This will have to be a short entry because I am in transit in Dhaka. Rajbari is good, I have a good feeling about the place and I can see myself there for two years. It's quiet, small and actually (maybe?) city planning. Unlike other cities that just build on themselves in haphazard ways, Rajbari seemingly has order, and it planted trees on the ( Read more... )

It is a tradition in Peace Corps Bangladesh that trainees get to have an early dinner with the country director at his apartment in Dhaka. Since there are so many of us (56), there are three Fridays where we can go. Today I went into the capital a little earlier to check out some shops and have a look around. I haven't really explored Dhaka ( Read more... )

If there is one gesture that has puzzled me the most that Bangladeshis use, it would be the head tilt. It can mean a number of things, and they use it all the time. It can mean sure, perhaps, yes, no but I'm being polite, sure get in (if you're a rickshaw wallah), yes stop asking me the same question can't you understand that my head tilt means ( Read more... )

Yesterday, the Muslim observance of Ramadan began. Ramadan was on of those holidays that I knew about in the States because it was on the calendar. I knew it was a month long and it involved fasting. That was about the extent of my knowledge ( Read more... )

A few days ago all of the trainees assembled in the main sporting arena to hear where we would all be placed in the country. On the field was a enormous stencil drawing of Bangladesh with flags at all the sites. Some are new, some are where current volunteers are or have been. We all waited on the edge of the map as we drew names from a hat with ( Read more... )

A word on food and family eating arrangements. The protocol for a host is to offer everything they have to their guests, and the protocol for the guest is to eat everything offered. It can get a little overwhelming at times. Mothers in particular want to make sure that you eat every hour on the hour ( Read more... )

So I've been thinking a lot about rickshaws, which are the primary means of transportation in Bangladesh. A rickshaw is a two person carriage attached to a bike. For the nighttime the rickshaw wallahs (drivers) light their kerosene lamps underneath the carriage to light the wa. It also prevents collisions in the dark, because the bike bell just ( Read more... )

Before coming to Bangladesh, I had anticipated several things about religion and what sorts of reactions I would meet wen I would explain that my family is Catholic. I was preparing to face some judgement or perhaps a lack of knowledge about Christianity because I assumed that I would live and meet Muslims. Boy was I ever wrong. Little did I ( Read more... )

So, many things have been happening lately. Firstly, I went for four days to Nilphamari, a small town in the Northwest to visit a current volunteer. I went with another trainee who also stayed with a current volunteer at that site. The reason behind the visit was to get an idea of what it is like to be a TEFL volunteer, how volunteers cope with ( Read more... )

So I am in Gazipur, the medium sized town where I will be staying for three months. Here each volunteer stays with a host family, goes to Bangla and technical training classes and at the end will do a day activity of our choosing ( Read more... )