Ekhon ami shusto

Now I'm healthy (ekhon ami shusto). I was fine by yesterday afternoon. I just thought I should let you know.

This morning I ate ruti (flat bread) and dal (curried lentils) for breakfast. My little host nephew Piyash was eating his dal from a little bowl. I said, "Do you like dal Piyash?" He just turned to me with a huge smile and a face covered in dal. He is the cutest little guy. Here's a picture of him with my hat (sans dal).

Ektu oshusto...

It seems about once a month I get ektu oshusto (a little sick). It doesn't involve a fever or vomiting, just some stomach pains and "loose movements". Right now is one of those times. Even though it is not a big problem, the last place I want to be is in Bangladesh. The little everyday annoyances get that much more frustrating. I suppose its just a psychological thing. Last night I went to bed happy and contented ready for a new day. This morning I woke up and went to the latrine twice within the hour. I was feeling better by the time I got to the office so I decided to bike out to the AKB to do some work. By the time I got there the bumpy roads had jostled my aching stomach around and I didn't feel well. I did a bit of work but not as much as I had planned. The bike ride back wasn't fun. My stomach was churning and I only seemed to see the worst side of Bangladesh: open sewers, garbage, big diesel trucks belching at me. So now I'm back at the office, hoping I will feel better soon. I think my Pepto will help.

Some things I'm doing...

I think I should say something about my job, since I left you hanging on my first post in June. My job description is becoming more clear as time moves on. I am a program assistant for REAP (Research Extension and Activities Partners) and that means I can do pretty much anything that tickles my fancy. REAP is an MCC program based in Bogra and currently it has projects on HIV/AIDS education and awareness, peace education, livestock research, agricultural research, and appropriate technology development. So far my work has mostly been with the last two things.

There are 5 bideshis (foreigners) in Bogra including me. Nate and Daniel are engineers for the appropriate technology program. Phil is a socio-economist and Jodi works with the livestock program. Nate, Daniel and Phil are currently living outside Bogra at the new model homestead called Adarsho Kamar Bari (AKB). Basically this is the place where the appropriate technology research happens. I've been doing some work out there with the "living machine". The living machine is basically a method of purifying wastewater by emulating a natural wetland ecosystem. The water passes through a series of aerobic and anaerobic tanks where a whole host of bacteria breakdown the solid waste. The final four tanks are all aerobic (oxygen requiring) and open air. In these, plants and fish can live and help to purify the water. We're still in the early stages, seeing if this will work. I still need to go out and do some tests on the water (pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrates etc.), but today I planted some tomatoes on styrofoam rafts in the water. Hopefully there's enough nitrate and micronutrients in the water for the plants to survive.

I'm also doing some work on an Analog Forestry Data

base. This is basically a lot of research and data inputing. It's far from complete, but you can see it here: mccb.org/analogforestry

I have a few other ideas for urban gardening that I'm planning, but you'll have to wait to hear about that because this post is already too long.

AKB House

Workshop

Living Machine (last 4 tanks)

My tomatoes

Just so you know I'm still completely normal.

Ben

Wisdom from Rock

Those of you who know me may be aware that I enjoy classic rock. Today I was traveling from Bogra to Dhaka and I was listening to Jimi Hendrix on my iPod. Some of the lyrics are trippy and weird, but some of them were really quite profound and seemed to apply to my life. So I thought I'd write a blog about it. I've heard from a bunch of people that they enjoy reading this blog and I kind of like updating it, so here we go.

"A rolling stone gathers no moss."

- Jimi Hendrix from "Highway Chile"

At SALT orientation, we were asked "why are you doing SALT?" and then the follow up, "why are you really, really doing SALT?". It was kind of hard for me to answer as there seemed to be a lot of reasons. However I think I realized that my main reason was because I wanted to experience something new and out of the ordinary. I've enjoyed the past two years at university and have made a bunch of friends that I now miss dearly, but I felt like the more comfortable I got, the more uncomfortable I became, if that makes any sense. I felt the need to do something different. Is this selfish? SALT stands for SERVING and LEARNING TOGETHER. I really truthfully am interested in serving and learning and I hope I am doing that (I already have learned a ton), but I am very thankful for a change of scenery. All that to say I think it's important to be a rolling stone sometimes because if enough moss gathers, you may become stuck. This quote also relates to my spiritual journey over the past few years. I've been trying my best to live an "examined life" of which a big part is my faith. I find it's easy to be bogged down in everything ordinary and everyday and when that happens, I seem to lose sight of what really matters. I feel the need to constantly restate to myself what I believe, and I find that it's always changing.

Well, I hope this rambling was somewhat coherent.

Ben

"Walk on brother, don't let no one stop you."

My Life Flows On

October is almost over, and the past month has seen many changes in my life. I've moved to a new town, started a new job, lived with a new family and set a new routine. Sometimes changes can be overwhelming. I haven't really felt that yet (maybe I'm not easily overwhelmed) but still it hasn't been easy. Before I left Akron, I wrote down one of my favourite hymns in my journal. There are a lot of great ones, but this one I am especially fond of, particularly when many changes are happening around me. I think nowadays hymns don't get the respect they deserve, especially in the younger generation (dang kids). I would take any hymn over contemporary worship music any day. This is a beautiful song. The lyrics are below. The tune is probably familiar to those of you who have spent a significant amount of time in a Mennonite church.

My life flows on in endless song,

Above Earth's lamentation

I catch the sweet, though far off hymn

That hails a new creation.

Refrain

No storm can shake my inmost calm,

While to that rock I'm clinging

Since Love is Lord of heav'n and Earth,

How can I keep from singing?

Through all the tumult and the strife,

I hear that music ringing

It finds an echo in my soul.

How can I keep from singing?

Refrain

What though my joys and comforts die?

The Lord my Saviour liveth

What though the darkness gather round?

Songs in the night he giveth

Refrain

The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,

A fountain ever springing

All things are mine since I am His!

How can I keep from singing?

My New Family

A few days ago I moved in with my new host family. As I mentioned before they are Hindu. The family consists of Swapan (pronounced: Show-pon), his wife Moli, son Piyash and Swapan's mother and father. There are two young men that live with them (though I don't think they're related). The first is named Pintu and he owns a small photo/cellphone top-up shop. I would say he's about 25 years old. The other is also named Swapan and he is a university student. My house is near a river on the outskirts of Bogra in a Hindu community.

It's easy to tell that family is very important in Bangladesh. It is common for parents to live with their sons when they get old. Every relation has a different name in Bangla. For example, there is a different word for your older brother's wife and your younger brother's wife. You don't call your father's older brother the same name as your father's younger brother. In Bangladesh you never call anyone older than you by their first name. I call Swapan Swapan-da where the da is for respect. I call his wife Boudi (older brother's wife). I call his father kaka (uncle) and his mother kaki-ma (auntie). My Bangla teacher gave me a list of all the names for family members and it is one and a half pages long. Hindus and Christians use the same titles but Muslims have an entirely different set. This means a lot of confusion for me.

A couple nights ago I went to kaki-ma's mother's (my didi) house for a birthday celebration. A little boy was turning one and I forget his relation to kaki-ma (maybe great-nephew?). It is a big family and I was introduced to a lot of people and I remember absolutely no names or anyone's title. I hope this doesn't come back to haunt me. Anyway, in Bengali fashion they fed me a lot of food. To start I had pouri (puffy flat bread), shobji torkari (vegetable curry) and dal (lentils). Then I had more. Then I had some mishti (very sweet things made from milk and a lot of sugar). I also had more of that. Then they fed me payes, which is a very sweet, milky rice pudding. Believe it or not I also had a second helping of that. To top it off I was given a Bengali version of Red Bull, called Royal Tiger. By the end of it I was pretty wired. All the food was very good though. I suppose I've been lucky so far. I seem to like everything I've eaten. Except burnt fish paste. That was gross.

I was asked dozens of times "where is your country?" and "are you married?" Standard questions for bideshis (foreigners). In the middle of all this, eating, trying to converse in Bangla between mouthfuls of food, I realized I can never fit in here. It isn't possible for me to be a Bangladeshi. Even if I lived my entire adult life here I would still be a bideshi. However, that doesn't mean I can't try.

Thanksgiving

Another Thanksgiving has passed and I think it is the first in my life that I have not had any kind of celebration. Needless to say, I kind of missed it. I suppose a common Thanksgiving tradition is to say some things you're thankful for, so here goes:

• the opportunity to live in Bangladesh this year
• a new host family (I have not yet moved in)
• an increasing knowledge of Bangla
• friends and family
• my first piece of mail (which I received Thanksgiving Day)
• my first piece of mail (feel free to take the hint)
  

The list could go on, but I think I'll stop it there.

I am still doing language study, now 4 days per week. I've also been getting some Bangla script lessons which is quite interesting. It's funny learning a language from the ground up. I suppose that's what it's like for children, stuttering along with a limited vocabulary. Learning to read again brings back a few distant memories of "sounding it out" and a sense of accomplishment when I can read and understand a big word. Today I read বাংলাদেশ (Bangladesh). Maybe soon I can start on some children's books!

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving.

Ben