In this post I will summarize everything interesting that I’ve done this week. We leave tomorrow morning for our big 3-day trip to Srimangal and Sylhet. I’m really excited!
In class on Sunday we learned the present perfect tense, which is commonly used in Bangladesh instead of the simple past tense. According to Shanta they don’t use the present perfect tense at all in Kolkata, so if we go there and use the present perfect tense it will be obvious that we learned Bangla in Bangladesh. After class I met my language partner. We went to Margarita, an “Italian” restaurant in Noddabajar, for lunch. I got the margarita pizza, which was very unlike the American version. Less cheese, no sauce. Interestingly, Bangladeshis eat ketchup with their pizza; there’s a bottle of ketchup on every table in Margarita. Later, Moumita and I went to my flat and worked on homework for a few hours.
Monday’s class was important, because we learned kinship terms. I can finally say “my father’s elder brother’s oldest daughter” in Bangla! We also learned the simple past tense and were told to primarily use it in writing. I met my language partner and we went to her favorite restaurant in Gulshan Ek for lunch. It’s called Nando’s and it’s a high-end international chain. I would not be able to afford it in the US. The food was delicious; I had chicken and real bread! (We always have store-bought bread for breakfast, but I hadn’t had good bread since I got here.) There was a man there from their corporate office, and I talked to him for a little bit. He was the first South African I ever met! He obviously didn’t know anything about Bangladesh, since I mentioned Bengal and he thought that was somewhere else. Later he gave us fancy drinks on the house; I got one made with fresh pomegranate juice. Moumita was very confused by this and asked a waiter why he gave the drinks to us, even after I had explained it to her. We then went to a salon so she could get her eyebrows threaded. It’s a lot less painful than the American methods! Finally we went back to my flat to do work. On the way to Gulshan Ek I had bought a tube of henna, and so Moumita put it on my hands. I really want to experiment with more henna after this one fades.
On Tuesday I took malaria medicine for the first time. No problems (so far, at least). It’s totally worth it, because Srimangal and Sylhet have fairly high rates of malaria. In class we learned how to ask about someone’s family and how to respond when asked. We also learned how to use ach, which is a very strange verb that means different things in different situations. After class Moumita and I went to a lot of different tailors. First we stopped at my tailor in Noddabajar, to drop off the other fabric set I bought in Newmarket. Then we went to Banani Supermarket to buy cloth for a sari blouse and petticoat and for the salwar and orna to match the kameez material I bought at Sonargaon. We stopped at her tailor, but he wanted to charge me 500 taka to make each piece. We went back to my tailor in Noddabajar; his prices are much more reasonable and everything will be done by Sunday! That will be my rest day next week, so I can go pick it all up then.
Today was a very full day. We had class, where we learned animal vocabulary (useful for the tropical rainforest in Srimangal) and 2 new verb tenses. We also started to read a story from a child’s storybook. After class we met the vice-chancellor of IUB, who taught in America for a long time and had really good English. He suggested that we make contact with other IUB students who are studying our same subjects. After that we had a lecture by another professor who talked about small ethnic groups in Bangladesh. His lecture was the best we’ve had here and I found it fascinating. He’s coming with us on our trip tomorrow so I’ll have time to talk to him. After the lecture I took a rickshaw back to Noddabajar in the rain and went shopping for a few necessary things, namely biscuits (cookies) and a small power adapter to take with me. I managed to ask for both of these things in Bangla, and felt really proud of myself. The people at the grocery shop were surprised and asked me a few questions that I was actually able to answer, such as “I’m here studying Bangla.”
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Liberation War and Dhaka University field trip
This week we went on a field trip to the sites in Dhaka associated with the Liberation War. In 1971, Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan after a year long struggle precipitated by an armed attack by the Pakistani authority. Our first stop was the Liberation War Museum, which contains exhibits on the history of the war and the people who were killed. The first room was about the history of Bengal as a place of religious pluralism and acceptance, including Buddhists and Christians as well as Hindus and Muslims. The rest of the rooms contained exhibits on the refugee camps, people who died, and heroic efforts of Bengali soldiers.
Our next stop was the Language Martyrs’ monument. This is around the area of Dhaka University, and commemorates the people who died in the Language Movement in the 50’s. Pakistan had decided that Urdu was the national language, even though a majority of their population were Bengali and spoke Bangla. Dhaka University students and other social activists organized a protest on February 21st, 1952 and police reacted by killing several students. The students are now known as the Language Martyrs, and their movement was a major part of the Bangladesh independence struggle. The monument built to commemorate their struggle was destroyed by Pakistani forces at the beginning of the Liberation War and then rebuilt after independence.
Next we visited the Dhaka University campus and specifically a dorm where a massacre occurred on the first night of Operation Searchlight, as the Pakistani attack was called. It is (and was) an all-male dorm. Across the path from the dorm is a monument to the people killed there, and a mass grave with a brick wall around it and rose trees. On a lighter note, we also passed the worship space at Dhaka University where people from any religion can pray. Outside there are statues of Swami Vivekananda and the Buddha, although the Buddha is apparently being remade because it was in pieces.
We then toured the other monuments that are in road islands and traffic circles in the area. Dhaka University played such an important part in the independence movement that the important monuments are all nearby. We passed by several dedicated to the language martyrs and a few that commemorated the rise of the Bangladeshi state. There was one that had statues of all the famous Bengalis, with a large central statue commemorating Independence.
Our final stop before lunch was the fine arts building at Dhaka University. We went to an art exhibition and then walked around the grounds. The scenery was beautiful. I walked up to the roof with some of the others and took some pictures. When I went downstairs I found that the rest of our group were in one of the workshop rooms talking to artists. I went in and watched as the artists carved images into wood panels. Then we left to get lunch at Star Kabob, where we ate on the first field trip. This time we ordered together and the program paid for it, so it didn’t take as long. I got chicken tikka with two types of bread. Quite delicious.
After lunch we visited the home of Ferdousi Priyabhashini, one of the survivors of the Liberation war and a famous sculptor. She is friends with one of our teachers. Her story is very inspiring; she was the first woman to speak out about her treatment by the Pakistani soldiers. Her family encouraged her interest in art, and her sculptures are now well-known. She works with driftwood and tree roots. We saw her studio while we were there, and I really loved her style. She was very welcoming, and invited us to come back whenever we wanted.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Catch-up post
This post will cover what I’ve done since last Sunday. Sorry that I haven’t been updating as frequently as I had been; I’ve had a lot more work this week.
In class we’ve learned a lot of grammar this week. I can now conjugate verbs into simple present and future tense; use the possessive, locative, and objective cases; and use postpositions. Theoretically. It’s really helpful to know verb conjugations; people take you much more seriously if you can communicate in complete sentences! There’s only so much you can say with zero-verb constructions. We also learned vocabulary for household items, body parts, fruits and vegetables, and talking about being sick. The last one came a few days late; several people in the group (not me!) came down with shigella earlier this week. The doctor gave them Cipro and it cleared right up. On Wednesday and Thursday we started our reading class, which promises to be really good. I learned so many new words!
One really fascinating thing that I learned this week was the days of the week in Bangla. They go in the same order as the Spanish ones! That is, their names are based on astrological items and follow the exact same order as they do in Spanish (and English, to a lesser extent): Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn. I wish I knew more about other Indo-European languages. Based on just this limited data set, use of the same pattern in these two distantly related languages seems far too coincidental.
On Monday I went to Noddabajar by myself twice. It was a really good experience, because it forced me to use what Bangla I know; there was no safety net, so I had to just plunge in and hope I could get by. It actually went really well. The first time I bought a kilo of mangos and a pineapple (anoroush). Bangladeshi pineapples are much smaller than the typical American pineapple and very sweet. After studying a while, I went back to the bazaar to find a tailor that could alter the kameez I bought the day before. It needed to have the sleeves let out and a string made for the pants. I found one tailor that had a sewing machine out, and walked into their store. I was able to make myself understood by pointing to the sleeves and saying “Eta chotto, ami boro size” which means “It’s small, I’m large size.” (This was before I learned verb conjugation.) Not the best way to say it, but it was the best I could do at that point. They understood me, and set to work with the sewing machine. It was an easy alteration; pre-made kameez have extra room in the seam so you can let them out if needed. While one of the tailors worked on my shirt, I talked with the other one using my minimal Bangla and his small amount of English. It worked out pretty way. His first question was whether I was married. This is pretty standard when talking to a young woman here, but it always seems like a strange thing to be asked. When I said I was American, he told me about his nephew who was living in America. At least I think that’s what he said; I didn’t know enough vocabulary to understand him completely! He couldn’t make a string for my salwar, so I walked over to a little area with 5 or 6 tailor stalls looking for one that could. I had trouble finding one, and when I did there was a major miscommunication because he thought I wanted a whole pair of pants! A large part of this miscommunication was a guy who tried to translate, but whose English wasn’t very good. He can probably get away with a lot because his pronunciation was highly above average, but he couldn’t understand even simple English like “I have this, I need that.” Eventually I sorted everything out, but they charged me 50 taka because they had already cut out a large piece of fabric. I made one more stop in the bazaar, at an electronics shop. I wanted a reading lamp so I could read in bed, and managed to negotiate for a nice rechargeable LED one at a reasonable price.
I spent a lot of time studying this week, so I don’t have much to report until Friday. On Friday Moumita and I went shopping in Banani. Farida had given me the task of finding a fancy salwar kameez to wear to the conference today. After class, Moumita and I went to an Indian restaurant in Banani and I ate some really good chicken biriyani. Then we went shopping. There are a lot of small boutique stores in Banani, and I went to three or four of them before I found one I liked. It’s a dark green-blue with lighter decoration on the front and back, and it was cheaper than I had expected. We then went to an ice cream parlor for dessert. It serves American ice cream, and was like Coldstone but with sit-down service. The amusing part about it was that they were playing a CD of Shakira over the loudspeakers. It was very strange to hear “Hips don’t lie” in Bangladesh. Across the street a man was making window shades by placing long pieces of bamboo or reeds on a stack, and then tying it off with weighted stones. This fascinated me and I took a picture (I’m going to try to upload it here). We then went back to Golshan Dui, where I got some money and then went to Lavender and a pharmacy for malaria medicine. We’re most likely going on our big three-day trip next week, although it’s not finalized yet. We will be visiting Srimangal and Sylhet, both of which are supposed to be gorgeous. Tomorrow we’re visiting Dhaka University and the Liberation War Museum.
Today I spent most of the morning writing essays for my Fulbright application. I went with Margo and Farida to the conference, but left before it started because I wasn’t feeling well. I managed to get a CNG by myself and direct him all the way back to Baridhara. As far as I can tell, I was just dehydrated; I felt much better after drinking a Tasty Saline. I will post again tomorrow after I get back from the field trip.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Conference and Shopping
Yesterday in class we learned a lot of grammar: present tense, future tense, and possessive case. Expect my posts to be substantially shorter this week because I have to do my homework.
After class Farida and I went to the Nazrul Islam Institute to sign up for a conference they’re having on Friday. The CNG driver had some problems finding it, because it’s located in a normal residential area. We went upstairs to talk to the secretary. He knew some English, but mostly talked to Farida in Bangla. I was really proud of myself because I could follow what they were saying for the most part.
Farida’s language partner came to the Institute to meet us because she lives nearby. She then took us shopping at a mall that was not aimed toward bideshis at all, so the prices were really good. I bought a lot of jewelry and a really nice ready-made salwar kameez. They had good prices for material, too, but I didn’t see any that I liked. We also went to Jatra and I bought a bag. There was a deshi grocery store nearby, and we stopped in there as well. It had much better prices than Lavender does. By this time it was getting late and we needed to catch a CNG back to Baridhara to get there in time for dinner.
After class Farida and I went to the Nazrul Islam Institute to sign up for a conference they’re having on Friday. The CNG driver had some problems finding it, because it’s located in a normal residential area. We went upstairs to talk to the secretary. He knew some English, but mostly talked to Farida in Bangla. I was really proud of myself because I could follow what they were saying for the most part.
Farida’s language partner came to the Institute to meet us because she lives nearby. She then took us shopping at a mall that was not aimed toward bideshis at all, so the prices were really good. I bought a lot of jewelry and a really nice ready-made salwar kameez. They had good prices for material, too, but I didn’t see any that I liked. We also went to Jatra and I bought a bag. There was a deshi grocery store nearby, and we stopped in there as well. It had much better prices than Lavender does. By this time it was getting late and we needed to catch a CNG back to Baridhara to get there in time for dinner.
Sonargaon and the Goaldi Mosque
The first adventure yesterday was the monsoon- it really rained for the first time, and did so all day while we were wandering around outside. Umbrellas are definitely in order! I took a few videos of the street flooding outside our building. During a real monsoon the water gets up to three feet.
It took us two hours to drive through and then out of Dhaka to Sonargaon. This was the first time I’d been out of the city, and I was excited to see the countryside. As you drive out of Dhaka the landscape gradually becomes greener and greener, until you’re surrounded by rice paddies, fields, forests, and ponds. We crossed over one large river with boats on it. Atif said that the water level would rise a lot by the end of the rains.
Sonargaon is the remains of an old zamindar house that has been converted into the national folk art museum. Our guide took us on a tour of the exhibits, which included a lot of wooden carvings, pottery, and tools. I really want to buy some carvings to take home with me, if I can find some for a good price. After we toured the museum we explored the grounds, where there are stores selling saris and materials for salwar kameez. One of them was selling saris for 700 taka, and I bought one of them; it’s dark green with a gold pattern in it. I also found pretty material for a kameez.
We got back on the bus and drove to Banam City, which is an area with a lot of ruins from colonial-era houses. We parked and had lunch. Since it was raining really hard, nobody wanted to get out of the bus and look at the ruins; we took a few pictures as we drove by on the way to the Goaldi Mosque. The Goaldi Mosque is one of the oldest extant buildings in all of Bengal; it was built in 1519. I knew it was small, but it was smaller than I expected. It would be impossible to fit more than 30-40 people into the building. Near the mosque was a banana orchard and rice paddies. Since it was raining, we were unable to go to our other destination, which is where they make saris. We got back in the bus and drove back into Dhaka. I was exhausted and rested the rest of the day.
It took us two hours to drive through and then out of Dhaka to Sonargaon. This was the first time I’d been out of the city, and I was excited to see the countryside. As you drive out of Dhaka the landscape gradually becomes greener and greener, until you’re surrounded by rice paddies, fields, forests, and ponds. We crossed over one large river with boats on it. Atif said that the water level would rise a lot by the end of the rains.
Sonargaon is the remains of an old zamindar house that has been converted into the national folk art museum. Our guide took us on a tour of the exhibits, which included a lot of wooden carvings, pottery, and tools. I really want to buy some carvings to take home with me, if I can find some for a good price. After we toured the museum we explored the grounds, where there are stores selling saris and materials for salwar kameez. One of them was selling saris for 700 taka, and I bought one of them; it’s dark green with a gold pattern in it. I also found pretty material for a kameez.
We got back on the bus and drove to Banam City, which is an area with a lot of ruins from colonial-era houses. We parked and had lunch. Since it was raining really hard, nobody wanted to get out of the bus and look at the ruins; we took a few pictures as we drove by on the way to the Goaldi Mosque. The Goaldi Mosque is one of the oldest extant buildings in all of Bengal; it was built in 1519. I knew it was small, but it was smaller than I expected. It would be impossible to fit more than 30-40 people into the building. Near the mosque was a banana orchard and rice paddies. Since it was raining, we were unable to go to our other destination, which is where they make saris. We got back in the bus and drove back into Dhaka. I was exhausted and rested the rest of the day.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Study Day Friday
This will be a really short post, because I didn’t do very much yesterday. In the morning Moumita came over and we worked on my Bangla in preparation for the quiz on Sunday morning. For lunch we went to Café Mango, where I ordered a Mango Lassi and fried chicken. When I try to order a Mango Lassi, I have this problem where I have to decide whether to say am or mango, and end up saying mango like they do in Spanish. Everyone looks at me funny! After lunch, we went over to Moumita’s house to study some more. Her family has a really nice apartment, with a really lovely verandah. We sat out there for a while and enjoyed some am. When it got somewhat later she had her guard get a rickshaw for me. I managed to direct the rickshawallah all the way to my house, and celebrated by giving him extra money.
Out with Moumita
In class on Thursday we learned how to tell time. In Bengal they break the day up into 6 (unequal) sections based on the sun instead of AM/PM. When you say the time, you have to say the time of day and then the time, and the time of day at particular hours changes during different parts of the year. It’s a bit more complicated than the American system. We also learned how to conjugate verbs in the simple present tense. Now I can write sentences!
After class I went out with my language partner Moumita. We went to Banani for lunch, to a restaurant called Roll Express. It’s an Indian restaurant that serves wrap-type rolls. I got a beef roll because I was craving beef, and it was good but had too many peppers. Next we went to East West University to meet Moumita’s friend, who we saw for a very short time and then we left. We took rickshaws everywhere.
Next we went to a store called Aurong because I wanted to buy salwar kameez. Aurong is run by the BRAC NGO. They had a lot of nice things, but everything was really expensive. I didn’t like any of their salwar kameez, so we left and took a CNG to Bashundara City. Bashundara City is a giant 8-story mall (it even has an entire floor of sari stores). As we were wandering around the mall, Moumita said that she had been invited to a wedding and asked if I would like to go. I said yes, and she told me that it was later that night. I was surprised. Neither of us had appropriate clothing or anything, but we went anyway. First we went to her friend’s home (which was nearby) to freshen up, and I borrowed an orna from his sister. Their apartment was very nice. It was the first Bangladeshi home I’d been to.
The ceremony wasn’t the actual wedding, but was a good-luck ceremony and party associated with it. In this ceremony, the groom was supposed to have a yellow powder smeared on his face for good luck. Unfortunately, we had to leave before this happened (we left at 11). We arrived around 9:30 and sat with Moumita’s friends. About half an hour later, the groom’s relatives arrived and were greeted by the bride’s relatives, and gifts were exchanged. The groom entered under a flower-covered shade that looked like an umbrella, and went up onto the stage. Then there was entertainment, planned by his relatives. First, a group of relatives sang some songs. Second, a group of young relatives (which included several of Moumita’s friends) did a long sequence of Bollywood dances. They were very good, and it made me want to dance too. After the dancing, Moumita’s car arrived and we left. There was very little traffic and it only took about half an hour to drive back.
After class I went out with my language partner Moumita. We went to Banani for lunch, to a restaurant called Roll Express. It’s an Indian restaurant that serves wrap-type rolls. I got a beef roll because I was craving beef, and it was good but had too many peppers. Next we went to East West University to meet Moumita’s friend, who we saw for a very short time and then we left. We took rickshaws everywhere.
Next we went to a store called Aurong because I wanted to buy salwar kameez. Aurong is run by the BRAC NGO. They had a lot of nice things, but everything was really expensive. I didn’t like any of their salwar kameez, so we left and took a CNG to Bashundara City. Bashundara City is a giant 8-story mall (it even has an entire floor of sari stores). As we were wandering around the mall, Moumita said that she had been invited to a wedding and asked if I would like to go. I said yes, and she told me that it was later that night. I was surprised. Neither of us had appropriate clothing or anything, but we went anyway. First we went to her friend’s home (which was nearby) to freshen up, and I borrowed an orna from his sister. Their apartment was very nice. It was the first Bangladeshi home I’d been to.
The ceremony wasn’t the actual wedding, but was a good-luck ceremony and party associated with it. In this ceremony, the groom was supposed to have a yellow powder smeared on his face for good luck. Unfortunately, we had to leave before this happened (we left at 11). We arrived around 9:30 and sat with Moumita’s friends. About half an hour later, the groom’s relatives arrived and were greeted by the bride’s relatives, and gifts were exchanged. The groom entered under a flower-covered shade that looked like an umbrella, and went up onto the stage. Then there was entertainment, planned by his relatives. First, a group of relatives sang some songs. Second, a group of young relatives (which included several of Moumita’s friends) did a long sequence of Bollywood dances. They were very good, and it made me want to dance too. After the dancing, Moumita’s car arrived and we left. There was very little traffic and it only took about half an hour to drive back.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Conjugations and errands
On Thursday morning, my roommate and I took a rickshaw to school. It later turned out that we will have a bus to take us there every morning, but we didn’t know that at the time. Margo was the one trying to hire the rickshaw, and we had trouble finding one that was willing to go to Bashundhara. We finally found one that charged way too much and didn’t take us to the right place, but got us close enough to walk there. So we walked around the block with the rickshawallah following us to make sure we got to the right place.
Class was mostly grammar lessons, actually learning basic sentence formation. Bangla has a zero-verb structure that’s very similar to Arabic, so it was easy for me to understand. Our class with Sharmad was over adjectives, and his classes are always fun and extraordinarily helpful in terms of cultural understanding. In our last class we did two role plays, one with a rickshawallah and another ordering food at a restaurant. Atif played the rickshawallah and the waiter, and we were the passengers and customer.
After class we had a lecture on Muslim architecture by a professor from Dhaka University. She was a very good speaker and gave us a lot of good information on Muslim architecture and culture. Her talk was specifically focused on Bengali architecture. The Bengali style of mosque building is particularly interesting because it is patterned on Bengali huts that are the traditional village house. We will be seeing some old architecture when we are at Sonargaon this weekend.
When the lecture was over, I went out with Moumati. We first went to a tailor in Noddabajar so I could get a salwar kameez made. It turned out the fabric I bought at Newmarket wasn’t quite large enough for the pants, so hopefully he’ll be able to do something about that. We then went shopping for a bedspread, since I really needed one. Most Bangladeshis just sleep with a single sheet, but I was getting cold at night with the air conditioning. We went to Golshan Dui to run some errands, and then took a rickshaw to a wholesale market down in Golshan Ek. I found what I was looking for there: a handmade cotton bedspread. Moumati managed to bargain it down from the original 1600 taka, and I got it for 1150. I then realized that I was going to be late for dinner, and we hurried to get home.
Class was mostly grammar lessons, actually learning basic sentence formation. Bangla has a zero-verb structure that’s very similar to Arabic, so it was easy for me to understand. Our class with Sharmad was over adjectives, and his classes are always fun and extraordinarily helpful in terms of cultural understanding. In our last class we did two role plays, one with a rickshawallah and another ordering food at a restaurant. Atif played the rickshawallah and the waiter, and we were the passengers and customer.
After class we had a lecture on Muslim architecture by a professor from Dhaka University. She was a very good speaker and gave us a lot of good information on Muslim architecture and culture. Her talk was specifically focused on Bengali architecture. The Bengali style of mosque building is particularly interesting because it is patterned on Bengali huts that are the traditional village house. We will be seeing some old architecture when we are at Sonargaon this weekend.
When the lecture was over, I went out with Moumati. We first went to a tailor in Noddabajar so I could get a salwar kameez made. It turned out the fabric I bought at Newmarket wasn’t quite large enough for the pants, so hopefully he’ll be able to do something about that. We then went shopping for a bedspread, since I really needed one. Most Bangladeshis just sleep with a single sheet, but I was getting cold at night with the air conditioning. We went to Golshan Dui to run some errands, and then took a rickshaw to a wholesale market down in Golshan Ek. I found what I was looking for there: a handmade cotton bedspread. Moumati managed to bargain it down from the original 1600 taka, and I got it for 1150. I then realized that I was going to be late for dinner, and we hurried to get home.
Language Partners and Embassy Briefing
On Tuesday we had our first weekly quiz, so we spent most of the extra-long weekend preparing for it. I tried to memorize all of the words we had learned, and it turned out that I was overprepared. The quiz was very fair and mostly covered letters and numbers. In the oral part Atif asked me where I got my salwar kameez, and I couldn’t respond because I didn’t remember the name of the store!
After class we met our language partners. My partner’s name is Moumita, and she’s a senior at IUB studying environmental engineering. We went to the cafeteria to get lunch, and sat on the courtyard steps for a few minutes to talk. She asked what state I was from, and didn’t know where Ohio was when I told her (story of my life!). She also taught me some new words, including nani, “maternal grandmother.” We didn’t have time to talk for very long, because the CLS people had a briefing at the American embassy.
At the embassy, we were basically given a security briefing and told that we need to watch out for petty street crime. The security officer gave us his phone number so we can call him directly if we get into trouble.
After the briefing, Devin and I went to Noddabajar. It was the first time I went without one of the Intermediate students. We walked to a few shops, and used Bangla to ask for things like tissues and Tasty Saline. Several people had asked us to get some mangos, so we went to look at the fruit stalls. We ran into Bennett, who is another person in my class. He reminds me a lot of Evan Pugh; he wanders around and talks to everyone. We finally found a stall that had good-looking mangos, and bought a kilo of them. He also had pomegranates, and I asked him how to say it in Bangla. They were too expensive, so I didn’t get any.
After we left Noddabajar, Bennett took us to the mythical cha stand on Road 12. I call it mythical because I’d only ever heard of it, and because it really does look rather mythical when you get to it. It’s a little shelter set back off the road and surrounded by plants in the middle of a residential area. I got a cha, which is tea mixed with milk, sugar and other spices – similar to a chai latte in the US, but different tasting. The stand also sells shingara (Bengali samosas that I actually like better than their Indian counterpart) and some breaded and fried onion thing. All of this food should be safe, since it is served right out of the fryer. I’ll try some of the food another time.
After class we met our language partners. My partner’s name is Moumita, and she’s a senior at IUB studying environmental engineering. We went to the cafeteria to get lunch, and sat on the courtyard steps for a few minutes to talk. She asked what state I was from, and didn’t know where Ohio was when I told her (story of my life!). She also taught me some new words, including nani, “maternal grandmother.” We didn’t have time to talk for very long, because the CLS people had a briefing at the American embassy.
At the embassy, we were basically given a security briefing and told that we need to watch out for petty street crime. The security officer gave us his phone number so we can call him directly if we get into trouble.
After the briefing, Devin and I went to Noddabajar. It was the first time I went without one of the Intermediate students. We walked to a few shops, and used Bangla to ask for things like tissues and Tasty Saline. Several people had asked us to get some mangos, so we went to look at the fruit stalls. We ran into Bennett, who is another person in my class. He reminds me a lot of Evan Pugh; he wanders around and talks to everyone. We finally found a stall that had good-looking mangos, and bought a kilo of them. He also had pomegranates, and I asked him how to say it in Bangla. They were too expensive, so I didn’t get any.
After we left Noddabajar, Bennett took us to the mythical cha stand on Road 12. I call it mythical because I’d only ever heard of it, and because it really does look rather mythical when you get to it. It’s a little shelter set back off the road and surrounded by plants in the middle of a residential area. I got a cha, which is tea mixed with milk, sugar and other spices – similar to a chai latte in the US, but different tasting. The stand also sells shingara (Bengali samosas that I actually like better than their Indian counterpart) and some breaded and fried onion thing. All of this food should be safe, since it is served right out of the fryer. I’ll try some of the food another time.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Old Dhaka
The Internet is out again, so I will post this asap. Even though Sunday is a normal class day here, we get to stay home today because of the hartal (country-wide strike). A few of us may try to go to church this afternoon, but besides that I’m going to stay in Baridhara today. This post is about our trip yesterday.
It rained yesterday morning. The monsoon hasn’t technically started yet, but, as Atif told us, the weather’s giving us a little taste of the rains. It poured for about two hours. We left in the bus about half an hour after it started, and drove all the way to the old part of Dhaka in the rain. Dhaka driving is even crazier in the rain. I felt sorry for the rickshawallahs, who got drenched if they had work.
Our first stop was the Armenian Church. In the 17 and 1800s there was a small but important community of Armenian businessmen in Dhaka. Now there aren’t any Armenians in Dhaka, but the church is recognized as a historic landmark by the government. The bus parked a couple blocks away, and at first we thought that we were lost. Mahfuz went to figure out exactly where it was (it was still raining buckets) and came back to show us where it was. We then hurried along this narrow road huddled under umbrellas until we came to a gated archway on the right. We filed into the archway, which had a platform on the right side and opened out onto a graveyard. The graves were marked with flat slabs on the ground, covered with Armenian writing. After a quick dash through a few meters of rain, we came to the covered side of the church (it had one of those pillared areas on the side) and walked to the front of the church, ending under the belltower. The church is surrounded by a graveyard on three sides, and the property is bordered by normal Dhaka apartment buildings. We took our shoes off and went into the worship space. It was a small church that was nothing special architecturally, compared to other churches in Europe and the US. It was very pretty for Dhaka, however. The church layout was very like old Catholic or Presbyterian churches I’ve been in, with a rail separating the congregation from the front, a decorated altar, a small shrine on the side, and a pulpit. On the left of the altar was a separate room where they performed baptisms. The caretaker told us about his family, particularly his father who spoke fluent Albanian. Before we left he let us ring the bells.
We drove to the next site, the Ashan Manzur (the palace of the Nawabs of Dhaka recently turned into a museum). We were a bit early, and they wouldn’t let the bu in the gate. We were in an area where bideshis didn’t usually come, so there were a lot of people (mostly men) staring at us through the bus windows. Andrew opened his window and talked to one of them in Bangla. I didn’t understand what they were saying, but a rough translation was that the man said that we were white and they were black (dark), and Andrew responded that we are all people. We parked for a little while, and then they let us drive into the grounds. The Ashan Manzur is a big pink building on the Buriganga, the old course of the Ganges. They had it set up as a museum, just like an old plantation house in the US. It was interesting to see the use of both local and English-influenced furniture and dress; in paintings of the nawabs, they invariably wore English pants and shoes with more traditional-looking shirts. The dining room was straight out of 17th-century England. I was most interested in the jalsaghar, which was used to host live entertainment. It was also interesting that the nawab had separate rooms for meeting with Hindu and Muslim visitors. As we were about to leave, some of the people in the program had a rude awakening to the fact that they were, in fact, in Bangladesh: the bathrooms at the Ashan Manzur were just holes in the ground and did not have toilet paper.
Our next stop was the Lal Bagh fort, an unfinished Mughal fort from the reign of Aurangzeb. It was built in true Mughal architecture fashion, and contained three buildings (residence, tomb/shrine, and mosque) within surrounding gardens, fountains, and walls. According to Atif, it’s one of the big places to date in Dhaka. There were a lot of couples there, too. We went into the residence building, and one of the old men who take care of it gave us a tour. He was really excited to be giving these bideshis a tour and practicing his English. Atif showed us a hidden underground escape tunnel in one corner; he said two people got lost in it last year, and it’s now closed up. We then walked to the top of the army barracks and took pictures. I may actually be able to post some pictures with this post, since the internet is working really well right now.
When we got on the bus, one of our teachers, Sharmad, explained the cultural reason why Bangladeshis stare at us so much. Besides the fact that there aren’t many bideshis around, in Bengali culture staring is encouraged; if you look away, you seem shifty and untrustworthy.
We then went to get lunch at a place that was pretty far away from where we were. It turned out to be a bit of a fiasco, because we had such a big group and were each paying individually. By the time we left, it was too late to go to the Hindu temple we were supposed to visit. We had to leave that area by 4 because they didn’t want us anywhere near the hartal demonstrations.
Some of us were dropped off in Golshan Dui so we could visit a grocery store. There’s a bideshi grocery store there called Lavender’s where we can get Western foodstuffs. It’s really expensive. I bought some Jif peanut butter and crackers. Then I decided to take a rickshaw home in an attempt to use my small amount of Bengali. I failed at using Bengali, but I did get to the right place for the right amount of money.
Newmarket
This morning we had our first rainstorm since getting here. I looked outside and the sky was a strange yellowish color and covered with clouds. I thought it was about to start raining. The next time I looked up, it was pouring. But it only lasted for about five minutes, and then it was all over and everything quickly dried out.
Farida’s cousins (who live in Dhaka) came over to visit and go with us to Newmarket. There were four of them: one woman and her 2 ½ year old son, a girl about our age who was in the university, and a guy who was slightly older than us. Only the two who are our age spoke any English at all, but we were able to communicate through their small amount of English and our small amount of Bangla. Besides Farida, the people who went to Newmarket were all beginners: Justine, Noboko, and me. Farida’s male cousin was able to arrange two CNGs to take the whole group to Newmarket for a really good price. Farida got into one with her cousins, and her male cousin sat with the driver in ours. CNGs are basically small green metal cages on wheels, with the driver in front and room for three people in back. They’re really hot and the fumes from the gas engine behind the passengers can be overwhelming. However, they are the best long-distance private transport in the city. They can just be a little frightening.
Newmarket was worth the journey. We went to a sari (in Bengali, shari) store first. The salesmen really wanted to sell an expensive sari to the bideshis, and they must have pulled forty out for us. Sari stores have a special design. Stacked along three walls are saris, with a raised platform covering half the open space by the sari-covered long wall and little red stools lined up beside it. We sat on the stools while they showed us sari after sari, and eventually we had to walk out because they were so intent on selling a sari to us. I do want to buy a sari sometime this summer, but I really didn’t see any I liked. Also, I didn’t have the money to buy one.
We walked down the street and came across stalls selling fabric for salwar kameez. They came in matched sets of fabric cut appropriately for the piece (salwar, kameez, orna) and were the fixed price of 350 taka. Since this is the ordinary way to get a salwar kameez, it is a lot less expensive than buying a pre-made one. Each of the pieces are decorated appropriately for a completed salwar kameez: decoration around the neck, different patterning on the legs, etc. I bought two from different stalls: one that is blue and pink, and another that is green and off-white/tan. I’m going to a tailor in Noddabajar sometime next week to get them made. Buying these fabric sets was an interesting experience, because I knew just enough Bangla to express what I wanted. This made me realize that I am functional in Bangla in a very, very limited capacity, which is very rewarding since I knew absolutely no Bangla a week before. 3 days of class and I can already competently shop on my own (for fixed price goods).
Farida then went to look at a nearby shoe store and bought a pair of sandals. Everyone was really hot by this point, so we went into an air-conditioned diner that was next door. There were two next to each other, and their proprietors were vying for our business, yelling “Madam! Madam!” at us. It’s strange to be singled out so much, but bideshis can’t avoid it here. We’re far too obvious, since there are so few foreigners in the country. Farida’s family had already gone into one of the diners, so we followed them inside. The eating area was upstairs. We ordered soft drinks, and they came in cans that were taller and thinner than American cans. It then became photo op time with the bideshis, when Farida’s family decided to take a lot of pictures. We then walked toward the exit of Newmarket, and stopped in a store selling jewelry and things. I made the mistake of pointing at a hair clip that was pretty, and had to explain that I really didn’t need it in the little Bangla I know. The storekeeper kept lowering his price trying to get me to take it, but I really didn’t want it. I need to watch that next time I’m in a store. As we were leaving the bazaar I saw a stall selling really pretty silk ornas in different colors for 150 taka, and bought a purple one. Outside on the street was a book stall, where I stopped and asked for Harry Potter. They first offered it to me in English, but I asked for Bangla and they pulled out the entire series in Bangla. I decided to buy Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which is my proudest purchase in Bangladesh.
It took a long time for Farida’s cousin to find CNGs that were willing to take us back to Baridhara. Eventually he found two, and we left the same way we came. On the way back I saw something interesting: we passed a mosque that was in the middle of prayer, and there was a whole crowd of men who had spread their prayer rugs in the street. I got a great picture out the window of the CNG.
That night we went to a small restaurant called Café Mango, which is located around the corner from Noddabajar. It’s a very Americanized place, and there were several other bideshis there. I had a delicious piece of chicken with garlic butter and vegetables, and tried a mango lassi for dessert. A lassi is fruit juice, yogurt, and milk mixed together. Very refreshing.
Farida’s cousins (who live in Dhaka) came over to visit and go with us to Newmarket. There were four of them: one woman and her 2 ½ year old son, a girl about our age who was in the university, and a guy who was slightly older than us. Only the two who are our age spoke any English at all, but we were able to communicate through their small amount of English and our small amount of Bangla. Besides Farida, the people who went to Newmarket were all beginners: Justine, Noboko, and me. Farida’s male cousin was able to arrange two CNGs to take the whole group to Newmarket for a really good price. Farida got into one with her cousins, and her male cousin sat with the driver in ours. CNGs are basically small green metal cages on wheels, with the driver in front and room for three people in back. They’re really hot and the fumes from the gas engine behind the passengers can be overwhelming. However, they are the best long-distance private transport in the city. They can just be a little frightening.
Newmarket was worth the journey. We went to a sari (in Bengali, shari) store first. The salesmen really wanted to sell an expensive sari to the bideshis, and they must have pulled forty out for us. Sari stores have a special design. Stacked along three walls are saris, with a raised platform covering half the open space by the sari-covered long wall and little red stools lined up beside it. We sat on the stools while they showed us sari after sari, and eventually we had to walk out because they were so intent on selling a sari to us. I do want to buy a sari sometime this summer, but I really didn’t see any I liked. Also, I didn’t have the money to buy one.
We walked down the street and came across stalls selling fabric for salwar kameez. They came in matched sets of fabric cut appropriately for the piece (salwar, kameez, orna) and were the fixed price of 350 taka. Since this is the ordinary way to get a salwar kameez, it is a lot less expensive than buying a pre-made one. Each of the pieces are decorated appropriately for a completed salwar kameez: decoration around the neck, different patterning on the legs, etc. I bought two from different stalls: one that is blue and pink, and another that is green and off-white/tan. I’m going to a tailor in Noddabajar sometime next week to get them made. Buying these fabric sets was an interesting experience, because I knew just enough Bangla to express what I wanted. This made me realize that I am functional in Bangla in a very, very limited capacity, which is very rewarding since I knew absolutely no Bangla a week before. 3 days of class and I can already competently shop on my own (for fixed price goods).
Farida then went to look at a nearby shoe store and bought a pair of sandals. Everyone was really hot by this point, so we went into an air-conditioned diner that was next door. There were two next to each other, and their proprietors were vying for our business, yelling “Madam! Madam!” at us. It’s strange to be singled out so much, but bideshis can’t avoid it here. We’re far too obvious, since there are so few foreigners in the country. Farida’s family had already gone into one of the diners, so we followed them inside. The eating area was upstairs. We ordered soft drinks, and they came in cans that were taller and thinner than American cans. It then became photo op time with the bideshis, when Farida’s family decided to take a lot of pictures. We then walked toward the exit of Newmarket, and stopped in a store selling jewelry and things. I made the mistake of pointing at a hair clip that was pretty, and had to explain that I really didn’t need it in the little Bangla I know. The storekeeper kept lowering his price trying to get me to take it, but I really didn’t want it. I need to watch that next time I’m in a store. As we were leaving the bazaar I saw a stall selling really pretty silk ornas in different colors for 150 taka, and bought a purple one. Outside on the street was a book stall, where I stopped and asked for Harry Potter. They first offered it to me in English, but I asked for Bangla and they pulled out the entire series in Bangla. I decided to buy Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which is my proudest purchase in Bangladesh.
It took a long time for Farida’s cousin to find CNGs that were willing to take us back to Baridhara. Eventually he found two, and we left the same way we came. On the way back I saw something interesting: we passed a mosque that was in the middle of prayer, and there was a whole crowd of men who had spread their prayer rugs in the street. I got a great picture out the window of the CNG.
That night we went to a small restaurant called Café Mango, which is located around the corner from Noddabajar. It’s a very Americanized place, and there were several other bideshis there. I had a delicious piece of chicken with garlic butter and vegetables, and tried a mango lassi for dessert. A lassi is fruit juice, yogurt, and milk mixed together. Very refreshing.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Ei rickshaw!
Today we had the much-anticipated rickshaw lesson in my first class, when we learned how to catch a rickshaw and tell the rickshawallah where to go. This is perhaps THE most practical lesson we could get, because we have to take rickshaws everywhere. Two of our teachers did a role play, with one as the rickshawallah and the other as passenger. Atif, the rickshawallah, really got into the role, lounging and pretending to smoke. It was hilarious. They also taught us how to negotiate prices with our limited vocabulary. Interactions with rickshawallahs are pretty standardized, so theoretically this lesson should cover most situations.
In the next class we learned Bengali consonant signs, which are a few standardized signs that signal a conjunct. In Bangla writing, conjuncts indicate that several consonants are produced in a row without being separated by vowels. Not all conjuncts form predictable patterns, but the ones written with consonant signs are easy to figure out.
My third class was on making words out of letters and pronouncing them correctly. We only got through four sounds: k, kh, g, and gh (the h represents aspiration, which is the difference between the k sound in cat and the one in back). We spent about 20 minutes working on the pronunciation of gh, which is really difficult for English speakers because we don’t aspirate voiced stops.
Our final class was on food words, which was useful but made me really hungry (we don’t get out of class until 2). We already knew a lot of the food vocabulary because the intermediate students had told us over meals.
After class we went to the office to get our cell phones. It had taken a few days to get them, because paperwork is crazy in Bangladesh. Rozima, the site director, then told us that there is going to be a hartel, or countrywide strike, on Sunday and Monday. We are therefore not having class and should stay home for safety reasons. On Tuesday we have a briefing at the US Embassy.
Farida, Corinne, and I then took a rickshaw to Golshan Dui, to buy some school supplies and go shopping for salwar kameez. I attempted to tell the rickshawallah where to take us, but couldn’t remember the words; as I was obviously struggling, Corinne took over. I need to take a rickshaw today or tomorrow so I can practice hailing one myself.
Golshan Dui is a big traffic circle in an upper-class commercial district. We walked across the circle (in traffic circles, Bangladeshi drivers actually pay attention to traffic laws!) and went to a bookstore, where I managed to buy tape and a binder without a lot of assistance from the others (just the numbers, which I don’t know yet.) Then we walked down the road toward Banani, and came to our destination: two stores in the same building selling pre-made salwar kameez. They were definitely catering to bideshis (foreigners) like us; both stores reminded me of the little boutique clothing stores you can find in the states. On the top floor there was a selection of salwar kameez ranging between 1500 and 4000 taka each. They even had somewhere to try them on. I found one that I liked, and that was fairly inexpensive. It’s a dark red with blue embroidery around the sleeves and an orange-and- gold embellished neckline, green-gold pants, and a green-gold orna with purple and red border. I wish I could post pictures, but it’s really impossible with the internet as it is here.
We took a rickshaw back from Golshan Dui to Noddabajar, the bazaar near our apartments. Corrine showed us where her tailor’s shop is. We then went for a walk through the food stalls to find some green coconuts, so we could drink coconut water. We found one stall that had them and bought three. To be safe, we only had the seller cut the top off and poke a hole into the inside (instead of completely peeling it like they usually do) and then drank the water. It was very refreshing.
For dinner we had goat! It was definitely not my favorite meat. Bangladeshis tend not to remove bones from cooked meat, so there were a lot of bones in the goat meat. This made it difficult to eat. It was kind of tough and stringy, too.
In the next class we learned Bengali consonant signs, which are a few standardized signs that signal a conjunct. In Bangla writing, conjuncts indicate that several consonants are produced in a row without being separated by vowels. Not all conjuncts form predictable patterns, but the ones written with consonant signs are easy to figure out.
My third class was on making words out of letters and pronouncing them correctly. We only got through four sounds: k, kh, g, and gh (the h represents aspiration, which is the difference between the k sound in cat and the one in back). We spent about 20 minutes working on the pronunciation of gh, which is really difficult for English speakers because we don’t aspirate voiced stops.
Our final class was on food words, which was useful but made me really hungry (we don’t get out of class until 2). We already knew a lot of the food vocabulary because the intermediate students had told us over meals.
After class we went to the office to get our cell phones. It had taken a few days to get them, because paperwork is crazy in Bangladesh. Rozima, the site director, then told us that there is going to be a hartel, or countrywide strike, on Sunday and Monday. We are therefore not having class and should stay home for safety reasons. On Tuesday we have a briefing at the US Embassy.
Farida, Corinne, and I then took a rickshaw to Golshan Dui, to buy some school supplies and go shopping for salwar kameez. I attempted to tell the rickshawallah where to take us, but couldn’t remember the words; as I was obviously struggling, Corinne took over. I need to take a rickshaw today or tomorrow so I can practice hailing one myself.
Golshan Dui is a big traffic circle in an upper-class commercial district. We walked across the circle (in traffic circles, Bangladeshi drivers actually pay attention to traffic laws!) and went to a bookstore, where I managed to buy tape and a binder without a lot of assistance from the others (just the numbers, which I don’t know yet.) Then we walked down the road toward Banani, and came to our destination: two stores in the same building selling pre-made salwar kameez. They were definitely catering to bideshis (foreigners) like us; both stores reminded me of the little boutique clothing stores you can find in the states. On the top floor there was a selection of salwar kameez ranging between 1500 and 4000 taka each. They even had somewhere to try them on. I found one that I liked, and that was fairly inexpensive. It’s a dark red with blue embroidery around the sleeves and an orange-and- gold embellished neckline, green-gold pants, and a green-gold orna with purple and red border. I wish I could post pictures, but it’s really impossible with the internet as it is here.
We took a rickshaw back from Golshan Dui to Noddabajar, the bazaar near our apartments. Corrine showed us where her tailor’s shop is. We then went for a walk through the food stalls to find some green coconuts, so we could drink coconut water. We found one stall that had them and bought three. To be safe, we only had the seller cut the top off and poke a hole into the inside (instead of completely peeling it like they usually do) and then drank the water. It was very refreshing.
For dinner we had goat! It was definitely not my favorite meat. Bangladeshis tend not to remove bones from cooked meat, so there were a lot of bones in the goat meat. This made it difficult to eat. It was kind of tough and stringy, too.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
First trip to the bazaar
The power is out again, so I’m going to write this entry and post it as soon as I regain Internet. Today was our first full day of class, and it was really mind-blowing. There is so much to remember just from this one day. In conversation class we reviewed the greetings and basic conversation words, and then moved on to a lot of other vocabulary that covered important nouns (mohila, woman) and adjectives (gorom, hot). Then we got another list of important things to know for class, such as “how do you spell this?” (etar banan ki?).
The next class was working on the alphabet, and we learned to write all of the consonants and how to pronounce them. Bengali writing is interesting, because there are several letters that are pronounced the same and a few sounds that aren’t represented in writing. I have noticed that Bengali speakers are very aware of the origins of bideshi (foreign) words, and pronounce them in a way that is similar to the original – even when that particular sound isn’t usually used in Bengali or represented in its writing system. For example, Bangla doesn’t normally have a z sound, but in the farewell khoda hafej the last letter is pronounced z just like in Arabic. The same goes for the s’s: in most Bengali words, it’s pronounced sh, but in loanwords from English and Arabic it’s pronounced with an s. Just something that I thought was interesting about the language on the second day of class.
The third class was vocabulary, and we learned the numbers from 0-20 and 30, 50, 100. These are supposedly the ones that will be most helpful in purchasing things, but I have yet to find anything that costs only 19 taka. We have to memorize the numbers for tomorrow, which is going to be difficult as they don’t really fall into a pattern like numbers do in English. In Bangladesh, they use a special way of counting; instead of counting on their fingers like Americans do, they count by the joints of their fingers; each finger has 3 joints and a tip, which adds up to 4 on each finger, making 16 in total. I’m using this counting method to become familiar with both it and Bengali numbers at the same time.
Finally, in our last class, we learned how to give directions, specifically to a rickshawallah. We have to memorize all of those words too, because we’re role-playing in class tomorrow morning. Lots and lots of vocabulary to memorize tonight! But it’s all going to be very useful stuff once I have it.
After class and lunch we had a lecture about the history of the Bengali language. And after the lecture Farida, Andrew, and I went to the bazaar down the road from our building. We took a rickshaw with three people, which is a bit complicated as the rickshaw seats are only big enough to fit two people. The rickshawallah set us down in the bazaar and we went looking for a bookstore and/or somewhere to buy pre-made Bangladeshi clothing. Andrew knows the bazaar, so we wandered down the street looking at all the stalls. This particular bazaar is a maze of little streets and alleys filled with stores of all sorts. There are quite a few tailors, and I’m probably going to buy fabric to get some salwar kameez made. Our wandering took us to the end of the bazaar, and we went down one of the side streets trying to find the book store. Andrew and Farida asked several people where one was, and we kept following their directions and not finding one. When we finally did, we had returned to the very front of the bazaar where we were dropped off. In the wandering I went in several places and finally bought myself an orna for 150 taka; it’s orange and lime green and doesn’t match anything else I own, but I love it nonetheless. We stopped at the bookstore and Andrew negotiated the price for the items, at which Farida and I asked him to teach us how to haggle. Andrew went across the street to one of his favorite cha stands while we went to buy a bundle of lychee fruit. Farida went to two different vendors and managed to get the price down to 260 taka, which was about the right price. I was really happy that I was with the two of them during this excursion, because I wouldn’t have been able to communicate that well in Bengali. Tomorrow I’m going to Golhan 2, a big shopping area just west of here, and then on Friday we’re taking a trip to the huge bazaar Newmarket with Farida’s cousin. Let’s hear it for shopping!
Dinner tonight was delicious, as usual: really good chicken, rice, vegetables, and pineapple for dessert.
The next class was working on the alphabet, and we learned to write all of the consonants and how to pronounce them. Bengali writing is interesting, because there are several letters that are pronounced the same and a few sounds that aren’t represented in writing. I have noticed that Bengali speakers are very aware of the origins of bideshi (foreign) words, and pronounce them in a way that is similar to the original – even when that particular sound isn’t usually used in Bengali or represented in its writing system. For example, Bangla doesn’t normally have a z sound, but in the farewell khoda hafej the last letter is pronounced z just like in Arabic. The same goes for the s’s: in most Bengali words, it’s pronounced sh, but in loanwords from English and Arabic it’s pronounced with an s. Just something that I thought was interesting about the language on the second day of class.
The third class was vocabulary, and we learned the numbers from 0-20 and 30, 50, 100. These are supposedly the ones that will be most helpful in purchasing things, but I have yet to find anything that costs only 19 taka. We have to memorize the numbers for tomorrow, which is going to be difficult as they don’t really fall into a pattern like numbers do in English. In Bangladesh, they use a special way of counting; instead of counting on their fingers like Americans do, they count by the joints of their fingers; each finger has 3 joints and a tip, which adds up to 4 on each finger, making 16 in total. I’m using this counting method to become familiar with both it and Bengali numbers at the same time.
Finally, in our last class, we learned how to give directions, specifically to a rickshawallah. We have to memorize all of those words too, because we’re role-playing in class tomorrow morning. Lots and lots of vocabulary to memorize tonight! But it’s all going to be very useful stuff once I have it.
After class and lunch we had a lecture about the history of the Bengali language. And after the lecture Farida, Andrew, and I went to the bazaar down the road from our building. We took a rickshaw with three people, which is a bit complicated as the rickshaw seats are only big enough to fit two people. The rickshawallah set us down in the bazaar and we went looking for a bookstore and/or somewhere to buy pre-made Bangladeshi clothing. Andrew knows the bazaar, so we wandered down the street looking at all the stalls. This particular bazaar is a maze of little streets and alleys filled with stores of all sorts. There are quite a few tailors, and I’m probably going to buy fabric to get some salwar kameez made. Our wandering took us to the end of the bazaar, and we went down one of the side streets trying to find the book store. Andrew and Farida asked several people where one was, and we kept following their directions and not finding one. When we finally did, we had returned to the very front of the bazaar where we were dropped off. In the wandering I went in several places and finally bought myself an orna for 150 taka; it’s orange and lime green and doesn’t match anything else I own, but I love it nonetheless. We stopped at the bookstore and Andrew negotiated the price for the items, at which Farida and I asked him to teach us how to haggle. Andrew went across the street to one of his favorite cha stands while we went to buy a bundle of lychee fruit. Farida went to two different vendors and managed to get the price down to 260 taka, which was about the right price. I was really happy that I was with the two of them during this excursion, because I wouldn’t have been able to communicate that well in Bengali. Tomorrow I’m going to Golhan 2, a big shopping area just west of here, and then on Friday we’re taking a trip to the huge bazaar Newmarket with Farida’s cousin. Let’s hear it for shopping!
Dinner tonight was delicious, as usual: really good chicken, rice, vegetables, and pineapple for dessert.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
First day of class
I know that we’ve been here for less than two days, but it feels like much longer. I think the lack of internet has made the transition from America to Bangladesh smoother than it otherwise might have been. Now the Internet is finally set up, and I’ll be updating this blog as often as I can.
Today was our academic orientation. This means we got our syllabi and schedule, and were made aware of classroom rules. Almost every Saturday is scheduled as a group trip to some important site(s) in or around Dhaka city. This Saturday, we will be going to Old Dhaka; next week we are scheduled to visit Rupshi, Sonargon, Panam City, and the Gowaldi Mosque; week 3’s trip is to Dhaka University, the Liberation War Museum, and Ferdousi Priyobhashini’s Home/Studio. We will also be given lectures on various aspects of Bangladeshi history and culture each week; tomorrow, it is on the history of the Bangla language, next week on Muslim architecture, and the 3rd week on the Liberation War. We’re meeting our conversation partners for the first time next Sunday.
I’ve found that using a word or construction in a practical way is really, really helpful in solidifying my knowledge of it. Sure, I could memorize the word for banana (kola), or I could just use it to ask for one a couple times (kola dao). It’s the response from people who are more knowledgeable than me that really helps. The Intermediate students are very helpful in teaching words and phrases around the breakfast table, so my knowledge of Bengali food words is substantially larger than for any other category.
After the orientation session and receiving our stipend, we split up into groups for our first class. We learned basic greetings and exchanges such as How are you (Apni kemon achen?)?/ I’m fine, you? (Ami bhalo achi, apnar?) The common greeting in Bangladesh (and other predominantly Muslim areas) is the same as in Arabic, so I already knew at least one exchange. Our next class was learning the vowels from the alphabet, taught by the grammar teacher Shanta.
We then went to a nearby photo studio to get passport pictures taken. In Bangladesh you need them for everything, including signing up for a cell phone. Mental note to bring lots of them next time I travel. We went back to the University Campus and met some of the Bangladesh Fulbrighters; all of the information about Fulbrights is proving to be very useful, since I’m deciding which Fulbright to apply for. One of them had some good ideas for possible research topics. I’m becoming very interested in the English-Teaching Fulbright, however, as a way to gain more immersion in the culture by having a solid job and possibly a research project as well.
Through a strange set of circumstances we were left to take rickshaws home. This was particularly an adventure since we beginning students had not yet learned how to direct a rickshaw, and most rickshawallahs do not know English. We had to split up into pairs, with each one having one person who could speak some Bengali. Farida and I got back home alright, but it was mildly terrifying to be in an open rickshaw in Dhaka traffic. My rickshaw lesson is on Thursday, so after that I will be taking them everywhere. After two weeks we will even have to take them to class in the morning.
Guess what we had for dinner tonight? Fish (mach)! And rice (bhat), potatoes (aloo), dal, vegetables, and, for dessert, am (mango). Delicious!
First day in Bangladesh
The first thing I noticed about Bangladesh, seen for the first time through a foggy airplane window, was that the airport had red dirt. This made me happy because it reminded me of Tennessee, where I spent part of my childhood. It was probably the most welcoming thing I could have seen when landing in a foreign country for the first time. The plane arrived a half hour earlier than it was supposed to, which I was very happy about because I was sick of sitting in an airplane.
It took us over an hour to get through immigration and find all of our luggage. It took them a long time to unload the plane and send the bags out on the conveyor belt, so we stood there worrying for a long time. No one lost anything, which was much better than expected. We were met at the airport by one of the people in charge of housing arrangements. We piled into the bus and they took us to our apartments. I have a roommate, but most people in the group do not. My roommate is one of the alums who were here last year, so she already knows all the ropes. The apartments are nice, with a kitchen, bedrooms (with attached bathrooms), and a large common/eating area. The windows in my apartment look out over a park that’s across the road, and a beautiful domed mosque behind the park. I was listening to the call to prayer while typing this, actually.
They gave us some time to freshen up and change clothes, and then fed us breakfast. I borrowed a scarf from my roommateto complete my wardrobe; scarves are absolutely essential for women’s clothing here. I can’t wait to get my stipend tomorrow, so I can start buying salwar kameez. Breakfast this morning was absolutely delicious; it may have been because I was really hungry but the eggs, buttered toast, and bananas tasted fantastic. It just seemed more flavorful than food I’d had before. After breakfast I crashed and took a three hour nap before lunch. They cooked us Bengali food for lunch: rice, chicken, and dal, and ate it with our hands. It was good, and probably exactly what we’ll be eating for dinner as well.
After lunch, we visited campus to meet our teachers and have a cultural orientation. The university facility is new and really nice, but the Bangladeshi students stared at us a lot. I suppose we just have to get used to the extra attention. On the way back from campus they drove us past the two closest hospitals to show us where they are. Now we have some downtime before dinner, and most of the others are sleeping.
What are my early impressions about the country? Traffic is really chaotic. Dhaka’s signature sound is definitely car horns. They blow them all the time. There are so many types of vehicles, from big buses to cars to rickshaws to bicyclists and pedestrians, all trying to use the road and get where they’re going as soon as possible. It is definitely hot and humid, although I wasn’t very exposed to that today because I’ve been in the AC a lot. When I have been outside, though, it seemed bearable enough. You just have to keep hydrated by drinking a lot of water. Dhaka seems to be under construction; everywhere you look, there’s something being built or torn down or falling apart of its own accord. There is a significant gap between the rich and the poor, one that is really obvious in architecture and dress. Women generally wear beautiful clothing, and it makes me really want to buy a sari. It’s going to take me some time to get used to Bangladeshi stores; they look completely different from American stores.
That’s all I can think of at the moment. I still don’t have internet access on my computer, so I’ll post this as soon as I can.
The flight
A bus picked us up at the hotel at 6:15 and drove us to the airport, giving us four hours to get our tickets, pass through security, and locate our gate. Dulles is very architecturally interesting; the main terminal looks like the wing of a giant airplane sitting on top of a giant glass box. It also has an indoor tram system that takes you from the terminal to the gate. We got through everything without any major problems, although there was a small security problem because the airline had switched two people’s passport numbers.
The first 12 hour flight wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I had a middle seat, but the people on either side were very nice. One of them was an American ex-pat going home to Dubai. He showed me how to use the screen on the back of the seat and other tricks of international flights. We got to Qatar about 20 minutes late, but had plenty of time to make the connection. The airport in Doha is still under construction, so we disembarked onto the tarmac and were brought to the terminal in buses. It was dark when we got there, but it was still 100 degrees Fahrenheit (it is the desert, after all). I could smell the ocean when I stepped off of the plane.
The next leg of the flight was five and a half hours, from Doha to Dhaka. I purposefully slept through most of it and did not eat anything. We were scheduled to arrive in Dhaka at 5:30 AM so I wanted to get on Dhaka time as soon as possible. Even though it was shorter, this flight felt longer than the first one because I was really tired of sitting down and just wanted to get off of the plane already. I was in a middle seat again, and the man to the right of me was very large and took up a good part of my seat as well as his own, so it was very uncomfortable. I was very happy when we landed in Bangladesh.
Washington, DC
Our flight was scheduled to leave at 11PM on Saturday, so we had most of the day to explore the city. Farida and I walked from our hotel down Pennsylvania Ave. to the White House, and then down the Mall to the WWII, Lincoln, and Vietnam memorials. For some reason, there was a lot of construction happening: they are renovating one wing of the White House and completely replacing the reflecting pool. We then walked up to the Museum of Natural History and went through several exhibits including the Evolution of Humans. Food at the Smithsonian’s food court is ridiculously expensive.
Next we attempted to see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution at the National Archives, but the line was too long. Instead, we walked up the mall, past the Capitol building, and visited the Library of Congress. Last time I was in DC I ran out of time and couldn’t go into the building, so I took advantage of the opportunity this time. I was particularly impressed with Thomas Jefferson’s large collection of books, and went through reading their titles to myself. I was surprised by the number I had read.
After that, we took the metro (subway) back to the hotel. We were going to leave for the airport at 6:15, so Farida, Andrew, and I went to a Subway down the street. Then the entire group packed up and left for the airport. Here are a few pictures from DC (coming as soon as I can upload them).
Friday, June 3, 2011
Meeting Day
I just spent about 12 hours sitting down in a day full of meetings. After breakfast this morning we were welcomed by the CLS organizers, and then heard from two people from the Office of Academic Exchange Programs. The second speaker talked a lot about the Fulbright programs; this was very helpful for me, since I don't know which type of Fulbright to apply for. Now I know a bit more about what they're looking for in an applicant, the specifics of the South Asian and Bangladesh program, and how to write the application. I feel much better about all of it now (despite the inevitably decreased chance of funding next year).
Next there was an information session on the perks of being a CLS Alumni, followed by an overview of Bangladesh by Shelley Feldman, the president of the American Institute of Bangladesh Studies. This was a great networking connection for me. Dr. Feldman will be in Dhaka for an AIBS conference, and she's hoping to arrange for the CLS participants to attend as well. I think the conference is about climate change and water quality (which I'm not particularly interested in researching), but it will be a good way to make connections with a large number of Bangladesh scholars. There's also a group of us planning to visit Dhaka University while we're there.
In the afternoon we heard some suggestions from program alumni who are also coming this year. It was good to hear about their experiences in past years. One excellent suggestion was to plan only one thing for free days. There's no way we will be able to see everything while we're there, especially because it is such an intensive language program. It will be much better to see less things and relax when we need to.
After we heard from a panel about possible careers and received a briefing reviewing the rules we have to follow, we visited the Bangladeshi embassy. The ambassador himself greeted us and welcomed us to Bangladesh (even saying that he wished our orientation had happened a few days earlier so he could have had us over for dinner at his house!) They even fed us with the most delicious samosas I've ever tasted. They then took group pictures of us with the ambassador; I'll add them to this post if I can get ahold of them.
To round out the day, we had a group meal with the two organizers at a restaurant called Carmine's, which was one block away from the Mall. The food was delicious Italian; I was happy that we got some good American food before we left. Tomorrow I will be going to the Mall with Farida before heading to the airport and out of the country around 11 PM.
Next there was an information session on the perks of being a CLS Alumni, followed by an overview of Bangladesh by Shelley Feldman, the president of the American Institute of Bangladesh Studies. This was a great networking connection for me. Dr. Feldman will be in Dhaka for an AIBS conference, and she's hoping to arrange for the CLS participants to attend as well. I think the conference is about climate change and water quality (which I'm not particularly interested in researching), but it will be a good way to make connections with a large number of Bangladesh scholars. There's also a group of us planning to visit Dhaka University while we're there.
In the afternoon we heard some suggestions from program alumni who are also coming this year. It was good to hear about their experiences in past years. One excellent suggestion was to plan only one thing for free days. There's no way we will be able to see everything while we're there, especially because it is such an intensive language program. It will be much better to see less things and relax when we need to.
After we heard from a panel about possible careers and received a briefing reviewing the rules we have to follow, we visited the Bangladeshi embassy. The ambassador himself greeted us and welcomed us to Bangladesh (even saying that he wished our orientation had happened a few days earlier so he could have had us over for dinner at his house!) They even fed us with the most delicious samosas I've ever tasted. They then took group pictures of us with the ambassador; I'll add them to this post if I can get ahold of them.
To round out the day, we had a group meal with the two organizers at a restaurant called Carmine's, which was one block away from the Mall. The food was delicious Italian; I was happy that we got some good American food before we left. Tomorrow I will be going to the Mall with Farida before heading to the airport and out of the country around 11 PM.
Travel day numero uno
Yesterday was my travel day to DC. And it ended up being a whole day; I spent about 10 hours in an airport for 2 ½ hours of flight time. My first flight was cancelled and rescheduled to leave at 12:10 instead of the original 9:15, but it got to Charlotte 20 minutes early. 20 minutes before the second flight was supposed to leave they announced that the plane was still in Raleigh. I ended up not getting to DC until 5:30, five hours after I was originally supposed to arrive. I was late for the meet and greet session, and missed the introductions twice!
There are seventeen of us, two men and the rest women. A majority are graduate students, but there are about 6 undergraduates (including me). Most of us went out to dinner at a Melanesian restaurant a few blocks down the street. I didn’t particularly like the food, but we sat there for a long time and talked. There is one student, Farida, whose parents are Bangladeshi; she and Andrew, an alum from last year, told us something about what to expect when we get there.
Today we have a full day of meetings with different state department officials and program alums. We also get to meet Bangladesh’s ambassador to the United States.
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