Shahed Minar Pictures

The Shahed Minar - commemorates the martyrs, mostly students who died February 21st (Ekushey February) 1952.

Ma, Ashfaq Bhaia, Nisha, Me, Dad

Same, but closer.

Dacca University

Cool Mural

Sculpture with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the top.

Two Days Of History - March 26th and Shahed Minar

My second to last day in Bangladesh fell on March 26th, Bangladesh's Independence day. Independence day is a pretty low key affair in Bangladesh; there's no flashy fireworks show. Most people enjoy the day off with family. Around the city I saw many Bangladeshi flags and pictures of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first Bangladeshi PM. A couple of days before March 26th, my cousin Dhola eagerly gave me a much needed history lesson on Bangladesh. She spoke with a great deal of pride and reverence for Bangladesh and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The night of March 26th my parents, uncle, cousins, and I took a walk around the Buri Ganga.

I went to the Shahed Minar my last day in Bangladesh. The Shahed Minar is a monument that commemorates the martyrs of the language movement. From conversations I had with Bangalis who have gone to Bangladesh, most if not all have never been to the Shahed Minar, which seems odd to me because of its significance in Bangladesh's history and culture. I don't speak bangla well because I rarely speak it, but I understand it and it's been a significant part of my life through my parents, music, and television. The monument itself was nice. But, the monument grounds was covered in trash. Litter is a given for any big city, but seeing so much of it in front of this great monument bothered me. It seemed disrespectful.

In fact, the Shahed Minar is rarely kept clean except on Ekushay Feburary or if filming is going on there. That's why it always looks so pristine on TV, ugh the facade again. As a sign of respect you shouldn't go up to the monument with your shoes on. But, because of the litter, I didn't take my shoes off and because I didn't take my shoes off I didn't go up to it. I wasn't being finicky just cautious. I was still recovering from my bout of traveler's diarrhea. The last thing I wanted was hepatitis.

It's a different experience to read about a country's history in a book or a wiki article than actually going to the country and seeing the manifestation of that country's history through its people, the clothing they wear, the language they speak, and the religion they worship. You can't really get this connection through simply reading.

Cholo Amra Bashundhara Jai - The Modern Facade

The title of my post comes from a Bangladeshi advertisement for flats in the posh district of Bashundhara. The advertisement ends with a woman saying in singy songy voice, "Cholo Amra Bashundhara Jai - Let us go to Bashundhara." Bashundhara district shares its name with Bashundhara City mall. Bashundhara City is one of the largest malls in South Asia and the WORLD.

To me Bashundhara city seemed out of place like seeing a Mercedes parked in front of a housing project. A Mercedes symbolizes success, achievement, and wealth. The projects, on the other hand, symbolizes the polar opposite of that. The person driving the Mercedes gives an appearance of wealth, but it's a facade and that's what Bashundhara City is, a facade. Bangladesh isn't any less poor or more modern because of this mall.

Another problem with Bashundhara City is that it's like buying a hummer and not being able to afford the gas (sorry for getting my point across with car examples). Bangladesh doesn't have the infrastructure to support a mall like this. Bashundhara doesn't even have air conditioning! People go to a mall for three things: shopping, eating, and air conditioning. I couldn't and wouldn't eat at the food court after I saw a cockroach run from one garbage can to another. Ick. I didn't buy anything from the stores in Bashundhara because surprise surprise almost everything sold there can be bought for cheap at local bazaars.

Bashundhara does share one thing with a modern Western mall, one that I didn't expect. Bashundhara offers teens, young adults, and couples a place to hang out. I saw groups of guys checking out girls, girlfriends hanging out, and couples arm in arm or hand in hand even embracing. I didn't see any PDA in Bangladesh except inside Bashundhara City. It's a place to waste time kindling young hormones like…a Western mall? Wow. An uncommon common denominator.

Inside Basundhara:

Elevator

Rotunda

ooo technology

Just hangin' at the mall.

Sena Sahayok - My Visit To A School For Children With Special Needs

By a strange twist of fate I got to talking with an uncle at the Mukeh Bhaat ceremony I had attended. He told me that he was the principal of Sena Sahayok School, a school for children with special needs run by the Bangladeshi army. I asked him how he got involved in special education. He then introduced me to his son who was diagnosed with autism and goes to the school. The school's motto is, "Special Child Special Right." That right being an education. He invited me to the school for a tour and to meet the children. I didn't think this chance encounter was mere coincidence so I said, yes.

The school is in the Dhaka cantonment. The cantonment is "Dhaka-lite;" there's less noise, rickshaws, people, and more structure and organization. People obey the traffic laws! The building itself is big and modern. Inside there is an administrative wing, classrooms, a physiotherapy room, speech and language therapy room, and a music and dance room, etc. The staff consists of a clinical psychologist, a speech language therapist, an occupational therapist, teachers, etc. To prepare its students for life after school and adult life in general, students learn a trade or skill and things like self care and cooking.

A student threw a tantrum in one of the classrooms I visited. Three teachers stood around him, dumbfounded. The teachers had no idea what to do. The principal talked to me after and said the biggest problem with his school is not a shortage of teachers, but the training they received, which is basically no training. The teachers become easily confused and frustrated in certain situations. This school needs someone to give them the proper training so they can meet each child's needs.

If you are reading this, please share this post with someone you know in special education (professors, teachers) willing to train teachers for a summer or more in Bangladesh at Sena Sahayok School.

The principal is fluent in English.

For more information, contact:

Email: ssbdarmy@yahoo.com

Physiotherapy Room - Filming was going on in there for a documentary.

Many of the students have social impairments. Notice this child has trouble making eye contact.

Speaking to the principal and teacher.

I came during lunch time.

What are you eating?

I noticed this board on my way out.

It had the pictures, names, and basic information of each child.

Talking to the kids.

The principal talking to one of the kids.

The principal. He loves the kids and knows them all by name.

Artwork done by the students.

Learning games.

The outside. As you can see it's wheelchair accessible.

There are about nine students in a class with about three teachers to each classroom.

There's no shortage of teachers, but training is needed.

The music and dance room. Traditional bengali musical instruments. Above was a mural of Happy Feet.

Large dance floor.

A cooking class where the children were learning to cook ruthi (bread).

Reinforcement through encouraging words and applause.

Special Olympic Winner.

The right side of the playground.

The left side of the playground.

A third world country like Bangladesh should be commended for establishing such a wonderful school.

Don't Drink The Water - A Word..Or Two On Traveler's Diarrhea

***This is a TMI (Too Much Information) post. You've been warned.

My fifth day in Bangladesh I got traveler's diarrhea. This occurs after ingesting fecally contaminated water or food. 25%-50% of traveler's get it. I knew of the risk of traveler's diarrhea before going to Bangladesh so I took the necessary precautions. I followed the cardinal rule of travel, I did NOT drink the water. I even brought water bottles with me from Saudi Arabia to Bangladesh. I was really picky about what I ate too. I avoided water based foods like daal (lentil soup), dairy, sweets, and food from street vendors. Despite my preparedness, I got it anyway. Why do travelers get it and not locals? Immunity. It can take weeks to years to develop the immunity locals have to the water and food.

In the morning, I had bloating, cramps, and loose stools and at night I started vomiting… a lot. My whole body became weak and the hot weather added to my malaise. I became worried about my condition; the biggest problem with diarrhea is the loss of electrolytes and dehydration and I was refusing to drink the saline water. It smelled and tasted like YMCA pool water like chlorine. Then I tried to take tasty saline, which was worst then the regular saline. It tasted like Tang powder mixed with pool water. Bleck. I was worried that I would have to go to the hospital to get saline intravenously. But then I had rice saline, which I could take.

Luckily in Bangladesh, it's easy to get your hands on prescription meds and the doctors make house calls. With the meds and rice saline I got better in about two days. I still had loose stools and cramping, but at least the vomiting stopped, I could EAT, stand, and take a bath on my own. I won't say that traveler's diarrhea doesn't suck. It does. BIG TIME. But, I thought of my bout with traveler's diarrhea as a rite of passage, a test of my traveler's will.

Sarah vs Wild - My Encounters With Animal Kind

You'll see geckos in almost every Bangladeshi home. Don't fear or hate these little guys they don't bite or scratch and they keep the bug population under control. I ended up liking geckos so much that I named the one in the room I stayed in Mr. Tiktikki (lizard).

Mr. Tiktikki himself or...herself. Idk looked like a boy to me.

I saw many crows in Bangladesh. Random story: I was standing out on the chaat when a crow flew straight at me. I screamed and ran for the door. I got the crap scared out of me by a bird. A DAMN BIRD. It was a funny-had-to-be-there kind of story.

It looks like the crow is waiting for me.

I got to see monkeys! It is kind of a big deal because monkey sightings nowadays are rare especially in the city. Monkeys have a terrible reputation in Bangladesh for wreaking havoc; getting into homes and taking food and even attacking people. The flying monkeys from the Wizard of OZ seem less villainous in comparison.

Monkey!

OMG there's two of them! One is on the edge of the ledge...heh that rhymed.

Far right - Flying monkey!

Great landing. Stay out of the house.

Unlike the geckos or monkeys my experiences with bugs were not so positive. I hated hated hated the bugs. I saw cockroaches the size of half dollar coins with antennae like cat whiskers so disgusting. I saw a millipede too. Ick.

Mosquitos will eat you alive if you do not take the proper precautions. I made two mistakes. One, I did not sleep under a mosquito net. DO NOT DO THIS! You might as well play Russian roulette, but instead of a bullet stick in malaria, yellow fever, or west nile. I was mindless, but lucky. Two, I sprayed myself with mosquito repellent. I took great care to spray my face, arms, and legs. The next morning I woke up with a bunch of bites on my hands and feet. I missed the most obvious parts.

Sorry, no pictures of the bugs. Need I explain why?

Mukhe Bhaat - First Rice Ceremony

On our third day in Bangladesh I went to my twin cousins' first rice ceremony, mukhe bhaat, which celebrates a baby's transition to solid foods. Rice is a staple in the bengali diet so it's only fitting that the first solid food the baby eats is rice.

Flowers for my parents.

Papa's schoolmates and friends from Dacca Collegiate School

Aww.

She likes solids.

Everything's going ok so far.

Then the crying begins.

Let's see how the sister does.

She's not fussy like her brother.

Pretty

Food

Even more food

Aunties and kiddies