Hartal!
Bangla Lesson #5
Hartal - Strike
Shoja Jabo - Go straight
Bam - Left
Din - Right
Rakho - Stop
Disclaimer: (A little late, but oh well.. I discovered that I'm educating a whole class of Singaporeans in Bengali, so i think i better come clean...)
"Ami Dukhito".. That means i'm sorry... (Sounds uncannily like Prophetic class eh?)... The spelling of the words in Bengali are not always the correct ones... Sometimes, I put in my own spelling, the way I heard people pronounce it... In certain cases, the way I spell it could help prospective Begalis from back home communicate better with the real Bengalis over here... (Cos seriously, the way it is spelt here, just doesn't sound the same as how they say it... I would know... When Rajib says something and I ask him to spell it, I'd pronounce it the way it is spelt, and he corrects me... uh.. hmm ok... so sometimes I give up on his spelling.)
The reason my conscience caught up to me today, was the fact that I was talking to Azmat yesterday. He's Lionel's fren. A true blue Bangladeshi. And He was telling me some things in Bengali. I tell you, his spelling is a whole lot classier than mine... Eg. He drinks "dudh cha chini beshi" (beshi is more)... looks better than my "dud cha cheeni kom" right?. He says "thigase" (ok), while i would have spelt it "tik asey". Same thing, different spelling. His definitely looks better right? But I still insist that I will keep spelling it my way cos it's easier to pronounce. At least, now all my "students" are aware that they are not getting the right spelling all the time... But they can be sure that they are getting the right pronounciation. =P
Now back to my main topic... I'm quite long-winded, aren't I? Must be the teacher instinct...
Today is hartal. Yup... Don't panic. I didn't see a single act of violence or any striker anywhere... It just means that all the large vehicles are not around on the road and that rickshaws could go anywhere they want. (or rather anywhere we want).
Jess & I were supposed to go to Drik on our own cos Jess got up late and Shalini was late for work.. was quite funny.. Like we were going for an exam or something... We were asking Peter how to tell the rickshaw driver that we wanted to go to Drik. And over breakfast we were reciting important words and phrases and writing notes into our textbooks... (really Macam morning before exams sia...)
Normally, rickshaws don't come in front of pathshala because it's near a VIP road where rickshaws are not allowed to travel on, but today.. they were streaming down our street... We were amazed and we got on a rickshaw... We had no idea what was going on... Until we saw a string of policemen closing off the road we usually go on... like... Woah! After that, Jess was worried that we were lost... The rickshaw driver just took the next road and I directed him to Drik... Using the most useful words in the Bengali language... "Bam", "Din", & "Rakho". We got to Drik safely.
There's the other perk of having a Hartal... Siraj, whose comp i'm using now, is stuck at his home village cos the large vehicles are not allowed on the road... So i get to use his comp all day!!! yay!!
I don't think I'd be quite so excited about the hartal if i saw the fighting and the bloodshed or something... For now, i'm just stuck in my cosy, safe little haven called Drik... Guess I'll just learn to appreciate the little moments of security I feel now... Until it gets shattered later on or something...
Scent of familiarity...
Playing in Background - Some Bengali Movie
Screams of a woman being tortured...
A powerful woman enters and shuts up the torturers.
Dramatic music
Cutaway
It is the sinister-looking bad guy! With big hair!
Powerful woman fights him... Loses!
Next enters macho man in red leather sleeveless suit
Argues with sinister man... (Hello?? Start fighting already!!)
Familiar? Not to me... I mean, I can't even understand a word they are saying! I'm just trying to keep myself from trashing the show in front of Alamin, who is obviously enthralled by the show. Fine, I'm not a big fan of Indian or Bengali films... "So sue me"... (But give me a chance ah... Jess Shalini and I are gonna watch Bride and Prejudice tonight...)
So what is familiar around here? Let me put things into context for you Little Island Dwellers..
How about the fried rice Peter made for our lunch today... It smelled totally like our hainanese chicken rice! Last night we had some kind of chicken stew... Jess said it smelt like the kind of dish her mother makes... The cool local snack fushka reminded me of our kweh pie tie... It's an egg shaped shell. They smash a hole at the top and put in mash potatoes mixed with onions and some other stuff... You eat it by drizzling a sour sauce over it and stuffing the whole thing into your mouth.. (Ok, maybe that last bit is just for me..)
The pirated DVD shops here are like those the Nightbirds frequent whenever we go JB. Only these come in proper cases. Talk about service ok. Each disc is Tk90. or S$3. I bet Ivan is drooling already. And the layout of the shopping centre was a bit like queensway.
When we went to Rifles ... A shopping centre... We saw a cool shop that only sells white and black stuff...Clothes mainly... Ok, so they lied... They sold silver stuff as well! If you have known me long enough... You would know of my first hotmail account... blackwhitesilver... There was one little corner that sold the ornaments... And for the moment when I stood at that corner, I felt at home again... (I'm a silver ornament collector...btw) Too bad there was nothing for me to buy... I even felt the familiar boredom from being in a shopping centre with no silver shop or other worthwhile shop to visit. (Sheesh... I tried not to be a nuisance by trying to look around.. But I really couldn't stop the yawning...)
But the one familiar thing that really caught my eye (actually my nose, rather) was the smell I smelt when i was walking along the street of Pathshala. Shalini and Jess and I were looking for a DVD rental shop. That's where we got our Bride and Prejudice. It was a smelt that was locked into my brain for eternity have being subjected to it time and time again in large doses. It was not a smell I enjoyed, but willingly I allowed myself to breathe it in. It was the sacrifice I made, to experience something even more desirable(dubious eh? read on..)!!! Sometimes, I'd smell it twice a week, but usually it was much more. Especially during the last semester!!!!
What was it? Hold your noses cos it was..... [drum roll]
MARK'S CAR AIR FRESHENER SCENT!!!!!!!
"What?? You mean that's it? Why did you ask us to hold our noses for?"
Well, cos it's really not that fantastic a smell... But as all fresheners go... It does it's job... Useful for when the male counterparts of the Nightbirds have been standing around under the hot sun (why they wanna do that, I have no idea...), or if they've been busy helping the only weak and innocent and gentle female counterpart of the Nightbirds to move out of her hostel. (Which she does every semester.. and dun forget the moving in too)... You will be very grateful for ANY kind of freshener...
But, allow me to get back to my point.
The moment I smelt that car scent, I started to recall the fond(and not so fond) memories of the Nightbird. Just to set the record straight... I had absolutely nothing to do with that name. I dunno which one of the two male counterparts of the Nightbirds came up with it. It's supposed to be like one of those car gangs in Initial D (of which we are all big fans)... Somehow we just ended up with a name which is really not cool... But what I do know is, I got stuck with it unwittingly, and I was even coerced into using the strange, but rather cute, logo that our arty farty counterpart came up with using msn icons.
So, Nightbirds. Consists of three members: The driver and perpetual treater(he doesn't offer.. we have to make him do it.. i mean, of cos he has to do it.. he's the only one with $$ to spare!) Mark! His sexy silver civic (new car. old one was red & equally sexy), knowledge of car parts, cars on the road and even the drivers of each car makes us a total shoo-in as a car gang... Even makes up for this particular clueless member who just likes driving... The last member, and the tallest, is Ivan. Affectionately known as "sidekick" by my sisters. He's the poetic, literary one. Been getting pretty emotional and sensitive and all that lately... It's the arts influence, I tell you... Specifically, the arts people (think about it... arts is what? 75% female... and Ivan is straight... Know what I'm getting at?)
Nightbird activity: (FYI, we dun fly or chirp around and peck at worms) We go out at night for a drive in Mark's sexy car (Esp. Ivan's favourite.. KCKW), go watch a DVD at Mark's home, or watch Initial D at my hall... But most importantly, we partake of our most dubious desirable activity... drink tehping... Sometimes at Fong Seng... Actually no... Most of the time at Fong Seng. We did this for a whole semester. As soon as one of us was bored at home, Mark would pick us up, and the Nightbirds would be on their way.
It's been a while since we had a Nightbird gathering... Miss the guys actually. They're quite cool... (Sometimes...) After smelling that car scent, I really wish I could call up Mark and that he could drive up to my door, with Ivan in the front seat. I would climb into the back seat, sit specifically behind Ivan so that I can torture him.. We'd drive around town, sometimes trying to play with the tiong cars on the streets, other times trying to hide from the Fuzz, but most of the time drinking our Tehping and crapping at the coffeshop (Ivan and I have a habit of torturing each other at times... then Mark has to step in... Other times, we share secrets and hid it from Mark till he gets annoyed...) We'd stay there till we got tired and needed to go home cos there's school the next day... And the Nightbirds would return to their nests...
Now... That's familiar...
Anyway, if you're curious about how that Bengali movie ended... Last time I checked, the sinister bad guy with the big hair breathes his last breath and dies. The hero is the man in the red leather sleeveless suit. But even he has been injured in the sword fight and falls dramatically to the ground (with the dramatic background music of cos). Then the women from everywhere (those tortured by the sinister bad guy with the big hair) run to him and surround him and tell him not to die.
What kind of an ending is that? Oh well... At least Alamin liked it..
That little spot of tea....
Bangla Lesson #4
Decka Hobit - See You
Abat Decka Hobit - See You Later
Chah - Tea
Dud - Milk
Cheeni - Sugar
Kom - Less
To the many of the avid fans of this blog, this entry may come as a surprise to you. So far, this silly gal has been oblivious to the meaning of sadness and disappointment, and every entry she's written has been one of enthusiasm, excitement and optimism, maybe irrational and naive but optimistic nonetheless. (don't count the crying bits)
Well guess what? I got really depressed today....
Not the serious kind that needs medical attention, but the kind that comes and goes. Like a thick cloud that just descends upon you when you least expect or desire it. Once it happens, all you see around you is.... Gloom... I didn't even want to blog!... That could be bcos of the really good blog i wrote yesterday. (someone told me that he chortled thru the whole thing.. Hello? Chortled?.. Serious man...) Was pressured to match up today... Woah... No can do..
So, why did I get this? The depression I mean...
I dunno... The morning was fine... I bummed around all day again today.... (that felt abit lousy...) Like sluggish... I didn't dare to use the multimedia dept's pcs for more than an hour... Felt guilty stealling Siraj's comp... So i stuck myself in the publications dept, trying not to get too annoyed with the macs... (Mind you, Macs & this gal dun mix well... The thing kept hanging!) Also didn't talk to Amin cos there were too many people in the studio... Wanted to ask him about his assignment the day before... But couldn't... Wanted to get my lappy fixed but Wahab from Internet dept was busy again... Went to find Jess & Shalini and discovered they disappeared! (See... that's last straw like...)
And the cloud descended...
After that, I was literally rendered useless. I just felt so sad... Like no one wanted me anymore or something... I didn't feel like taking photos, didn't feel like asking Atiq to teach me Illustrator, even when i went to find Jess to chat(after they appeared again), I was still miserable... Barely wanted to surf the net... (Not that that helped... Ivan's blog really made things worse...)
But.... something really really miraculous happened.... Topu suggested going for Tea....
The tea I drink is called "dud chah cheeni kom" (Milk Tea Less Sugar). Topu made me recite that... Seriously, even though I ask for less sugar, it still doesn't taste any less sweet... And that helped! Think it's the sugar or something... I perked up after that tea session... And then I started to talk to Atiq and he taught me how to create a contact sheet using photoshop.. It's really really clever... After work, I brought Jess to the road she wanted to go... to see books and stuff... (Shalini is teaching a class today)..I even bought a nice toy gun! (For myself... cheap thrill...)...
Sidetrack... A little boy came up to us, to beg for money... Jess gave him Tk2.. And another little girl came along... I gave her Tk1 and Jess gave her Tk2... The little boy was so eager to get more from her that he followed us for 3 streets! Even waited outside the bookshop for her... But she was determined not to give anymore... So he finally got the idea and left...
The main thing is, I'm glad that depression thing went away... It was really upsetting and annoying... It doesn't even make sense to happen today... Cos Bangladesh is a Muslim country and Friday (tomorrow ya...) is an off day!!!! So see? Irrational behaviour... Still, many thanx to the people I ranted to about this depression... I'm ok now!!!
Morale of the story? None, dude, it's not morale!
Moral of the story: Always drink your Dud Chah Cheeni Kom....
Daily Heart Evening News Bulletin Broadcast
Shovo Shonda. Good Evening. This is the whatever-time-it-is-where-you-are News Bulletin and I’m your presenter… Gwen "Yo!".
We begin our bulletin with the latest from the Tsunami Aftermath. Reports from the Daily Star (the only English International Newspaper available at the Drik Office.) have come in of several cases of rape, theft, and child trafficking from Aceh, Indonesia. Many of these criminals are taking advantage of the chaos caused by the earthquake & tsunami to, well, take advantage of the empty homes, the homeless women and the orphaned children. Our Dhaka correspondent, Goan "Yo!", has more.
“Yes, Gwen. This is a real outrage. Although to our listeners back home, it may not be such a big fuss, since we are only the next-door-neighbours to Indonesia. We are definitely more concerned about our own children going missing for 24 hours after the Huang Na incident. Parents are getting paranoid about their own children, but are not bothered about others. Perhaps this is why Singaporean children nowadays are getting so spoilt and arrogant and are being mean to their own teachers. But I was once a teacher and my mum still is, so don’t take my word for it.”
“But I can assure you, Gwen, children all over the world, at least those that I have seen here in Dhaka, are extremely adorable. Take for instance, Noyl (son of housekeeper Mothi) and Abas (son of Malu and Koli who stay at Pathshala). They are always playing together on the rooftop of Pathshala. All the toys they got is a toy gun that makes noise, and they couldn’t be happier if they had the entire Toys R Us in their rooms. Then there is Al amin, who works at the Chitroshala (developing shop outside Pathshala), he’s slightly older but is very independent and speaks good English. Not to mention the little boy peddling 'badoom' (peanuts) at the street. He stared at me with those cute little eyes, and I couldn't help buying from him. I paid 4 takas for peanuts!! There’s also the little boy who serves coffee at DrikCafe but for the life of me, I can’t remember his name. He calculates the bill in his head, never spills a coffee or drops a plate, and covers the tea with a saucer when he sees that the person who is going to drink the coffee is not around. Could Singaporean kids do that? Sure… But would they? Not if their parents won’t let them. (Which is what happens…) There’s even two young boys minding a street stall next to the lake. When we walked pass, they shouted the only English phrase they knew… ‘Good Morning!’ Adorable? You bet. Utterly endearing.”
That is great, Goan! I’m sure the readers will agree with you. So, the next time you parents want to protect your kid from something, first ponder if you should protect them from yourselves. You could be cramping their potential and adorability factor.
Music~
We interrupt this news bulletin with a traffic update from our Traffic Expert, Gwon "Yo!". She is considered an expert because she rides the Mishu to work every morning (squished between Shalini and Jess), rode a cab and CNG once each, and has ridden countless rickshaws and has learnt the art of not feeling like you are about to fall off.
"This is some essential news for all who plan to come to Dhaka on a holiday. After 9.30pm, take a cab. Do not take a CNG (a vehicle that uses Compressed Natural Gas and has 'CNG' written on it). According to Shalini, there is a high chance that mugging will occur as some drivers are in cahoots with muggers. This transport expert would not really know because she has not been out so late before, and has not been mugged either. She also hopes never to be mugged."
"If you are coming to visit Dhaka, please bring along a Bengali speaking friend. It will prove invaluable, as would a good road map (non-existent here in Dhaka)."
"Also, there is a little technique to sitting in a rickshaw that will prove invaluable to all. Press your feet on the rods behind the seat of the rickshaw driver. In case of sudden braking (very frequent in heavy traffic), you can save yourself from falling out. Also, to get rid of the fear of falling off during a turn, tuck your shoulder on the inside of the hood thing. Then the centripetal force can't throw you off."
"Try to know where you are going before getting into a rickshaw without the help of a Bangla speaking friend, cos you will feel bad when the driver gets utterly lost together with you. And when your friend is a real humanitarian, she would gladly double the bargained price and you have to stop her before she gives all her money away to all the locals"
"Lastly, if you are going to sit in a Mishu, try to squeeze 3 in it. It saves money, and definitely squeezes your butt smaller."
"That's all for traffic update!"
Music~
Now for personal news. The precious resources of Dhaka has once again been leeched by a particular slacker in Drik agency, who spent some time surfing the web, checking mail and playing a bomberman-like game. But she leeched a little less than yesterday. Left with no work to do, she went to visit Amin (photographer) in the studio to see his portfolio and learnt some photoshop tricks of the trade. She also exchanged some knowledge of getting proper exposures for studio shoots. Later on, she bugged Atiq to teach her how to retouch photos and even learnt about a program called photo stitch that puts together panoramic photos digitally. Lastly, she visited two galleries to see the art exhibition of renowned Bangladeshi painter Zairul Abedin. Now, she is a huge fan and expert curator of his work. It has indeed been a hard day's work for her.
Finally, we want to thank our dear sponsors for making this bulletin possible. The main funder, Mr "Yo!", who commented that when he reads these bulletins, it makes him feel that this presenter is next to him. The positive comments given by super critic & only commenter Mr Soh-Sue-Me have been a great encouragement to the Main Editor & Scriptwriter (Me again). Also, the letters coming from fans have fanned this Editor's urge to write. The crew of Daily Heart sends their warmest thanks to all who have been reading (in between lessons & fyps). We will keep on presenting all the news fit to broadcast for as long as possible.
Yet another slacker leeching Dhaka's precious resources...
Bangla Lesson #3
Abat Decka Hobit - See you later
Seriously... I think I'm a real leech... Bummer like.... Then again... I was always one...
Jess is in the photo library department... And they're really busy cos they are cataloging the entire photo library... Dun get me wrong... They aren't like so busy that they aren't getting time to rest... Tea breaks are a total must in Drik... It's just that they have some work to do... and from what Jess says... it's really really boring... repetitive and mundane... Good point: She gets to see a lot of photos... Not sure if she remembers them though cos i think she seemed a little numb when i visited her....
And what have I been doing?? Yes... that is the question... Ans: Absolutely nothing... Ok... I'm in the publication department... And they haven't been doing anything either... Atiq promised to show me how to maintain digital photos... but he hasn't got any pictures to maintain... He's just checking mail and playing computer games... Reza said he'd let me try to do layout... for a cover of a calendar... but that day, the computers weren't cooperating so he couldn't download the pictures from his thumbdrive...
Normally, when that happens, I'd troop into Multimedia department... Talk to and learn Bangla from Rajib, surf the internet, check my email, maintain my blog, and chat on MSN.... Or, I'd wander around on my own taking pictures of Drik... Finished 2 rolls so far... (guess what.. the developing shop is just outside Pathshala where I stay... and it's Drik property...)
That was what I did today too... But then, I did end up talking to Tutul about the budgeting job he has from Chobi Mela, and to Abir (excellent photographer) about his wife (who came to visit today) and son... Then later on, Abir invited me to go sit in on the fashion shoot at the studio later that day.... While waiting for the models and clients to come, I had the privilege of getting to see Abir's photos... Fantastic work btw...
In one of them, two men were burying a small child who died during a flood..The child was placed on a cane raft, wrapped in burial clothes, and put on the river cos the parents had no dry land to bury the child... That one made me cry... There were others that made me smile... Pictures from a Miss World Pageant that was organised and held in a village... the contestants were the little girls in the village... and there were ppl like Miss Norway, Miss Australia etc... haha! Hilarious... The girls got all dolled up with make up, henna, and saris... very cute...
Then the clients came along... There was this male model who was super confident of himself... (really egotistic)... He looked really good... eye candy like... The outfits really looked quite good on him i must say... But then Topu and I started joking that he didn't really have a lot of poses... always looked the same way and stood the same way... There was this really lovely sari that this female model was wearing... She was quite pretty and that helped it too i guess... (Jess and I decided that we are not going home until we have our own lovely saris... and of cos lots of nice tees from here... really cheap...)
When I got sleepy in the studio, I went to the Gallery... There's a new exhibition that opened today... And the press was there... I was just lingering outside when Topu got me to go in... Before I knew it, the cameraman was filming me looking at the pictures and hearing explanations from Nazrul... Talk about sabo! I think i'm gonna be on the 1030pm news...
Here's the thing... Jess wasn't around much cos she had to do her work at Library... (Dun think she's seen the exhibition yet... and she couldn't stick around much for the photo shoot....) While I had the freedom to roam around the place and see what everyone else was doing.... So, although I didn't really get any work done... For a slacker like myself, I feel I've done quite a bit today... (My sisters are not gonna like this)
But still... Hope I can figure out something for myself to do soon... Before I really rot....
Just a little titbit... No one here calls me Yixin, or Xin, or Gwyneth... Those were way too difficult for them to grasp.... I'm Gwen over here... (No offence to the real Gwen).. and even that's a bit difficult... I get called Gwon or Goan or something equally horrendous.... But everyone remembers Jessica's name... So jealous! haha! Oh well... Just a little gripe...
Abat Decka Hobit!
A Real Humanitarian
I was talking to Shalini, Jess and Shalini's friends after work yesterday... And they were joking about my being a Christian and being very religious... (My not drinking or smoking didn't help one bit...) They even said I would use holy water and the cross to exorcise ghosts and such... I wasn't offended or anything... But I just realized how clueless they were... (fyi... holy water and the crucifix are for catholics.. I'm a protestant... )
Really... Christianity is not about rituals or routines… It is about a relationship and restoration…I dun believe in holy bread or holy water (no offence to my catholic frens)… I dun believe in making a picture or a statue out of my impression of God... Because He is so big! He cannot and would not be fitted into a fixed item... I feel these things are man made….Man's creations... To make us religious and to distract us from having a very personal relationship…. Can the creation really recreate the Creator? I doubt it... Perhaps some can have these symbols around and not be distracted... But that's not me....
I believe God doesn't want us to be distracted from Him… I mean... Which person would like their frens to talk to them routinely… like the conversations I have with the security guard at drik… ami pathshala jabo (i'm going pathshala)…or tomi kamon achen (how are you?)… bhalo achi(i'm good). God is a person… like us… and he wants a lively and interesting conversations with us... like the kind we have with our best friends and loved ones... The most interesting part is... Even if you are not Christian… He still hears you… cos He loves all of us... When you know Him, we are placed at a higher position than angels! (That's biblical btw...)
A relationship with God (I realized) is never boring or routine… but ever changing and interesting…. I really learnt to see more and more of that as I came here... Cos I had more time to talk to Him... And because I am far from home, He is my source of familiarity... Just last night, I (surprisingly), I did not feel homesick... Instead, I felt a joy in being able to feel secure in a foreign place... That security was not by accident... I knew that people at home were praying for me and I too was constantly spending time talking to God... That made all the difference....
But to some, this might be abit over the top... Like it's hard to understand... Then perhaps we can talk about Jesus... The man who was on Earth and did great things... He was known as the Son of God... Not because people said it... But because God from heaven said that this is His Son... In who He is well pleased...
What was Jesus like?
Jessica (the other girl with me in Dhaka) is very interested about helping the less fortunate… She’s quite a human rights activist… Got the humanitarian blood… Many people are like her… But they all dunno that the one person they are emulating is Jesus… the real Human Rights activist…
In the 3 years of Jesus’ ministry… He did everything that NGOs and volunteers attempt to do now for the third world countries or war torn countries: bring food, bring medical care, look for justice. He fed the less fortunate people… like the poor and the widowed and the young… He did not despise anyone, not even the ones that the people themselves despised… except those who were abusing their power… The Pharisees etc… He came to heal the lame, the blind, the sick…. He brought restoration to people who were miserable or discouraged… like counseling… only better…. These incidents were all described in detail in the bible...
And He did even more! He died for us….Took away the consequence of sin… So that for eternity we would be taken cared of too…. Can any NGO promise that? The promise of not having to suffer the consequences of our own wrong doings... I doubt it….
What is most unfair... is that many of these NGOs and volunteer groups are getting the recognition for all they are doing... Yet no one is willing to acknowledge the one who started it all... Instead they just brush Him aside as another religion....
Being a christian is not in anyway an excuse to not do anything for the needy... (Just cos everyone is going to heaven... or wat not)... Instead, it is a discipline to be like Jesus in the way He served people... met their needs physically, emotionally, and spiritually... But rather than take credit for myself for the things that I do... I want Jesus, the one who first loved us and did all this for us, to have all the credit...
Ten little incidents....
Bangla Lesson #2
shovo shokal - good morning
shovo shonda - good afternoon
shovo ratri - good night
et - one
dui - two
tin - three
cha - four
pach - five
choy - six
shat - seven
utt - eight
noy - nine
dosh - ten
I know I said I'd come here to learn things... I had no idea how true it would be when I said that....
et - I just found a little mouse hiding in my room yesterday... Although I didn't scream or anything, I started taking some precautions against the little fella... Like wearing my shoes in the room (so it can't accidentally on purpose bite my feet), locking everything in the metal cabinet (i hope it can't bite thru that) and putting my guitar on the chair (I checked it for bite marks... none so far)...
dui - It's good to have running water... Even better to have hot running water... But when there's no hot water... Just be thankful when you can finish bathing or washing a sock or a mug without having to wait for the pathetic little trickles... I dun even need a shower head anymore... Just figured out the shower yesterday night... before that I was showering from the sink and that was good... Especially when you get spurts of hot water...
tin - Nights here really are quite dodgy... Especially in the crowded dark areas... Have to be on your toes all the time... Cos either everyone is staring at you funny when you jostle with them, or you're afraid of losing your guide in the crowd, or you just might get run over by a rickshaw or a car... Then there's the worry about being mugged cos you're the only asian face around and to some, that might mean... $$... (I'm not sure... But I think i would have been quite a funny sight to some ppl... Imagine a young asian girl walking closely behind an old and shorter Bangladeshi man... clutching her bag with all her strength and having a scowl on her face to ward off muggers... Hilarious!!) Given another chance to walk around at night... I might give it a pass... or just get thru it in a CNG... Or... I could coal my face... and wear a sari...
cha - Whether it's 56K or cable... As long as you have internet connection that is working... Praise God... Then you can finally check your mail... And go online... And blog... And when you're lucky, a certain special someone will email you and totally make your day! =p (...of cos i'm talking about Jess... Her boyfriend is totally sweet... haha...yeah right...)
pach - It would be nice to have a washing machine... And have a good place to hang everything... But, all I ask for now, is a pail to wash my clothes... And some sun so that whatever I wash will actually dry.... Talk about simple pleasures man.... According to Il Mare the movie, it's therapeutic to do laundry... I wouldn't know actually... I haven't started washing the big things cos I've only been here what... 3 days... Plus, I haven't got my pail yet....
choy - Never thought I'd say this... But I would actually like to have something to eat which isn't too salty, too oily or too sweet... Not a chance over here... Everything is too sweet, too salty, too oily... And if they could do it, it'd probably be all three! Either I'm gonna get diabetes, heart disease or high blood pressure... Otherwise, I'd just go back home fat! On top of being completely unrecognisable because I'm darker and when I talk I bob my head from side to side... (That's for you racists out there....) But seriously, there goes the plan of going home stick thin and having nicer arms when I wear my dress for my sister's tiffany inspired wedding.. Gotta figure out a way to eat healthier... (bet my mum's gonna have a lot to say to me when she reads this bit...)
shat - No matter how many times you take a rickshaw... You will always feel like falling off.... It's just the way it is... I decided that rickshaw riders are very skillful and they make sure the wheels dun get into any potholes in the ground... so there's no chance of the thing falling to the side... but you still feel like you might fall... It's also freaky when the cars drive right next to you... or when everyone horns at everyone else... kinda like morse code or something... Still, it's not as bad as China... Where people drive with their hand on the horn... Only stopping to take a breather....
utt - Once you've walked around enough on the roads, you get used to the air looking like there's sand in it that hasn't settled.... For that matter... the sand never settles... Everything has that brown sheen to it... Shalini's grossed out by the dust that gets on her face... I'm grossed out by the black snot that you snuff out of your nose at night... (ok... shall stop with the gross details)
noy - This is the first time I find that jeans and a long sleeved sweater isn't conservative and decent enough.... Need to get a sari or a shawl... So that I can cover myself... It's not really that I think anything is wrong.. But I'm quite attention grabbing i discovered...(like Wu Bin said... It's the first time I'm the centre of attraction to so many men) And it's good for the summer when a sweater would be way too hot for the 35 deg midday sun...
dosh - When you're far away from home, everything that reminds you of home is a good and bad thing... Good thing - It makes you feel an affinity with it... Bad thing - the affinity makes you cry... I spent the whole of last night looking at old videos and pictures of family and friends... It's interesting that little 3x4 pieces of glossy paper with faces on them can have such a great impact on you... (ref. family photos that my sister printed for me...) Huimei made a mistake and burnt me a copy of her birthday video instead of the camp video... But i think that was more fun than the camp video... Cos the Chou Kuan & NIE gang was there too.. There's this picture done by a singaporean here in Drik.. A collage of 9 square pictures taken from singapore... I have to stare at it everytime i walk pass... There's also the good thing about autoroam... I can make and receive calls and sms to Singapore anytime I want... (that's a hint to all lazy bums & utter cheapskates who dun wanna email me... your charge would be singapore rates... it's only when i reply that it's expensive...)
So that's ten things I've learnt so far... I'm sure there are others that I can't recall now... There's also the problem that I can't count beyond ten... will get back with more stuff soon I guess... In the meantime,
"Shovo Shonda!"
A religious exchange...
It was really strange...
I went to visit Peter's church and guess what? It's a Catholic Church and they only speak Bangla!!! Oh man.... I took it as a sort of learning experience... But seriously, I couldn't quite tell the difference between this church and any other religious gathering. Ok, so the building is really nice... It's called the Lady Rosary Church and it has the nativity scene on the outside of the main building... They have pictures of Jesus' resurrection and Noah's ark...
But then, it just looks... Religious... With a huge Jesus' on the cross at the front, with an equally large necklace surrounding the whole thing... The priest seems all high and mighty and powerful with the weird garb... He bows before taking out the holy bread, and he commands when everyone sits, stands, eats bread and all that sort of thing. No one was holding a bible at all, and the worship is... routine... Maybe cos it just sounds like Indian music to me... I dunno, with all that religious rituals, it almost reminded me of the Buddhist rituals and what not... That gave me the creeps...
When I thought about that, God reminded me that I was a sinner... Just like them... No difference... And they were all looking for Him and to Him... The way I was... Guess I should start to be a bit more humble....
There's one thing though... I remembered looking at the grave yard and I saw the grave of a very prominent Father... He wasn't a Bangladeshi... Came to Dhaka in 1933 to be a Father, and died here in 1988... As I looked at his grave, thinking over his 55years here in Dhaka... I wondered what he came here for... What had he hoped to see or achieve? Was he hoping to see a revival of the Church here? What kind of resistance and opposition did he face? And did he die seeing what he came for? Or did he die having regrets? Wondered if he would be happy with what things are today...
I really pray that God will start a revival here in Bangladesh...
First greetings from abroad...
Bangla Lesson #1
"Tomi Kamon Achen" - How are you?
"Ami Bhalo Achi" - I'm good
"Ami Bhalo Nai" - I'm not good
This is the first time I got to use the internet. The one at the place where I stay, network was down... Frustrating... Technically, I start work tomorrow.. But I'm in the office already... Getting to know the people and their names and portfolios... Doesn't look like there's gonna be much work to do soon... Cos they just finished a major project and they are taking a break.. Chobi Mela.. A Photography festival... www.chobimela.org
I had such a long day yesterday that I tot today was the 3rd & I wished my mother happy birthday a day in advance. She had to remind me it was only the 2nd... So brace yourself... cos this is gonna be one long entry...
Arrived here at 3am (Singapore Time), at the Zia International Airport. The arrival was delayed by a few hours because of a stopover at KL... Was doing last minute revisions on the plane (i.e. reading the Bangladesh travel book). Felt really miserable cos my nose was blocked and during the descent I experienced a horrible earache.
That was the least of my worries. That night, I cried as I unpacked. Not the entire time... Just bouts of crying... I was just missing home so bad and feeling really alone... (Also because I was opening presents and gifts given by my family & my entire section who came to send me off! Mark & Ivan gave me a card with Ivan's voucher for a free coffee from starbucks. Valid for 6 months. We're supposed to go back and drink it when I return in June...So sweet right??) Thank God for his presence in the room as I worshipped. And I was comforted after every time I cried... Drik Photo Gallery... http://www.drik.net/ ... The place where I work... It's very cool. Three storeys, but the satellite dish goes much higher up... It's got a studio, several departments (publishing, multimedia, gallery, photo library, and a school Pathshala, where I stay), even got a little cafe called Drik Cafe where everyone goes to drink tea & eat (Best thing, it's discounted for Drik Employees!). The whole place looks really good. The stairs have cool drawings at the steps, there's a lot of excellent photos put up everywhere, and the Gallery is very modern (think a decent fully furbished art gallery in Singapore and you'll know what I mean) . Their work is very very professional.. Even better than a lot of design work in Singapore.
I stay at Pathshala, the photography school set up by Drik founder Shahidul Alam. My room is really nice... red bricked, with two huge windows... A large bed (like super super single)... Desk & Shelves... Huge metal cabinet... Attached toilet & shower... It's way better than Hall 15! It even has an in-house cook, Peter... His cooking is fantastic! When I get to develop my photos, I'll post them up... Think I'll take photos of his food too...(He's a Christian btw, and he's bringing me to his church tonight.. Yay!)
The people are nice too... Both @ Drik & Pathshala... Jess & I have been trying to learn Bangla from them... It's really confusing but they are all very patient... There's Shalini who stays with us at Pathshala... There's hilarious Topu (assistant to Shahidul) who resembles Osama Bin Laden when he wears a Turban... There's the interesting Abir who is a photographer... His work is on the Chobimela website... Then there's Singaporean Wubin who's been here for a month and left last night... There's also the really cute Rajiv who does the website programming... & several others. Most of them are really young! About late 20s to early 30s. But all very creative, motivated and capable people.
But really... It's been all about first time experiences. First time I'm away from home so long, first time I sat in a Bangladeshi rickshaw and felt like i was gonna fall off (the CRG is much more secure), first time I showered halfway and then the water ran out (I prayed and waited and water came back), first time I walked around on the streets experiencing the dust and air pollution and the first time I ate curry and rice with my hands.
Dhaka is a very cool place. It's more than what our society portrays. (Construction workers, people who run around trees, eat curry and hold hands) Their lifestyle is pretty simple. The streets are always so full of bustle, lots of little food hawkers, you can buy anything you need from the supermarkets. Plus, everyone loves going for tea, kinda like the coffee drinking culture back at home... Ok, so there are the young boys peddling chocolates on the streets, beggars who come up to your car to ask for alms, women all wrapped in their saris and cover their head for modesty. But overall, it's very quaint.
Maybe in 6 months, all I would be thinking of is going home...But for now, I believe I'm gonna like it here and I might want to come back again in future... As the Bangladeshis say...
"Ami Bhalo Achi"
