,
it wasn’t made with fish and was SO good! The other amazing thing she makes
every once in awhile is khichuri, which is a rice and lentil dish that also has
some other spices in it and is delicious and warm and comforting. It’s
traditionally made on rainy days (and for sick people) so it makes sense. The
couple days we’ve had it have been rainy ones; it’s one good thing about the
rain. I hope she keeps making it!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well anyway, yesterday was fish so I went out to pick up
chicken shawarma. Ugh bad idea; I felt sick the REST of the afternoon. I even
felt feverish, so by 4:30 I gave up and headed home. I spent the evening
feeling very sick and in bed. Prabhat was nice and made me some rice for
dinner. Luckily, today I have felt completely fine, so I blame that chicken
shawarma. It’s hard to be completely careful here with the food. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today was not too eventful. Ramadan will start either
tomorrow or the next day (depending on whether we see the moon), so it will be
interesting to see what that’s like. All the restaurants have signs up with
Iftar deals. Iftar is the meal at the end of the day to break the fast. It’s
traditionally all fried food and a LOT of it. We are going to try and head to
Old Dhaka one day for Iftar, because the street stalls supposedly have
delicious options. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Otherwise, I’m planning a trip to Nepal. I couldn’t at
first, because I knew we were going to the field at some point in July and
didn’t want to plan over that (again…) but I found out we will be going next
week to the field. So next week the field and the weekend after that Nepal and
then the week after Nepal I head home. I can’t believe it! I am sure the next
couple of weeks will fly by, especially with all of this traveling. I will have
to make the most of this weekend in Dhaka, since it may be my last full one. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, not much else to report. I will keep you posted on my
travel plans and other things going on around here! Weekdays tend to be slow,
but as I said we are trying to figure out SOMETHING to do! Hopefully we can get
creative and come up with something. We shall see. <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-54474873921485699672013-07-04T20:22:00.001-07:002013-07-04T20:22:20.203-07:00Thursday, July 4th (HAPPY 4TH OF JULY)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So, Sunday we went to a wedding! Like I said in my last
post, it was for a man that works in our office and everyone was invited. Women
wear saris to weddings, so I asked Ariadna about getting one. She suggested I
borrow one from Rafaiyat, who used to work on my project at the office as a
Project Associate (the position that works under what Ariadna is, which is
Project Coordinator). So, I asked Rafaiyat last week when we all went out to
Thai, and she said of course. So, on Sunday I texted her to figure out a time to pick up the sari, and to ask for help tying it because I of course have NO idea
how to tie a sari. She told me where she lived and that I could come by after
work at any time. A random address in Gulshan 2….I knew this would be a
struggle. Also, road 104—sometimes I can get lucky with numbers under 10 but
104?? Really?<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, I left work early and headed out to the street to get a
rickshaw home to drop my bag off first. The guy that got me repeated the number
24 impeccably and then asked me how I was doing that day. Woah. I needed to
hold onto this guy. So, when we reached my apartment I told him to wait five
minutes and then I needed to go to Gulshan 2. He seemed to understand. I ran
upstairs and when I came back he was waiting there and seemed to understand
104. Even though I wasn’t quite in the clear, I was so relieved. We set off,
and actually road 104 is quite far (endless ways to get lost). We were going for a while and passed
through some very, very nice areas with beautiful, big buildings. We made it
right to her building with no problem. This truly was a miracle. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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I headed up and Rafaiyat had the sari. I asked if she could
help me put it on and she admitted she didn’t even know how to tie one, but her
mother did and could help me. I went into the other room to put on the fitted
blouse and petticoat. The fitted blouse is like an elbow-length, high-kneck
scoop top that is very, very cropped. This one was also quite tight, and I was
relieved that it even fit on me, because it was a close call (and that would’ve
been very awkward…). I put it on
backwards at first and couldn’t get the clips up the back until I asked Rafyait
and she was like yeah, it goes the other way…of course. So, finally I got the
blouse on and the petticoat is just a heavy, full-length slip skirt that goes on
bottom. Then, her mom came in and started tying the actual sari. It is SO much
fabric. This sari was made of a sheer black fabric with a sequin/embroidered trim
of dark red and little royal blue and yellow-y colored thread mixed in. It was
very pretty. Her mother also gave me giant blue earrings to take to wear that
were each like 5lbs. They were dangly and then also wrapped around my ear
lobe. They were a whole contraption. I wore them for a little and then took
them out because of how painful they were.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The sari seemed very complicated to tie, but after some
folding and tucking and safety pinning, it was done. On the left side, my arm
held up the extra cloth hanging off, so I had to keep my arm lifted to keep it
from dragging. Also, the whole thing was heavy. Rafaiyat’s mother told me to
keep the trim of the sari that drapes down the front right from twisting under
as this is the “smart” way to wear it, and it looks bad when the trim twists
under. Of course, the trim in no way wanted to stay up and was continuously
twisting inwards, so I don’t think I was looking very smart for a lot of the wedding…<o:p></o:p></div>
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I am surprised by the cut of saris when they are worn in a
part of the world that is otherwise so modest. My midriff was pretty visible
through the one layer of sheer black fabric that covered it, and while mine was
tied more modestly high in the back, I have seen saris that expose basically a
woman’s whole back. Other than these points of exposure, though, there is
tons and tons of fabric and it is quite uncomfortable to wear and to maneuver in.
Prabhat worked at an NGO in India promoting women’s rights and said there is a
big feminist movement that is against saris because they are responsible for a
lot of women’s deaths in kitchen fires. They are such long strips of fabric, so
intricately tied, that when a woman catches on fire, it is nearly impossible to
get her out of the sari in time to save her. So, overall, some interesting
things I was thinking about as I was getting wrapped up myself in this giant
piece of cloth. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After getting dressed, Rafaiyat offered to drive me home
with her driver, which I gladly accepted. I didn't know how I would get into a
rickshaw in this thing and I would probably have gotten lost on my way home.
So, I headed home and met up with the guys. We had to hurry back to the office
to go with a small group leaving from there. It was raining and finding a CNG
was a pain but after a good 30-45 minutes (actually) we found one. The six of
us climbed into two different ones and headed towards the wedding. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The wedding was far away—it was pretty far south in the
city. Upon “arriving,” it didn’t seem like we were close to a wedding at all.
We were dropped off in a very narrow dirt (mud at this point) street lined with
little shops (a lot like Old Dhaka) and
I could tell even the people who knew where we were going in theory were a
little confused. But finally we headed down a little street off to the side and
at the end were lights. For weddings, they use a lot of “Christmas” lights (I
quote that because they are obviously not for Christmas but give you an idea of
the type of lights I am talking about) in all different colors and they hang
long strings of them down from buildings and/or over archways. This wedding had
a long hall of lights you walked through to get into the makeshift tent they
had set up for dinner. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
A wedding in Bangaldesh, from what I gathered, is a three-day
affair. The night before the actual ceremony, there is a small party with the
bride and groom’s closer friends. It’s food and dancing and apparently a lot of
fun. The day after that is the actual ceremony, where the two become married.
And then the third day, the event we went to, is a dinner party that symbolizes
welcoming the wife in to the husband’s home and “introducing” her to his
friends and family. This is a bigger event that people they are less close to
(aka the interns at the husband’s office...) are invited to. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So we entered the wedding and we were such a scene, as per
usual. People were staring unabashedly. It was already pretty hectic with people
shuffling around in such a small space and our group seemed to add to the chaotic
movement within the tent. The tent was made with colorful strips of cloth, so
it was all very bright. There were probably 4 very large tables and then at the
front was a little stage with what looked like two thrones seating the bride
and groom who were dressed quite ornately in gold and red and a few other
colors. People were taking pictures left and right and were quite openly taking
pictures of us. As we settled down and were seated, we recognized more and more
people from the office who came and said hello and took pictures with us. Then,
they started playing “background music”. Background music, I’ve come to notice
in Bangladesh, involves either straight club music—dub step/techno/house
music—or 80s/90s pop. Club music it was that night and LOUD. It created an
interesting atmosphere… <o:p></o:p></div>
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Once we sat down, they brought out the food family style:
big plates of chicken, biryani, beef curry and raw vegetables. The food was all
very delicious and traditional. They also had this yogurt-y
drink that a women from the office I was sitting next to had me try. After I
<i>generously</i> said, “it’s good!” she poured me a HUGE glass of it. Usually, I am
pretty good at sucking it up and eating/drinking whatever I need to out of
politeness, but I just couldn’t handle this one. I took a few sips and then had
to stop. It was a sort of sour yogurt vegetable drink, and I just couldn’t.
Prabhat LOVED it. I tried to get him to drink mine but he was sitting too far
away. Oh well. Nobody seemed to notice. For desert, there was sweet rice that
was bright orange and had little sweet balls of a sticky sugary substance mixed
in. The whole dish was a little too sweet and strangely textured for me, but I
had a few bites. After eating, we got up and headed outside the tent to make
room for other people to sit down and eat. We stood around with a few people
from the office and talked and took pictures. One guy was spouting out little
poems in Bangla, which Kishan and Prabhat understood (they are both getting
quite good) but of course were completely lost on me. Kishan did broken
translations to me after each one, but of course they sounded strange in
English because they are only poetic sounding in the correct language. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After a little bit of hanging out outside, we headed out to
find a CNG. Alamgir told us to leave early, because it is not the safest area and
transportation basically disappears past 9:30 in Dhaka. There are very few CNGs at night and it is hard and more expensive than usual to get places. We headed out
towards the main road and had to walk for quite awhile before finding CNGs. The
area was bustling in spite of being late. A strip in the middle of the busy road housed stalls of food and snacks and
dozens of rickshaws were parked along here. The other side of the street was a
wide sidewalk with a fence on the far side and many people were camped out
living along here. It was hectic and busy and we walked along looking for
a CNG to take us back. Finally, we found one, and climbed in to go home. <o:p></o:p></div>
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When we got back, Prabhat wanted lemonade, so I walked with
him to the corner store, but it was closed. Right around the corner from our
house, though, is a fancy Arabian restaurant that is very modern and has cool
décor. It has a koi pond and low tables and chairs outside and we sat to get a
drink here and sit for a little. Mocktails are big on all the menus in Dhaka, since
alcohol is not easily available, and I ended up with what I thought would just be
a sparkling orange juice but tasted a lot like a non-alcoholic mint mojito. It
was nice to sit out here and talk and hang out, although I was
also happy once we got home and I could get out of my sari. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
This week we have just been going along as usual, mostly.
I’ve done a good amount of stocking up on groceries and have been cooking,
which I actually have been enjoying. Also, yesterday was a hartal, so we stayed
home from work. I ended up still going to the gym, since it’s close, and while
it was noticeably more quiet out (especially along the main road) people seemed
to be going about their usual business and almost nothing was closed. It sounds
like there may have been some rioting activity in Gulshan, though, so it’s hard
to tell. When they do stuff for the strikes, it’s usually on main roads so
those are the ones to avoid. I guess this strike was a protest to demand the
government release one of the party’s leaders who is currently in jail for war
crimes. They have threatened to take more serious action than a hartal if the
government doesn’t comply. As of now, the government hasn’t, so we will be
watching to see what happens next. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Yesterday, we mostly hung out and cooked and watched a movie
and did some work. It was a nice holiday-type day in the middle of the week.
Also, today is Thursday, so it’s just about the weekend. I’m not sure what
we’ll do this weekend; we currently don’t have anything planned. We want to check out this place called North End Coffee Roasters, which is an apparently nice coffee shop run by expats that has delicious coffee and cinnamon rolls. Today is the 4<sup>th</sup>
of July and we wanted to see if the American Club was doing anything, but we
can’t get a hold of them! We’re going to try again later, and maybe we’ll have
some luck. If not, I think we are going to buy an apple pie at the bakery by
our house and track down some sparklers and have our own mini celebration. But
anyway, I’ll keep you posted on the weekend! Sad I’m not home for the holiday
today!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-9039612044955500392013-07-01T08:39:00.003-07:002013-07-01T08:39:43.109-07:00Monday, July 1st <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I’m feeling very domestic right now. I <i>finally</i> went to Lavender (the super market) again this afternoon to
stock up on groceries, and I just spent the evening cooking up a bunch of
chicken to freeze and keep handy for a quick meal, so I’ll stop living on
Indian takeout and cereal like I basically have been. I’m working on becoming
more of a real human being that actually lives here, instead of a dazed and
confused lost girl in Dhaka. I
definitely feel settled in now—I am 100% comfortable getting around on my own
(if I know where I'm going…otherwise, rickshaws and I still don’t speak the
same language…), and I am very happy with what I’m able to find at the grocery
store and with the fact that I’ve joined a gym by my house. So, life is
starting to feel somewhat normal. I can’t believe it’s July, and I’m halfway
through my stay here. It sort of feels like I just got here, but then I think
back to everything I’ve done and realize okay, I’ve been here for a month. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This weekend was eventful. Well, Friday we ended up not
exploring. It was rainy and also 1pm by the time the guys got up and moving.
Instead, we went out to a delicious Indian restaurant for lunch and then just
sort of hung around, watched a movie, had a good and enjoyable, lazy, rainy day.
For dinner, we went out with a group from the office to a Thai restaurant—us
three and then three others. It was a pretty upscale with really nice décor. We
just ordered a bunch of different dishes for the table and shared it all, which
is the way I like to do. Also, I don’t know what I’m ordering at a lot of these
ethnic restaurants, so it’s nice to leave the ordering in someone else’s more
experienced hands. I have yet to really
have a bad food experience here (knock on wood). Honestly, everywhere I’ve been
the food has been delicious. It’s been such a pleasant surprise. Also, a lot of
the restaurants are nice, like they have good atmospheres and good service and
are just nice places to sit down and enjoy yourself and a meal. I think eating
out is a big form of entertainment here, since there are limited options of
things to do. So the city really has its variety of restaurants and does a good
job with them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Saturday, we decided we would be more ambitious with our
time. We woke up relatively early and headed to Old Dhaka, which was what I had
mentioned we were thinking of doing on Friday. It’s the area Dhaka first
started in and still is a relatively nice part of the city. It’s where most of
the historical sites of the city are, so a popular tourist destination. Traffic
wasn’t too bad, and we got there pretty quickly (i.e. less than an hour). But three
people in a CNG is cozy, and it was pouring rain, so we rolled down the tarp
pieces they keep to cover the caged walls for when it’s rainy, which is nice
because you stay dry, but make it so, so stuffy and sort of claustrophobic. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Our first stop was the boat terminal of Old Dhaka. Old Dhaka
is in the southern most part of the city, and is right up against a river that
spans the country. People take boats from here to various parts of the country,
both south and north. During Eid—the festival at the end of Ramadan—this
terminal is packed with people heading home to their villages for the holiday. We
got to the terminal and it was hectic. Shanties lined the streets selling basic
goods and food. We walked towards the entrance of the terminal and we were
stopped by a man offering to take us out on a boat. We had heard this is
something you can do—get a guy to take you out in his boat to see the area from
the water—so we agreed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We followed him along the dock and jumped onto a VERY large
boat that seemed to be carrying pineapples and coconuts. It was a giant
shipping boat. I was a little confused what we were doing on this random boat
that was bustling with people working, but then we walked through and off to
the side and saw the rowboat attached and climbed in. I call it a rowboat, but
they have a different official name. They are longer and narrower and shallower
than what you would imagine a rowboat to be. Also, one man stands in the back
with a single oar that both propels and steers the boat. It was nice to go out
on the water and see all the boats. And although the water was crowded, it was peaceful
compared to the chaos that ensues on land. There were large rocket boats that
take people on overnight trips to different cities in the country. And there
were even large freight ships, some of which were on shore and getting built in
a shipyard we passed. There were also boats just slightly bigger than ours carrying
different goods across the river. But what we saw the most of were other boats exactly
like the one we were in. Dozens and dozens of these filled with people were
going back and forth across the river. Our impromptu guide who spoke some basic
English told us they were sort of like water taxis. On one side of the river is
where most of the people live; while on the other side is the area most people
work in, so the boats take them back and forth. It was very neat to see from
right inside of it all. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After our boat ride, we headed to the nearest tourist
destination, the “Pink Palace” as it is known to foreigners (I forget the
official Bangla name…those Bangla words get me every time). While I expected a
coherent, important-sounding story and history behind the big palace, there
really wasn’t one. It had been passed around by Bangladeshi elite, with one
family primarily having it through the 1800s and 1900s, and it was where Indian
and British officials would stay when visiting. Also, at one point in the 1900s,
it was just overrun by squatters and had become completely dilapidated. They
finally renovated it a few decades ago, and it has now been restored to a
bright coral-ly pink color and with the inside restored for the most part (some
areas they were still working on). It was neat walking through and seeing some
of the rooms set up like they were in the 1800s. Overall, though, it was really
nothing too exciting. But we felt like good tourists for seeing it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Afterwards, we were
hungry, so we decided to go track down Haaji Biryani, which is a very well
known biryani restaurant in Old Dhaka. Restaurant is a strong word, though, and
while everyone could point us in the right direction, we ended up passing the
place before turning back and finding it. It was about two shanty-stores
wide—so tiny—and had no sign. We just asked the man stationed at the big pot
outside if this was Haaji Biryani and he told us yes. And it was completely
open on the street side. It had about five small tables and right outside sat
the man who directed us in with the largest pot I had every seen (I could
easily have fit inside) of biryani. And that was the restaurant. You told them
how many plates you wanted and they brought you whatever biryani they had that
day. Saturday, it was mutton. And, wow, was the biryani DELICIOUS—definitely
the best I had had in Dhaka. And it was welcome after a pretty long morning
getting down to Old Dhaka and then wondering around Pink Palace in the heat.
The heat just makes everything a little harder. Lime is a big thing, and people
eat it on most of their meals. I have sort of picked up doing this with my
rice-based meals at the office and biryani. It really does taste good with the
flavors they have already put into the rice. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Oh, also, on our way to finding Haaji Biryani we stopped at
a little street shop to try the pastries they were making. The streets of Old
Dhaka are tiny and narrow and wind this way and that for what seems like
forever. It was easy to get lost in the narrow little streets and finding a way
out and onto a main road with cars was a challenge. The only vehicles on these
streets are rickshaws (and LOTS of them) and motorcycles. We saw endless
traffic jams of rickshaws, with people just stopped and waiting for as far as
you could see. But anyway, on our way to Haaji Biryani, we found these men
making pastries with dough that they were forming into flat disks and then
putting on the walls of an open oven set in the ground. We bought a couple to
try and oh my god they were the best things I’ve had in Bangladesh so far.
AMAZING. They are sweet and buttery and flaky and just so delicious you have no
idea. We found out they are called Bakha Kani and are an Old Dhaka tradition. They
also have unsweetened ones, which we tried later, that are savory and buttery
and delicious. They are made with layers of ghee (clarified butter) spread
between layers of dough so obviously they are super, super healthy and low fat.
Ah, they are too good; I am going to have to travel back down to Old Dhaka
again before I leave just to get some more. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After Haaji Biryani, we decided to go to Lalberg Fort,
probably the biggest tourist destination of Old Dhaka. Finding a rickshaw or
CNG that would take us was a nightmare. First, getting out of the tiny, narrow
streets of the area to one of the very few main roads with CNGs was a
challenge. Once we managed that, we probably waited on the side of the loud,
honking, bustling, hot road for a good hour until we gave up on finding a CNG
and all climbed onto a rickshaw who was willing to take us even though it was
very far away. We did three on a rickshaw--what a scene. Kishan sat up on the
back of the seat, while Prabhat and I sat up front. It was cozy to say the
least. And thus we started our <i>hour and a
half</i> (maybe 2 hour?) rickshaw ride to Lalberg Fort, part of which was in
the rain. What took so long was getting stuck on these little streets. The
lines of stopped rickshaw go on and on endlessly. You stop for five minutes,
and then move ten feet up and stop again. It probably would’ve been faster to
walk, but we didn’t know where we were going and we were pretty tired. Also, we
kept thinking we were close because our driver said we were, but obviously
every time he said that we weren’t close…so, basically, most of this hour and
half was spent stopped. It wasn’t so bad; we people watched and just hung out
on the rickshaw entertaining ourselves. It was nice to see such a different
area than the one we live in. People, especially kids, were curious to see us
and waved and said hello. After our very long and slow crawl, we finally,
finally made it to Lalberg Fort and headed in. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The compound it sat on was a large garden and very
beautiful. I hadn’t seen this much open space in Dhaka yet, and it was peaceful
compared to the streets outside the compound walls. In the center sat a
palace-looking structure, to the right was a mosque, and to the left was a
structure that housed the living quarters. Along the back was a fort-type
structure built into a hill. In the corner were the ruins from when large parts
of the fort were destroyed in the Liberation War. We wandered around for a while
(in the rain) and went into the buildings that were open. A group of kids all
dressed in white were lined up on the back fort singing for what appeared to be
some sort of music video, so that was sort of entertaining to watch. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After, we decided to go get a snack, and wandered down the
street to a little restaurant whose front was shaped as a ghost and the door
was the ghost’s mouth you walk through. Prabhat had heard of a haunted
restaurant in Old Dhaka where they scare you while you eat, so we figured this
was it. Inside, it was dark and there were green and purple laser lights and
posters of ghosts and pumpkins (?) and 80s pop playing. It was a bizarre
combination. The place was tiny, with four miniature booths and a table and
almost no walking space. After about ten minutes of sitting while the guys got lassies
(A yogurt based milkshake-type drink), the lights got even darker and ghoul-ish
music started playing. Bright laser lights danced around the room. In the back
of the shop, a door open, and a little figure in a black cape and a scary
gorilla mask came out. A voice over the music in the back shouted out “I will
kill you” and the little gorilla man came up to each of the five tables and
sort of creepily stared at us and leaned in. It was mostly uncomfortable, and I
didn’t really know what to do with myself…or my face. I guess look scared? The
other restaurant guests sort of just looked bored. I was like seriously, no
reaction? There is a midget dressed up as a gorilla coming up to your table
while deafening music plays and a spooky voice shouts VERY loudly “I will kill
you.” They must’ve been regulars… Kishan went in for a picture, which I captured
and the gorilla man seemed willing to take. It was probably one of the
strangest restaurant experiences I have ever had. Ten minutes later, after a
group with three small kids came in, the same thing happened again (I wouldn’t
want to spend too much time here with this show on repeat…) but this time a taller
man dressed as the gorilla came out. The kids went berserk. And not in a good
way. They were crying and screaming and hated it. We left right after this
happened, which was just in time. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Before heading home, we wanted to find more of the Bakha
kanis. We knew there was a famous street food market nearby, and we tried to
find it. Climbing on some rickshaws because it was pouring rain again, we
started heading in one direction for like 20 minutes. When we clarified where
we were going and the food we wanted to find, the guy looked exasperated and
sort of explained (brokenly) that it was the other way—right where we had come
from. Classic. So we turned around and headed back to the area we had started
in. We stocked up on some bakha kanis to bring home and then went in search of
a CNG. The same rickshaw was nice enough to take us to an area that had
CNGs—sort of an impromptu CNG stand. We climbed in one, absolutely exhausted, and
started heading home. At this point, there was traffic, and so it took about an
hour of starting and stopping to make it back up north to Banani. At this
point, we all just wanted to get home! It might not sound like we did a lot,
but between the alternating heat and rain, and the exorbitant amount of time
and effort it took to get from one place to the next, it was about the most
tired I have been yet. I wanted to get home, and shower, and put on clean
clothes and have some dinner. The CNG ride felt very, very long when normally I
am pretty patient with these things. I was so happy when we finally made it
back. There was a political speech going on near our house, so the CNG had to
drop us off sort of far away, and nothing was more welcome after that rainy
trek after a long, long day then my shower (albeit cold…) and the couch and a
bowl of raisin bran for dinner. We all conked out in front of the TV and headed
to bed very early. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Overall, it was a pretty successful day, and we were happy
we made the adventure. Any attempt to do anything in Dhaka seems to turn into
an adventure when it involves traveling. Between rain and road delays, you
better expect a long day when doing something like this. But okay, anyway, this
post is getting REALLY long, so I’m going to wrap it up. But I’ll write
tomorrow about the wedding we went to on Sunday! It was the wedding I mentioned
a while ago--a guy’s in the office. It was quite the experience. For now, I’ll
keep this post to a weekend overview. Otherwise, things are good here! Like I
said, I went grocery shopping today and also to work and the gym—a day that
would be regular for me even back home. I’ll post later about the wedding!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-1691548788942444572013-06-27T22:59:00.001-07:002013-06-27T22:59:41.765-07:00Friday, June 28th (The Weekend Part 3)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So, finally catching up and filling you in on the last day of Srimangal last weekend: Saturday. We woke up and had breakfast
after our restless night of sleep: eggs and paratha (a fried, tortilla-type
bread) and potatoes. Afterwards, we headed to the trailhead of the forest. On
our way we stopped and our tour guide went into a little store to pick up a
small bottle of powder. It was disgusting smelling powder made from tobacco and
some other ground up ingredients that you rub all over your shoes and socks to
ward off leeches and keep them from climbing on your shoes and biting you and
sucking out your blood. Ew. We actually stuffed our pants in our socks, which
was a pretty hip look. But hey, it’s better than leeches latching on to your
skin. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As we headed in, the rainforest was really pretty. And it
was actually pretty cool in the dark shade of all the trees.
I will try and add pictures soon! The problem is they are impossibly slow to
upload and sometimes just won’t. You might just have to wait until I return to America and its speedy internet to see most of my pictures. But we headed in to the forest and walked down a brick/dirt
path until we got to the bottom of a hill with a visitor center and little shop
on top. We kept on going and saw some trails starting to lead off in different directions. We started heading down one, stopping often to look
around in silence if our tour guide heard noises that might be animals. I guess
there are fewer animals to see in the summer when it’s so hot, but we ended up getting really lucky. We had actually
stopped on the way to the trail to get out of the car and see a group of
monkeys. There were a bunch of them, small and brown, swinging from trees to
trees, fruit dropping constantly as they did so. A few of them had little
babies clinging to their stomachs. It was very entertaining just standing and
watching them move around. They didn’t seem to mind us at all and our tour guide was
saying how the bigger ones can actually get aggressive and come at you.
Depending on how deep you go in on the trails, you have to carry a stick to ward off monkeys and other animals. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Ahh, so I know I am already forgetting the names of some of the
animals we heard about and/or saw. Our tour guide told us about a few different
types of birds. And told us how there are wild boars in the forest. And some sort
of tiger, like a small one. I COMPLETELY forget what it is called! And they have black bears. I guess this particular park has a black bear who lost its mate a couple years ago because some local people killed it after it attacked someone. And now the black bear is constantly looking for a companion and is much more aggressive with finding and following people. They are like the Bengal tigers in the Sundarban (the southern, mangrove forest of the country) in that they target and will pick one person in a group and then follow and track that person/group and wait for the perfect time to come out and attack. The Bengal tigers are notorious for this and have killed a lot of people down in the south. This is part of the reason they are having such a hard time conserving the endangered species. The local people want to kill them as revenge and to protect their people from being attacked and killed, but then wildlife organizations are trying to come in and protect the tigers. It's a conflict of interest. </div>
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Anyway, the rainforest. So an endangered primate species,
the gibbons, lives in this national park. I think this and one other place are
the only areas they are still around. We didn’t expect to see any but we got
lucky and saw a family of them! A male, female, and a baby. The male was black
and I guess comes swinging out first anywhere they go to scope out the scene
for danger. Then we saw the light brown female with a baby clinging firmly to her
belly as she swung from branch to branch. They were so neat to see and we hung
around for a while just watching them. We also briefly saw one other type of primate
species, but again, I completely forget what it was called. Sorry I am useless
on the names here. But that one swung out of view pretty quickly. Overall, it
was a nice morning just being outside in the cool shade, walking around and
seeing all of this wildlife we wouldn’t ever normally see. <o:p></o:p>Oh also, because I forgot to write it in my last post and it was so cool, there were these amazing little plants in the pineapple and lemon plantations. They call them “shy plants” because when you touch the leaves of the plant, the plant curls, folding in its leaves flat against each other, like its an animal responding or something. It was absolutely incredible to see! I couldn’t even believe it. And they were so fun to play with and poke.</div>
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After trekking, we headed to a village where they weave
cloth. The walk there was sort of longer than I expected and through the
blazing sun. Not used to so much movement, mixed with the heat and already a
few hours of walking in the forest, I was pretty tired. We headed down a path
with rice fields on either side. Cows and goats were scattered throughout the
fields and we passed people tending to them and one man constructing a bamboo
fence to build for a plant nursery. It all seemed sort of surreal, like we had
been picked up and plopped down in a National Geographic picture. Upon arrival in
the village, we sat and watched one of the girls weaving for a while. The loom
was a very large contraption but she was quick and comfortable maneuvering
it. Her mother brought out a stack of cloth—mostly scarves, fabric for skirts,
and tablecloths—and we picked out a couple of things to buy and take back with
us. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After walking back to the car, we returned into town. We went to
our tour guide’s father’s homeopathic medicine shop. It was wild, and felt like
stepping back in time. It was a shop like the others we’d seen—mostly an
unofficial structure that was very tiny and one side was open to the little
road. He had a customer sitting in there when we came in. The room was full
with almost no room to walk or stand with an old wooden desk in the middle and
walls lined with dusty, dark wooden display cases filled with hundreds of tiny
old-fashioned looking bottles. We didn’t learn too much about it, because his
father didn’t really speak much English, but we learned that most of the medicine
came from Germany and people in the area tend to prefer this type of
homeopathic treatment over modern antibiotics. The reason, they told us, was
because these were quicker “treatments,” while antibiotics you had to take for
a whole long prescription. Sort of an unsound argument, I’d say, but I guess
that’s there thinking here. While we sat in the shop, we had some street snacks
and tea. One of them is a snack we have in the office a lot and I SHOULD know
the name by now but I feel like everyone has been calling it different names.
Regardless, its sort of like a samosa—it's a round ball of potatoes and spices
and sometimes carrots and onions mixed in, wrapped in flaky, presumably fried,
dough. They are DELICIOUS. We also had another little pastry thing I had never
seen or tried. It was a sweet, doughy outside, with an even dough-ier, sweeter
inside. Yes, that is a weird, pretty poor, explanation but that’s sort of all
it was. Dough on dough with LOTS of sugar. I wasn’t a huge fan of the texture
(think bread dough—sticky), but I was hungry and still ate it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After our snacks and town, we headed to one last village. This
was a village of indigenous people, and it was in a very remote, hilly,
forested area. We asked the difference between indigenous people and
Bangladeshis, and I guess it is in their appearance but also their culture and
way of life. We had to drive for a while to get to the village, but it was on
our way out of town. This village specialized in producing bitter leaves and
was apparently very well off because of how popular bitter leaves are here. The
point of the leaves wasn’t explained that well, but it sounds like people chew
on them like they chew on tobacco. They pack it in their lips and/or chew it
to get a bit of a buzz. The village was very interesting though, and did
seem really nice. It was on a hill and cement stairs led us up the hill, winding
through cement/brick, colorful buildings. What looked like hoses brought water to
many of the structures. All of the buildings seemed very sound and well built. Also,
it was a Christian village. Some missionaries had come through and done a lot
of work there and a Presbyterian church was the first building to be seen when
entering. We stopped in the temporary school (a new one was being built) and
learned about their education system. The school had three teachers and 120
students. The teachers explained how they could really use more, but it was a
government school and the government had just hired three for the village.
Apparently this village really emphasized education and the students did well
and worked hard. For indigenous people, it sounds like there are a lot of
higher learning opportunities and posts in the government and other high up
positions in the country. However, many students return to the village even after getting higher education to work
and live there, since the bitter leaves industry brings in much more money then
some of these other available positions. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Walking around more, we also saw a few groups packing the
bitter leaves. They sit on the floor with leaves scattered all around them and
they quickly pick them up and stack them and then tie three stacks
together with a natural-looking rope/vine. This is how they are packed to be
taken into town and sold. It was overall a very interesting village to see and
much different than the last one we’d seen—or really any areas we had passed on
the roads coming in. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After the village, it was time for use to leave. Actually,
we were originally going to stay another night, but we decided to head back to
Dhaka. We wanted to ensure a good night’s sleep after no sleep the night before
and we had already packed in a lot of activity—it would be nice to have a quiet
Sunday. Also, traffic is WAY worse on Sunday (it’s the country’s Monday
equivalent) and so it would be quicker to head home Saturday night. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The drive back was as scary and crazy as the drive there,
but we got back in pretty good time and had a lazy and absolutely delicious
dinner right at the hotel. We took hot, much needed showers and went to bed
early after a long couple of days. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Sunday, I don’t have much to report other than it was a
great day. We had a lazy day--hung out by the pool and read and relaxed.
It felt just like vacation. My Dad headed out that night and I stayed in the
hotel just one more night and got to have one more delicious big breakfast
before returning to my apartment and heading to work and back to the regular
routine.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Luckily, the boys came back! They got back Monday night and
have been here all week. It sounds like they had a great but hectic two weeks.
They spent the whole time traveling through the northern regions staying in each place just for a few nights before moving on. They were overseeing a
survey for farmers, trying to learn more about their production and seeds used
and some other information that will be useful and used in other studies and by
other organizations. While my internship is more centered around data and intervention design they have more of a field/survey-based internship based on their project. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Not too much else to report on this week, but it’s been SO
so nice having company again. They may be doing another much shorter field trip
in the next few weeks, but I’m hoping it’s not for a while! And hopefully it will actually just be a few days! Ugh, it’s just so
much nicer to not be on my own. Anyway, it’s Friday, so we are going to try and
do some exploring. I think we are going to head down to Old Dhaka, which is the
southern-most part of the city and home to a lot of historical mosques,
buildings, and a big fort. There is also a restaurant there that apparently has
delicious biriyani, so I think we will go for lunch. It’s currently pouring
rain, so I’m not sure how that will affect our plans, but we shall see. Also,
it’s almost noon and the boys are STILL sleeping! So, I am just hanging out for
now. I will post later about how the day/weekend all goes! I do need to keep up
better and after finally catching up from my crazy weekend last weekend, I will
be sure to keep the blog more up to date! I’m off, though, I’ll post more
later. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-42229548550650976662013-06-26T04:04:00.000-07:002013-06-26T04:04:07.524-07:00Wednesday, June 26th (The Weekend Part 2)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So, to continue my weekend recap. Friday morning, my Dad and
I woke up and headed downstairs to meet our driver to Srimangal and we headed
off. Traffic wasn’t bad at all since it was Friday morning and we got out of
the city pretty quickly. The city just seemed to keep going, even though we
started in a pretty northern part. Once we got into more country areas, the
driving that I had previously thought was crazy in Dhaka I realized was
nothing. This driving was insane. I have never experienced anything like
driving through the country here. Basically, it is a very narrow two-lane road,
and it’s as if cars on both sides are racing. It feels like every car on the
road is competing to see who can pass more cars and go faster. And the thing
is, it’s mostly buses on the roads and they swerve and sway and speed around
other buses. And even with our driver, who you could consider more cautious,
unless a bus was just about to pass by us, he would swerve out to the other
side of the road and pass any vehicle (or vehicles!) in front of us. Just
casually staying driving on the wrong side of a narrow, swerving road. And more
times than not, we would barely squeeze around the car we were passing before a
bus would go whizzing by, miraculously just missing our mirror but only by
inches. The problem, too, of course is the road is also full of rickshaws,
which are easy to pass as long as another car isn’t coming the other way. If
there is a car coming the other way, you have to slam on your breaks not to hit
the rickshaw. More than once we were run off the road because a bus was trying
to pass a car going the other way and was headed straight for us. And we saw
several trucks that had rolled over and into the trees. It was madness. I can’t
even capture the madness of it. Oh and blind turns? You know how you’re not
supposed to pass a car as you both go around one? That common sense doesn't
apply here. We would fly around buses while both taking a blind turn and just
hope for the best that no car was coming the other way as we tried to pass by
them. Ugh, we had some VERY close calls. After about two hours, I honestly
couldn’t take the stress of watching, so I slouched down and closed my eyes the
rest of the way. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Before going into shut down mode, I did get to see a lot of
the scenery we passed. Fields and fields of rice mostly. And we passed through
little towns of mostly tin shanties that served as stores and houses, alike.
Rickshaws were everywhere we went. We also passed dozens of rice factories, as
well as some other factories. And the landscape was scattered with tall chimney
kilns for making bricks with mounds and mounds of bricks surrounding them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Well, when we finally arrived, we pulled up to the
Rainforest Resort, a very, basic looking building painted a bright, light blue.
We had a room with air-conditioning though and two beds (granted rock hard) so
it would work. We headed into town for lunch with our tour guide, who had met
us upon arriving to the Rainforest Resort. We ate at a pretty nice place that
had another group of tourists there too. Downtown Srimangal was small. A lot of
the structures were old cement or tin and the street was an endless line of
little shops of fruit and food and other random goods. Lunch was traditional,
with kebabs and naan, cucumbers and dahl (which is a brothy sauce they serve a
lot here and you can pour over anything).
After, we headed out to see the tea, pineapple, lemon and rubber
plantations. We had passed them coming in but we hadn’t learned anything or
walked through them yet. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We stopped by a rubber plantation first. It mostly consisted
of just stopping off to the side of the road where rows and rows of rubber
trees had been planted in perfect lines. They cut the trunks and set out little
bowls to catch the sap dripping down and they turn that into rubber. Now was
not the season for collecting so they were mostly dry. Apparently the leaves
drive out animals and birds because they don't want to eat them. So overall,
they are pretty environmentally unfriendly plants to farm. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After continuing past the rubber plantation, we drove to a
pretty remote area, got out of the car and started walking down a bumpy, narrow
dirt road. We walked through a fence to the side and entered the pineapple
plantation. The first part was a hill and when we reached the top we saw the
plantation was rolling hills in every direction. It was very pretty. The pineapples
had just been harvested so there were no fruit plants, but the rows of the
pointy leaves they had been plucked off of remained. Wild boars are apparently
an issue with the pineapple plantations. They break in and burrow through the
plants causing major destruction and not even in order to dig up plants and eat
them. They just destroy the plants. Srimangal is an area home to Muslims,
Hindus and indigenous (they call them “tribal”) people. There is actually a fairly large Hindu
population compared to the rest of the country (Srimangal is about 30% Hindu).
While Muslims and Hindus don’t eat pig, the pineapple plantation owners will
allow indigenous people to come into their plantations and hunt the wild boars.
It's a win win for the both of them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After the pineapples we headed back to the dirt road and
farther into the remote area. What I noticed most was the silence. After the
crazy constant honking and chaos of Dhaka, I hadn’t heard this kind of remote
silence (or any type of silence) in a long time. It was very peaceful. Towards
the end of the road, the lemon plantation began. They call limes here lemons,
and apparently they don’t eat lemons (what we consider lemons) because they are
too sour and juicy. At the end of the road was a little wooden shack. Dogs
greeted us, barking loudly. For those of you that know my history of dogs in
developing countries (dog bite in Ghana), I am not a huge fan. I immediately
got panicked, but stayed calm enough to make it just past the shack where some
people were loading up a cart of lime/lemons. The workers here are crazy. They
pack these large two-wheeled wagons of fruit and then WALK them all the way
into town to Srimangal. From certain areas this is miles and miles of hilly
trekking. It takes hours. We passed many people making this trek as we drove
in. They then turn around, come back, and do it again. The men loading the
wagon stopped and cut up some freshly pineapple for us. It was absolutely
delicious—juicy and sweet. The dogs had calmed down, thankfully, when we headed
back out on the road to leave. Ahh they still made me nervous. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Getting back to the car, dripping in sweat (it was VERY hot
out!), being able to sit down in the air conditioning felt amazing. From the
pineapple/lemon/lime plantation we went to the main event: the tea plantations.
We drove in a long way, weaving down roads through tea plantations that
seemingly went on forever. People (mostly women) could be seen with big bags
slung over their shoulders picking the tea leaves. All of the tea picking is
done by hand and for a ridiculously low wage (like 30-50 Tk a day…). It seems
like brutal work out in the heat among the endless plants. Throughout the hills
of tea plants are shadow trees, which are planted to create the necessary shade
for the plants. We stopped and walked around a little and heard about the
history of this area. Its border had been suddenly and randomly made, breaking
up families and communities between India and Bangladesh (Srimangal is RIGHT
near the Indian border). We also heard about the history of tea plantations in
the area. Many of the workers originally were brought over from India by the British,
who tricked them into thinking they would have a better life only to be tied
into exploitative and oppressive work. The conditions continue to this day,
even without the British presence. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Close by the tea plantation was a very peaceful pond that we
walked around. On one side was a hill we walked up and we were able to see the
area better with its rolling hills, plantations, and endless rainforest on the
outskirts. It was very beautiful and it had cooled down considerably as the sun
was starting to set. The pond also had bright purple water lilies scattered
around the edge. It seemed like a pretty popular spot and other people were milling
around, taking pictures, and walking down the path. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After the lake, we headed to a tea stand. Apparently it was
the first tea stand to make multi-layered tea, but now it’s a popular thing.
Basically, they make cups of tea with several flavors layered on top of each
other, and make it so the flavors somehow don’t mix with each other. The result
is a cup of tea with visibly different layers of tea—both multi-colored and
multi-flavored. So we got a five-layer
cup of tea, which had cinnamon tea, ginger tea, green tea, black tea, and one
other one I forget. It was wild how as you made your way through the cup of tea
the flavors continued to change. They love their sweet tea, though, so for the
most part the flavor seemed like straight sugar. It was still neat to sit
outside and relax. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Afterwards, we did a quick dinner of biriyani and headed to
the hotel. We settled down after a very long day ready to get a good night of
sleep. But a good night of sleep was NOT in our cards. I don’t think we
could’ve had a worse nights sleep than what we ended up with. It was one thing
after the next all night long. First, there was a dog right outside our window
that barked incessantly, all night. It would stop for a little and then shortly
after start right back up. On and on and on—SO loud. The other thing was, just
as we were turning the lights out to go to sleep, the loudest storm I have EVER
heard began. The lightening and thunder were deafening. I was ready for the
house to split open or a tree to fall in. And it wasn’t like the thunder was
right over us for a little and then passed by. It seemed to stay right above us
forever, with deafening cracks and crashing for hours. At about 11pm, the
electricity went out. At first, this seemed pretty bad. The air conditioning
doesn’t work on just the generator so we were down to a single fan. But it got
worse. I woke up from my half sleep to stifling heat. The generator had gone
off! We were surrounded by suffocating heat—no fan, pitch black. It stayed off
for a good two hours. It was beyond uncomfortable. Finally, the generator
picked back up so the fan was working. Circa 6am though, again, off it went.
Sticky, stuffy heat quickly built up in the room. Luckily, this just lasted
until 7am when the full-blown electricity returned. Just in time for us to get
up and leave…after our very restless, sleepless night, we got up and had
breakfast, preparing for a morning of trekking in the rainforest. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m going to wrap up this post now, but I will finish the
Srimangal weekend adventures later or tomorrow! For now, there was our first
day in Srimangal—busy and hectic but beautiful and very interesting. It was so
nice to get out of the crazy hustle and loudness of Dhaka. <o:p></o:p></div>
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For now, I am back in Dhaka, and it is currently POURING
down rain. It’s dark and loud and coming down hard. I’m just at work taking a
little break to write this. My roommates have FINALLY made it home and we are
going to stock up on some groceries at the supermarket after work. They haven’t
been yet, so they will get to experience the convenience of Lavender (the
supermarket’s name) for the first time. It’s crazy they have spent more of
their time in Bangladesh outside of Dhaka than in Dhaka. I’ll keep you posted
on what’s going on here and finish my Srimangal story later!! Pictures of the
weekend are coming soon too!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-52154184005218839592013-06-24T20:42:00.001-07:002013-06-24T20:42:57.109-07:00Tuesday, June 25th (The Weekend Part 1)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So, what a crazy weekend! It’s been awhile since my last
post but that’s because I was traveling this weekend. Like I said, my Dad came
in and we headed up to a northeastern city called Srimangal that’s in an area known
for it’s tea, lemon, and pineapple plantations as well as Lawachara National
Park (a preserved rainforest). <o:p></o:p></div>
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My Dad arrived on Thursday morning early, and I had slept at
the hotel. Oh my god was the hotel nice. Clean, cozy bed, a hot shower, good
food. It was heaven. He arrived early and we went downstairs to breakfast—an
endless and delicious buffet of options. After breakfast, we headed to my
apartment, and my Dad got to walk the streets of Dhaka for the first time. It
was as crazy as ever—honking, swerving cars, busy sidewalks cracked and
littered with garbage, throngs of people. My apartment was not far from the
hotel, and we just grabbed some clothes and things for the weekend. I also got
to show my dad the market by my house. We walked through the meat stands, the
vegetable stands, the fruit stands and the boxed goods stands—people yelling
out “Madame! Madame!” as per usual (oh yeah, they all call me madame here…).
After the market we headed a few streets over to Road 11. This is the main road
in Bananai (my neighborhood) and is the busiest. It’s full of restaurants and
shops all the way down. We stopped in a traditional clothing store and King’s
Confectionary—a bakery where I FINALLY found some whole wheat bread! Yum. I’m
going to have it for the first time for breakfast today (the only bread at the
market is basically Wonderbread). <o:p></o:p></div>
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After roaming a little, we hopped in a rickshaw to go back
to the hotel. My Dad’s first rickshaw. A
rickshaw with two people and a big bag is certainly less stable than one, and
we definitely filled the seat. Also, there’s nowhere really to hold on and
depending on how careful your driver is you go over endless bumps and potholes.
When we got back to the hotel, we had a couple of hours before we were going to
take a tour of the National Assembly Building (where I had gone with Martin—Parliament—but
we were going to go inside). I decided to take my Dad to Star Kebab, a very
authentic local restaurant I had been to once that has good kebabs, naan,
biriyani and jahl fry—all pretty classic dishes here. However, it had started
pouring and storming harder than I had ever seen it rain here, so we tried to
wait a little for it to pass. We ended up taking a car, which was a very
pleasant treat I will unfortunately not have access to as the rain picks up.
I’ll be braving the weather via rickshaw or by foot…I think it will mostly be a
you-have-to-accept-you’re-going-to-be-soaked-most-of-the-time type of thing. We
headed there and ordered the few dishes I had listed. Kebabs are
straightforward enough. They don’t actually come on sticks though—they’re just
seasoned (and I think fried?) pieces of chicken that you tear off and eat with
the naan. Yum. Biriyani is a seasoned rice and meat dish. Pretty straight
forward. We got chicken. And then Jahl fry they consider a “gravy” but really
its just pieces of meat in a thick-ish sauce that you eat with rice or naan.
It’s sort of oily but has good flavor. After our pretty big and heavy lunch we
headed back to the hotel for our tour. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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The tour was great. It started with a minor problem in that
I didn’t have my passport with me and you need one to get into the building.
But, this is Bangladesh. Soooo, we stopped by a convenience store and picked up
a packet of cigarettes: my passport for the day. Bribes can get you places
here. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The tour guide was great and when we got to the building
(after a LOT of traffic, as per usual), we went on in. The building was designed
by the famous architect Louis Kahn (I don’t know if many of you have heard of
him). I guess he worked on Yale and some other buildings you have probably seen
or heard of. You can Google him. But anyway, I have posted a picture before of
the actual building, so you can go back and see the outside of the building
(from a long way away). It’s very modern and geometric and sits on 200 acres of
grounds (hence, my picture being far away). Also, all sides of it are
surrounded by a lake/mote that goes right up to the sides of the building. The
original plan was to have the houses around this lake/mote be Parliament
members’ houses and they could boat across to the main building. It didn’t pan
out. But a cool idea nonetheless.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The building is mostly made of concrete with strips of
marble, and the inside is all exposed concrete. The inside has cut outs of
circles and triangles and squares between the different hallways and passages.
There are also several large cylinder light shafts throughout the building
(that add the geometric nature of the building) to bring in plenty of natural
light. The light fixtures, the furniture and the general set up of the building
feels like you’ve stepped right back to 60s (when it was designed). Parliament
was in session that day, and the Prime Minister was actually in the building.
We didn’t see her, but at one point when were walking around there were like 20
guards fanned out around and above us on balconies and I guess they were
screening the area before she would walk through. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We went into the main assembly hall where Parliament was
supposed to have been in session thirty minutes before we showed up. It was not
even ¼ full and people were milling around chatting. Then, an alarm started
going off. It was the alarm signaling there were not enough parliament members
for them to go into session, and more members needed to arrive immediately. Classic.
It went off for a while and finally stopped—I guess enough people finally
showed up. Pretty wild that they can’t get people to show up for these sessions.
I remember going to Parliament in South Africa and being similarly surprised by
how dysfunctional it seemed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After our tour, we headed back to the hotel and ended up
just having dinner at a restaurant there. Sort of boring, but it was nice to be
able to shower and go right upstairs and know I wasn’t going to get sweaty and
grimy trying to manage to get around town on a rickshaw. We went to bed early,
because we were going to have to get up early to leave for our ride to Srimangal.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I will post later about all of our Srimangal adventures!
There were a lot and this post is already getting long and I have to get off to
work. I am breaking up my posts about this hectic and fun past week. I really
should’ve just posted along the way! Woops. I can blame bad internet and a
crazy schedule. But off to work I go. Like I said, I will post about our tea
plantation and rainforest adventures later. <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-25901012676403306922013-06-17T09:10:00.003-07:002013-06-17T09:10:15.670-07:00Monday, June 17th <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So after a quiet Friday, the weekend ended up being pretty
good! Saturday I woke up with a terrible case of vertigo, which was
unexplained, but after drinking hydrating salts (the grossest mix of salt and
sugar and water ever), I felt better. Probably just dehydration. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Anyway, every year, a group of expats in Dhaka film a show
called Itadi. It’s a mix of dance and acting (in Bangla) and is televised for
Eid, which is the festival at the end of Ramadan. I guess it’s sort of a big
deal, and hundreds of thousands of people watch it. The filming is next weekend
and the first rehearsal was this past Saturday, so I decided to go. Ariadna was
who told me about it, and she was going to go, but then decided not to, so I
went on my own. I didn’t love trying to track down a location I didn’t know to
do something with people I didn’t know, but I figured I’d at least get to
interact with some people who spoke English for an afternoon. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It was at the Nordic club, which is one of the members-only
clubs in Dhaka. There are several of them, and almost all of them are just for
foreigners—Bangladeshis are not allowed. It’s sort of a weird system. In one
sense, it’s nice for the expats to be able to “get away” and there’s a pool
(where you can actually wear a bathing suit) and a bar (I guess it’s a popular
spot for drinking, since there’s nowhere else to drink in Dhaka), an exercise
room and game room, etc. and they host events
(it basically acts like a country club). But, I guess they can be pretty
oppressive towards Bangladeshis and there is a somewhat negative relationship
between the clubs and local people. Up until recently, the clubs exhibited a
lot of prejudice against the local people. They also perpetuate this large
divide I’ve noticed here between the foreigners and the local people. I mean, the
language itself starts it all. But talking to Ariadna, it sounds like it’s
tough to connect even if you do speak the language. The cultures are just so
different. So the expat community is sort of goofy. It’s a bunch of foreigners
who have picked up and moved here to do development work for the country, while
remaining very much removed from the country socially—sticking, instead, to themselves
to form a small community of foreigners. I guess it’s not quite that simple, but
it’s certainly a strange and very visible dynamic. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyway, the Nordic Club was nice (I was super jealous of the
people in the pool), and we used their dance studio to practice. I was
definitely the youngest woman there. So many foreigners though! They were
everywhere and everyone spoke English, which I must say was a nice break from
my isolating week. Everyone was friendly and we were settling in when I realized
we were going to have to learn the dance (that’s what this rehearsal was for).
In all of my excitement to meet and hang out with some other English-speaking
people, I forgot the real reason we were there. To dance. I am terrible at
dancing...so uncoordinated. As expected, it was pretty brutal to learn. I just
can’t manage to coordinate the moves with my feet with the moves I am supposed
to be doing with my arms at the same time. I usually focus on the arm movements,
because it’s more obvious if I mess those up. Yes, I am that challenged at
dancing. Luckily, I wasn’t the only bad dancer. And we all had fun laughing at
ourselves trying to learn some traditional Bangladeshi moves. And the music was
really good! Overall, it was quiiiite a sight. Also, I have barely done any
physical activity here. I have tried to work out here and there in the
apartment, but just in short bursts. The heat makes it tough. But this was
three hours of dancing…I thought I was going to pass out. And it was HOT. But
overall, it was a lot of fun and great getting to hang out with people! So,
although I had felt totally awkward going alone, I am glad I did. It paid off. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After, I headed home and finally spoke to Ariadna about
doing something. We decided to get take out and watch a movie. We got take out
from a place near me that has DELICIOUS Indian food. I didn’t even know I liked
Indian food, but it’s so good and it’s everywhere here. I’ve definitely been trying a lot of new food
here and liking most of it. I would list what we ordered, but I don’t even
know. Ariadna ordered it all. It was a mix of potato pastries and kebabs and
naan and this yogurt chickpea thing. Not a good description. But it was
delicious. We didn't end up watching a movie and just watched some old Modern
Family episodes and caught up. I learned about how she ended up in Bangladesh
(it was NOT her original plan) and what she wants to do after she leaves in
September (she wants to do some of her own development research in Mexico,
hopefully with the local government). And we talked about the many options for
working in development and the different opportunities within IPA. It was good.
I have become overwhelmed by the different education options geared towards
development work. And there are endless ways to be involved in development work
for any given level of education. It has all given me a lot to think about. Maybe
more on that later. After dinner and hanging out, tired from a long day, I
headed home. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sunday was pretty uneventful. I went to work. But after, I
went to a supermarket!! Yes, they do have supermarkets here. Ariadna showed it
to me the night before. It is amazing, and even carries Jiff peanut butter.
Yum. Although, a man tried to talk to me while I was shopping—asking where I
was from, what I was doing here, if I came alone (sketchy). He said he was from
California, but looked and sounded Bangladeshi. Hm. I just gave him short answers
and kept walking until he left me alone. I didn’t go too overboard, because I
had to carry it all home, but I was able to get almonds and Raisin Bran and
chicken and oranges and crackers. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I decided I would try to cook that night. Ambitious. Cooking
was slow. I have a two-burner stovetop, but one burner doesn’t work and the
other one’s light blows out a lot and I have to relight it. I finally eeked out
some green beans and carrots and chicken. It was pretty plain, but I was
starving by the time I ate it, so I didn’t care. First time cooking something
other than eggs in Bangladesh…sort of a fail. But it did the trick for dinner.
And I am just happy to have a supermarket! It will be perfect for when the
market is just a little more than I want to handle or when I need some of those
specialty items I’m missing (peanut butter…). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last night I woke up for the first time to the call to prayer.
It was 4:30am. I must be relatively close to a mosque, because it’s pretty loud
from my apartment. I was able to fall back asleep just fine, but I can’t
believe people get up that early to pray every day. Also, I sort of thought the
call to prayer would just be a siren or something. I think I saw that in a
movie. But it’s a guy’s voice, which sounds like he himself is praying. And it
goes on for a while. Also, apparently it all starts in one mosque in the city.
And then once the next mosque hears it, it sends out its own call to prayer, and
so on across the entire city until all the mosques have sent out the call. Pretty
cool. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyway, on a different note, this Thursday, my Dad is coming
to Dhaka! I can’t even wait. He has a meeting in Qatar, so is just going to
travel that much farther to come see me. It’s pretty insane, but I’m not
complaining! We are going to go to Srimongol, which is the tea plantation area
of the country. There is also a national park there that’s a rainforest so we
will be able to explore that as well. We should be able to see some cool
animals and waterfalls. It’s the closest place to Dhaka worth visiting, and I
think it’s worth traveling outside of Dhaka, since there really isn’t that much
to do here. If my Dad’s coming halfway around the world, we might as well do
more than get stuck in traffic and get stared at (aka being a tourist in
Dhaka). He gets here Thursday morning, and ahhh I can’t wait! Oh, also, the boys
are getting home Sunday now…of course. Will they ever come home? At least I
have an exciting weekend to look forward to! I’m hoping to go out somewhere fun
to dinner this week, too. Other than that, just another quiet week until
Thursday. I’ll keep you posted! <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-76460814085751590292013-06-14T06:36:00.003-07:002013-06-14T06:36:43.428-07:00The Ants in my Bed Bite...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The ants in my bed bite. They're little red ants. Also they attack any and all food. They got to my peanut butter....luckily, I was able to salvage some. But I NEED to get them out of my bed...</div>
Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-59950418316613495282013-06-14T02:56:00.005-07:002013-06-14T02:56:51.092-07:00Friday, June 14th<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
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So, as expected this has been a pretty quiet week. The guys
were supposed to get home yesterday. They aren’t getting home until next
Thursday…two weeks living alone in Dhaka isn’t exactly a blast. There is very
little to do, especially on my own, and the apartment is so quiet to come home
to every day.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So, yeah it’s been crazy quiet and I’ve been pretty bored.
It’s hard when there are so few people to interact with. 75% of the people I do
interact with day to day don’t speak English. And days at work are spent pretty
much doing just that: work. People are pretty focused there, and in and out
throughout the day. Sometimes it’s just a couple people in my area of the
office. After work, I’ve just been walking home and picking up food on the way
home. Lots of reading. I’m definitely learning to
entertain myself and be okay on my own! I guess that’s something. And now it’s
the weekend. I’m sitting in a café near the office. I came to just get out of
the apartment and get out a little. They’re playing Celine Dione’s “My Heart
Will Go On” right now. Titanic. Great movie.
The walk to the café was really nice. I would almost venture to say it’s
cool out today. It must have rained last night. Also the streets are as quiet
as I’ve ever seen them. I will have to walk around more on the weekends! It’s
nice to not have quite the same hectic chaos that this area is during the week.
The streets are actually manageable to cross! I think I’m going to do something
with Ariadna this weekend—she mentioned a jazz concert at a café. There are
veryyyy few options of things to do in Dhaka…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I think I’ll also try and head to the market and get some
food and maybe cook tonight. The market even looked sort of quiet on my walk
over. The markets have beautiful flower stands, and almost all of them have
lilies—my favorite. Maybe I’ll pick some of those up too. Someone at the office
told me all the mangos are loaded with preservatives. So sad. I guess they’re
not the safest to eat. The region my project is in, though, I guess has fresh
mangoes without preservatives. We are going to the field on Tuesday, so we will
be able to get some mangoes then! Also, yes, I am going to the field Tuesday
night! That will help break up this monotonous time spent here alone. We’re
taking the overnight train Tuesday night and then the overnight train back to
Dhaka Wednesday night. Sort of a hectic trip, but I am still really excited.
We’re just going to try and get some answers about the clusters (groups) of
people getting formed by another organization (BRAC) and seeing if we can use
them in our next intervention. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In other news from this week, somebody in the office is
getting married! And we are all invited. Ariadna said I will need to get a sari
for it. I’m really excited; it should be such a fun event to experience. I
also had to get to the bank this week, and Alamgir offered his car (and driver)
to take me while I was at work. The bank I needed is a ten-minute walk MAYBE. It took 40
minutes to drive there….We were stuck in traffic the whole time. Bank security
is funny here. One of the banks we’ve been to had just a guy sitting with a
straight up shot gun at the door…interesting approach. On the way to the bank,
we passed tons of little food stands, with all sorts of different street food I
didn’t recognize. I’d love to try some; I’ll have to see what is and isn’t safe
to eat from them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I’m going to have to find some things to do with my free
time. Apparently when Ramadan starts (the beginning of July) the office closes at
3pm. Food places are sort of shut down, as is the city. People aren’t really
out on the streets much. I guess it’s sort of dangerous to be out on the
streets, because it’s so dead. But certain areas are really cool to go to for
breaking fast at the end of each day, so I will have to check some of them out. As
for all the extra time I will have (and even have right now) I am trying to see
if there are places I can volunteer. It’s hard being here and having my work mostly be with numbers on my computer at a desk. I'm learning a lot about economic development work, and this is a big part of it, but I would love to feel I was doing some hands on work while I'm here, as well. Not that taking the time to volunteer a
little here and there will make much of a difference, but I’d love to get
involved in the community more and interact with people. I think I am just
dying to interact with some people!! It will be so great when the guys get home
from the field… I’m going crazyyyy alone. Also, it would be neat to get a
better idea of some of the work being done in Dhaka, especially from local
organizations. I have reached out to a couple, so we will see. It doesn’t help
that I speak NO Bangla…but hopefully someone will take me!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As for other ideas, at least once the boys get home, I will be getting out more and exploring the city. After the episode of exploring-gone-wrong last weekend with the protest, I will definitely be careful to AVOID Shabagh
and any other protest areas in my exploration. This weekend, I will probably
lay low. Like I said, I may spend some time with Ariadna. Martin’s girlfriend
is in town from India, so it sounds like he is spending the weekend with her. I
may try and find some other stores to get more local clothes. We’ll see how that
excursion goes…I’ve taken to trying to walk places so I don’t have to deal with
rickshaws. If you don’t know where you’re going on one of them, it’s
impossible, and they way overcharge. If I head into Gulshan 1 or 2, though, I
will obviously need to take one. We shall see where this solo weekend
takes me… my excitement and sense of
adventure is fading a little. I could use some companionship to gain it back! For
now, things are slow and there’s not much going on and there’s not much to do
here. Hopefully my next post will be an update with a little more excitement! <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-53410715577699127952013-06-11T08:14:00.003-07:002013-06-11T08:14:59.458-07:00Tuesday, June 11th <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So, just a quick post tonight! Not too much going on this
week. Work has been good, and I have been helping to get organized for the next
intervention in the field. We are hitting a roadblock with a few important
logistics, so we need to get to the field to ask some of the supervisors there for information.
We’ll probably go for a day or two next week! I’m very excited to see the
project area. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Today, we heard news of the strike yesterday. Two hand bombs
went off in Shahbagh Square—the same square Martin and I were three days ago!! The
bombs were for the strike, so were unlikely related to the rally we saw, but I’m
thinking that area is definitely not somewhere we should be hanging around. Thankfully,
nobody was hurt. They were very small bombs, dropped by two motorcyclists that
drove off afterwards. A protest against the Jammeet-E-Islami strike was happening in the
square at the time. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Things are quiet here; I heard from the guys and they might
not be getting back until after Thursday but think it will <i>probably</i> be Thursday. I hope it’s Thursday--it’s lonely staying in
this apartment alone! I have been sleeping fine even though the apartment is
FULL of creepy noises. And little ants. And baby cockroaches. And a little lizard. So many miniature animals. I did wake up to myself sleep walking across my room last night, while sleep talking to someone I thought I saw in the corner of my room! I was weirdly not that freaked out by this at the time, but I think it was because I really only
half woke up and then got myself back into bed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ll keep you updated on anything happening this week! It
will likely be a quiet week with me hanging out on my own here. I have
officially figured out how to get to and from work and have walked a few times
now. Also, I was able to guide a rickshaw going the COMPLETELY wrong way in the
right direction, so no more stress about getting to work! Finally…knock on wood...<o:p></o:p></div>
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Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-33163123795071171222013-06-11T00:44:00.002-07:002013-06-11T00:47:27.438-07:00June 11th--Weekend Pictures<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Gulshan 2 Circle--this is the center of Gulshan 2</div>
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Gulshan 2 Circle (first stoplight I had seen in Dhaka...)</div>
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Gulshan 2 Circle </div>
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The entrance to one of the markets in Gulshan 2</div>
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This picture doesn't capture it that well, but all of the buses here look like they've been paper mache-d!</div>
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The kittens I wanted to buy! (Even though I'm allergic...)</div>
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A line of rickshaws waiting for customers</div>
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Through those trees under the roof are some pottery stands we found off one of the main roads in Gulshan 2 </div>
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Inside one of the pottery stands in Gulshan 2 </div>
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Kishan walking NEXT to our rickshaw on the way home from Gulshan 2. No this is not usual. We got out so that he could get up the hill more easily....<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div>
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View going across the river on the way home from Gulshan 2</div>
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The National Assembly Hall (Parliament) </div>
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Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-55189617488169255962013-06-10T00:11:00.003-07:002013-06-10T00:11:13.339-07:00Monday, June 10th (My First Weekend)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Wow, so it’s been a few days and this ended up being such a
LONG post! Woops. But I just got home from work after a pretty eventful
weekend. Tomorrow is a scheduled Hartal (a strike), so I will stay at home and
work. I guess it is very unusual that there weren’t any last week; they are
pretty common and sometimes there are a couple in a week. It’s really bad
timing, since Kishan and Prabhat just left this morning until Thursday, so I
will have to entertain myself at home tomorrow. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So, this weekend I was on my own quite a bit, because Kishan
and Prabhat were at the office and kept thinking they were leaving to go into
the field but then just ended up preparing to go. Like I said, weekends here
are Friday and Saturday, so those are the days we get off. Friday morning
Kishan and Prabhat left, and I just hung out all morning. It was actually
really nice and relaxing—made myself an egg sandwich and watched Damages (great
show). I decided I needed to get myself out and oriented around our
neighborhood and over this whole uncomfortable walking around alone thing, so I
mapped out a walk in my guidebook and went on a walk in the afternoon. It was
actually really nice to see the neighborhood and get more comfortable getting
around on my own. There are a lot of corner shops nearby, which was a good
discovery, even though there is quite a big market just down the street in the
other direction. But corner shops can be easier to navigate and manage—they
just have the basics of snacks and drinks. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After my walk, I headed home and Kishan and Prabhat actually
came home after I thought they had gone to the field, so we were able to grab
dinner. We went to a Thai place nearby. It was good and we stayed late just
hanging out and talking and drinking tea. I forgot to put bug spray on
though….ugh. I didn’t get too many bites, but they’re literally the size of
silver dollars—the biggest I’ve EVER seen. And I got one on the middle of my
forehead (who gets bitten there??). <o:p></o:p></div>
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On our way home, we stopped at the market to get some fruit
and snacks. We were in the middle of buying fruit from a stand when a huge BOOM
when off. Everyone in the market ducked. That was the scary part. I thought it
sounded like a firework had gone off in the street! And at first, sort of
thought that’s what it was and thought we’d see one. But then with everyone
ducking, it was pretty scary. It didn’t help that a guy started running towards
the market after (even though it was totally unrelated). All three of us were a
little nervous. Everyone was saying it was a blown tire or something, but it
certainly didn’t sound like that—maybe it was. In any case, nobody seemed too
concerned after but we hurried home anyway. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We watched TV when we got home—we actually get a HUGE array
of channels in like 7 different languages. But the few English speaking ones
broadcast old shows from home, which is nice. There are a LOT of religious
channels; one just shows live footage of Mecca 24/7 with Muslims walking around
it in circles praying and prayers being read in the background. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Saturday morning, Prabhat and Kishan didn’t have to leave
until 2pm, so we hung out in the morning and had egg sandwiches and mango. The
mango, which is just coming into season, is DELICIOUS. The best fruit I’ve
maybe ever had. It is so so much better than mango at home and apparently they
will get even better as they become more in season. Kishan and I went and
explored Gulshan 2 after breakfast. We live in Banani and right next to us is
Gulshan 1 and Gulshan 2—all three are probably the nicest parts of Dhaka. Gulshan
2 was very urban (I took pics so I will post them) and crazy and hectic and
loud. It was fun to walk around. They have a TON of big markets and then also
modern, nice stores, as well. We wandered down some residential streets, and
those were REALLY nice. I am glad we live in Banani, though, because it is
calmer and so much easier to get around. If I had to go to the market there, it
would be SO overwhelming. One stand was a pet stand and had a little cage of
kittens. I was SO tempted to get one, but the logistics didn’t seem to make
much sense. Once we got home, though, Prabhat was all for it. So, we will see.
Between needing a vet and a home after we leave, it’s sort of doubtful. I’m not
even a cat person but these kittens were SO cute! And just stuffed in a little
cage…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
After walking around, the boys left and I met up with
Martin. It was already getting late in the day, so we decided to just try and
go to a couple places in the city. It’s hard to get around with the crazy
traffic here, and the city is quite spread out. We set out for Dhaka
University. It should’ve raised a red flag when Martin pointed out the square next
to it that a lot of the rallies had been a few weeks ago; but I figured we
wouldn’t be going if they were still going on. The auto ride was LONG and our
driver was CRAZY. I had to just close my eyes a few times and hope for the best.
A bus almost rammed us into a median. I am completely terrified when I’m in
these things….we avoided traffic more than if we had gone during the week, but
we still hit some. Passing through other parts of the city was eye opening and
definitely made me appreciate the area we live in. It is SO crowded everyone else—you
can’t even imagine how busy--so much more so than here (which is still very,
very populated and busy) and all the buildings are grimy and packed tightly
together. <o:p></o:p></div>
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When we got to the university we got out, and we heard
shouting on a loudspeaker across the street. But we first went into the
university building we were closest to and it opened into a courtyard in the
middle that was really nice. I thought I get attention walking around here???
It was like people had never seen foreigners! Every single eye was on us
(Martin is a classic-looking Swede with pale skin, blonde hair and blue eyes). It
was pretty unsettling but still neat to explore around a little. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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When we headed back out, I followed Martin across the street
to see the park everyone seemed congregated in. There was a huge crowd of
people apparently just milling around, sort of walking around in a big circle.
They all had cards around their necks, but we didn't understand the loudspeaker
chanting/singing/speeches or know what they were there for. We walked out of
the park and started heading down the street across from where they were congregated
(it was a fenced in lawn) At this point I was VERY uncomfortable. It wasn’t
clear if the shouting and chanting from the square was angry or not. And there
was overflow of people obviously involved walking down the busy sidewalks (they
had the tags around their necks). We were getting a lot of attention, and I
obviously couldn’t tell if it was just because we were foreigners or because we
were there. People were calling out to us.
It didn’t seem smart to be there when so many people were obviously protesting
or rallying for something we didn’t understand. Finally, as we were walking, I
saw a large number of people leaving the enclosed park across the street and
going out into the streets with purpose—holding up flags and chanting. At this
point, I told Martin we should really turn around. Who knows what this was
about, but I didn’t think it was smart to be anywhere near it in case anything
got out of hand. He seemed to think we could leave easily enough if it got out
of hand, but as I saw people going into the streets, I knew it was time to
leave. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We walked in the other direction from all of the commotion
for a while, looking for the National Museum, but we didn’t find it. So we go
into an auto and headed to Parliament. At this point I was nauseous from the
nerves of dealing with the crowd and also from walking around in the heat for
much longer than I was used to. I was happy to be in an auto, though, but the
crazy driving didn’t help my stomach. We drove for a very long time again, and then
we ended up at a shopping center. Hm. Not where we were trying to go. We tried
to explain to some guy on the street where we wanted to go, and we got really
lucky that it just happened to be close by. Our auto could’ve easily driven us
to the other side of the city. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We got to Parliament (the National Assembly Hall), which is
on a big plot of land surrounded by a fence. We were quite far away from it and
couldn’t get closer. I took a picture so I will post that. It’s a strange
looking building—big and modern. There was a very wide, open sidewalk around
the fence, though, and as it became evening it had really cooled off. People
were sitting and milling around this area—it must be a place people come to
hang out. It was right up against a highway, though, so it was pretty loud. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We decided to sit down but boy was that a mistake. A little girl
came up and held up flower necklaces right up against my face, and even as we
said no, no, nay we don’t want any, she still kept asking and asking. Then a
little boy holding his even younger brother came up asking for money. Soon five
other children came up behind us poking us and asking for money. There isn’t
that much begging in the Banani area (more in Gulshan 1 and 2 I’ve noticed),
but it is hard to know what to do. With the children beggars, many say paying
them just perpetuates the problem. And that money goes back to a pimp or their
parents who will then send them out again, if it’s a successful way to get
money. It’s really hard to know what to do, but with the swarm of poking children
we decided to get up and keep walking. A couple of them followed us. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It was starting to get late anyway so we took an auto back.
I was pretty exhausted from the long day in the heat and the commotion with the
rally. I was happy when the auto took me straight home without any problems.
Prabhat and Kishan came home shortly after and brought Pizza Hut pizza. It was
different than in the US but still delicious—a good end to a hectic day. We
just watched some TV and headed to bed early. They had to be up at 4:30am to
FINALLY leave for the field. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today work was very uneventful. Having looked at a map we
bought in Gulshan, I have a very good sense of the roads in this area now, and
I walked to work just to see the way. Our day was short, because they announced
the strike, and I guess it’s not good to be outside at night before the strike
because they sometimes do things the night before. I stopped by the market on
the way home and managed to buy a couple things on my own, which I was pretty
impressed with. The market is hectic and tightly packed between the stands and
people don’t really speak English and prices aren’t fixed (I’m SURE I got
ripped off…) but I was happy that I managed to get some food basics. </div>
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The strike tomorrow is by the Jamaat-E-Islami, which is a
radical Islamic political party. It is in response to the fact that one of
their members just got the death sentence for war crimes he committed in the
70’s. I guess their strikes can get kind of violent, which is why it’s best to
stay inside if possible. I think it’s a lot of blocking roads and setting empty
vehicles on fire, and then violence can break out when the police show up to
try and break it up. I guess we’ll just see what happens, but I feel okay about
it, because everyone else seems calm since they are such a regular occurrence. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Also as a side note, there are little ants in my bed <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">L</span>. I’m not sure how to
take care of that, but I guess I’ll start with washing my sheets. It’s pretty
creepy and uncomfortable though…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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But that’s all for my weekend! I was going to stay with Ariadna while the guys were gone, but I really am settling in to the apartment and the neighborhood. We have a man at the gate who is so nice, and I met my neighbor today (she doesn't speak english but seems very nice!). Also, after seeing the rest of Dhaka, I really have an appreciation for how great this area is! So, I am staying on my own this week.</div>
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I can’t believe it’s already been a
week; time is flying by. We were talking about places we want to travel (within
the country and outside) today, so we are going to try and get going on
planning those. I will keep everyone posted on my week! (Alone…meh)<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-9627675656629304862013-06-07T03:14:00.001-07:002013-06-07T03:14:22.126-07:00Thursday, June 6th<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So today I felt comfortable (relatively…it’s all relative)
walking around alone for the first time AND I didn’t have a problem on the way
to OR from work! The things I celebrate here <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>.
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I’m sort of cheating by saying I didn’t have a problem on
the way to work, because Kishan, Prabhat, and I went together. We tried to do
three on a rickshaw, with me sitting on the top of the little seat back, with
my legs squished in between them, but we were teetering and almost definitely
would’ve fallen, so we ended up in two. It’s quite a sight when you see three
or four people on these tiny rickshaws. We got straight to work with no
problems. Today was a slow day at work. I am updating a lot of spreadsheets and
files right now before getting started with the data, and it gets really tedious.
Also, I forgot to eat breakfast. Also, it was raining most of the day. Also a
big plate of rice for lunch almost guarantees a food coma for at least an hour
after. So the combination of it all had me spending most of my energy today trying
to stay awake. The day was short, though, and I left at around 4pm…the dreaded
attempt to make it somewhere by myself…aka home…BUT I got home without any
problems! The rickshaw only took me to the main road near my house because they
have limitation on when they can go on certain roads (which doesn’t help as I
attempt to learn “the route” to work, since there really isn’t one route with
all the restrictions), but I recognized where I was (SHOCKING) and was able to
walk home. It was such a relief. And I think I am adjusting to the attention as
I walk around alone. I mostly avoid eye contact and keep my eyes down. One
rickshaw was biking really slowly to stay next to me walking (staring at me
along the way), but eventually I turned and so was on my own. I wore more
traditional clothes for the first time today, and I definitely felt more
comfortable. Maybe they are helping? <o:p></o:p></div>
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Once I got back, it was early, and even though I really
didn’t want to brave trying to get around on my own again, I headed back out to
the store I went with Ariadna the day before. The more I force myself to do
things on my own, the quicker it will become easy. I wanted to exchange a pair
of pants for a top instead, since more tops is better than more goofy pants
when I’d rather just wear my plain linen pants. The store has been full of
foreigners both days, which is sort of a welcome sight. I saw a European woman
with her young daughter and a Chinese woman. I wonder where all of these people
live…they all have drivers to get around so that’s probably why I don’t see
them walking. But anyway, I made it all the way to the store and back, no
problems. So overall, I’d say I had a pretty successful day—the most successful
one so far.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now I'm just hanging out waiting for Prabhat and Kishan to
get home. They have had THE longest days getting ready to go into the field
this weekend (getting home at 10pm or 11pm). They leave tomorrow morning, which
is a bummer, because as you can tell I'm pretty hopeless on my own still. I
probably will stay with Ariadna, which is the plan, but we will see. I’m
feeling more comfortable in the apartment so it may just be easier to stay
here. They are either getting back Sunday or might stay the week until
THURSDAY; I’m REALLY hoping it’s just till Sunday. I’ll have to branch out to
figure out how to spend all of my free time this weekend…hopefully I can get a
little exploring of Dhaka in. Maybe I can go with Martin (a fourth intern from
Sweden). I would be a disaster alone…I’ll keep you posted!<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-84985143361651603302013-06-05T09:49:00.001-07:002013-06-16T02:19:19.667-07:00Wednesday, June 5th <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am in a really good mood right now! Today started a little slow (really slow) but ended up being a really good day! We had to wake up early because our cleaning lady was coming at
7:30am. Apparently the landlord requires her to come and mop everyone’s floors
every day, because every thing gets so dirty with the air but this 7:30am
schedule we may try and adjust. We have baby cockroaches in our fridge and
kitchen, so hopefully we can figure something out with those, too. I was in
blissful ignorance about what they were (I thought they were just a random
little bug or two) until Prabhat told me…as I’m sitting here debating having
leftovers for dinner I’m questioning whether that's a good idea with the bugs…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyway, this morning, after getting up and awkwardly sitting
around as she cleaned, I got to Skype with my parents, which was great. Then I
hung out for a little and left for work around 10am. I don’t know if I was just
more prepared for the attention or I got less, but it felt like an easier walk
to the main road—less eyes on me. It was at an earlier time, so I maybe that
means something. Ariadna told me that single women just don’t walk around here
alone. I guess they get a bad reputation if they do and it’s frowned upon so single
women move around in groups, while married women get around with their
husbands. I guess I am supposed to be prepared to get asked where my husband is
a lot. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once I made it to the main road, I flagged down an auto
easily enough, and he seemed to know where I was going like right as I told
him, which was exciting. But..alas…it just couldn’t be that easy. We ended up
on a very busy main road stuck in dead traffic. I knew it was wrong. I tried to explain that to him, and I think he
sort of got we were going the wrong way, so he started speaking to an auto
stuck in traffic next to us, and the passenger spoke English and asked me where
I was going. She seemed to translate well enough. And after being stuck at a standstill
(literally—at a dead stop) for about 30 minutes, we were able to turn around.
But then, we ended up getting on an even bigger road, which I also knew was
wrong. Ugh. This guy obviously didn’t understand what I was saying even though
he kept nodding yes when I told him. He pulled off to ask ANOTHER auto where I
was going. I tried to explain to that driver, “road 7, road 7, Banani, Banani”
and he seemed to get it. Holding up 7 fingers seems to be a good trick to keep
in mind. Finally THEY sent us in the right direction. I realized halfway through
this nice hour-long auto that I hadn’t asked for a price. I panicked. I didn’t
know if I should bring it up now, or just wait till the end and pay what needed
to get paid. I went ahead and asked “Tk100?” At this point he still thought we
were going god knows where down the highway, so he laughed and said Tk200. I
said no but that is when he turned to talk to another one of the autos in
traffic, so I just didn’t bring up the price again. Worst-case scenario I would
pay Tk200, which is like $2.25—at least I would finally be at work. Eventually,
after asking a few other autos along the way, we ended up at a house I didn’t
recognize. He tried to tell me we were here. We were definitely not at the
“here” I wanted to be at. He asked the guard and it turned out my building was
just a few houses down. FINALLY, I had made it. Ugh, the stress it takes for me
to just simply get to work. I am going to try rickshaws now, since they are
cheaper and won’t go as far. So even if they start going in the wrong direction,
I can’t end up on the highway or anything. I really need to walk to work one
day with Kishan and Prabhat, so I learn the way. Blah. I’ll add it to my to-do
list. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Work was good, especially as I’m starting to get into some
of the work Ariadna is assigning me with the data. Muh-moon is always trying to
bring us snacks and cake and tea, and lunch was chicken and rice, which was
delicious. Ariadna told me we could go get some local clothes for me (which
should help a little with the stares?) at 6pm, so at 6pm we left. We went to a
store that apparently is local stuff but mostly for expats. It had some really
great random knickknacks and stuff for around the house, as well as clothes. I
also saw more westerners in that one store than I had seen in all of Dhaka so
far.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We had a lot of fun trying to pick out things that weren’t
SO weird or really ugly. The pants are wild. They are HUGE and billowy and then
come in tighter at the ankles. I feel like Aladdin in them. They look so
funny—I just got one pair that came in a set with a long, tunic-y top (I posted
a picture below) and then got a more “normal” loose pair. I got a couple other
tunic-y tops, as well, so I should be good for a little. I will probably need
some more considering I brought like four shirts and two pairs of pants total,
but I’ll figure it out. It’s nice because the store is RIGHT by my apartment. Also
clothes are really cheap, even for a pricey store like this for expats. I feel
slightly ridiculous in the clothes, but I guess it’s what everyone is wearing. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It started raining while we were there, and I had NO idea
where I was, so Ariadna was nice and took a rickshaw to my house with me. Now I
am just hanging out and will probably have leftovers for dinner. Prabhat and
KIshan are JUST coming home from work now (it’s 8:30pm). I was shopping with my
boss, and they are still at work…our projects and bosses are sort of different
to say the least. To be fair, they are one week away from starting their
intervention so they are at a much, much crazier point in their project. We are
at more of a lull period with just cleaning data and starting to brainstorm and
prepare for the next round of interventions. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also some good news is that I will be able to stay at
Ariadna’s for this weekend. I was so nervous about what I would do and I felt
SO ridiculous asking, but Prabhat and Kishan are away this whole weekend in the
field. I a) don’t feel comfortable staying in this apartment alone. Maybe at
some point I will be (doubtful…) but especially in my first week I just can’t
stomach it. I still feel nervous and uncomfortable doing anything like half the
time. And b) I can’t get around alone (I don’t know where I'm going) and hate
getting around alone (I get stared at and followed). So it will definitely be
nice to spend some of my free time with other people this weekend who actually
do know what they’re doing and how to get places. So hopefully it will be a fun
weekend staying with her! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also, Kishan and Prabhat were originally going to be gone a
LOT for their project, but I guess the budget will only let them go this
weekend and maybeee one other weekend, so phew. Like actually thank god. When
they first told me they’d be gone all of the time, I almost freaked out but
decided to just wait and see what happened, and thankfully I did, because it
sounds like it won’t be a problem. And I get to go into the field one weekend,
I think in a couple of weeks, so I’m really excited about that! Rural
Bangladesh will be QUITE the experience—I think it is very, very different than
Dhaka. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Okay, well, that’s all for now. As I said, it
was a really good day. Hopefully I will continue to get more comfortable and
manage to get to work in ONE try and with a little stress/traffic/direction
problems/struggles. It’s all quite the adventure, and I'm enjoying it, but I
won’t complain once I start settling into a routine a little. </span><!--EndFragment--><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">New Clothes!</span></div>
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Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-48668893463553476422013-06-04T06:57:00.000-07:002013-06-04T06:57:35.710-07:00Tuesday, June 4th<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Today was my first “independent day” per say, and it was HARD.
Prabhat and Kishan are starting training, which is at a different location.
They are overseeing a survey, so they are going to the training session for the
people that they will be overseeing. They had to get to the office at 8am, which was
well before I needed to be there, so we were on different schedules today.
There’s no real schedule at the office. I tried to ask Ariadna about it, and
she was like ehhhh come whenever or work from home--do whatever. We showed up at
9:30am yesterday and NOBODY was there. It seems like people start flooding in it
at 10:30am and then leave at like 7/7:30pm. Weird schedule. Also, weekends here
are Friday and Saturday, which will take a while to adjust to. It’s weird
knowing it’s Tuesday and that I already get off for the weekend Thursday. Thank god, BIG plans for this weekend (just kidding...no plans...).</div>
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So, anyway, last night we went out to dinner with a group of
people, because it was Ariadna’s birthday. We went to a Turkish restaurant in
Gulshan, which is the nicest area of Dhaka. It’s still Bangladesh, but it is noticeably WAY nicer. The apartments we passed had shiny, fancy lobbies with lots of doormen
and the shops we passed looked really nice too. Of course, scattered among the
nice shops are pretty rough looking buildings, but the majority is really developed and lit up and nice. There are also a lot more beggars and people selling stuff
on the streets. The restaurant we went to was so over-the-top and
strange—really kitschy. The ceiling was very tall and a fake night sky with light-up
stars and the walls had 3-d castle structures coming out of them to look like we were in a castle. Really it looked like we were in an oversized
playpen (there was, in fact, a castle playpen in the corner for kids). The room
was for like 100 people and there were maybe two tables filled. The food was
great though, so I can’t complain there: hummus, kebabs, and fresh roti bread.
We didn’t get home until 10:30pm though, which is SO LATE for us, since we are
still really jetlagged. When we left Ariadna was basically like come whenever tomorrow. After pressing her more, she told me to come in after
lunch (lunch is at 2pm here—what? So late. People break for tea at
like 11am and 5pm though...love the tea). So I was able to sleep in this morning but was SO
nervous about getting to work on my own! We haven’t walked yet, so that wasn’t
an option—I would have to navigate the autos. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I woke up on my own pretty early this morning and was able
to hang out for a few hours. I ate some of my peanut butter for breakfast
(thank god it made it). We really need to go get some groceries. It will undoubtedly be exhausting and involve a lot of bartering. I already miss price tags. The
electricity went out for a good hour so the apartment got HOT. When the fans
shut off this apartment becomes an oven; it’s almost unbearable. I headed out
to work pretty nervous, but I had learned the numbers I needed to know in
Bangla, so I was hoping I could get by with those. Wow. Struggles. I head out
and start walking towards the main road and you would’ve thought I was walking
down the street naked. EVERYONE was
staring at me. And the street midday is apparently all men and a lot of them. It
was so uncomfortable. One guy started following me for little and then I think
lost interest (thank god). That actually sounds creepier than it was; I think
he was just sort of wandering around anyway but he turned and started going in the other direction with me. It took me awhile to find an auto,
but I found one. My well learned “7” in Bangla was of no use (it’s “shah-ta” by
the way). He didn't understand. But after a lot of repeating “road 7, banani, road 7, banani,” the guy
finally seemed to know where I was going. THANKFULLY I made it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nobody was really in the office today, though. It was just
me and a couple other guys. I realized I would have to leave work early so I could
get home before it got dark (it gets dark at like 6pm here). I ate lunch on my
own with the man who lives at the office and helps cook and clean. Him and the
woman who cooks full time are so nice, but they can’t seem to grasp I don't
speak ANY Bangla. They are always trying to ask me questions and I have to
stand there like an idiot and be like what? Sorry no, I don’t understand. Today
I was on my own at the table with the man (his name is pronounced “muh-moon”
but that’s obviously not how you spell it…I suppose I will for this blog’s
purposes). Well Muh-moon and I sat there while I forced down a HUGE place of
rice, some potato/green bean curry thing, and an egg cooked god-knows how
(think slimy brown hard-boiled egg). The woman (still working on even the
pronunciation of her name…baby steps), tried to bring out more vegetables at one
point; I was like ah no thank you. They serve SO much food! Well anyway,
throughout lunch Muh-moon keep trying to ask me stuff. And not just once or
twice, after I CLEARLY was confused what he was saying; he kept asking me like 10 different questions. Every time I had to be like ahh sorry no I don’t understand. It
was a whole debacle. I finally managed to finish and went back to work. Apparently,
he’s sort of creepy with the expats. He sneakily takes pictures of some of them
on his phone! I think he's funny, though. He knows how to say long beard and there's an expat with a long beard so he will just look at him and brush a fake beard on his face and say "long beard, long beard." It's pretty entertaining. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We took a tea break at like 4:30pm, and I met two other
guys that work in the office: Rory (the guy with the long beard!) and Philippe. They were really nice to talk
with and had both been here about a year. One is from England the other from
Spain, I think. It was a nice but unnecessary break to my incredibly short
workday, and I headed home after to be safe with time. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Getting home was a situation. I walked a couple blocks to
the main road (SO MANY STARES) and stopped an auto and he seemed to understand
the road I was asking for but then just shook his head no. I tried to ask why but he was just like, “no” and drove away. So I talked to the next guy who was
actually decent at English (well numbers, at least) and he tried to ask for Tk
200—TWICE the amount it’s supposed to be. So I had to walk away from him. At
this point I was just uncomfortable and annoyed to be in the street still
getting weird stares. The next guy knew where I was talking about after a good five
minute conversation that involved me repeating “banana, road 17” again and again and him responding
in long spurts of Bangla. I asked him, “Tk 100?” and he just smiled. And I
asked two more times and he just gave me a weird smile, so I just figured
whatever and got in. Well…turns out I live on road 24 NOT 17. Road 17 is a very
busy, narrow street that is actually pretty sketchy. There are electrical wires
everywhere and the buildings are very industrial and dirty, and yeah, it’s not
where I live. So it took another five minutes to explain not 17, actually road
24 is where I need to be (I live in house 17 on road 24—I reversed them). Thankfully he just laughed at me and then took me to my building. It was pretty
stressful for a little there. He was surprisingly fine with Tk100; I would’ve
given him more for not kicking me out of the auto.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, having made it home, I finished up a little more work
and have just been hanging out. I hate that it is so uncomfortable for me to go
outside and get around on my own. Between being white, a girl and not speaking
ANY Bangla (except the number 7…), it isn’t the easiest place to go out and
about in. Hopefully I’ll get used to the staring and get better at having
broken conversations with auto drivers. All in all a somewhat stressful day,
but I made it. My roommates aren’t back yet, but maybe we’ll go try a new
restaurant around here, since we still have no food. There is a North Korean
restaurant here apparently where all the proceeds go back to North Korea. I
guess it was in The Economist and is sort of a big deal. They even bring in
North Korean women once in a while to do karaoke (what?). We will probably have to check it
out despite how unpatriotic it would be of us. We shall see. I think that’s it for now! I never really know how to
sign off from these blog posts…kind of awkward…bye?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-90233715326059886332013-06-03T20:11:00.002-07:002013-06-03T20:13:00.641-07:00Tuesday, June 4th: Rickshaw Pics <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So, I cheated and didn't take these pictures. BUT they look just the same as if I did! I promise I will start taking some and post actual ones! But anyway, the streets are mostly covered with these two guys and the cars on the road are CONSTANTLY honking at them. Seriously, anywhere you are you hear just a constant stream of honking. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirIJxAzCKYsd0nicItITuGLOO0Ce94tZGtLRNSxhi-FotCBulcSNdnQbVcxJBeVCcIMubsZ-4H2dpnsH0_CHAUouc1H5a0RtQzrnTCpzkXvOh0z0mvzQMasUS2ztSMP_qHV3PrPJ1B6Fd6/s1600/20080323bennet2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirIJxAzCKYsd0nicItITuGLOO0Ce94tZGtLRNSxhi-FotCBulcSNdnQbVcxJBeVCcIMubsZ-4H2dpnsH0_CHAUouc1H5a0RtQzrnTCpzkXvOh0z0mvzQMasUS2ztSMP_qHV3PrPJ1B6Fd6/s320/20080323bennet2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Your basic rickshaw. That seat is SLANTED and TINY and has NO handles. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0TMTjZqo3er7KDi3otCHNYyEmPmNDw1k9IjVHgdl9fGe5DbjGR6zs9PqN5qIgxa48-hk8A_L4lSkj9DEcnV2iizZk97RBRNdkLu7jFJwe9oTHm_C394WDkyZoX9miVqfdKDXG5hjJlA51/s1600/4523341025_014ac07c61_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0TMTjZqo3er7KDi3otCHNYyEmPmNDw1k9IjVHgdl9fGe5DbjGR6zs9PqN5qIgxa48-hk8A_L4lSkj9DEcnV2iizZk97RBRNdkLu7jFJwe9oTHm_C394WDkyZoX9miVqfdKDXG5hjJlA51/s400/4523341025_014ac07c61_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Autos. What i have to hail down and get to work in alone today. The boys already left and I don't have to be at the office until later. Hopefully they understand what I'm saying!! Ughh</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaoamy1FSjtx713_gL81JNOz61DZECx1SCHDMKSPRbrY0jRtoXX7HfGk30dXtB_ILPKEGu7jKBT-BulAQjJUA5mDpxCEi4IfUnCxOCVU_CDrtbItuo-8fvOn1HaD5ySsd0yrjLl1oIHu9-/s1600/bangladesh5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaoamy1FSjtx713_gL81JNOz61DZECx1SCHDMKSPRbrY0jRtoXX7HfGk30dXtB_ILPKEGu7jKBT-BulAQjJUA5mDpxCEi4IfUnCxOCVU_CDrtbItuo-8fvOn1HaD5ySsd0yrjLl1oIHu9-/s400/bangladesh5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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They drive like motorcyles from the inside--like the driver has two handles and a clutch on one of them. </div>
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Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-10416420322183109132013-06-02T21:28:00.000-07:002013-07-04T20:42:58.288-07:00Monday, June 3rd <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So I’m lying in bed after waking up from my first full day
here. The past couple days have been really good! This place is crazy but so
far I like it. After hanging out alone my first morning, both my roommates
showed up. One’s name is Kishan and he’s from New Jersey, but his family is
from India and he’s spent a lot of time there. He’ll be a senior at Princeton. Prabhat, my other roommate, is from Nepal. He’s 26
or 27 (I forgot) and is going into his second year of grad school at Cornell. I
forget which program it is, because he said and Kishan seemed like he knew what
he was talking about, so I didn’t ask. This sort of thing has already happened
several times, especially while talking about India and Indian culture. I will
have to pick things up stealthily. Prabhat has also spent a bunch of time in
India, so basically I am the noob to South Asia. He is very nice and funny and
randomly knows people who have been here/are here. He wants to join a modern
dance group/class that a friend told him about and asked me if I wanted to do
it. I warned him of my lack of coordination, but he said I should anyway; I
think I may give it a try. That will be quite a sight. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So yesterday after they showed up, we went to the office
with Alamgir to get a few things. Alamgir has a really funny sense of humor in
that he just laughs at everything. So I’ve started just laughing with him when
he starts laughing. Hopefully I will continue to understand him better. There
are a lot of people wandering the office and names are IMPOSSIBLE. I am bad
with English names so here, for the people that I figure I will interact with a
lot, I have to ask like five times, usually they spell it out, and I still
struggle because Kishan and Prabhat can say it with the accent and I’m like “Mey-rob”
(that is the only name I can remember from yesterday…ugh). </div>
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After the office we
took rickshaws to the market. Like I said, they are crazy. I am shocked they
are not falling and crashing left and right. There are some rickshaws that are pulled
by bikes and BARELY fit two people, and then there are autos that are motorized
and like little motorized cages. They
remind me of a carnival ride but less safe and scary. The market was sort of
“indoors” and was a crazy maze that went on forever. It was two floors and just
wound this way and that. It wasn’t particularly crowded but SO HOT. I am
sweating all the time here. I guess they are just used to the heat, because
people here don’t seem to be sweating as much. The market had everything you
could possibly want, which is good to know. There were vegetable stands, grain
stands, soap stands, toy stands, clothes stands, etc. We bought a couple basics
with the help of Sumon, who was someone who came with us from the office.
People speak much less English here than I thought. Like people just don’t
speak English. Kishan knows some 5 languages and Prabhat knows a few so they
can sometime scrape stuff together people understand. I have never heard such a
foreign language in my life. I do not try and scrape anything by. Maybe I will
be able to pick up a little (that’s very optimistic). </div>
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<br /></div>
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After the market we came
home and just rested and then picked up dinner at a place nearby. Apparently it
was “expensive” but I got chicken kebabs and French fries and fresh squeezed orange
juice for like $5. And it was delicious—so far I have had really positive food
experiences, so that’s good. I’m going to have to learn to like fish, though.
Day 1 of lunch at the office was fish curry with a LOT of rice. Also everyone
eats with their hands, well just their right hand. So that has been interesting
to figure out. I kind of like it but it’s hard to use one hand. Sometimes I
cheat to break bread with both hands, because tearing apart naan with one hand
is a struggle. Also rice with one hand has been less than graceful, but it’s
been sort of sticky so far, which helps. Portions are BIG but then I think
people stick to three square meals a done and nothing more. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Work yesterday was good. Before work, we spent the morning
looking for a bank that would cash my traveller’s checks. It took about two
hours of wandering down streets in the heat. One thing I like about travelling
to different places that I’m unfamiliar with is that I become very patient. I
don’t worry about time, especially here where nobody really does. Nobody is
really in a rush. I like it. I just kind of walk or wait or do whatever it is
that is taking an exorbitant amount of time (which is everything) and am fine
with it. But yes, we found a bank FINALLY but they needed my passport, which I
didn’t have…so after everything we were unsuccessful. We headed to the office
then for our first day. My project manager, Ariadna, is very nice. She’s young
and from Mexico and did her masters at University of Chicago. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m working on a sanitation project at the office. Just as a
quick overview, it’s a project assessing what motivates people to buy and use sanitation
practices, mostly latrines. It is funny how much time I will spend the next two
months thinking and talking about toilets. But anyway, they did three different
interventions on different villages in the rural north. Apparently I am going
to be able to go up and travel to some of these areas, which I’m really excited
about. One intervention was just a two-day education seminar about sanitation
and the importance of it. The other was that plus subsidies. The third was
education plus subsidies plus supply side help, so helping suppliers have
quality parts and making sure they were well informed on installation, etc. They
have collected three rounds of surveys since to figure out how the
interventions went. The next couple months they will be dealing with some
problems with the data caused by a sanitation NGO coming in and handing out
free sanitation stuff and will also be designing another round of
interventions—should be interesting. They’re trying to brainstorm other things
that will motivate people to buy and use latrines. Some of the problems they came
across as they do these experiments are hilarious. One example is a problem
they had with people not validating their vouchers (like their subsidy coupons
to give them money off buying a latrine). They went back into the field to try
and figure out why. Several villages didn’t validate them because they were
worried that by validating the voucher they would be converting to Christianity….
apparently there have been missionaries in these areas but unclear what they’ve
been telling these people…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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So, yeah basically that’s what my job has to do with. I
spent most of the day learning about it and getting up to date. I was so tired
that I couldn’t focus at all. I had to read each sentence like 10 times and
my eyes kept wondering. I’m in a room of desks with about ten other people. It’s
air-conditioned which is great. Kishan and Prabhat started late yesterday,
because their project manager came in late, so we stayed at the office until
6:30pm…. I thought I was going to fall asleep on the table. . They do make
awesome tea at the office, though. I think it’s just black tea with a TON of
cream and sugar, but it’s delicious. Anyway, last night we just came home and
hung out and now here I am. That’s the update for now. Things are good here! I’ll
try and post pictures later…I need to take some more first. <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-46577594695469968042013-06-01T04:56:00.000-07:002013-06-01T05:04:53.900-07:00While I'm at it...Pictures!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD0DA8Y9F52GvuYB23cUxv3whcmlSEyo1Rx_qILiNPwITLP_Ao63CdPcVBCfejPxDG5l3z8mF1vK1a2_sUzX5t0Atk236TlIgFZM11J8OWHfEgxDShAoKQa9KjhuDzntXROxSeyHIRYnSQ/s1600/2013-05-31+09.49.57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD0DA8Y9F52GvuYB23cUxv3whcmlSEyo1Rx_qILiNPwITLP_Ao63CdPcVBCfejPxDG5l3z8mF1vK1a2_sUzX5t0Atk236TlIgFZM11J8OWHfEgxDShAoKQa9KjhuDzntXROxSeyHIRYnSQ/s320/2013-05-31+09.49.57.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Just some Middle-Eastern oil rigs on the way into Doha. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQGMlISOPHYcAwnJcSrakqdocmOEFS3TDaTZiOWWQpFou9jz_G7dCCyLFDlnJ3NUYkyEvGwTdoZcHDx5ZoUHQ2uAl-5wT_Gb6CPVVZQPiuhEVhzCxcMXV5m6V-8f8266HHbhdeHLOTb4u/s1600/2013-06-01+05.06.00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQGMlISOPHYcAwnJcSrakqdocmOEFS3TDaTZiOWWQpFou9jz_G7dCCyLFDlnJ3NUYkyEvGwTdoZcHDx5ZoUHQ2uAl-5wT_Gb6CPVVZQPiuhEVhzCxcMXV5m6V-8f8266HHbhdeHLOTb4u/s400/2013-06-01+05.06.00.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Front balcony view. Hello roof directly attached to our balcony. Are you there neighbors? Potential new friends?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVYc7qvWVDEA_KREbUXHSgOjVWMkTRJjK5vRYrAVB-H0h3fUptbxnJ49BMwa5h9DIz7dFDDLVu-aZVTzYnPufGN9e8rIe0TfgY8oCxGYcQ7MknMXdqHMQJpD737RA1tzHEJ2aoL-Jea5V/s1600/2013-06-01+16.53.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVYc7qvWVDEA_KREbUXHSgOjVWMkTRJjK5vRYrAVB-H0h3fUptbxnJ49BMwa5h9DIz7dFDDLVu-aZVTzYnPufGN9e8rIe0TfgY8oCxGYcQ7MknMXdqHMQJpD737RA1tzHEJ2aoL-Jea5V/s320/2013-06-01+16.53.52.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Back caged balcony view. Roofs on trees on trees on roofs.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg97NTkxSsLuKSA_r0XW93bHBwolMacYI_DVoEAuSMpQeDmjygGcmRmYchHIu-zNK1P-MZdbD7y96U0Xpazn14SaHAy51th-6Flyz6ywU7Mcr3C-0VTKomv2mHj01ADw7dTtoJuHCteftnc/s1600/2013-06-01+16.54.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg97NTkxSsLuKSA_r0XW93bHBwolMacYI_DVoEAuSMpQeDmjygGcmRmYchHIu-zNK1P-MZdbD7y96U0Xpazn14SaHAy51th-6Flyz6ywU7Mcr3C-0VTKomv2mHj01ADw7dTtoJuHCteftnc/s320/2013-06-01+16.54.42.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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My home away from home for the next two months. The "Master Suite" of the apartment. AC YAY. </div>
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Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-89559056695032623322013-06-01T04:14:00.000-07:002013-06-03T19:53:19.468-07:00DAY ONE IN THE DESH<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I have made it and am alive and in Bangladesh and MUCH calmer than I was 8 hours ago when I wrote out the post below. Both of my roommates Kishan and Prabhat are here and we had a crazy first day going to the office and the market. I'll write more about that later. If anything goes wrong here it will be getting catapulted out of a rickshaw into the street. They are miniature little seats with barely any siding for two people, pulled by very skinny men who weigh MUCH less than me. They pull you through potholes and cracks and sewage so that every bump you are sure you are about to be launched out of your seat...or the rickshaw is about to split into two pieces...more on that later and my crazy day. Here was my first post I wrote out right when I got here. It was post-total panic alone in a new apartment....</div>
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"So, here goes. I’m sitting in my bed in what will be my room
for the next two months. And I’m scared. I didn’t expect to be this scared.
Flying into Doha was easy enough, the airport was foreign and I was surrounded by
mostly middle-eastern and Asian people, but it felt familiar enough. I stuck
out quite a bit but there were other people that stuck out more. My flight from
Doha to Dhaka was easy, as well. I was nervous but mostly excited. I was one of
the very few white people on a very empty plane. It was right before we landed
that it all hit me. We cleared the clouds late coming in to land and looking
outside I was shocked. I saw a sea of dirty buildings that look ready to
collapse. Dense tropical foliage filled the tiny spaces between them. Every
other building seemed to be crumbling or only half-built. Crumbling walls lined
the runway. You could SEE the heavy humidity in the air. It was different than
I expected. It made me nervous. </div>
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I landed and made it through immigration just
fine besides nobody understanding the concept of a line. People would randomly come out of nowhere and go up to the counter at the front of the line. Then onto baggage.
Baggage claim was insane. It was one, small carousal with about 200 people
crammed around it shoving to get closer as one bag came out at a time, slower
than the next. It took two hours to get my bag, but I was just happy it made
it. I ventured to go to the bathroom while I was waiting, which was the first big
surprise of the country. Just a plastic rimmed hole. No toilets. They flushed
interestingly enough. Not sure the purpose of flushing, but they flushed. </div>
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Back
to the carousal. I found my bag and was lucky that Alamgir, who was
picking me up, was waiting right outside. I exchanged some money and got in the
car waiting for us. Outside was a sea of people just hanging on the gates to
the airport. The air was—is—heavy and thick and hot and sticky. There was no
method to the madness on the road. Honking and cars going every which way. Two
story buses teetered next to tiny rickshaws. People weaving through the cars as
if cars weren’t about to hit them. Endless honking. We made it onto a wider
road that was moving—the highway I’m guessing. We passed an “army golf course’
that was quite an entertaining sight. And a hospital. Huge, and modern and
sparkling new. Comforting, but still not trying to end up in there. </div>
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We finally
came off to an area of narrow dirt roads with a blend of everything from nice
looking buildings and buildings that had been reduced to a pile of bricks.
Shacks lined the streets. As we got near I saw a naked little toddler, alone, smiling and patting his face on a little tree stump. We pulled into a very, very narrow street and up to our building.
Looked nice enough. Alamgir was friendly throughout the ride, but I have a hard
time with the accent. I feel like an idiot saying “Sorry? Excuse me?” every two
seconds, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it. He leads me through a garage
on the bottom floor to an elevator. I am not thrilled about getting into this
two person “elevator,” but we’re headed four flights up. We get to my apartment. A flimsy wooden door is the entrance. We walk in, and it’s nice. It
reminds me a lot of Ghana. Bare and relatively empty: two couches, a chair, a
table, a refrigerator, and a little kitchen area through a door to the side. We
have a nice TV, which is random and the landlord took the time to show me how
to use the completely standard channel and volume buttons. Music videos in
another language are still playing in the background. There are three bedrooms
each with their own bathroom (and full, real toilets), so that is a pleasant
surprise. I have a low, flat, double bed and a cupboard and dresser in my
room. The other two rooms look about the same. I noticed Alamgir took his shoes
off coming in and forgot that no shoes in a household is a big thing here. I’ll
have to remember that. </div>
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Then Alamgir turns to leave. He has to go pick up Kishan
(one of the two other boys who will be living with me) but says he will be
back. I panic. I have no service on my phone and am stuck in a tiny apartment
in the middle of Dhaka with no way of getting a hold of anyone or going
anywhere if I need to. What if he doesn’t come back? My imagination runs wild. Panic.
Finally, though, thank god, I get service to work on my phone. I call my parents
and manage to calm down. I step out on the balcony as I talk to them and the
view from our apartment is other tall, dingy apartment buildings clustered
around us and even attached to the building. Everything is overwhelmingly close-knit. Metal bars close in our two
balconies. I hear someone praying nearby, loudly. It is impossibly humid here
and I suspect I’ll get used to having a constant layer of sweat on my skin. </div>
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Sitting in my room now with a fan, I’m pretty comfortable. I must say I am
pleasantly surprised by how nice the apartment is. But every noise makes me
jump. The elevator is loud and makes me nervous. I feel isolated. I don’t feel very
safe. I don’t know why I feel quite so skittish, but hopefully it will settle.
Hopefully I can find peace for the next couple of hours and then will have
company. It sounds like we are going to go shopping for things we may need when
Alamgir and Kishan come back—sheets, water, etc. I am really hoping that they
hurry back. But I at least feel somewhat less stranded with service. And I'm getting more and more used to the constant noises all around me in
this apartment building and the endless honking from the street. Ahhh here goes a pretty wild
two months."<o:p></o:p></div>
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Caton Brewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16118409391053860216noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564668144745147755.post-56212307857648449402013-05-29T20:13:00.002-07:002013-05-29T20:33:34.819-07:00<br />
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