Time flies

As of tomorrow I will have been in Bangladesh for one month. It doesn't feel like it's been that long. On Sunday I say goodbye to my host family for the past month. Originally the plan was for me to go up to Bogra next week, however that has changed slightly so instead I will move to Bogra during the first week of October. I will live at the MCC guesthouse in Dhaka for 2 weeks before I head north. I don't have a whole lot to report. I am trying my best to learn Bangla. I've been told by both my teachers that I am a fast learner, so that is encouraging when I still feel somewhat helpless in expressing myself. It's strange going from a country where I can perfectly explain any complex thought or opinion I might have, to a place where it takes concentration to say where I'm from, where I live or what I'm doing in Bangladesh. I did a rough estimate recently and my vocabulary seems to be around 300 words. It'll come.

My day to day life hasn't changed much since my earlier update My Commute. I did take a picture today that I hadn't before. Every morning I walk by freshly slaughtered cows and soon-to-be slaughtered cows on my way to the bus stop.
I apologize to the faint of heart. Lucky for you a rickshawalla walked in front of (most of) the cow being gutted just as I was taking the photo. Today must've been a special day because there were two cows already dead and an unprecedented five waiting in line. Usually there's only 3 or 4 total. Its funny how something so different than what I'm used to can become normal so fast. I don't bat an eye anymore when I see the butcher cutting up a cow in the mud on the side of the road. When you think about it, this is probably more sanitary than the industrial slaughterhouses in Canada. I would imagine when one man kills and cleans an animal by hand there is much less chance of contamination than a mechanized mass killing and cleaning operation. Anyway, enough of that topic.

One last story I want to share. Last night I was sitting up to supper with my family. My host dad Nekbar is a funny guy. He doesn't speak much English so the majority of our conversation is in Bangla. We were having hard-boiled eggs in a curry sauce. Pointing to an egg, he said, "Eta ki?" (what is this?). He likes to test my Bangla, so I replied "Ota dim." (that's an egg.) He said, "Nah, eta murgi har na." (No, it's boneless chicken.) I laughed for a while and it felt good.

Ben

My host family: Nekbar, Laizu and their son Sagar (two years younger than me). They have another son (Shiakat) who is my age and currently at university.