Straight from the docks of the Shodhorghat!

What a cool day! We went out to Old Dhaka….it was simply amazing. Old Dhaka (the nature of the region being obvious, given the name) consists of small streets that are no wider than about 5-6 feet. Lined along these windy streets are shops upon shops selling all kinds of things, from jewelry, clothes, food, fruits, musical instruments, etc. etc. This part of the city was very different than what I have seen thus far. Luckily, we were there on a not-so crowded day. Apparently, on the weekdays the streets are so packed that you can’t walk along the street without brushing shoulders with passers-by. I went with five other people. During the entire time we were there, we saw only one other group of “white” westerners. Suffice it to say, my buddies were more of an attraction to the locals than anything else. As we would snap pictures and walk through the stores, people kept coming up to me (seeing me as the token Bengali escort) and asking “are you filming a documentary?”

This guy was melting gold using a mouth-blown torch and then remolding it however you want it...

Here is a pic of a typical street. Cars cannot pass through these streets, so rickshaws get people around. At times, the streets were so narrow, it was common to find rickshaws that had locked each others’ wheels in an effort to pass each other by…..

There was so much color everywhere...one could look into an alley at a row of shops and the number of vivid colors was pretty amazing. This picture just doesn't do it justice but its a sampling.....(plus I have no clue how to use the "dimly-lit indoors, at times seedy"feature on my camera)

More pics of Old Dhaka.

Here is a guy building a Hindu God. I forgot to ask which one this was They use hay which is molded using mud from the river banks. No template, he makes that up without any pictures as a reference.

This guy was selling fresh sugar cane on the road side. There are several like him all around Old Dhaka.

We saw several musical instrument shops. They make the instruments right here at the shop….anything from guitars, violins, tables, etc. can be found here. We stopped and played around at a couple of these shops…..

We took several pictures between the six of us. The funniest part was, people will let you take their picture, very eagerly. Afterwards, they will stop you and say, “hey can you mail me that picture?” That’s it. They don’t give an address or anything, they just say that and then they wave you goodbye. Thus far I owe about twenty different people pictures.

This guy was just chillin', selling his coconuts, but he was quick to don his shades and strike a pose when I asked to take his picture...

After we were done with Old Dhaka, we decided to hitch a ride on a “Tahla”, essentially a flat board on wheels that is pulled by a man riding a bicycle and go through town to the docks of Shodhorghat. Along the way, it was like we were a circus act riding through town. I know how the monkeys feel as Barnum & Bailey parade them through town….that's Steve and I waiting to take off for the docks. Notice my shirt. No thats not a shadow. That's actually how much I was sweating. Also notice the crowd of onlookers...

At Shodhorghat, again we were the only westerners. So we were swarmed by at least fifteen different boatmen who were vying for us to get on their boat and pay them. That was a little overwhelming! I had to negotiate with one guy and to give you a sense of the negotiating game one has to play and how these guys see dollar signs when they see a westerner, here is how the conversation went:

Boat guy (speaking in slang Bengali, of course): “Sir, where do you want to go?

Nabil: “Just around the river and back, how much?”

Boat guy: “300Taka!”

Nabil: “You’re insane!”

Boat guy: “Fine how much”

Nabil: “10 Taka”

Boat Guy: “No way!”

Nabil: “Fine how much?”

Boat guy: “100 Taka”

Nabil: “My last offer is 50 Taka, take it or leave it”

Boat guy: “Deal!”

NOTE: We went from 300Taka to 50Taka (I gave him 60Taka). Actual cost for a local Bengali to take that same ride: 10Taka…priceless..

Here we are at the docks…sorry did I say docks…I meant mud landing leading to murky water leading to boat….

The river ride was great though!

Very peaceful….

Again, great show, with people yelling (in a friendly manner) “Hello…how is your day?” and “hey, hey take my picture?”

The old man and the sea…..this guy just looked very cool....

As I finish this blog up, its almost Eid. So Eid Mubarak to everyone. Talk soon!

Onek Koshto Dilum!

Literally this means: “I gave you a lot of trouble” in Bengali. A form of courtesy really. According to my friend Anders, if you say that to people when you go to their house for a meal or even as they are leaving you house, they become enamored with your courtesy! Its weird that they fall all over you when they are LEAVING your house….I mean really isn’t the trouble all yours since you had to make the food, prepare tea, etc? I suppose to get through the Dhaka traffic to come to your house is a lot of trouble?! So anyways, I tried it at a recent iftar (opening meal after the day-long fast. Usually there are plenty of these parties during Ramadan) party that I was invited to. Sure enough, it worked like a charm. EVEN though the house wasn’t even mine, when I said it, they thought”….oh-ho….how nice this young man is..” (in a South-Asian accent). Overall the evening was great! These were people who had little and shared their home with us nevertheless. Here are the plates of everyone got. Even though I don't keep fast, it was a great experience to go to a party like this in Bangladesh....The food here is bananas, fried zuchinni, lentils, dessert, dates, grapes, oranges, and other stuff I can't remeber.

Here’s Anders and me enjoying (well at least Anders was) a fresh coconut that is cut open and the sweet water inside is consumed. A favorite in Bangladesh, but I can’t stand it. Its like peer pressure. You HAVE to drink it if everyone else is. Luckily Anders was good enough to finish both the drinks, while I drank a large glass of water.

Here’s the guests at the party. Mainly they were women from a non-profit called “Nari Jibon” that were there for the iftar party thrown by the staff..notice the choke hold the lady has on Erin.

Some cute little siblings I met at the party.

These are the hosts' daughters and a neighborhood boy (left to right) Nargis, Nahim, and Bilquis. Our little buddies. Nahim does a mean Macarena and Nargis and Bilquis’ favorite songs are “Say my name” by Beyonce. No joke!

Before....I told them a joke....

After....awww yeah...Nabil's a hit with the kids...maybe they're laughing at me...not with me...great kids though!

Yunus, Yunus, and more Yunus.....

So as many of you know, hopefully, Mr. Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize for devising the micrcredit concept. It is now widely used in several countries and has been hailed as a key step towards poverty reduction in the world (for better or for worse, thats for you to decide...)

Anyhow, the reason I mention this is b/c ever since the guy won the prize the papers have been plastered with various companies from Citibank to airline companies taking out large ads to congratulate the guy. Check out this picture, the day it was announced. Every story on the front page of the paper was about Yunus....Click on the Daily Star link on the left to read more about it.

Its been a while since I posted, so here it is….

The power goes out a lot here. I don’t mean once or twice a day. I mean four or five times a day. One would think that the power going out would bring life to a halt, but that’s not the case! No, here’s the sequence: 1) Nabil is working on his paper on his laptop 2) All of a sudden the entire house goes dark, with the exception of Nabil’s laptop b/c he has a battery (looks very eeery and I scared Neela one day that way) 3) Nabil doesn’t panic because 4) what sounds like a HUGE Sherman tank but is an enormous diesel generator starts moments later. Most apartment buildings and houses around here have these generators, which roar into action every time the power goes out. They keep chugging along until 5) the power returns anywhere from an hour or two later.

Here is a pic of Happy. Neela’s granddaughter. I have been working with Happy on her English homework. She is currently in high-school (sophomore) and hopes to get into Dhaka University. She is doing great and is on track! Her Enlgish is slowly getting better. She mixes up her G's and Z's. So instead of "zero" the word becomes "g-roo". And instead of "college" it becomes "colleze". We're working on it!

Here’s a pic of Jabbar, our driver with a toy monkey. We were at a store called Aarong. Its a store started by BRAC, which sells good made by workers paid by BRAC. Almost like a fair trade and fair pay concept. It was packed to the brim the day I was there. Nothing more to be said about that. He’s a cool guy and was laughing pretty hard after I took the picture and wanted me to post it, so this one is for you Jabbar. Although they have seen a digital camera before, everyone loves it because you can see the pics right away.

So often when I take pictures, I end up taking more than one of the same thing for people's entertainment....thank goodness for long life batteries.

A typical street-side stall selling food, furniture repair services, and bananas.

These are some of my Fulbright buddies. We went out to a tea stall on the street corner and then to a restaurant where we ordered four different types of fish all prepared differently. Neela contends that she can outdo the restaurant and I don’t doubt it!

Other than that, can’t complain much. Of course one has to acclimate to a very different life here, but I think I am doing ok. I do miss home and Shannon and for some reason cheesecake a lot! The city streets are still packed and the heat is still here, but its not something that is not manageable. Getting the research off the ground has been a little tough but that was to be expected. Talk soon!

At home drawin' pictures....

Well, I made it. Its been almost one week since I have been here. My experience has been pretty good so far. Home life is quite interesting. We have a cook named Neela. She has been with the family for over 40 years and her cooking is truly heavenly. Pretty much anything once could want, she can make.
She's a very sweet old lady.

Of course Neela's specialty is Bengali dishes, which taste amazing! Breakfast usually consists of a puffed crepe called a "lucci" (as is Susan Lucci), an egg, daal, and a vegetable curry dish. I have really come to love this combo and am eating it pretty much every morning. Wash it all down with a cup of tea and this meal can take you through the day. However, I am finding the health factor of the food is not the greatest. The good taste comes with the price of heavy foods that are cooked the "ole school" way. As good as the food is, it ain't no weight watchers diet. Here is a pic of a typical dinner consisting of daal, chicken meatballs stuffed with raisins (chicken kofta), rice, and vegetable curry. Dang this stuff is goooodd...
Another Fulbrighter Erin Lentz and her husband Jason came over yesterday for lunch . We had a great time exchanging stories about Bengali life and getting used to the city and other stuff. It was good to finally meet some other people who are here on the Fulbright. That's my mother serving us tea.

Dhaka City

What an interesting city! I do miss home, but I am excited to be here and explore the city.
The first thing (among many things) one notices in Dhaka is the traffic....its insane. The constant game of chicken played by cars is unbelievable! Amidst the rickshaws, two-stroke scooters, impatient pedestrians, and the cars there little semblance of some sort of order. There are lanes marked on the road, but drivers rarely ever obide by the boundaries. So far, I haven't seen anyone get hit....near misses, yes! For example it is not uncommon for a pedestrian to wait in the middle of the lane between two passing cars. From what I understand the terrible traffic is due to small roadways. Most of the roads are two lanes (one way) and there are a large number of cars. This backs up traffic regularly particularly during business hours. Add to that, the fact that I have seen several Lexus', BMW SUVs, Land Rovers, and other SUVs (I thought this was a poor country!). The pic here is a line of traffic that spans about two miles back. The kid in the rickshaw was fast asleep for quite a while! Its not uncommon for it to take 30 mintues to travel about 2 miles.

The second thing one notices is, obviously, the overcrowded city. Though 75% of the population lives in rural villages, you would think that everyone is here in Dhaka. The picture here is the view of the city from the BRAC building. Below the bullding is a rickshaw service lot. The rickshaw drivers pay a ricksahw rental wage of approximately 200 Taka or $3/day. Each ride is anywhere from 5-20 Taka. That means he needs to make about 20 runs just to break even. Coupled with the current heat and humidity, that's quite the lifestyle....
MORE RANDOM PICS...
Rickshaws waiting for fares...gotta make that taka!

A street kid sleeping in the stairwell of an office building, trying to escape the heat...a very sad reality in Dhaka.

BKK and beyond…

I took Northwest Airlines to get here. In the lavatory, there is a large and prominent NO SMOKING sign. Yet, when I look down, at approximately eye level, sitting on the loo, there is an ashtray. Granted, these are re-modeled planes, the temptation for someone who recently stopped smoking, this must be tortuous.

After 17 hours of flight I am in Bangkok. Its 2:25am and I am sitting at a STARBUCKS having a mocha and catching up on homework. Yes that is correct, a Starbucks! (see pic). Not only that is it a Starbucks but it is a replica of any Starbucks you would normally find in the US complete with all the stale confectionary that Starbucks is notorious for. Of course, I succumbed to consumerism and patronized this establishment rather than spending my money at one of the other local cafés. Also we landed at the new airport. Its huge and has all the amenities of a modern airport. Its nice, but I read in the BANGKOK POST that the airport has drawn so much attention that families have been coming out to check out the place, as an outing! That’s pretty impressive considering that the airport is a solid forty minutes outside of the city. Apparently, its not uncommon to see people picnicking on the lawn as the planes fly over them for take off and landing. There are military personnel walking around the airport, obviously because of the recent coup. But if you asked a local Thai about the situation, they are not worried. In fact, the torrential downpour outside is causing more of a stir than the recent coup. On to Dhaka in 7 hours.

Here is a pic of Bangkok's new airport too.....off to Dhaka!