I am so in Love...

I am so in love with this country and this trip. We have been spoiled rotten in Bangladesh (Something I thought I would never say) and it is going to be incredibly hard to go home. I did not ever think that I would be dreading the end of this trip... I thought the heat would get to me and two weeks would just seem like too many. But now, Claire and Matt will have to drag me out (that is if they even leave). There are a few reasons to why this trip has been so amazing...
-Amina. I have already discussed Amina in a previous blog, but since that blog her and I have spoken a lot. I have never ached more to give someone the opportunities I have had. Everything about this woman is amazing and I know if anyone were to give her just one educational chance, she would take that chance and do something absolutely incredible with her degree. She is one example of why people should care about developing nations. Knowing there is talent like her being squashed by society and lack of funding for education, should absolutely kill each and every one of us. I am not kidding when I say she could probably find the cure to HIV or discover time travel. She is not only brilliant, but her need and want to learn is unlike any I have ever seen.
-Shobus and Michel.... I have also blogged of them. I love them both. Michel took us to "Coffee World" where, again, he made us laugh the whole time. He is so blunt and naive and honest. He is hilarious and I will truly miss him. Shobus is just a symbol of hospitality on crack. He will do whatever whenever and just loves to socialize and be with people. I am secretly going to marry him... I will let him know that in a few years.
-The US Embassy... I have my issues with them, but they have made this trip a huge success. The diplomat who got us all the contacts at USAID wanted to eat lunch with us on Sunday. We went to the American club on Sunday and he was absolutely fantastic. He was completely down to earth and was totally chill. He gave us some awesome tips on Bengali culture and got us even more contacts. He was a really good person who I was proud to have represent us. One of the USAID workers has also made our trip fantastic. In the middle of packing up her life to got to her new station and traveling to Singapore, she got us 4 meetings with hospitals and clinics. She has been writing us page long emails and just been so helpful. Today, she got back from Singapore early and asked us to dinner with her at the American Club. We spent 2 and a half hours just chatting with her and having a really good time. I am also really proud to have her represent the US.
-The Bengali people. The Bengali people are incredibly hospitable. If I stated that I liked someone's shirt, they would literally take it off there back and give it to me and apologize that it is not new. We have come into contact with this kind of hospitality everywhere we go, but especially on our hospital visits...
   On our visits to the hospitals, we are usually picked up in a car and brought to the place. When we arrive at the hospital or clinic, the doctor of the clinic/hospital will take an hour and half out of their day to show us around. During this tour, the doctor in charge will always say "Thank you so much for coming and your interest in the clinic/hospital". Are you kidding me? You are thanking me for you taking an hour and a half out of your day? No no no, thank you. All meetings here follow with some sort of juice or tea or coffee and either crackers or fresh fruit. Everywhere we go there is food or tea and often both being offered to us... almost forced on us. The people are so grateful that someone is interested in their work that they halt their entire days for us to be their guests. It is absolutely insane but wonderful.

I love it here. I may be a giant in comparison to everyone and I do kind of get tired of the stares... but people stare, I smile... and then they smile back with the biggest smile... so I think I can deal with the stares. I am going to cry when I have to leave Amina, Shobus, and Michel.... especially Amina though. She has really impacted the way I think and I will miss her the most. I still have a week left, so I will stop talking about this goodbye stuff...

I must write about Saturday...

Saturday we went to the Liberation War Museum...
   For those who don't know... Bangladesh suffered a genocide in the hands of Pakistan. Pakistan killed 3 million Bengalis, raped 200,000 women, and 10 million people became refugees of this Liberation War. During this mass killing, women, children, and intellectuals were targeted. Pakistan killed all famous poets, professors, authors, and any other well known intellectual. Bangladesh won this war with the help of India, and has rebuilt their country since this genocide in 1971.

The museum was much like Bangladesh... disorganized, small in physical size, large in how many things were in the small space, and underfunded. We went to the museum with Embassy folk.... Here is who is representing America in a small developing nation...

-We were driving to the museum and a doctor pointed out a slum in which he visited. The reply of two of the people in the bus was a disgusted, "Why?!?". The doctor said it was because of work (He was USAID) and they replied with, "Oh, well thank goodness you didn't go there by choice".
-When we got out of the museum... which was incredibly depressing and very moving (It was full of pictures, clothes, and skeletons)... the first thing one of the people said was "Well that was disappointing". Really? You just saw genocide and you are criticizing the organization of the museum... It is a free museum in Dhaka... if you are so disappointed... donate money.

It really discouraged me knowing that the people who represented the US and the people who could actually make decent change in this country were so ignorant and rude. However, after meeting with the rest of the embassy and hearing their thoughts on these ignorant embassy people, there is hope. The embassy people I am proud of are aware of the ignorance of the "bad" embassy folk, and work their hardest to not fall into the trap of "We are Americans and we are better". I encourage everyone to get involved with foreign affairs and make sure the people representing you in such countries are doing a job you would be proud of. Otherwise... we will forever (and rightfully) known as the stupid, ignorant, and rude Americans.

Another thing...
   Although I love this country, it has made me appreciate America more. I am free in America. I am free in the simplest but most appreciated ways. I can wear whatever I want, say whatever I want, and I can be whoever I want. Yes... there is the whole Patriot Act thing, which is a major concern, but I can drive a car and I can wear silly clothes I can be comfortable and be me. The only time I can be comfortable in this country is in the guesthouse. Everywhere else I have to dress a certain way and act a certain way. In this country I would not be an equal to a man. This would piss me off. A man could hit me all he wants, and if I ever hit him, I would be in some serious trouble. That is some b.s....

Adventureland

I am going to call today our cultural immersion day to make us sound fancy. I am a tad bit scatter brained so I will talk about today and then I will discuss yesterday...

Today we went with Michel and his two boys Mitu and Allemand to their homes. Friday's are holidays in Bangladesh and they are very similar to Sunday's in America. The streets are less crowded and people attend their religious services in their fancy garb. Every other Friday Michel goes to the boy's homes and pays them their salary. He goes home with them because he gives the money to their parents so they do not spend it on small unimportant things. We entered into Allemand's home first. It was a small hut in which half was taken up but a straw bed that was about the size of a queen bed. To be honest, I am unsure of how many people live their but I know a lot of people sleep on the bed and a few people (including the father) sleep on the floor. Surprisingly, there was a fan. I would not be exaggerating if I said half of the community tried to pile into the small hut to see us white (and two women) folk. They just stared and often smiled (It felt like we were human manikins... in both homes). Allemand's neice was probably the funniest baby I have ever seen. This baby posed as soon as the red light came on from the camera and then reached out her hands so she could see the photo. Amazing? I think so. Pictures will follow as soon as I understand how. Everyone was quite friendly and loved their picture being taken. It was extremely nice to finally see where people live. It was poor, yes, but everyone in Allemand's community seemed happy and were living rather than trying to survive. Michel told us the community that Allemand lives in is very protective of each other. Random thought... We have rarely seen young girls on the street... We found out where they are... at home. Today was the first day there were more females than males in an outing.... Back to the community... It was a good experience. We also went by bicycle rickshaw which is always an experience.

On to Mitu... Mitu was a different experience. Mitu, I am told, moves every time Michel visits. Michel thinks his father gambles away their money so they constantly have to move. I had to duck in Mitu's home and there was only space for the bed. Michel was more on edge at Mitu's place because although the community swarmed like at Allemand's, some people were not as friendly. Michel was worried that by having white people in his home made him a target to his community. We didn't stay long. The trips were definitely awesome in terms of cultural immersion and eye opening-ness.

On to the second half of the day...
We went with Shobus to Adventureland. What is Adventureland you ask? It is Dhaka cities amusement park. It is within walking distance of our guesthouse and it provided me with more laughs than I have had all year... combined. First, we went on tea cups, then a "water coaster", then a "Ferris wheel", and bumper cars and a "western train". We played some skeeball in front of a rather large audience... and was asked to get our picture taken with a few Bengals in the process (Kind of celebrity of us I know). I cannot even describe the rides in "" because they were so tiny and not very safe and everyone... I mean everyone... was taking pictures of us. It was a real whiplash in terms of wealth. Everyone in Adventureland was dressed extremely nice and was on the heavier side. Oddly, it seemed as though women had also become more equals to men in Adventureland... I don't know if as the wealth increases so does the equality? Either way... although it was fun, and it was a total joke... It did turn out to be a good cultural learning moment.

Correction... It is Wonderland... I was just informed.

Yesterday...
Yesterday we went to a Smiling Sun clinic in Dhaka... It was a really cool experience and I suggest everyone read more about Smiling Sun and how it operates. It is a coalition of 27 NGOs with 323 clinics and also gets funding from USAID and the Bangladesh government. The clinic had a C-section room and was pretty impressive overall... Unfortunately I blacked out while I was there due to a fever and the heat... but I quickly recovered once I got some mango juice and sat down.... Either way... Smiling Sun is cool.

We have mixed our cultures a little... Everyday we try to have a Siesta because the heat truly wears you down... But Bengali people do not Siesta... In fact, they work all day non-stop. Their work ethic is insane, and anyone who says "poor people are lazy, they should just work and then they will get opportunity to further themselves" should come to Bangladesh. These people are dirt poor and work their asses off all day and rarely take a break. Most of them will continue to work harder than I have seen any millionaire or even any middle class American to the day they die and they will never see the wealth they do. For example.. Bicycle Rickshaws... These men bike all day in 90+ degree weather without water bottles toting around up to 500 pounds across miles of city land. A 3 mile rickshaw ride gets these guys 50 taka tops... 75 taka is 1 USD. I literally could not do what these men do and I am halfway done with my college degree. I could go to school forever and it would never help me do what these men do. But I bet, if you gave 100 of these people the opportunities that I had... 98 of them would be able to do it... and out of those 98... 97 of them would have done it better. Yet... I could never do what they do.

I hope the message I am trying to display is getting across here... I know it is a little round a bout and confusing and full of ... but it is how I think?

The message is... These people are amazing. You would be so wrong to ever think you can look at them and feel distinguished or "better". Because, yes the work can be "simple", but you can never call it easy and you could never call them lazy... Most importantly, you can never say they are not deserving of success.

That is my rant for the day.

Whoops...

So... I have not been keeping very up-to-date on this whole blog thing. There are many reasons for that and I plan to discuss each one...

We were picked up at the airport in a taxi by a young boy named Shafit (sp?). He took us to our guesthouse which is about 193248032984 times nicer than I thought it was going to be. When we entered the guesthouse we were greeted by Amina who I just found out is a 26 year old woman. Amina is the most amazing person I have ever met. She works at the guesthouse from 7am to 9pm and has two sons. She cleans, cooks, does laundry, shops for food, and speaks amazing English. Although this sounds pretty average, she is not. First of all, shopping for food is one of the hardest things in Bangladesh. We went to the market with her the other day and was amazed by how she handled herself. The market is overcrowded, kind of smelly, and incredibly hectic. She examined each piece of food and if anything has even a spec on it she would give it back (Women are not equals to men so her holding her own in the market is quite impressive). I do not even know how to describe it, but she has such commitment to her job. Whenever we try to help her pick up she does not let us because she takes her job so seriously. She constantly has a smile on her face and her 5 year old son does not leave her side (he is on summer vacation). I was so shocked when I found out she was only 26 because she is more mature and put-together than anyone I know. I just re-read this paragraph and it gives her no justice. She has been our savior on this trip and we have begun to call her mom. I consider her a hero of mine.

There is young guy (22) that works the night shift at the guesthouse (9pm-7am) named Shobus. He sleeps at the guesthouse. He has one of the warmest smiles I have ever seen. He is the oldest of 3 siblings and works two jobs... he fixes air conditioners from 8am to 6pm and then works at the guesthouse from the above times. All of the money he makes goes to support his brother and sister's schooling. He is incredibly kind... For example, he went in late to work on Monday because we asked him how to get to the embassy and instead of giving us directions he decided he would physically guide us there. He has been our second savior.

Michel is the owner of the guesthouse... Michel is someone I thought only exists in movies. Michel took this guesthouse from a fellow co-worker when she became ill. Amina was working for him at his house (He did not want a "servent" but he also did not want to put her out of work) and he decided to give her a salaried job at the guesthouse. He hired Shobus because Shobus asked if Michel had any work. Michel currently has two boys "hired" to clean his house. Last night Michel was angry with them because they have been cleaning/watching TV more then they have been studying their English. He said, "There one job is to learn English"... all the cleaning and stuff is to give them a good work ethic. Michel met these two boys in crazy situations... The first boy Michel became friendly with. Michel realized this boy had a good heart. One night the boys friends came knocking on Michel's door telling him they need his help because the boy is in jail. Michel went to the jail, paid the cop off and took the boy into his home. The boy was arrested because he was with a group of kids that were stealing mirrors off cars. The second boy was the first boys cousin... He came knocking on Michel's door with his mother and his hand in a bloody towel. The boy had cut his finger climbing a wall and his mother took him to a rural clinic where they amputated his finger... it got infected so they went to Michel's. Michel took the boy to the hospital and paid the bill. The mother asked if he can stay at the house much like his cousin. Michel said yes and hired these two boys. He is so incredibly relaxed and so incredibly trusting and kind.

Now that is my guesthouse... here have been my past few days...

I got fluey symptoms (high fever chills cough achey) on Monday while we were at the embassy. I luckily was able to drink lots of water and sleep a lot and by Tuesday afternoon I was better.

On Monday we went to the US embassy and it was a pretty cool experience. We met with 4 USAID people to discuss the MDGs. We met one woman who worked on child and mother health who has been increidbly helpful. She is currently in the middle of packing up (it is the end of her two years in Bangladehs and is moving to Kenya)... yet has found time to get us to go with the embassy to the Liberation War Museum, meetings with Smiling Sun, 2 "field trips" with BRAC, and recommended us to a touring group. She has been our savior when it comes to research. A woman named Sophie guided us around the embasys and took us to each meeting. She gave us some key insights into Bengali culture and the dos and don'ts of it all. She also spoke to us about being a member of USAID and it sounds pretty surreal. I would go into more detail but I am getting sleepy.

Oh the reasons I have fallen behind... one is the illness and two is because it is hard to blog about these experiences because there is so much to say so it seems impossible to blog so I put it off...
Just a little sidenote... In Bangladesh each embassy has a club... The American club is the only one that is considered its own soil (for example the dutch club is still Bangali soil). We will be going there with the diplomat we were put in contact with on Sunday... We are bing introduced to two completely contrasting worlds on this trip but I think it is good.

Oh yeah... it is hot and humid and when it rains it pours.

That is all for now.... Hopefully I will be better on keeping on top so they are not all so long...

Flying

Time changes are confusing. What I know is that I left the US on May 21st at 8am and flew to London. From London I flew to Bahrain where I am currently writing this blog and it is May 22nd at 117AM for the US for it is 817AM Bahrain time. I realized a few things...
1. Airplane food is gross
2. Flying this far is not fun
3. I am really bad at math because I cannot calculate time changes.
4. Ironically... Planes get nicer when flying from developed to not-so-developed
5. Bangladesh is incredibly far from the US
   On a more serious note...
I often do not think things through entirely. The thing I did not think through entirely was the incredible culture shock this travel would bring me. First of all, we went from a dryish 66 degree London to a very humid 90 degree Bahrain. I thought of this, but the whole terminal to terminal thing makes everything seem surreal. Getting on the plane to Bahrain I had a little of a "Woah, this is different"; however, it did not match up to getting off the plane. I realized how little I know about social cues and culturally appropriateness. I also realized I was a complete outsider and that this is a totally different world. I thought I was all culturally aware because of Haiti and Honduras, but I once again gave myself way too much credit. I am pretty humbled by this and I expect to only become moreso once we enter Bangladesh. Currently, I am shell-shocked, jet-lagged, tired, hungry for real food, nervous, and really excited. Although I am really nervous I am determined to make this an awesome trip and get some good info for da book and immerse myself in the culture once I understand how to without being a stupid American.

Because I can/should.

This is a blog for anyone who is interested in my upcoming travels. It is also a way to stay connected to people while I am in country and hopefully post cool pictures.

I will be traveling to Bangladesh to do research in 10 hours and am still packing because I am a winner. I will be researching the Millennium Development Goals and their effect on Bangladesh for 2 weeks in country. I will then be spending the summer compiling the research into a case study of a textbook that will be written with 9384203482039 other students/graduates/professor. It is going to be fun.

I will be traveling to Bangladesh with two other post-grads and we will be staying in Dhaka at a palce called Good Morning Dhaka. It is a guesthouse that is a branch of an NGO that takes kids off the streets or away from low paying dangerous jobs and gives them fair-paying jobs and an education. From my understanding, some of the kids work in the guesthouse learning skills like air-conditioning fixing/ plumbing/ electric/ housekeeping/etc. We also will be interviewing some NGOs and people. Fun.

In September I will be leaving for my study abroad program that is based in Uganda with a two week excursion to Rwanda. I will be taking a few classes and be doing an independent research project. Fun.