Have had some very immature giggle fits in Bangla lessons recently, so thought I'd share some funny Bangla words
Shikikka (prounounced shitkicker)= female teacher
Shikok = male teacher
Farker = empty
Bam dike (pronounced bum dicki) = left side
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
PDA in Bangladesh
Just had to share a funny statement from a menu at a fairly posh (in relative terms) cafe I went to today...
PDA (public displays of affection) are a big no-no here, and in a country where arranged marriages are the norm, boyfriends and girlfriends have to be very discreet. With exception, it seems, are particular areas, such as at Dhaka University and around the lake in Dhanmondi, where couples are snuggled up everywhere!!
This particular cafe seems to have students as their main clientele - and is set up for couples (only tables for two) - but I guess they don't want any funny business such as (heaven forbid) holding hands or kissing on their premises!
First Visit to My Workplace
Hi Crew,
Just wanted to share with you a moment from my first visit to my workplace on Monday. For those not exactly sure what I'll be doing, I'm going to be working at a local NGO here called SEEP (Social and Economic Enhancement Program) as a Child Rights Advocacy Officer. Monday was just an introduction day that consisted of a couple of meetings with my supervisor and a tour of the office. The organisation looks fantastic and seems to be doing a lot of great work - with their main focus on children and a holistic approach to child rights issues.
The highlight of my day, which particularly the CHRE uni crew at home will appreciate, was when I went downstairs to check out the drop in centre. A group of 12 child labourers aged 10-12 were there, practising a play that one of the girls had written. They were sitting in a circle as the girl directed everyone and told them their lines, etc - and then they stood up and acted out the play, which was about child labour. In the play, the girl was working in a sari factory, and when she doesn't turn up to school the other children tell their teacher why. The teacher then goes to speak to the parents and eventually the girl is allowed to go to school. This may sound simple enough to many of you, but what astounded me was how the children directed themselves and listened to the leader - who was a girl; and that this community education tool was being utilised to address what is a huge and complicated problem here. It was also so fantastic to see something I have studied being practiced at a grassroots level in a local context.
I can't wait to start work on Sunday!
Just wanted to share with you a moment from my first visit to my workplace on Monday. For those not exactly sure what I'll be doing, I'm going to be working at a local NGO here called SEEP (Social and Economic Enhancement Program) as a Child Rights Advocacy Officer. Monday was just an introduction day that consisted of a couple of meetings with my supervisor and a tour of the office. The organisation looks fantastic and seems to be doing a lot of great work - with their main focus on children and a holistic approach to child rights issues.
The highlight of my day, which particularly the CHRE uni crew at home will appreciate, was when I went downstairs to check out the drop in centre. A group of 12 child labourers aged 10-12 were there, practising a play that one of the girls had written. They were sitting in a circle as the girl directed everyone and told them their lines, etc - and then they stood up and acted out the play, which was about child labour. In the play, the girl was working in a sari factory, and when she doesn't turn up to school the other children tell their teacher why. The teacher then goes to speak to the parents and eventually the girl is allowed to go to school. This may sound simple enough to many of you, but what astounded me was how the children directed themselves and listened to the leader - who was a girl; and that this community education tool was being utilised to address what is a huge and complicated problem here. It was also so fantastic to see something I have studied being practiced at a grassroots level in a local context.
I can't wait to start work on Sunday!
Monday, July 9, 2007
OLD DHAKA
Our visit to Old Dhaka on Friday deserves an entry of its own. It was our (myself, Elise and Zaneta’s) first time out on our own so armed with some very basic Bangla we set out for an explore. It was a Friday which apparently is a quiet day in Old Dhaka - but for us it seemed far from quiet!! We went and explored a Hindu Market which was like stepping off the street into a hidden world, with an undercover area filled with people selling spices, fruit, vegies, fish, meat, live chickens, eggs, etc. It was probably my first “Whoa, I’m in Bangladesh” moment. Walking around the market we were followed by people asking us where we were from and trying to make general conversation – it certainly motivated my desire to learn Bangla properly as it is so frustrating not knowing the language.
We drove around Old Dhaka for a bit – the streets were a lot narrower than other parts we’d been to, which gave it a different type of feel. Had lunch at a local restaurant where the waiters didn’t know English but brought us an array of different yummy foods to try – thankfully however, one waiter knew how to say “muttons brain” in English!
We also went to Lalbagh Fort, a huge fortress and museum from the Moghul period in the 1600s. Was very impressive. Somehow, however, it felt like we were the main tourist attraction for the Bangladeshis there, with families requesting photos with us, children and adults following us around (I felt like the Pied Piper at one stage) and people not so subtly taking photos of us with their mobile phone cameras!! Think I’ll need to start charging 10 taka! :)
Here are a couple of photos from the Fort…
We drove around Old Dhaka for a bit – the streets were a lot narrower than other parts we’d been to, which gave it a different type of feel. Had lunch at a local restaurant where the waiters didn’t know English but brought us an array of different yummy foods to try – thankfully however, one waiter knew how to say “muttons brain” in English!
We also went to Lalbagh Fort, a huge fortress and museum from the Moghul period in the 1600s. Was very impressive. Somehow, however, it felt like we were the main tourist attraction for the Bangladeshis there, with families requesting photos with us, children and adults following us around (I felt like the Pied Piper at one stage) and people not so subtly taking photos of us with their mobile phone cameras!! Think I’ll need to start charging 10 taka! :)
Here are a couple of photos from the Fort…
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BANGAS
Hey crew,
Well I thought I’d share with you some of my first impressions of Bangladesh. I am sure I will look back on this entry in 12 months and cringe, because
a) I do so when I look back on my first impressions of Uganda and realise how naïve I was;
b) My time so far has mostly been spent in a bubble of staying in a nice hotel, driving around in an airconditioned car and generally being moddy-coddled by our in-country support team; and
c) I have only been to a couple of areas in Dhaka.
But anyhows, so far - and hopefully I’m not speaking too soon - I love it here. Dhaka is huge, with high rise apartments and tall buildings everywhere – which I guess explains how Bangladesh fits a population of 150 million into the size of 2 thirds of Victoria (Australia). It is also chaotic with the roads full of traffic – buses, bicycle rickshaws, cars, CNGs (motorised three wheeler vehicles), pedestrians, etc. My goal for by the end of this week is to be able to cross the road by myself – which will be no mean feat! The pollution is nowhere near as bad as I envisaged – probably thanks to the three wheelers and buses running on Compressed Natural Gas. There is also a lot more trees and parks than I imagined (which I guess is not hard as I didn’t expect any) and thanks to the recent monsoon season they are all extremely green. The high numbers of beggars and street children is hard to deal with and they are much higher in number than anywhere I have ever been. I am still in mixed minds about how to deal with that – but have taken to carrying leftover food with me as I am told money does not go to the kids but to their “pimps”. I guess I will learn a lot more of the ins and outs once I start work…
The weather is nice and hot which is fabulous – I think around the 30 degrees mark which is perfect but the humidity is draining and taking me a while to get used to. Such weather though also means an abundance of mangoes and pineapples – so I am in paradise.
The other thing I love about being here is all the “life” noises – the music of the bicycle bells (even when interrupted by the constant horn honking), the calls to prayer from the mosques, the sounds of people on the streets and just general sounds of people living their lives…
Will leave you with a couple of photos from my first week – I’m not really confident or savvy enough yet to venture out with my camera but here are a couple of snaps to give you a bit of an idea (note the attempted photos of myself, Elise and Zaneta in our snazzy new outfits failed due to my lens fogging up because of the humidity).
Ciao for now,
Amy
Well I thought I’d share with you some of my first impressions of Bangladesh. I am sure I will look back on this entry in 12 months and cringe, because
a) I do so when I look back on my first impressions of Uganda and realise how naïve I was;
b) My time so far has mostly been spent in a bubble of staying in a nice hotel, driving around in an airconditioned car and generally being moddy-coddled by our in-country support team; and
c) I have only been to a couple of areas in Dhaka.
But anyhows, so far - and hopefully I’m not speaking too soon - I love it here. Dhaka is huge, with high rise apartments and tall buildings everywhere – which I guess explains how Bangladesh fits a population of 150 million into the size of 2 thirds of Victoria (Australia). It is also chaotic with the roads full of traffic – buses, bicycle rickshaws, cars, CNGs (motorised three wheeler vehicles), pedestrians, etc. My goal for by the end of this week is to be able to cross the road by myself – which will be no mean feat! The pollution is nowhere near as bad as I envisaged – probably thanks to the three wheelers and buses running on Compressed Natural Gas. There is also a lot more trees and parks than I imagined (which I guess is not hard as I didn’t expect any) and thanks to the recent monsoon season they are all extremely green. The high numbers of beggars and street children is hard to deal with and they are much higher in number than anywhere I have ever been. I am still in mixed minds about how to deal with that – but have taken to carrying leftover food with me as I am told money does not go to the kids but to their “pimps”. I guess I will learn a lot more of the ins and outs once I start work…
The weather is nice and hot which is fabulous – I think around the 30 degrees mark which is perfect but the humidity is draining and taking me a while to get used to. Such weather though also means an abundance of mangoes and pineapples – so I am in paradise.
The other thing I love about being here is all the “life” noises – the music of the bicycle bells (even when interrupted by the constant horn honking), the calls to prayer from the mosques, the sounds of people on the streets and just general sounds of people living their lives…
Will leave you with a couple of photos from my first week – I’m not really confident or savvy enough yet to venture out with my camera but here are a couple of snaps to give you a bit of an idea (note the attempted photos of myself, Elise and Zaneta in our snazzy new outfits failed due to my lens fogging up because of the humidity).
Ciao for now,
Amy
Friday, July 6, 2007
First Blog from Dhaka
Greetings from Dhaka!
Just wanted to write to let everyone know I have arrived safely and gradually settling in to the chaos which is Dhaka.
I am half way through an 'in country orientation' program of Bangla lessons "ami Bangla shickti" (I am learning Bangla), salwar kameeze shopping (more details coming in a separate post), accommodation searching, local food sampling (yum!), stomach acclimatising (not so fun) and just generally taking in the sights, sounds, smells and vibes which make this place so amazing.
I feel like there is so much from this last week that I want to share - will hopefully get some time to get my thoughts and photos together and post some of my first impressions over the next few days.
Bye for now (note to self - still haven't learnt how to say bye in Bangla)
Amy
Just wanted to write to let everyone know I have arrived safely and gradually settling in to the chaos which is Dhaka.
I am half way through an 'in country orientation' program of Bangla lessons "ami Bangla shickti" (I am learning Bangla), salwar kameeze shopping (more details coming in a separate post), accommodation searching, local food sampling (yum!), stomach acclimatising (not so fun) and just generally taking in the sights, sounds, smells and vibes which make this place so amazing.
I feel like there is so much from this last week that I want to share - will hopefully get some time to get my thoughts and photos together and post some of my first impressions over the next few days.
Bye for now (note to self - still haven't learnt how to say bye in Bangla)
Amy
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