Mishti, murgi, lungi

So... there is some tiny bad news. I wasn't able to go to yesterday's marriage day celebration :( Some more guests arrived, and Shumon (I have decided to switch to this spelling. I think it's the most accurate phonetically) had to prepare food for them. I was pretty disappointed to be missing out on this opportunity, but I don't think I was as disappointed as Shumon. He looked real sad when he told me it wouldn't work out.

I'm not exactly sure the main purpose for these guests' arrival. Either it was a) their daughter has some sort of stomach problem and they needed to see a doctor in Dhaka or b) they are related to a Dipshikha employee who just got in this morning from Germany. He's a regional manager and went to Germany to meet with members of a charity that sponsors Dipshikha. He - like most Bangladeshis - had never left the country (except one day in India once) and so his return heralded much fanfare.

Now, I think that over the course of their lifetime, every individual should have an experience of having a bat trapped in their room. That being said, I've had that experience camping in Canada, and I didn't need it again. Going to bed last night, I opened the door to find a bat flying around the ceiling. I thought I was equipped to deal with this situation; I would just hit it out the window. BUT the window has bars and I felt it would be unlikely that I'd be able to get it out. My next consideration was to ignore it. But then it swooped at me and I knew I couldn't deal. So I called Shumon. "Bat is no problem. No problem." He deal with it.


Today the office was open for the first time since I've been here. So after breakfast, Anthony came to get me and he introduced me to all of the staff members. They are all super friendly and pretty good with English too! Of special importance was meeting Mr. Robi Rozario, who was my original contact at Dipshikha. I had heard lots about him from my friends who have previously worked with Dipshikha, and so it was great to meet him at last.

Going off on a tangent for a moment here: I really need to publicly thank some people for getting me this opportunity. Now, there are tons of people who have helped me get here, from family to close friends, to new acquaintances. But I must specifically express my appreciation to three people: Jonathan P, Melinda J and Connor B. The three of them have each spent roughly the same amount of time as I will be with Dipshikha, and they were the ones who got me in contact, informed me the most about the country and organization, and convinced me on how to spend my summer. They answered numerous questions (and decoded emails in broken English) for me, and I am so grateful. Also, they are just amazing and inspiration people in general and I want to be them when I grow up. End tangent.


Robi took me out to go shopping for some essentials: mainly clothing. A Dipshikha employee drove us into Central Dhaka (I'm in the part of Dhaka called Mirpur, in the north west of the Greater Dhaka Region). Traffic was horrific and there were numerous jams.

I bought a memory stick, a SIM card (which doesn't seem to work with my Blackberry. Yay.), some shirts and some pants. I don't understand pants in Bangladesh. I might as well have brought my own. They are suitable for Canadian winters, NOT Bangladeshi summers. I would have thought that they would have adapted better clothing for the environment, but I guess they probably just have higher heat tolerance. AND, I guess there are some cooler clothing alternatives. I also bought a sheet of cloth called a lungi. You will probably know it as a sarong. You wear it kind of like a skirt I guess. Unfortunately, it's more casual; I will probably only wear it on weekends and evenings, rather than during the work day. But I think it will be much more comfortable in this heat. Speaking of which, Robi was complaining about the heat today. So it must be bad.

Robi also needed to visit the Immigration Services building (I'm not sure why. Something to do with a brother's passport maybe?). I didn't do much, just waited. But it was kinda terrifying. It was jammed with people, it was poorly lit, the ceilings were low, and there were lots of armed guards. And then, this random employee offered his hand to shake, and when I shook it he said "This is Bangladesh courtesy!" and then started yelling in Bangla, which I don't understand because I shook his damn hand. Robi didn't seem to find any reason for concern (maybe the man wasn't even angry???), and just told me to sit and wait while he did his thing. Oh well.

I also met with my Bangla teacher, Snigdha, and arranged daily Bangla classes starting tomorrow. It should be fun. I'm already picking up some key words: pani = water. Shobji = vegetables. Murgi = chicken.

After all this, Robi asked me to come to his house. It was very close to the market, and it was an exciting day for him. His 15-year-old daughter (oldest child) just received her 10-level marks (basically grade 10 report card). She got an A+ GPA, and this was big. Robi bought mishti, ultra-sweet, deep-fried pastries that are kinda like Timbits (those who eat at Indian restaurants might know them), for her and when she came in the door (we got there first) she cried with happiness in her mother's arms. Her English was superb and accent-free, and so we were able to chat a bit. She told me that these marks are "something everyone is waiting for their entire time in school". Anyway, it was great to meet Robi's family, and see his home, and I even got some sorbet, which was very, very welcome after the brutal sun.

The day has drained me, and so I think a pre-dinner nap is in order. That's me saying "bye for now"


-C