Understanding Bangladesh

Our Bangladesh Things

To the tune of "My Favorite Things":

Rickshaws in roadways and mangoes in market
Competent drivers who know how to park it
Goats on the roadside and geese painted pink
We'll always remember that spiced Moghul drink.

Ancient museums and statues of Vishnu
Speeches in Bangla and hazardous issues
Overfull buses with riders on top
Red lights say "re-lax" instead of just stop.

Chorus:

When the ran falls, when the sweat rolls
when we're feeling sad, we simply remember our
Bangladesh things and then we don't feel so bad.

Children in classrooms with bright smiling faces
Food in the market in organized spaces
Dung sticks and taking malaria pills
These are a few of our favorite thrills.

Long bamboo bridges and fragrant orange flowers
sugar cane fields and Grameen cell phone towers
Sharees and lungis and bright colored cloth
Biscuits with tea and sweet fruit drinks with froth.

Chorus

Burkas at beachside and jackfruit for snacking
Wisdom from Alam and so often packing
Police as escorts and boat rides in mist
Moshuir and Khalen check chores off their list.

Bimal gives guidance and Kay reigns as queen
Bathrooms are rated and some are quite clean
Hanging our laundry and searching for beer
Despite minor illness our team kept good cheer.

Chorus

No ship like friendship

Our day began at the Jagannath University in Dhaka.

Established in 1868 as a college it is one of the oldest in Dhaka.

Dr. Paul's niece attends school here and we had the honor of meeting her while we were there. We were greeted as honored guests with flowers and a huge banner announcing our arrival.

One of the professors said, "There are big ships, there are small ships, but there is no ship like friendship." I think we have all made many new friends in Bangladesh.

Kathy, Jill and Sarah kindly performed their rendition of "Our Favorite Bangladesh Things" and were a big hit with the students.

As in all the schools we visited we were very enthusiastically received and Kay expressed that "the youth of Bangladesh is their greatest resource."

--Maureen Smith

Thinking about home and visiting homes

We have come back to the La Vinci hotel in Dhaka.

The next time we pack our bags it will be for our trip home. That means it is time to sort, deciding how to pack our Bangladesh treasures including several large items -- baskets, pottery, books, a variety of musical instruments, lots of material, and much more. Fifteen teachers can collect a lot of classroom visuals.

One of the members our group is Bimal Paul, Kansas State University professor. His family has been very gracious inviting us into their homes.

On July 20th we visited his sister’s village. Today we visited his father and brother’s village in Pakutia. Their village is very similar to his sister's. The family homes are made of corregated steel with a separate building for cooking.

We were invited into the building where rice is stored. We shared world globes as well as many items we no longer had room for as we’re packing to go home.

Later we stopped at Bimal’s mother-in-law and family’s apartment. After walking through a hardware store we proceeded upstairs to the first of their 3-level apartment. There are several bedrooms, a spacious kitchen/dining room, a library/study room, and two bathrooms. On the top level is also the laundry room complete with a roof top garden where laundry is hung to dry.

Both homes were gracious and treated us with more food than we could possibly eat. What a joyful learning experience. Thank you to Bimal and his family for sharing your homes.

Everywhere we go continues to be eventful. On our drive home we pass a circus complete with an elephant and an enormous amount of bananas and pineapple ready for market. What a great day.

--Jane Watson, Hazleton, Iowa, U.S.A.
Talented and Gifted Coordinator at Starmont School.