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.