The sun peaked through the clouds today. It's the first time he's shown his face in four days. It's been raining off and on most of the time. I don't really mind though, because the temperatures have been comfortable. I slept with a sheet covering me last night.
The monsoon season is important for Bangladesh. Around 80% of the yearly rainfall comes in these 3 months. However, the monsoon can also bring devastating cyclones and massive floods.
The region of Sylhet has the greatest monsoon in Bangladesh. It is located just south of the Himalayan foothills, so the hot, humid air from the Bay of Bengal rises and condenses right above Sylhet. One year, a town in the region reported a 1 metre rainfall in a 24 hour period! That's crazy! The same town averages 11 metres per year.
A couple weekends ago I was sitting at home reading when it started to rain. I walked out in my room to watch for a bit. Pintu and Bishaw came out of their room and asked me if I wanted to go walk out in the rain with them. I said sure. Wearing only our lungis, we went for a stroll. We walked the length of the dirt road along the river and through a few neighbourhoods I hadn't been to before. We saw a frog. Frog in Bangla is bang. Not quite the same pronunciation as in English though. The ng has a bit of a nasal sound to it. Bishaw said he ate frog once and it tasted like chicken. I agreed with him.
Ben
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Bishoi Kap
I know my last post was about the World Cup, but really this is the event that's defining my life these days, so I thought I'd write about it again. Most of my conversation with my host brothers revolves around football nowadays. Bishaw was disappointed with Germany's loss to Serbia and I was less than impressed with England's lack-luster effort against Algeria (0-0 draw). So far the Brazil and Argentina fans have nothing to complain about, which is, as I mentioned earlier, almost the whole country.
When I last posted the games hadn't begun. I could only speculate on what a World Cup in Bangladesh is like. I had questions like "Why does everyone like Brazil and Argentina?" My own hypothesis was proven wrong when I asked Mokhles. He told me that Bangladeshis love watching flashy, big name players and Brazil and Argentina have had their fair share. Players like Pele, Ronaldo, Kaka, Maradona and Messi are household names.
Near my house is a biggish road with a bunch of shops and stalls. Someone has set up a big white sheet over a billboard and projects the night games here. I was really surprised to see this, but it's great. The power usually goes off at around 8:00 pm (the start time for the second game) but to my even greater surprise, I found that the projector is hooked up to a car battery so we can watch the games when the power is off! These times when the power goes out I would normally spend sitting on a bench outside my house trying to catch a cool breeze. Now I can watch the game.
It's fun watching games with 500+ Bangladeshis. We pretty much clog the road meaning vehicles trying to get through have to constantly lean on their horns (not really abnormal though). I went to the first Brazil game at 12:30 am and there were hundreds of people out even at that hour. They play again tonight at the same time, and I plan on going. I read in the paper that a bunch of people were watching the first Argentina game in Dhaka when the power went out. This sparked a small riot and involved a few torched cars. The government has asked the power companies to try their best to limit load shedding during the matches.
It really is impossible to not be caught up in the excitement surrounding the World Cup. I can't imagine what it's like in South Africa. I've begun making tentative plans for going to Brazil 2014. Who's in?
When I last posted the games hadn't begun. I could only speculate on what a World Cup in Bangladesh is like. I had questions like "Why does everyone like Brazil and Argentina?" My own hypothesis was proven wrong when I asked Mokhles. He told me that Bangladeshis love watching flashy, big name players and Brazil and Argentina have had their fair share. Players like Pele, Ronaldo, Kaka, Maradona and Messi are household names.
Near my house is a biggish road with a bunch of shops and stalls. Someone has set up a big white sheet over a billboard and projects the night games here. I was really surprised to see this, but it's great. The power usually goes off at around 8:00 pm (the start time for the second game) but to my even greater surprise, I found that the projector is hooked up to a car battery so we can watch the games when the power is off! These times when the power goes out I would normally spend sitting on a bench outside my house trying to catch a cool breeze. Now I can watch the game.
It's fun watching games with 500+ Bangladeshis. We pretty much clog the road meaning vehicles trying to get through have to constantly lean on their horns (not really abnormal though). I went to the first Brazil game at 12:30 am and there were hundreds of people out even at that hour. They play again tonight at the same time, and I plan on going. I read in the paper that a bunch of people were watching the first Argentina game in Dhaka when the power went out. This sparked a small riot and involved a few torched cars. The government has asked the power companies to try their best to limit load shedding during the matches.
It really is impossible to not be caught up in the excitement surrounding the World Cup. I can't imagine what it's like in South Africa. I've begun making tentative plans for going to Brazil 2014. Who's in?
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Bangladesh: The unknown South American nation
I am fully aware that Bangladesh is located in South Asia, nestled in India's armpit. However, by walking down the streets nowadays it's easy to forget this. The World Cup is two days away and most of Bangladesh has made their support known. It's basically between Brazil and Argentina, and their flags can be seen everywhere. I honestly don't know why. I heard that the 1998 World Cup was massively followed in Bangladesh, so much so that the millions of TVs crashed the power grid for four days. In that tournament Argentina and Brazil did pretty well, so maybe that's where the support comes from?
There is an Argentinian flag painted on the outside of my house. I assumed everyone in my host family supported Argentina until I took a poll. Kaka, Swapan and Shipon support Argentina; Pintu and Biplob support Brazil, Bishaw supports Germany, Boudi and Kaki-ma do not have a favourite (although their husbands like Argentina) and Piyash didn't understand the question. I have officially given my support to England. I suppose being the lone English speaker in my house I have felt some kinship with the English people. Also, their colours are the same as Canada: red and white.
So for the next few weeks the world is going to have a party. Your country may not be in it, but you can still have fun. Even if you don't watch soccer, pick a team and follow them. You may even get into the spirit of things!
God save the Queen,
Ben
There is an Argentinian flag painted on the outside of my house. I assumed everyone in my host family supported Argentina until I took a poll. Kaka, Swapan and Shipon support Argentina; Pintu and Biplob support Brazil, Bishaw supports Germany, Boudi and Kaki-ma do not have a favourite (although their husbands like Argentina) and Piyash didn't understand the question. I have officially given my support to England. I suppose being the lone English speaker in my house I have felt some kinship with the English people. Also, their colours are the same as Canada: red and white.
So for the next few weeks the world is going to have a party. Your country may not be in it, but you can still have fun. Even if you don't watch soccer, pick a team and follow them. You may even get into the spirit of things!
God save the Queen,
Ben
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Carpe that diem
"Come on, Steve. We've got a diem to carpe!"
"Carpe the diem. Seize the carp."
There probably isn't a Latin phrase that has been more perverted by English speakers than carpe diem. It's OK though; Latin is a dead language, so no one is offended.
Now that we're into June, I've begun to realize how rapidly my time in Bangladesh is winding down. I only have 6 weeks left. In those 6 weeks I have quite a bit to do. I need to bring closure to my work, write some reports and do an end of term evaluation. Now more than ever my thoughts are straying towards home. Over the past 9 months or so, I've been trying my best to focus on the present. Of course, I've thought about home quite a bit. I miss all of you a lot. I think I've done pretty well in taking in Bangladesh and keeping my focus here but it hasn't always been easy.
Carpe diem is a phrase taken from a Latin poem "Odes" by Horace. The whole stanza goes like this:
Latin: carpe diem quam minimum credula postero
English: Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the next
I don't need to trust the next day. All I need to do is trust that God will provide for me. So far I haven't been let down.
"Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary."
Ben
P.S. Try to guess the movies those quotes were taken from. If you give up, look here.
"Carpe the diem. Seize the carp."
There probably isn't a Latin phrase that has been more perverted by English speakers than carpe diem. It's OK though; Latin is a dead language, so no one is offended.
Now that we're into June, I've begun to realize how rapidly my time in Bangladesh is winding down. I only have 6 weeks left. In those 6 weeks I have quite a bit to do. I need to bring closure to my work, write some reports and do an end of term evaluation. Now more than ever my thoughts are straying towards home. Over the past 9 months or so, I've been trying my best to focus on the present. Of course, I've thought about home quite a bit. I miss all of you a lot. I think I've done pretty well in taking in Bangladesh and keeping my focus here but it hasn't always been easy.
Carpe diem is a phrase taken from a Latin poem "Odes" by Horace. The whole stanza goes like this:
Latin: carpe diem quam minimum credula postero
English: Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the next
I don't need to trust the next day. All I need to do is trust that God will provide for me. So far I haven't been let down.
"Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary."
Ben
P.S. Try to guess the movies those quotes were taken from. If you give up, look here.
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