On Saturday we took our second field trip. This year, there will not be a field trip every week – the last three weekends of the program are free so we can travel as we want to, individually, in groups, or with our language partners. Our big overnight trip organized by the program (like the one to Sylhet last year) is to Rajshahi, on the border with India. The field trip on Saturday was rescheduled at the last minute. We were supposed to visit a garment factory, but there were strikes in the factories on the day we were supposed to go. So instead we visited an NGO that was the first to work with dogs in Bangladesh—spaying and neutering, administering rabies vaccines, and putting rabid dogs down. Prior to this past January, Dhaka authorities practiced dog culling, catching and killing dogs to try to decrease the population. The head of the NGO (who we talked to) made a case to the government that culling was actually counterproductive, and the government stopped culling within the Dhaka city limits and redirected those funds to the NGO. It’s a small organization, but the estimate is that they have treated around 1000 dogs in 3 months. According to what we learned there, human deaths from rabies are actually very common in Bangladesh. After we left the NGO, we tried to figure out what to do next, since nothing else was planned. We got on the bus and drove a little way out into the countryside and then back, then went to the Liberation War Museum. I visited the museum last summer; they have added audio-visual stations where visitors can see, for example, the Concert for Bangladesh (the first benefit concert that was organized to provide aid during 1971). For lunch we went to a place in Old Dhaka that was a few streets over from Lal Bagh. Old Dhaka is known for its biriyani. The restaurant that we visited, the Royal, is the only place in Dhaka that serves pistachio sorbot (sorbot =fresh/blended juice drink, made in the location where it is sold). It is made of milk, ice, and pistachios (and possibly rosewater?). Very refreshing.
Sunday was the first time I went to my LP’s house. I took the bus to Bashundhara City, met Afrida, and then we rickshawed through the streets behind the mall. She lives in a house that her family built twenty years ago; a lot of her extended family lives in the same compound (there are several buildings enclosed by a wall). We studied for a while in her room, then she took me to meet all of her cousins. Several of them had recently returned from the US. We talked for a while, and then returned to her house, where we watched a bit of TV. Her uncle owns a sweet shop, so they fed me some really good mishti. They then fed me dinner and sent me home in their car.
On Monday, I met Afrida at her university. She wanted to show me some flowers that were blooming on the edge of the city, so we got in her car and drove about 10 minutes east until we got to the edge of the developed area. We couldn’t find the flowers, but I enjoyed seeing the green grass and water. Driving back, we watched as a scene for a Bangla movie was filmed, with the main character hanging from a crane and being attacked by men with swords. Closer to the university, there was a musical performance by three men and a little girl. The men were playing instruments, and the girl was singing. She had a good voice for only being four or five years old. At the university, they were having a day of traditional Bengali (Deshi) games. There were four of them, but I only played one. In this game, there are two teams. Each team member is given a flower, fruit, or bird name. Someone covers their teammate’s eyes, and then calls out the name of someone on the other team. This person comes over and flicks the forehead of the blindfolded person, then returns to his or her seat. The teammate removes her hands, and then the blindfolded person has to guess who flicked her. My team won!
On Wednesday, I went to Banani with Katie. We went to Banani supermarket to have saris finished, and then walked to Persona to get massages. It was wonderfully relaxing. Afterward, I called Moumita to see if she was at home; I hadn’t been there in a while, so I thought I could visit for a little bit before going back to my place. Daniel and his LP Rigan were already there, so it turned out to be a bit of a party. She made dinner for us while we watched Bangla TV. Her brother came bringing mishti because he had gotten a promotion at work. After we ate the main course of the meal, for dessert we had am-dudh-bhat, or mango and rice with hot milk. It was absolutely delicious.
Thursday after class there was a musical performance at IUB. I went with Afrida, and listened to some good traditional Bengali (deshi) songs, baul songs, and Bangla rock songs. Toward the end of the concert, the rock bands started to do covers of American rock songs, which were, for the most part, decent renditions.
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