Back from the Chak...

It was my last time in Chakaria (the Chak....affectionately called). I made some great memories there and really enjoyed meeting a lot of the people. It was heartwarming to experience the friendliness found among the villagers. Dhaka is not so much like that, but most of the people I met there were so nice.

There is a story that goes with the next set of pictures. I bought a bunch of t-shirts from Thailand and I wear them fairly often. One day, I had one these t-shirts on and one of the field researchers (literally translated from Bangla) said "....Boss, don't come any closer. Your t-shirts are too sexy". Now normally, that comment would make me think twice, but I knew that he meant that he really liked my t-shirt. Though, I still dont know why he had to tell me not to come close, as if he was going to give me a big kiss if I went up to him. Lets dwell on the mystery of this conversation too much....

So as a gesture, I got all my guys t-shirts as a going away present. I also promised them American chocolate (not the greatest chocolate in the world). We had chocolate, t-shirts, and tea.


The gang toasting me....
A cutie pie I met at the center. Her father was one of the cooks.... I am not talking about the guy on my left although he seems to have made it into almost all of my pictures with the guys.
And the pictures wouldn't stop....there are many more pics which I won't bore you with. Suffice it to say the guys were happy to get their shirts, but sad to see me go..

I was also sad to say goodbye to my good buddy Guillaume Deuchamps - if you recall he is the French Doctor working around the corner from me with Rickets patients. Unlike me, who traveled to the Chak every other week, Guillaume has spent the last 8 months living in Chakaria. He has made quite the reputation for himself as "Dr. 'Desh" ("desh is short for Bideshi - foreigner). He knows a lot of the villagers and is really good at what he does.

Here is Guillaume, diligently washing his clothes....his facilities were not as luxurious as mine...At times, when the clothes were not washed correctly, I had to "motivate" him....

I accompanied Guillaume on some site visits. Got see some pretty village countryside. Here are some pics of people I met along the way.

No, people in the Chak don't wear these hay bales on their heads as decoration...
Some kids playing a game in the ground. Does anyone remember the name of this game....
This is Coffee Jack, as dubbed by Guillaume (I think). The running rhyme was "You need me to get your back, give me ten tak, I'm Coffee Jack, I'm in the Chak". Guillaume swears this guy is the next mob boss in town. Give it a few years...

Our good buddy Maeve also came down to hang out at the clinic.

Sorry I had to beat you buddy...its the only way you learn.
Morning chicken...
Anyhow, that was a glimpse of my experience in the Chak. Had a great time and although it was tough at times, I really enjoyed seeing a whole different side of Bangladesh. It was tough to be out there a lot of the time but there was also a peace to being out in the village with no traffic and very little noise at night. I will miss it in a way. Also meeting people like Dr. Deuchamps, who is really dedicated to helping the poor was pretty inspirational to see as well.

This aint fly fishin'....

So recently I had the opportunity to visit our local village in Bangladesh with my father and my brother Alam. I have always wanted to get pics of the local fisherman catching fish from the pond in the back. Its not your average fishing trip. Something one has to experience. There is an art, a technique, a form....its like watching a ballet...only there are sweaty Bangladeshi men, a dirty net, and lots and lots of fish...so maybe its not a ballet at all....I digress.

Here are the pics. The guys showed up on a bike with a huge net that was balled up. Looks like a mess, but actually it was balled up in such a manner that allows them to unravel it precisely...
There are about four fisherman. While these guys unravel the net, there was another guy in the pond clearing all the sticks and brush....In this pond, it may not look like it, but there are a ton of fish...you shall soon see.....after the net is unraveled, the guys go down into the pond and spread it out. The objective is to span the net across the pond and very meticulously pull it across the water. The net is weighted at the bottom so its like taking a large sieve and passing it through a large pot of water...with fish in it.

It starts like this....
Three guys stay at one side while the others go to the other side of the pond.....The net gets wider and the fun begins.....
Alam watching on intently...eagerly anticipating the nice fish curry that will subsequently be made....The net gets wider and the fisherman pull it across the span on the pond...

And as the net is pulled further along, the fish start bouncing...its a great site...
Ultimately, the guys pull the net to the far end fo the pond and narrow the catch...

The fish are then sorted out. A part of the catch goes to the fisherman, who sell the fish at the local market for a nice profit..
They look hungry fo' mama's home cookin'And yes, this guy came from the pond...
A job well done gentleman...my stomach thanks you!
The guys are rolling the net back up for the next time....


And the fish looked so different about an hour ago...
The final product...

Which leads to a lot of this in Bangladesh....

Back to work...

Ever since I reached Bangladesh, I have been trying to get out to the rural parts to get work done. Between Ramadan, hartals, political strife, and occasional rioting, my work got delayed quite a bit. Anyhow, FINALLY, after a long wait, my project is taking off. I have been working in Chakaria, Bangladesh. Its rural....very very rural out here. After two months of negotiating, coaxing, arguing, I finally got to administer my survey. It actually worked out well, because there was an existing project in Chakaria and they tacked my male survey onto their research plan. Without getting too much into the technicalities, my research is underway. I spend every other week in Chakaria. At first, I thought it was going to be pretty tough to be out there for a week at a time, but actually I have found it to be pretty peaceful. No phone or internet and the power is out for about 10-14 hours of the day. Makes you appreciate comforts of home that much more....

This is the center. Its essentially a huge brick building in the middle of a village. The facilities are actually quite nice here... For example, I thought my room was going to be a small hut in a field. It turns out, I get the comforts of home. A bed with a mosquito net....



We have a staff that prepares and served food three times a day...great guys except both of these two have asked me if I could get them a visa to the U.S. I changed the topic quickly by complimenting their food...


























Yes and even fresh clean water....
If you look closely, yes, the water is almost...well pretty much a muddy color. This is not mud. Actually the water in Chakaria is heavily enriched with iron. It tastes like huge freagin rods of metal have been immersed in the reservoir. Whats even worse is that the people in the villages drink this water w/o any filtration. They drink it in the mud form. DELICIOUS! Its very common here to find people with a great deal of hair loss, resulting from the heavy iron intake. I should change the project to "THE EFFECTS OF ROGAINE ON CHAKARIA RESIDENTS". Somehow, I don't think the thesis committee will accept that one. Anyhow, because there's huge amounts of iron in the water, they have to filter it at the center. Surprisingly, it tastes pretty good without any hint of iron. Moving on....

These are the guys we hired. I had to train them in survey-taking techniques. All in Bangla. That was an interesting challenge. Thankfully, I wasn't the only one doing the training... One thing I have noticed about people in Bangladesh is that noone likes to smile when they take pictures. Literally, they could be in the middle of the funniest conversation, but as soon as the camera rolls out, they will put on their most stoic faces. I told them all that I would get them visas to the US if they smiled.....now you know who wants to go and who doesn't.....Whats up with that?

The villages are actually very nice. IN a rustic, no electricity, running water, hut structures sort of way. There is another guy out here, who is a French Doc working on Ricketts. He lives has been living out here for the last 8 months. If you ever visit Chakaria, you would know how dedicated that is....its pretty rural. Anyhow, Guillaume Deauchamps (if you haven't guessed, he's French) and I have been going running in the mornings. The villages are absolutely beautiful then. I have to take some pics and post them, b/c it really is a whole another world that I have not seen before. Of course, people are pretty mesmerized by a dark brown man and a white guy running through the villages in the early morning hours, but hey...its fun that way!

Anyhow, all that's my life in a nutshell right now. I have so much more to say. I will be better about posting in the future. There is much left to do. I am looking forward to coming home in June, but until then....

ps. Saeed recently got to visit India. We were there for a few days together. I corrupted him. This is by far one of my favorite pictures since I have been here.....ahh Americana...how I love thee...I apologize in advance to all my public health friends working on obesity issues.

Back by popular demand....

Sorry all, its been a long time since my last post and I have gotten several emails from all of you for more...I feel the love and so here is the newest! So much has happened since Darjeeling..lets see Shannon came out. We had a fantastic time and it was Shannon's first time in Asia and she really soaked up the culture! First let me wish you all a Happy New Year!


Shannon enjoying her birthday cake! We went to Chiang Mai, Thailand and New Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, and Udaipur, India. Let me tell you, if you come to Inida, Udaipur is a must see! The Taj Mahal was great, but Udaipur is amazing!

If anyone out there has ever been to India, you know that cows are abundant. Walking around all over the place with little regard for traffic or really anything else for that matter. Shannon was bold enough to get really close to one. I chickened out...

Shannon had henna done on her hands. I don't know what was cooler, the actual henna art or the number of people who gathered around to watch the white girl get painted! These guys were stoked to be painting her hands. Most action they got that day....they prfulsel
We saw a HUGE wedding party that was literally halting traffic. The groom was on a horse. NO he cannot see. There was a guy leading the horse.
Then we came to Dhaka for an engagement party. It was fantastic. We set up a tent that was decorated with cool lights and about 70 people showed up for the event. Everyone was great and we really had a nice time together! We are very stoked about this coming August! The best part is, Shannon and I both realized that we travel great together! I would add more pics, but these are huge files and my connection isn't that fast. Shannon looked gorgeous! She always does ;-) I have a lot of great pics from our trip and the night of the party, so be prepared for repeated slide shows upon my return.... I love the pic on the right...