After being home for almost 5 days now, and still exhausted, I think I finally mustered enough energy to finish this segment of the blog.
On Thursday we had a pretty lazy day around the neighborhood. We tied up some lose ends in our work before heading to a speech from a Bangladeshi member of the WHO on arsenicosis, a growing problem in Bangladesh. That evening we had our final class and spent the night devouring the prized meal of Pasta Alfredo that a few of us splurged on. After dinner we played a ton of cards, and it was a lot of fun.
Friday was a very busy day. 10 of us decided to take a van back to the part of Dhaka with the NGO stores we had been to before. We left at 9 in the morning, got to the first store 20 minutes before it opened, and we were all shopped out and home by 3 in the afternoon. I went back to the art store to try and get the paintings I had negotiated on a week prior, but it was closed. I got the cellphone number of the owner from the neighboring shop, but he wasn't opening until later in the afternoon, after we had to be back to the house. It was funny, he called me that afternoon asking me if I was going to come and buy the paintings. However, I told him I couldn't make it back out there and he missed his chance. Guess it wasn't meant to be for me to buy the paintings, oh well. I did treat myself to a nice watercolor of some rickshaws instead. I finished up on some last minute items at the NGOs and them relaxed for the rest of the journey.
The reason we had to be home so early that afternoon was because IUBAT was throwing a reception for us that evening and all of the girls would need time to put on and perfect their Sarees. I would be attending in a traditional Panjabi which takes all of 2 minutes to get on. The reception was so beautiful! Outside the university a massive bamboo tent was erected in the courtyard. The frame was draped with lovely white fabric, flowers, Christmas lights everywhere, and a ton of tables of chairs. At the front of the tent, behind the stage was a giant poster with a greater than life size photo of our group. Which was taken the afternoon I was admitted to the ICDDR,B. You can imagine how nice I looked in that photo. Not only was this photo used for this giant poster (it came home with us), but it was also plastered all around the school on fliers announcing the reception. The tent quickly filled with people and I estimated that there was probably around 500 people. After some wonderful speeches from Rycki, Tenylle, and some of the IUBAT faculty as well as a singing of our national anthems, ours by us and the Bangla anthem by a few IUBAT students, it was time for the culture.
Now, we had heard about this reception before hand and were aware that it was being followed by a "Cultural Event." However, we were not enlightened at all as to what this cultural event would contain. But, we were to provide something for the event to signify American culture. It started off with multiple Bangladeshi songs and dances from their students. All of them were so wonderfully entertaining and it made our planned event seem a little dull. Not knowing beforehand what to expect or what to do for our portion of the event, we decided to use the videos we had previously recorded of our home lives to create a quick movie to show where we came from. The video was fine and it held people's attentions, mostly due to the images of snow I'm sure, but we knew that something else needed to be done. So in the spur of the moment and with some luck in the fact that I randomly had my iPod with me, we invited as many people as possible to come on stage with us and dance/sing to an American classic: Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus. It was a complete success, and made us feel a lot less boring.
Shortly after, the night came to a close and it was time to go to the Vice Chancellor's home for a wonderful dinner. He and his wife were some welcoming and had a beautiful home. The Canadian volunteer teachers came with us as well as a few of the IUBAT staff. The dinner was served on the rooftop terrace and was so serene that I almost forgot I was in Dhaka. It was such a terrific night filled with good food, great conversation, and even better company. Like all things though, it had to come to an end, and it was time to head home.
Saturday morning was filled with packing, running some last minute errands, visiting the orphanage one more time to drop off more gifts, and then having one last group lunch before our evening out. It was a sad day. I just wasn't ready to leave our life there that had just started. It was hard for me to go from Australia, where I lived there for nearly 5 months and had so much time, to Bangladesh where I was only visiting for just over two weeks and was barely able to scratch the surface. Everything I saw and did was so amazing and I had the move wonderful time. Everyone we met was so willing to bend over backwards for us and be so incredibly hospitable.
All of the citizens were so helpful and so interested, I felt so welcomed. While it was so hard to have to come home when I was just getting comfortable, I knew it must be done. While I know I will return at some point and put my time and efforts into bettering the country, or a country like it, it was still hard to leave without leaving a real mark. Everything about the trip was perfect. Our group was fun, meshed well, and made me laugh all of the time. Rycki gave us the perfect amount of guidance while also letting us branch out and explore. The IUBAT students were so generous in helping us learn the area and inviting us into their homes. While I was taking my last rickshaw ride back to our house to await the bus that would take us to the airport, I took a deep breath of that smoggy Dhaka air, looked around me, and smiled; knowing that I had a wonderful time on the trip and couldn't wait for my return.
Bangladesh will always hold a special place in my heart.
Thank you as always for reading, and until my next big adventure... stay well!
Love and miss you all!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Just a Few Days Left
After a wonderful weekend of relaxation in Matlab, it was time to get back to some hard work in Dhaka. On Monday morning we started our Windshield Assessments of the local community. They are called windshield assessments because they are usually done in cars by just observing. However, we're taking it a step further and interviewing some of the locals. We are interested in finding out the health of our surrounding community, their access to health, and any other social issues that can hinder/impede access to health. It was a really fun activity and nice to get out into the community and chat with the locals. We had a few students with us in our groups to help with translation. It was so fun to get out and learn about where the closest hospital is, what the pharmacies are like (usually in a shack), what types of jobs people hold, and where the kids go to school. That afternoon we had a lecture on Tropical medicine from a nurse who works with Doctors Without Borders. It was very interesting and got me excited for doing some travel nursing, especially international travel nursing.
On Tuesday we traveled north of the city to GK which is an NGO hospital. The hospital has so many good things going for it: they have trade teachings for women, their own publishing room to publish health books in Bangla, a med school, a pharmaceutical factory, and they are building a huge cancer institute and a new med school. There are plans to also start a nursing school. It all seems like such a wonderful program, and is benefiting the poor and the general public.
This morning we finished our windshield surveys... we went around asking more questions and finding out more information than we had the day before. It was also refreshing to find out more about the daily lives of those around us. For so much of this trip we have been making excursions to various hospitals and facilities, which has been nice. But there seemed to be a connection with the general public that was lacking. This activity has provided us with that connection, and it has been so wonderful. The Bangladeshi people are so strong-willed and good-natured, that this assignment has been a piece of cake.
Ok, that has been our goings on for the last few days, but here are some things in my daily life here that deserve being told.
The roads here are incredibly crazy. I am pretty sure I have talked about this before, but it may need reinforcing. The roads here, for some unknown reason, all have lines painted on them. Now, I have no idea why there are lines painted on the roads because no one follows them. It is one giant mess of cars, busses, rickshaws, and motorcycles. Everyone drives where they wish to gain the biggest advantage in the constant traffic jam that is Dhaka. While driving around you can switch “lanes” upwards of 50 times in a minute. Now, at peak traffic volume, the roads usually become one-way streets. A 2 lane highway can become a 4 lane highway (by use of the shoulders) and usually only goes in the direction that the majority of the traffic is going in. This is all well and good… if you are going with the traffic. If you are going against traffic (which means you are driving in the shoulder, or further away from the road) you have to forge your way against the hoard and make a path for yourself. This can be pretty harrowing at 40mph. Usually, a path is established and there is enough room for you to go against the grain. But there is that idiot that thinks it’s okay to pass two busses on a bridge with a curve before it. The only solution? Close your eyes. Luckily I haven’t died yet.
Public transport is my next topic. The busses here are insane. I have yet to take one, and probably won’t, but here is what I know of them. First of all, they are all scarred up and down the sides from constant bumping and scraping with other vehicles. Second, they are always full. So full in fact, that some people ride on top of the bus. I saw one bus with around 10 people riding on the top. Now, maybe this is because they can’t afford to pay the fare, but I have a feeling they did pay the fare and there just wasn’t any room for them on the inside. The plus side of this is that it would be much cooler for those times when you will get stuck in traffic. Lastly, none of the buses have any signage signifying where they are headed. You have to wait at a designated stop (where these are, I have no clue) and yell your desired destination at the bus helper when the bus comes rolling by. I say rolling because the busses rarely stop. God forbid they lose their spot in the traffic. The bus helper is a guy who hangs out of the doors and yells back and forth from to the prospective passengers where the bus is going. He is also in charge of collecting fares, because clearly the driver is putting all of his energy into cutting off other members of traffic.
That seems like a good update for now, I’ll hopefully add some more in the next day or two.
Hope all is well at home!
Love and miss you all!
On Tuesday we traveled north of the city to GK which is an NGO hospital. The hospital has so many good things going for it: they have trade teachings for women, their own publishing room to publish health books in Bangla, a med school, a pharmaceutical factory, and they are building a huge cancer institute and a new med school. There are plans to also start a nursing school. It all seems like such a wonderful program, and is benefiting the poor and the general public.
This morning we finished our windshield surveys... we went around asking more questions and finding out more information than we had the day before. It was also refreshing to find out more about the daily lives of those around us. For so much of this trip we have been making excursions to various hospitals and facilities, which has been nice. But there seemed to be a connection with the general public that was lacking. This activity has provided us with that connection, and it has been so wonderful. The Bangladeshi people are so strong-willed and good-natured, that this assignment has been a piece of cake.
Ok, that has been our goings on for the last few days, but here are some things in my daily life here that deserve being told.
The roads here are incredibly crazy. I am pretty sure I have talked about this before, but it may need reinforcing. The roads here, for some unknown reason, all have lines painted on them. Now, I have no idea why there are lines painted on the roads because no one follows them. It is one giant mess of cars, busses, rickshaws, and motorcycles. Everyone drives where they wish to gain the biggest advantage in the constant traffic jam that is Dhaka. While driving around you can switch “lanes” upwards of 50 times in a minute. Now, at peak traffic volume, the roads usually become one-way streets. A 2 lane highway can become a 4 lane highway (by use of the shoulders) and usually only goes in the direction that the majority of the traffic is going in. This is all well and good… if you are going with the traffic. If you are going against traffic (which means you are driving in the shoulder, or further away from the road) you have to forge your way against the hoard and make a path for yourself. This can be pretty harrowing at 40mph. Usually, a path is established and there is enough room for you to go against the grain. But there is that idiot that thinks it’s okay to pass two busses on a bridge with a curve before it. The only solution? Close your eyes. Luckily I haven’t died yet.
Public transport is my next topic. The busses here are insane. I have yet to take one, and probably won’t, but here is what I know of them. First of all, they are all scarred up and down the sides from constant bumping and scraping with other vehicles. Second, they are always full. So full in fact, that some people ride on top of the bus. I saw one bus with around 10 people riding on the top. Now, maybe this is because they can’t afford to pay the fare, but I have a feeling they did pay the fare and there just wasn’t any room for them on the inside. The plus side of this is that it would be much cooler for those times when you will get stuck in traffic. Lastly, none of the buses have any signage signifying where they are headed. You have to wait at a designated stop (where these are, I have no clue) and yell your desired destination at the bus helper when the bus comes rolling by. I say rolling because the busses rarely stop. God forbid they lose their spot in the traffic. The bus helper is a guy who hangs out of the doors and yells back and forth from to the prospective passengers where the bus is going. He is also in charge of collecting fares, because clearly the driver is putting all of his energy into cutting off other members of traffic.
That seems like a good update for now, I’ll hopefully add some more in the next day or two.
Hope all is well at home!
Love and miss you all!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Some Much Needed R&R
This entry was written on Sunday the 7th... although I'm just posting it now. Enjoy!
The trip to Matlab was just incredible. The drive out took about 4 hours. We were originally told it would only be three hours and then we got in the car and our driver told us that it would probably be closer to 5, so 4 hours seemed pretty reasonable. Up until now, we pretty much haven’t left Dhaka. It was so nice to get out of the intense hustle and bustle of the city and our into the countryside. After about 2 hours of city traffic in Dhaka, we finally made it to the countryside. From here there was a larger 4 lane highway that took us over large rivers, through small villages, past many rice fields, and to the only road into Matlab. This road was about one lane wide and was made around all of the different rice fields. All of these rice fields are square though, so this road that we were on for an hour had probably one-hundred 90Degree turns. Our driver, Munna, clearly took these corners at a pretty good clip and there were a few gasps here and there. Aside from the crazy turns in the road every 20-100 yards, there were also many other vehicles to avoid. There were huge buses, cars, auto-rickshaws, rickshaws, tractors, and people. Watching our van pass a huge coach bus, with one inch to spare in between, and on an incredibly narrow road, was pretty scary. At the end of the trip though, we learned to not look out the front window and pay as little attention as possible.
When we finally arrived into the town of Matlab, and to the ICDDR,B, it was like an oasis. Of course when we got there they had no idea that we were coming, even though as far as we knew… everything was planned. While Rycki and the staff negotiated our accommodations, I found a bench located in the perfect spot under some palm trees and overlooking the rice fields. It was so serene and the breeze that was blowing was just perfect. One by one everyone else came to join me until we finally had our rooms set up. Early that afternoon we got a tour of the facility from the director. The facility was really impressive and they do a lot for the residents of Matlab and the surrounding areas. As well as dealing with diarrheal diseases, the hospital also works with pregnant mothers, post-partum mothers, and has an area for preterm babies where they use kangaroo care as the main therapy to help them thrive. Overall, I was very impressed. After the tour Rycki gave us the afternoon off and I went straight back to my bench to chill out until dinner. Watching the sun set over the rice fields, and breathing in the fresh, clean, country air was so relaxing. Before dinner I went to take a shower in my room… with HOT water! I was so excited. Up until now we’ve had cold water to shower with. If you take a shower in the end of the afternoon the water is the warmest, as it’s been heated in the tank on the roof by the sun. However, it will never come as close to being as hot as the water in Matlab. It was amazing.
Today we had breakfast and then a quick class to go over the readings we had assigned for today. After we finished class we had a few hours before lunch and the trek home. We decided to take a stroll around the town. Now, we’re pretty used to people staring at us because of our skin color, but I’m sure Matlab sees far less that Dhaka does. Thus, we were quite the distraction to anyone in the town. We had a huge group of people following us around. The brave ones who speak English would even come up to us to say hi. One guy from the school was very intrigued with me (men are regarded highly here) and wanted to chat as long as possible. After we left the area of the school another guy wanted to chat with me and he walked all around with us until we decided to take a quick boat ride. It was so hot and we were all so sweaty that we decided a quick boat ride on the river in a large canoe-like boat would be a great way to cool off. After a brief tour of the river we made it back to shore. Thankfully the huge crowd that had followed us had dispersed, and it was a bit easier for us to walk back to the ICDDR,B. I, yet again, spent some time on my bench before enjoying a wonderful lunch with the tastiest chicken. After lunch we packed up, piled into the smoldering hot vans, and then began our adventure home. I only feared my life a few times on the way back. We’re now back at the house and dinner just arrived, so I better run and enjoy that.
Hope all is well at home!
Love and miss you all!
The trip to Matlab was just incredible. The drive out took about 4 hours. We were originally told it would only be three hours and then we got in the car and our driver told us that it would probably be closer to 5, so 4 hours seemed pretty reasonable. Up until now, we pretty much haven’t left Dhaka. It was so nice to get out of the intense hustle and bustle of the city and our into the countryside. After about 2 hours of city traffic in Dhaka, we finally made it to the countryside. From here there was a larger 4 lane highway that took us over large rivers, through small villages, past many rice fields, and to the only road into Matlab. This road was about one lane wide and was made around all of the different rice fields. All of these rice fields are square though, so this road that we were on for an hour had probably one-hundred 90Degree turns. Our driver, Munna, clearly took these corners at a pretty good clip and there were a few gasps here and there. Aside from the crazy turns in the road every 20-100 yards, there were also many other vehicles to avoid. There were huge buses, cars, auto-rickshaws, rickshaws, tractors, and people. Watching our van pass a huge coach bus, with one inch to spare in between, and on an incredibly narrow road, was pretty scary. At the end of the trip though, we learned to not look out the front window and pay as little attention as possible.
When we finally arrived into the town of Matlab, and to the ICDDR,B, it was like an oasis. Of course when we got there they had no idea that we were coming, even though as far as we knew… everything was planned. While Rycki and the staff negotiated our accommodations, I found a bench located in the perfect spot under some palm trees and overlooking the rice fields. It was so serene and the breeze that was blowing was just perfect. One by one everyone else came to join me until we finally had our rooms set up. Early that afternoon we got a tour of the facility from the director. The facility was really impressive and they do a lot for the residents of Matlab and the surrounding areas. As well as dealing with diarrheal diseases, the hospital also works with pregnant mothers, post-partum mothers, and has an area for preterm babies where they use kangaroo care as the main therapy to help them thrive. Overall, I was very impressed. After the tour Rycki gave us the afternoon off and I went straight back to my bench to chill out until dinner. Watching the sun set over the rice fields, and breathing in the fresh, clean, country air was so relaxing. Before dinner I went to take a shower in my room… with HOT water! I was so excited. Up until now we’ve had cold water to shower with. If you take a shower in the end of the afternoon the water is the warmest, as it’s been heated in the tank on the roof by the sun. However, it will never come as close to being as hot as the water in Matlab. It was amazing.
Today we had breakfast and then a quick class to go over the readings we had assigned for today. After we finished class we had a few hours before lunch and the trek home. We decided to take a stroll around the town. Now, we’re pretty used to people staring at us because of our skin color, but I’m sure Matlab sees far less that Dhaka does. Thus, we were quite the distraction to anyone in the town. We had a huge group of people following us around. The brave ones who speak English would even come up to us to say hi. One guy from the school was very intrigued with me (men are regarded highly here) and wanted to chat as long as possible. After we left the area of the school another guy wanted to chat with me and he walked all around with us until we decided to take a quick boat ride. It was so hot and we were all so sweaty that we decided a quick boat ride on the river in a large canoe-like boat would be a great way to cool off. After a brief tour of the river we made it back to shore. Thankfully the huge crowd that had followed us had dispersed, and it was a bit easier for us to walk back to the ICDDR,B. I, yet again, spent some time on my bench before enjoying a wonderful lunch with the tastiest chicken. After lunch we packed up, piled into the smoldering hot vans, and then began our adventure home. I only feared my life a few times on the way back. We’re now back at the house and dinner just arrived, so I better run and enjoy that.
Hope all is well at home!
Love and miss you all!
Some Retail Therapy Always Does the Trick
This is an entry that I had typed and saved for when I actually had some internet.
It's from Friday the 5th.
Today we had our crazy van drivers rush us around the city at top speeds, swerving in and out of traffic, and narrowly avoiding multiple collisions. This morning we were driven out of the city a ways to the Center for Women’s and Child’s Health. This facility was really amazing. When we arrived, the sweetest little lady greeted us. She has been the director of nursing at the facility since it started around 7 years ago. She gave us a wonderful tour of the hospital; showing us all of the specialty areas (gynecology, pediatrics, eye doctor, dentist, laboratory, and the operating room.) The hospital is very impressive because anyone who comes to the hospital for treatment is given treatment regardless of if they can pay or not. The hospital has also been planning and raising money to build a 500 bed hospital and also a college of nursing on their grounds behind their current facility. Everything was very impressive. The work they are doing there is amazing, and they are just growing so rapidly.
After a quick lunch at the hospital we traveled to a few NGO stores closer to the center of Dhaka. We did a ton of shopping at a store called Aarong where almost all of the goods are hand made by Bangladeshis and the profits all go back to the villages. It’s such a good program, and the goods are all wonderful and cheap. It’s quite the win-win. We rounded out the afternoon with a few more stores, most of which being NGOs with the same philosophy. The sad part of the afternoon was when I went to an art store and was going to buy two original canvas prints. I had talked the shop keeper down to 2/3 of the original cost and then had to run to the ATM to get money. While I knew I had enough funds to cover the paintings, I decided to check my balance on the ATM anyway. It was a huge surprise when the ATM told me I had the equivalent of $16 dollars in Taka… when I should have had so much more. After a phone call to my darling mother at 5:45am (sorry, Mom!) it was all sorted that I did indeed have the amount of money I thought I had. Sadly, this wasn’t figured out until after I had gone up to the shop keeper and told him my story (when I still thought someone made fraudulent charges on my account) and that I wouldn’t be buying the paintings. He was pretty upset… especially since he had already wrapped them up. I told him I was incredibly sorry and that when I had everything sorted out, I would go back and buy them. So providing I can find my way back there, and I can actually use the money I really have, I’ll buy the paintings. They are really nice and I was getting a HUGE deal.
All is well here. We leave for Matlab tomorrow to go to the ICDDR,B research post. It should be a fun trip. It is a 3 hour drive, but we will have our psycho drivers back with us… so I imagine we’ll get there in no time at all.
Hope all is well at home!
Love and miss you all!
It's from Friday the 5th.
Today we had our crazy van drivers rush us around the city at top speeds, swerving in and out of traffic, and narrowly avoiding multiple collisions. This morning we were driven out of the city a ways to the Center for Women’s and Child’s Health. This facility was really amazing. When we arrived, the sweetest little lady greeted us. She has been the director of nursing at the facility since it started around 7 years ago. She gave us a wonderful tour of the hospital; showing us all of the specialty areas (gynecology, pediatrics, eye doctor, dentist, laboratory, and the operating room.) The hospital is very impressive because anyone who comes to the hospital for treatment is given treatment regardless of if they can pay or not. The hospital has also been planning and raising money to build a 500 bed hospital and also a college of nursing on their grounds behind their current facility. Everything was very impressive. The work they are doing there is amazing, and they are just growing so rapidly.
After a quick lunch at the hospital we traveled to a few NGO stores closer to the center of Dhaka. We did a ton of shopping at a store called Aarong where almost all of the goods are hand made by Bangladeshis and the profits all go back to the villages. It’s such a good program, and the goods are all wonderful and cheap. It’s quite the win-win. We rounded out the afternoon with a few more stores, most of which being NGOs with the same philosophy. The sad part of the afternoon was when I went to an art store and was going to buy two original canvas prints. I had talked the shop keeper down to 2/3 of the original cost and then had to run to the ATM to get money. While I knew I had enough funds to cover the paintings, I decided to check my balance on the ATM anyway. It was a huge surprise when the ATM told me I had the equivalent of $16 dollars in Taka… when I should have had so much more. After a phone call to my darling mother at 5:45am (sorry, Mom!) it was all sorted that I did indeed have the amount of money I thought I had. Sadly, this wasn’t figured out until after I had gone up to the shop keeper and told him my story (when I still thought someone made fraudulent charges on my account) and that I wouldn’t be buying the paintings. He was pretty upset… especially since he had already wrapped them up. I told him I was incredibly sorry and that when I had everything sorted out, I would go back and buy them. So providing I can find my way back there, and I can actually use the money I really have, I’ll buy the paintings. They are really nice and I was getting a HUGE deal.
All is well here. We leave for Matlab tomorrow to go to the ICDDR,B research post. It should be a fun trip. It is a 3 hour drive, but we will have our psycho drivers back with us… so I imagine we’ll get there in no time at all.
Hope all is well at home!
Love and miss you all!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
A few Tidbits
I wanted to write about all of the little nuances of Dhaka that we are becoming quite familiar with in our lives here. The first of which, being the constant honking/beeping. Now usually when you are in a city there is some honking, but it basically goes in your brain as background noise. However, in Dhaka you have to pay very good attention to these beeps and honks... especially the proximity to your body. The reason these sounds are so important, is because they are alerting you to potential death. The louder and closer the beeps are, the more imminent death is from being runover by a rickshaw, taxi, car, or bus.
The walk from our apartments to the university is a 10 minute walk through a little village behind our house. This village is slowly becoming encroached upon by the constant construction that is occuring. Dhaka is growing at an alarming rate, and because of which, there is construction everywhere to build new apartment complexes. Sadly, the small villages around the edge of Dhaka (like the one behind our house) are all being build over. While it's sad to see the homes of so many be forever taken away, it is nice to see the villagers on our walks. We can't do the walk without having been said to 'Hi' to by no less than 10 children. They are all so eager to run up to us, say Hi, ask our names or how we are, and then run away when we reply. It's so cute. It also shows that kids have no inhibition. Rarely does an adult come up to us and say hi. It happens, but not as much as it does with the kids. They are so raw and so full of life that they'll drop whatever game they are playing to come say hi to us. This energy then spreads to their parents, who then will give us a smile, say hi, or ask for a picture to be taken. My ten minute walk home from the university took me nearly half an hour the other day because a friend and I stopped for a mini photo-shoot with the children. I got some great shots, can't wait to post them.
Another daily occurence is the famous "rolling blackout." Everywhere in Dhaka has 4 hours per day without electricity, in four one-hour increments. Usually this wouldn't be a big deal for me. Lately though, the afternoon blackout has been occuring RIGHT after I finally got my webmail to load. Or, in today's case, right in the middle of this blog entry. Luckily BlogSpot has an autosave feature that saves every minute or so. The next blackout after the afternoon blackout comes right before dinner arrives. We have become very proficient in setting the table by candle light, and also learning to set it before the power goes out at 10 to 7 every night. Aside from there not being any lights or internet, there are also no fans. We live underneath fans whenever possible, and when they don't work... we get grumpy. It is so hot and humid here that even 5 minutes without some airflow is just miserable. We all cry an intense sigh of relief when the power comes back on and the fans start turning again.
Okay, that's enough of the small facts on Dhaka... let's get back to what I've been doing. Yesterday we had a very lazy day. Our morning activity had been cancelled, and all we had to do in the afternoon was go to a lecture with the IUBAT students put on by our professor. The lecture was nice and it was great to learn and collaborate with the IUBAT students... until the power went out, and the fans went dead. I was then miserable. Thankfully the generator decided to work that day at the university, and the fans shortly started spinning their way back into my heart. After the lecture I tried to do some interneting, but of course those efforts were wrecked when the power went out.
Today we drove an hour south of Dhaka to the CRB which is the Center for the Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed. The CRB started 30 years ago with 4 patients by an English mother of a paraplegic daughter. Now they have grown to over 100 beds and include many services like Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Vocational Training, surgery, and general rehabilitation. It was such a nice facility and it was wonderful to tour their grounds. The idea of having all of those specialties in one location and being able to serve people with such a wide array of needs was just amazing. I had an excellent time and am very impressed with their work.
I'm not sure if I'll be able to post for a while after this one. Tomorrow (Friday) we are headed to the Child and Womens Health Center in the morning and then doing som shopping in the afternoon. I don't know if I'll be back in time to use the internet. On Saturday we are traveling to a small village called Matlab where the ICDDR,B has a compound and has been doing continuous studies of the population for something like 20 years. We will be doing an overnight there so I probably won't be able to do another post until Sunday.
Hope all is well at home!
Miss and love you all!
The walk from our apartments to the university is a 10 minute walk through a little village behind our house. This village is slowly becoming encroached upon by the constant construction that is occuring. Dhaka is growing at an alarming rate, and because of which, there is construction everywhere to build new apartment complexes. Sadly, the small villages around the edge of Dhaka (like the one behind our house) are all being build over. While it's sad to see the homes of so many be forever taken away, it is nice to see the villagers on our walks. We can't do the walk without having been said to 'Hi' to by no less than 10 children. They are all so eager to run up to us, say Hi, ask our names or how we are, and then run away when we reply. It's so cute. It also shows that kids have no inhibition. Rarely does an adult come up to us and say hi. It happens, but not as much as it does with the kids. They are so raw and so full of life that they'll drop whatever game they are playing to come say hi to us. This energy then spreads to their parents, who then will give us a smile, say hi, or ask for a picture to be taken. My ten minute walk home from the university took me nearly half an hour the other day because a friend and I stopped for a mini photo-shoot with the children. I got some great shots, can't wait to post them.
Another daily occurence is the famous "rolling blackout." Everywhere in Dhaka has 4 hours per day without electricity, in four one-hour increments. Usually this wouldn't be a big deal for me. Lately though, the afternoon blackout has been occuring RIGHT after I finally got my webmail to load. Or, in today's case, right in the middle of this blog entry. Luckily BlogSpot has an autosave feature that saves every minute or so. The next blackout after the afternoon blackout comes right before dinner arrives. We have become very proficient in setting the table by candle light, and also learning to set it before the power goes out at 10 to 7 every night. Aside from there not being any lights or internet, there are also no fans. We live underneath fans whenever possible, and when they don't work... we get grumpy. It is so hot and humid here that even 5 minutes without some airflow is just miserable. We all cry an intense sigh of relief when the power comes back on and the fans start turning again.
Okay, that's enough of the small facts on Dhaka... let's get back to what I've been doing. Yesterday we had a very lazy day. Our morning activity had been cancelled, and all we had to do in the afternoon was go to a lecture with the IUBAT students put on by our professor. The lecture was nice and it was great to learn and collaborate with the IUBAT students... until the power went out, and the fans went dead. I was then miserable. Thankfully the generator decided to work that day at the university, and the fans shortly started spinning their way back into my heart. After the lecture I tried to do some interneting, but of course those efforts were wrecked when the power went out.
Today we drove an hour south of Dhaka to the CRB which is the Center for the Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed. The CRB started 30 years ago with 4 patients by an English mother of a paraplegic daughter. Now they have grown to over 100 beds and include many services like Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Vocational Training, surgery, and general rehabilitation. It was such a nice facility and it was wonderful to tour their grounds. The idea of having all of those specialties in one location and being able to serve people with such a wide array of needs was just amazing. I had an excellent time and am very impressed with their work.
I'm not sure if I'll be able to post for a while after this one. Tomorrow (Friday) we are headed to the Child and Womens Health Center in the morning and then doing som shopping in the afternoon. I don't know if I'll be back in time to use the internet. On Saturday we are traveling to a small village called Matlab where the ICDDR,B has a compound and has been doing continuous studies of the population for something like 20 years. We will be doing an overnight there so I probably won't be able to do another post until Sunday.
Hope all is well at home!
Miss and love you all!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Oh, The Irony...
Yesterday we had a trip planned to the ICDDR,B which stands for the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research of Bangladesh. This center is the best hospital in the world to deal with diarrhea problems. Now, the title of this blog is tied directly to this hospital, as I had received a wonderful bout of diarrhea the night before our trip. After a 2 hours bus ride in stand still traffic (should have taken 45 minutes) the exhaust fumes had gotten to me and made me feel quite sick. After a quick introduction from the hospital's leaders in their conference room, we then were lead on a tour of the hospital. Now, if one is suffering from diarrhea, walking through a room full of diarrhea illnesses and breathing in the wonderful aromas really doesn't help. After a few minutes in the wards I needed to QUICKLY use the bathroom. Now, this is interesting in another way because I was also forced to use an eastern style bathroom. Which is basically a hole in the ground. I'll spare you from the details, but I did a very good job, if I do say so myself. As I caught back up with the group, we had to walk back through the ward. After about 2.5 seconds I realized that I was probably going to throw up, so me and our masters level teachers assistant went outside so I could get some air and sit down. The chief nurse (who was leading the tour) brought me some rice water to drink. Rice water is basically the savior for anyone with severe diarrhea. I am not sure how they make rice water, but I'm pretty sure they just boil rice in a ton of water until it becomes a liquid. So essentially it's liquefied rice. Not the best of tastes.
After a glass of rice water and sitting down for 20 minutes, I felt ready to make it back up to the conference room for lunch. I had a tiny bit of lunch while watching everyone else eat, and then we made our way down to get a tour of another part of the hospital. But of course, we had to walk through the wards. After a few seconds I knew that I was immediately going to lose what little lunch I had just eaten. I told the chief nurse and he threw me into this room (apparently the ICU), sat me down, and instantly gave me a bowl to... "use." Now this bowl was perfect, until it was full. Then they removed this bowl from the top of the bucket that it was covering. This bucket was under a bed in the ICU. These beds have holes in the middle with sleeve things that lead down into buckets. Holes, sleeves, and buckets for diarrhea. I was now throwing up into a bucket with diarrhea in the bottom. You tell me if you would start throwing up more. I finally got a new bucket, as well as a shot of an anti emetic (prevents vomiting) and then was rushed off to some special observation room that was empty. At this point, everyone else went on the rest of the tour and I laid in bed with a fresh cup of rice water and 6 people looking after me. I am pretty sure that because I was American, everyone was trying to give me the best care possible. After an hour or so, when everyone was done with the second tour, a doctor came in to see me and said I would be fine but that he wanted me to stay a few hours for observation. If I stayed, the group would have gone home and my instructor would have stayed with me until I was good to go. Knowing that we had a ton of nursing supplies in our house, and that all I was to do was sleep... I decided to leave the hospital AMA and go home with everyone else. Don't you worry though, I am feeling much better now. How lucky for me though, that my first experience with traveler's diarrhea would be while I was at the world's best diarrhea treatment hospital. The staff at the hospital was so accommodating and it was just wonderful.
After we got back to the house we had dinner (I had white rice) and then we had our evening class going over the day and some readings we had done. Today we spent the morning at a local orphanage called Families for Children, a Canadian group. It was so nice to go, get a tour of the facilities, and hang out with such cute kids for a few hours. Now, this is my first orphanage that I've been to, but I was told that this was a nice one. The kids all seemed happy, and cared for. They also have the only program for abandoned children with special needs. It was nice to see the orphanage, play and sing with the kids, and hopefully brighten their days.
This afternoon we all got lunch an then did a bit of shopping. I decided that I would like a three-piece suit, as I don't have one. So we stopped into a tailor, I got measured, I picked out my suit and fabric, and that was it! All for 8000taka. Or about $120. For a three piece suit. Crazy. It will be ready in 7 days and I can't wait. Anyway, just got in to do some "internet-ing" and then it's back over to our house to have our evening class and then dinner. Things are going so well and I am loving it!
Hope all is well at home!
Miss and love you all!
After a glass of rice water and sitting down for 20 minutes, I felt ready to make it back up to the conference room for lunch. I had a tiny bit of lunch while watching everyone else eat, and then we made our way down to get a tour of another part of the hospital. But of course, we had to walk through the wards. After a few seconds I knew that I was immediately going to lose what little lunch I had just eaten. I told the chief nurse and he threw me into this room (apparently the ICU), sat me down, and instantly gave me a bowl to... "use." Now this bowl was perfect, until it was full. Then they removed this bowl from the top of the bucket that it was covering. This bucket was under a bed in the ICU. These beds have holes in the middle with sleeve things that lead down into buckets. Holes, sleeves, and buckets for diarrhea. I was now throwing up into a bucket with diarrhea in the bottom. You tell me if you would start throwing up more. I finally got a new bucket, as well as a shot of an anti emetic (prevents vomiting) and then was rushed off to some special observation room that was empty. At this point, everyone else went on the rest of the tour and I laid in bed with a fresh cup of rice water and 6 people looking after me. I am pretty sure that because I was American, everyone was trying to give me the best care possible. After an hour or so, when everyone was done with the second tour, a doctor came in to see me and said I would be fine but that he wanted me to stay a few hours for observation. If I stayed, the group would have gone home and my instructor would have stayed with me until I was good to go. Knowing that we had a ton of nursing supplies in our house, and that all I was to do was sleep... I decided to leave the hospital AMA and go home with everyone else. Don't you worry though, I am feeling much better now. How lucky for me though, that my first experience with traveler's diarrhea would be while I was at the world's best diarrhea treatment hospital. The staff at the hospital was so accommodating and it was just wonderful.
After we got back to the house we had dinner (I had white rice) and then we had our evening class going over the day and some readings we had done. Today we spent the morning at a local orphanage called Families for Children, a Canadian group. It was so nice to go, get a tour of the facilities, and hang out with such cute kids for a few hours. Now, this is my first orphanage that I've been to, but I was told that this was a nice one. The kids all seemed happy, and cared for. They also have the only program for abandoned children with special needs. It was nice to see the orphanage, play and sing with the kids, and hopefully brighten their days.
This afternoon we all got lunch an then did a bit of shopping. I decided that I would like a three-piece suit, as I don't have one. So we stopped into a tailor, I got measured, I picked out my suit and fabric, and that was it! All for 8000taka. Or about $120. For a three piece suit. Crazy. It will be ready in 7 days and I can't wait. Anyway, just got in to do some "internet-ing" and then it's back over to our house to have our evening class and then dinner. Things are going so well and I am loving it!
Hope all is well at home!
Miss and love you all!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
We didn't mean to start a riot...
God's gift to the world: Earplugs.
Now, I have always been a heavy sleeper. It takes a lot to keep me from sleeping just about anywhere at anytime. This was all true until we came to where we live, Sector 10 of Dhaka. Now this area used to be a huge village of tin roof shacks and lots of farm land. This was until the city put all of the land up for auction and now there is a ton of construction occuring to build new apartment buildings. Usually between the hours of midnight-2am. Along with the constant sounds of construction (smashing bricks, throwing bricks, hammering things, trucks coming in and out, and yelling) there have also been many sounds of security guards with whistles, mosques blaring music calling people to prayer (2 throughout the night last night), and the general bustle of a city. However, Tenylle was definitely smart enough to bring with her a ton of earplugs. We all have a pair now, and they are our most prized possessions.
Yesterday we got up early, had breakfast, and crawled into some vans that were to bring us across the city to "Old Dhaka." Old Dhaka is a much more crowded area of the city, not that we thought that was possible. There were tons of street vendors, lots of shops, and it was also a bit dirtier than the areas we had seen so far. Now, our plan was to visit this big museum and also a popular fort, but both were closed due to a government holiday we didn't know about. Because our main plans were scrapped, our friend and guide Musa had to quickly come up with new things for us to do.
We drove down around the edge of the river and walked around a bit. It's so funny when we get out and walk here. We feel like celebrities. There are very few white people that come here so when we all get out and walk around in a big group we get a huge following. For instance, later in the day yesterday we went to a gated garden in the middle of the city and we had at least 30 Bangladeshi men following us taking pictures. Because there is such a separation in the level of importance between men and women, men being of a higher cast, they all want to talk to me. While some of them were brave enough to try and talk to some of the girls, I was the targetof interest. I, of course, LOVED the attention. My instructor Rycki came over and told me that this one guy wanted to talk to me and shooed him my way. He was so nervous to speak in English to me that he was shaking. I felt so bad for him. We did have a lovely conversation and I think I made his day. Another interesting thing about this garden is that it is one of the only public places where men and women can touch eachother. Bangladesh is a very Muslim country and because of that, men and women aren't allowed to have physical contact in public. However, in the shelter and shade of the trees of this garden you'll spot many couples sitting close to one another. If you're lucky you may spot a guy with an arm around his girl or even a quick kiss on the cheek. It was very cute.
Throughout the day we saw 2 mosques, and even though it wasn't prayer time, we were allowed in and able to see the mosques. The first one we saw had the most intricate mosaic tiling all over the outside/inside of the building. The second one was on a raised platform about 25 feet in the air and was built almost 350 years ago. It was so wonderful to be allowed in to these sacred spots and to feel the importance and history of these buildings. During the drive we also saw many important buildings like the Prime Minister's office and residence, both were MASSIVE. Lunch was had at a wonderful little restaurant complete with a traditional meal of rice, chicken, and vegetables. It was delicious. At the end of the day we had the vans drop us off in the center of the city and we shopped around some markets for a bit before taking rickshaws home. Now, here is where the riot comes in. Now we knew roughly how to get home, and I was doing pretty well with navigating, until we got pretty close to home. Now as you get further away from the center of the city they roads turn to dirt, they get narrow, and chances are they are incredibly muddy. So after taking our three drivers down a road which we thought was our road, we turned them around back to the next biggest road we had last turned off of. After getting some directions from some of the locals, we went BACK down that road (I was right!) towards our house. We had just passed the road that leads to our house. After about 30 minutes on the rickshaw and watching the patch of sweat on our drivers back grow exponentially, we realized that we should probably pay our driver a bit more. When we finally made it, Kristin and I paid our driver 400taka (about $5.50) for the ride home, when the usual far would be about 50taka. This was all well and good, but the other two sets of girls only paid their drivers 150taka... which created a mini uproar between the drivers. Kristin and I basically paid our driver and then sprinted away. I'm sure though that the drivers figured everything out and that all was well.
We walked the rest of the way home (about a block), had some dinner, and then crahsed into bed. Earplugs in, of course. Today we got up and came to the university, IUBAT, to get some internet time in. We have nothing planned for today, so I'm sure we may go into the center of the city and do some exploring. I am having a great time and loving every minute. I'm not sure when, or if, I'll be able to upload photos. But I will definitely have some up when I get home. All is well here.
Hope all is well at home!
Love and Miss you all!
Now, I have always been a heavy sleeper. It takes a lot to keep me from sleeping just about anywhere at anytime. This was all true until we came to where we live, Sector 10 of Dhaka. Now this area used to be a huge village of tin roof shacks and lots of farm land. This was until the city put all of the land up for auction and now there is a ton of construction occuring to build new apartment buildings. Usually between the hours of midnight-2am. Along with the constant sounds of construction (smashing bricks, throwing bricks, hammering things, trucks coming in and out, and yelling) there have also been many sounds of security guards with whistles, mosques blaring music calling people to prayer (2 throughout the night last night), and the general bustle of a city. However, Tenylle was definitely smart enough to bring with her a ton of earplugs. We all have a pair now, and they are our most prized possessions.
Yesterday we got up early, had breakfast, and crawled into some vans that were to bring us across the city to "Old Dhaka." Old Dhaka is a much more crowded area of the city, not that we thought that was possible. There were tons of street vendors, lots of shops, and it was also a bit dirtier than the areas we had seen so far. Now, our plan was to visit this big museum and also a popular fort, but both were closed due to a government holiday we didn't know about. Because our main plans were scrapped, our friend and guide Musa had to quickly come up with new things for us to do.
We drove down around the edge of the river and walked around a bit. It's so funny when we get out and walk here. We feel like celebrities. There are very few white people that come here so when we all get out and walk around in a big group we get a huge following. For instance, later in the day yesterday we went to a gated garden in the middle of the city and we had at least 30 Bangladeshi men following us taking pictures. Because there is such a separation in the level of importance between men and women, men being of a higher cast, they all want to talk to me. While some of them were brave enough to try and talk to some of the girls, I was the targetof interest. I, of course, LOVED the attention. My instructor Rycki came over and told me that this one guy wanted to talk to me and shooed him my way. He was so nervous to speak in English to me that he was shaking. I felt so bad for him. We did have a lovely conversation and I think I made his day. Another interesting thing about this garden is that it is one of the only public places where men and women can touch eachother. Bangladesh is a very Muslim country and because of that, men and women aren't allowed to have physical contact in public. However, in the shelter and shade of the trees of this garden you'll spot many couples sitting close to one another. If you're lucky you may spot a guy with an arm around his girl or even a quick kiss on the cheek. It was very cute.
Throughout the day we saw 2 mosques, and even though it wasn't prayer time, we were allowed in and able to see the mosques. The first one we saw had the most intricate mosaic tiling all over the outside/inside of the building. The second one was on a raised platform about 25 feet in the air and was built almost 350 years ago. It was so wonderful to be allowed in to these sacred spots and to feel the importance and history of these buildings. During the drive we also saw many important buildings like the Prime Minister's office and residence, both were MASSIVE. Lunch was had at a wonderful little restaurant complete with a traditional meal of rice, chicken, and vegetables. It was delicious. At the end of the day we had the vans drop us off in the center of the city and we shopped around some markets for a bit before taking rickshaws home. Now, here is where the riot comes in. Now we knew roughly how to get home, and I was doing pretty well with navigating, until we got pretty close to home. Now as you get further away from the center of the city they roads turn to dirt, they get narrow, and chances are they are incredibly muddy. So after taking our three drivers down a road which we thought was our road, we turned them around back to the next biggest road we had last turned off of. After getting some directions from some of the locals, we went BACK down that road (I was right!) towards our house. We had just passed the road that leads to our house. After about 30 minutes on the rickshaw and watching the patch of sweat on our drivers back grow exponentially, we realized that we should probably pay our driver a bit more. When we finally made it, Kristin and I paid our driver 400taka (about $5.50) for the ride home, when the usual far would be about 50taka. This was all well and good, but the other two sets of girls only paid their drivers 150taka... which created a mini uproar between the drivers. Kristin and I basically paid our driver and then sprinted away. I'm sure though that the drivers figured everything out and that all was well.
We walked the rest of the way home (about a block), had some dinner, and then crahsed into bed. Earplugs in, of course. Today we got up and came to the university, IUBAT, to get some internet time in. We have nothing planned for today, so I'm sure we may go into the center of the city and do some exploring. I am having a great time and loving every minute. I'm not sure when, or if, I'll be able to upload photos. But I will definitely have some up when I get home. All is well here.
Hope all is well at home!
Love and Miss you all!
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