First Visit 2009/Shukurer Ghor

Yeee. my first out visit for the year 2009 started Saturday the 10th January. This is suppose to be weekend but anywheres who cares, I went anywhere. Started my journey as usual, meaning last years travelling..local bus with lots of people...hoping that people will not sit on your lap. made it savely and started my next project for this year which is pig house. Before that while sitting in the bus I saw lushy wheat grasses coming up, and then yellow heads of mustered plants scattered in one area to the other. Its nice to see some fields are as bright as the sun as it seems like as your passing through the field like youre in a roller coaster and others are brown as the dust. Some parts of the area have just harvested rice and left untouched, and I saw goats, sheep and cattles on it, but to tell you the truth nothing is there and I was wondering why there were lots of animals there till it clicked in my head that they are eating the fallen rice grains. Back to my pig house construction, its been on for three days now and its looking good. Have set the foundation for the partions and then the flooring and flooring comes Ill need to be. while the housing is going fine I found out today that people who bought/brought the piglets in the mission had brought lots of male which we didnt need. I am frustrated about it but I still have the time to sale them or exchange for female as these words I am tell myself so to calm my self down. How can you work with people who says yes when you ask them the question you understood and thendont down what you told them to do. Anywheres, other then that we have started fine and hope to have my piglets move into their new home not only their new home but to their individual rooms.

Christmas & New Year

So I got back from Kolkota. I should say that the month of December worked on my favour. After that vacation, the 23rd was another long trip for me but than I wasnt alone. Before leaving I had this wonderful treats of christmas cookies from Marita, Marita, thank you so much. We (coworkers) left around 11pm for Bandarban. The night bus ride doesnt work for me. The whole night I didnt get a good sleep, the reason is because the AC in the bus was turned on eventhough it is freaken winter, cold. We got there save and had our break fast. It was way to fun, we took a canoe ride and sang christmas songs, and swam with my orna, I am not proud of what I did but this to say that it is a different world there, where no one was staring, and under good music we had a dinner in Joyce's (Bengali coworker) home. The 25th we attanded a mass and took our bus ride to Cox Bazar, this is one of the natural long sandy beach here in Bangladesh. We reached the place in the afternoon, and celebrated christmas there on the beach, stayed there till 8:30pm and went to our motel. The next morning was our next island visit and the bus picked us up and another bus ride, may be for an hour, but worth it.... alot of bus rides though. Anywhere we got there on time for lunch and got our room but a bed for each. Played, laughed, swam, boat rides, night sky watch, had quite time...all in all I enjoyed everything....

The New year was fun also, I got back with 6 piglets from Dhaka to Birampur, and bunch of my other bedeshi friends were coming the next day before the new year. We had our little dance party while waited for the year new...Yep there go now you know what I did..thanks for reading and for all your wonderful prayers.....n looking forward what ever this year will bring!!!

KolKota

I took a night long bus ride out I came to Kolkota, a place we hear a lot about. I pass through the long lines of check in and check out, changing bus at the border. I am able to move around the Kolkota on my own, I am able to speak the written bangla very well hear, Iam understood well hear, and Iam able to move free here. I went shopping on my own, not being asked a single question. Iam so happy that I came and that I am renewed too. I am not say that the poverty here in not worse than Bangladesh, but there is a greater difference here. They mind they own business (the beggars)...this is something I didnt see in Bangladesh. I have visited several places and its so amazing to see great pillars that hold houses that were build some hundred years ago...Its amazing. I will put out the pics later. It is a city of buzzling with noises and I should say that you will hear it all through out the day and night. But there is no chaos about it. I am ready to leave tomorrow for Bangladesh and hoping that I will come back again. I saw a baby with another baby lying down right beside the dump, the very little one was crying, screaming its head off, no one could hear her, it was bright day light...and as I continue mt walk I was thinking the mom must be out there some where looking for food....I lots of stuff but I cant share them.. its just too much...So Ill leave it here and put the pictures out later.

Eid 9th and 10th

So Tomorrow is Eid day. I am running away from the killings/sacrifice. I know I should stay for my first Eid celebration of witnessing the slaughter but I have to go because I just needed to get out of here for a while. So preparation for Eid started three days ago when bucks and bulls on the road. Every street I passed, men with one to three of the mentioned animals walking not giving you way if you are driving so you have to honked from far to warned them of your coming.

So, last night I traveled from Bogra to Dhaka and it took 7 hours...it was one of the longest bus ride ever from Bogra to Dhaka. This is totally because of Eid, there is no other explanation what so ever for the lateness. So today I walked around little and have seen bucks, bucks, bucks and bulls, bulls, bulls...here, there is no restriction of animal in a city, so it just looked like the farm except that the places are surrounded by tall buildings. So most of these animals will give their lives away for the name of Eid.. which I will not see it. Sorry to say but not pics because my camera battery is weak or rather I need to buy new batteries. So the sacrifice will take place only when the Imams will announce the sacrifice only when the lunar cycle is confirm right that is why also two dates picked, because don't know when will it happen. However, the celebration continues for at least threes.

Litte Accident

Well, I have not told some of you that I had an accident last week. I am totally fine and traveling to Kolkota. Anywhere the reason I am sharing this which I didnt want to sharing is because, this accident had opened my eyes. First of all, women are not threatened but having false statu statements about them being well respected when they are at home or not riding a motorcycle or are they that poor to be out on the streets riding motorcycle which they were told. So back to my accident that occured a week a go. It wasnt my fault, but I was left alone on the road. The road was quite frankly full of men no one came for my help. So I got up and lift my motorcycle and started it. How amazing ha...I was happy that I was ok, and that I was able to ride it back. But this made me raise questions like what would have happened, if it was a serious accident? would that make the men to come for help. I mean...I dont really know. So I went back to the office and asked my boss about what had happened and he sad that in this culture men are not allowed to touch a woman. So thats so scacry dont you think. I am right now seeing what the women here are seeing. First I thought, they just have to come out of it, but no, not when its a physical and mental fight the women have to put up with, it takes energy, time, money and support. Two weeks ago, the whole MCC Bangladesh had a training on gender issues and talked about nurturing the women. Really how can we do that? This is my question now. After that I have talk with a particular lady, about how she is handling this struggle. She mentioned that we women who are out there are strong ladies. There are things that we have done which most women here have not done, and we want to do more but we can only do if only our bosses, male co-workers and our husbands (families) are with us helping develop more. So I mentioned that they (ladies) have to be mentally prepared and that also they are competing with the male opponents in terms of crimbing the position, so they have to be ready for that. So now is my question left unanswered and that is how can we nurture the ladies. To be mentally strong to withstand the culture and with the competition with the hierachy position especially with the men.

Two hours van ride

Two hours van ride

Two hours van ride I go. Left Dhanjuri Catholic Mission at one pm. came out I at the gate and waited the van. A brown copper bag was laid just for me. I appreciated after ten minutes ride. So I asked the Van driver, does he knows the road to my next stop which is Khalipur and responded with a head shack as a yes. So I went and sat as comfortable as I could till after ten minutes of ride, I thought may be I made a mistake to hire the van. By the way, van for those of you don’t know the van I am talking about is a three wheeled transport similar to a rickshaw except that it has a flat form for sitting and is made for rough roads, so I don’t regret the ride but, I should say that it was a rough ride. It was going to be an hour of rough ride, which I saw later after an hour. So the van went swish, swish as it continued its motion. The fields were filled with golden brown ready for the harvest. I saw in the distances motion of heads of men going up and down was just an indication that harvest had started or rather to completion. Pass through canopies of bamboo as tall as the sky. I thought, were are the people, men that we talk about in Bangladesh, saw two or three school girls walking with books or scattered around or kits in their hands as they started laughing when they saw a lady with sunglass with two bags of course sitting down uncomfortable which I hope they didn’t see that sign. So I put a smile and gave a little wave and they all wave back with more laughter. So I continued my ride, wishing that time would fly and so to get there fast. But it seemed so forever, I thought of singing but decided not to after an hour and thirty minutes ride finally came to a stop and hip hip hooray I arrived, gave a fair amount of money for the save journey and wished him save travel back for I know the person and my bags were helped carried by this awesome man of Khalipur to my rest home.

Men is more wanted than women in the Muslim World

Men is more wanted than women in the Muslim World
Country like Bangladesh or another Muslim country wants many boys then girls in their families. This kept me thinking as woman. All I have been thinking was that the men are greedy, selfish and self center manners since I arrived here. And it took me a while to see the real reason why boys/men is wanted in the family. Every where I go, Shops, markets, rickshawals, drivers from big trucks to CNGs, on the road, is all about men. Even in the village, men are working double hours job working from sunrise to sunset and yet come home and go shopping. Old men ranching, young men with hoes and middle age men in rice field harvesting or planting. The Beautiful princesses stay in their homes relax and wait for the princes to come home and take them to go shopping. MMMM.... don’t you think this is one sided. I shouldnt blame the women but this is how it has been since, this is their culture. Well, in the Muslim world it is said that women are more respected than men. I really dont know whether this is true, but Ill go with it for now. Just from hearing stories from some of my friends, women are well protected by their laws and are greatly valued. Just to clear this sentence that during marital ceremonies the man agrees to pay the woman great sum of money according to the type of job the man does. This money is paid in installment as time goes by to the women’s use. This money is decided by Muslim leaders accordingly as I have mentioned. If something happens and the man decides to leave the lady then he has to pay that agreed amount before he leaves her. And I can see as bad side and good side. Good side is that there will be no divorce but on the other hand the man might decide to do some much damage to the woman because he can do get away which I have seen a lot here.

Anywhere back to my wanting men/boy more than a girl is because (this reasoning is totally my opinion and it does make sense to me) men are the bread earners for the families. This I have seen so far. Some of you will disagree with me.. so to say that please do write what you think in the comment box. In towns or small towns still it hard for a woman to get/find job therefore it is understandable that men provide for the family but how about the village life. Yes, I have seen trial areas women work hard, just remember I am talking about the Muslim world, where women can help the men more work with little time they have. Both of them can get more work done then one person. The women can water the plants or break the dirt with hoe or .... so here I pen off but ..not completed.