Saturday, September 18, 2010
Snakes in My Apartment
I am not a huge fan of bugs in general, and absolutely abhor scorpions and snakes. This evening I bent down to pick up a piece of yarn on the floor and it slithered out of my hand. WHAT THE HELL?! I looked closely and it was a black snake about 3" in length. It clearly wasn't a centipede or other insect. I grabbed a sheet of paper, shifted it onto the paper and hurled it off the balcony. Then I wondered what it was and how it got into a third floor apartment. It looked just like this so it must have been a slender blind snake. It only eats ants and termites, so now I feel guilty about how I got rid of it. Hopefully it landed on something soft. And hopefully there aren't any other siblings waiting under the furniture.
All Quiet on the Dhaka Front
Dhaka has been a ghost town since I left for Bangkok. So many people who live here left their families behind in the villages, and they return home for a few weeks for Eid at the end of Ramadan. It has been spooky seeing all of the construction sites boarded up, finding very few beggars on the streets and actually being able to get around town without much trouble. It certainly made the transition back from Thailand easier though. And now that I've been with my students for a week, I am once again happy in Bangladesh.
Once of the things that attracted me to Bangladesh was the chance to perform meaningful service. The school provides support for twelve local organizations, and students spend three full school days and a number of Saturdays working at these charities. I chose an orphanage/school that serves street children. They have 62 resident students and another 120 that come from the slums and just attend school for half a day each day. I will be taking 10 of my students there at the end of the month, but wanted to visit myself in advance to get a better feel for the place, and I did so yesterday.
The classrooms are tiny, and at night the desks are piled up so that mattresses can be spread on the floors for the resident students to sleep on.
Friday is wash day. The resident students own few clothes other than those on their backs, but they do wash their sheets each week. The showers for students are located on the roof, and this is where they wash the sheets as well.
In addition to traditional subjects, the students are taught English, some French, and a trade such as sewing or cooking. Some of you may remember these sewing machines from your grandmother's or great grandmother's houses.
This is the "school bus" used by many public schools in Bangladesh. I couldn't believe it when I saw the first one driving around the streets of Dhaka with children in it. I thought it was a paddy wagon for truants.
I am sure that I will be asking all of you to help me to assist these students at some point. In the meantime, please let me know if you have any ideas for helping them.
Once of the things that attracted me to Bangladesh was the chance to perform meaningful service. The school provides support for twelve local organizations, and students spend three full school days and a number of Saturdays working at these charities. I chose an orphanage/school that serves street children. They have 62 resident students and another 120 that come from the slums and just attend school for half a day each day. I will be taking 10 of my students there at the end of the month, but wanted to visit myself in advance to get a better feel for the place, and I did so yesterday.
The classrooms are tiny, and at night the desks are piled up so that mattresses can be spread on the floors for the resident students to sleep on.
Friday is wash day. The resident students own few clothes other than those on their backs, but they do wash their sheets each week. The showers for students are located on the roof, and this is where they wash the sheets as well.
In addition to traditional subjects, the students are taught English, some French, and a trade such as sewing or cooking. Some of you may remember these sewing machines from your grandmother's or great grandmother's houses.
This was the only student studying on the day off. I suspect he will be successful in starting a new life off the streets.
This is the "school bus" used by many public schools in Bangladesh. I couldn't believe it when I saw the first one driving around the streets of Dhaka with children in it. I thought it was a paddy wagon for truants.
I am sure that I will be asking all of you to help me to assist these students at some point. In the meantime, please let me know if you have any ideas for helping them.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Leaving for Eid
I left on Thursday to go to Bangkok for the Eid holiday. It was bedlam leaving the city - dozens of people were sitting on top of each bus or train car and the suitcases and boxes were piled high. Here's a picture from the local newspaper:
Fortunately all was calm when I boarded Thai Airways (in business class using miles). I have to say that this is one of my favorite airlines. The service is flawless, they serve good French champagne and the food is wonderful. On the way to Bangkok we had grilled scallops over mixed greens, followed by prawns in a red pepper sauce with grilled squash and polenta, and an orange mousse cake for dessert. All served, of course, with great wines and after dinner drinks.
When I arrived in Bangkok I discovered that they had just opened the new train to downtown last week. It was so nice to rush into town on a train rather than sitting in rush hour traffic in a taxi (and at a third of the cost). Hotels in Bangkok are quite cheap and very nice, and I try to stay in a new hotel each time. This one, the Admiral Premier, was great. I love arriving at a hotel and immediately being seated and given cold tea and a cold towel to wipe my face. It just sets the mood for a great stay. The rooms were large and it was heaven to have a soft king-sized bed with fluffy pillows. As soon as I had checked in, I raced out for dinner at McDonalds (I know this is heresy in the capital of great Thai cooking, but I had to have a burger and fries after six weeks in Bangladesh) and a massage. Unfortunately this was the first bad massage I have ever had - I actually ended up with severe leg cramps.
The Thai hotels serve amazing breakfasts - usually American standards such as cereals, eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, pancakes, etc., as well as Asian specialties such as fried rice, noodles, hot dishes such as curries, soups, etc. I usually have a huge breakfast, and then don't eat again until dinner time. This hotel even served Tom Kha Gai (my favorite Thai soup) for breakfast. I then headed out to the malls for my first day of shopping. Bangladesh allows you to bring in two suitcases full of household goods without duty. I managed to buy a toaster, iron (now that I have someone to iron for me), various kitchen gadgets, an ice bucket and a martini shaker first. I took everything back to the hotel to weigh (planning to use every gram of my 30KG limit) - 15KG to go! After all of this walking and shopping, I was ready for another massage. This time it was fantastic - he managed to loosen up my cramped legs and even worked gently on my neck to unfreeze it a bit. That night I headed out to the suburbs to see my friends Rich and Sapai (who worked with me in Miami). They live in a delightful residential area of two story houses with small yards. A short walk takes you to a lake surrounded by restaurants, where we had a great Thai dinner - whole roast fish with sweet chili sauce, Tom Kha Gai soup, crab fried rice, and beef in green curry sauce. We ordered extra large portions so that they could have leftovers, and ended up eating every bite. That dinner alone was worth the trip to Bangkok!
Day two meant a trip to the weekend market. This is always overwhelming, but I was on a mission to find good towels. Success - double thick white towels in a 3 x 6 foot size were only $7. I bought four which filled up one of my two suitcases. And I still had 10KG to go! Now it was time for the grocery store. I stocked up on Thai curry pastes, good chocolate and rice paper (for fresh spring rolls), as well as other items my friends had requested. Back to the hotel for another weigh-in - and still 5KG to go. I couldn't believe my good fortune. With one more trip to the grocery store and very careful packing I had two completely full suitcases weighing 30.3KG. Now I had earned a final good dinner. This time it was my favorite burger place - MOS Burgers (from Japan). They serve a cheeseburger with a chili onion sauce that is to die for. You literally want to lick any drippings off the plate. They must put crack in the sauce, because I can't see the word MOS and not immediately want to go there. And I still had time for one final massage. Between sleeping in a very comfortable bed, and getting massages to loosen up my neck and shoulders, I was leaving Bangkok in less pain than when I arrived.
Thai Airways came through again on the return. After great service on the plane, they had the bags out in 10 minutes. It had taken an hour when we arrived on Qatar Airways in August. Despite huge crowds of people arriving with giant boxes of stuff (all tied with yellow rope), I was able to get out of the airport in less than half an hour.
Unfortunately , I arrived home to find that my fridge had stopped working while I was away and all of the food I had bought to last me through the end of the Eid holiday (which for the stores was still several days away) was spoiled.
I don't know if going to Bangkok was a good idea or not. It did let me buy things I needed and recharge my batteries. But it also made me realize how much I love Thailand, and how difficult it was going to be living in Bangladesh for two (at least) more years. I guess I'll just need to take regular trips out of the city to keep me happy and sane.
Fortunately all was calm when I boarded Thai Airways (in business class using miles). I have to say that this is one of my favorite airlines. The service is flawless, they serve good French champagne and the food is wonderful. On the way to Bangkok we had grilled scallops over mixed greens, followed by prawns in a red pepper sauce with grilled squash and polenta, and an orange mousse cake for dessert. All served, of course, with great wines and after dinner drinks.
When I arrived in Bangkok I discovered that they had just opened the new train to downtown last week. It was so nice to rush into town on a train rather than sitting in rush hour traffic in a taxi (and at a third of the cost). Hotels in Bangkok are quite cheap and very nice, and I try to stay in a new hotel each time. This one, the Admiral Premier, was great. I love arriving at a hotel and immediately being seated and given cold tea and a cold towel to wipe my face. It just sets the mood for a great stay. The rooms were large and it was heaven to have a soft king-sized bed with fluffy pillows. As soon as I had checked in, I raced out for dinner at McDonalds (I know this is heresy in the capital of great Thai cooking, but I had to have a burger and fries after six weeks in Bangladesh) and a massage. Unfortunately this was the first bad massage I have ever had - I actually ended up with severe leg cramps.
The Thai hotels serve amazing breakfasts - usually American standards such as cereals, eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, pancakes, etc., as well as Asian specialties such as fried rice, noodles, hot dishes such as curries, soups, etc. I usually have a huge breakfast, and then don't eat again until dinner time. This hotel even served Tom Kha Gai (my favorite Thai soup) for breakfast. I then headed out to the malls for my first day of shopping. Bangladesh allows you to bring in two suitcases full of household goods without duty. I managed to buy a toaster, iron (now that I have someone to iron for me), various kitchen gadgets, an ice bucket and a martini shaker first. I took everything back to the hotel to weigh (planning to use every gram of my 30KG limit) - 15KG to go! After all of this walking and shopping, I was ready for another massage. This time it was fantastic - he managed to loosen up my cramped legs and even worked gently on my neck to unfreeze it a bit. That night I headed out to the suburbs to see my friends Rich and Sapai (who worked with me in Miami). They live in a delightful residential area of two story houses with small yards. A short walk takes you to a lake surrounded by restaurants, where we had a great Thai dinner - whole roast fish with sweet chili sauce, Tom Kha Gai soup, crab fried rice, and beef in green curry sauce. We ordered extra large portions so that they could have leftovers, and ended up eating every bite. That dinner alone was worth the trip to Bangkok!
Day two meant a trip to the weekend market. This is always overwhelming, but I was on a mission to find good towels. Success - double thick white towels in a 3 x 6 foot size were only $7. I bought four which filled up one of my two suitcases. And I still had 10KG to go! Now it was time for the grocery store. I stocked up on Thai curry pastes, good chocolate and rice paper (for fresh spring rolls), as well as other items my friends had requested. Back to the hotel for another weigh-in - and still 5KG to go. I couldn't believe my good fortune. With one more trip to the grocery store and very careful packing I had two completely full suitcases weighing 30.3KG. Now I had earned a final good dinner. This time it was my favorite burger place - MOS Burgers (from Japan). They serve a cheeseburger with a chili onion sauce that is to die for. You literally want to lick any drippings off the plate. They must put crack in the sauce, because I can't see the word MOS and not immediately want to go there. And I still had time for one final massage. Between sleeping in a very comfortable bed, and getting massages to loosen up my neck and shoulders, I was leaving Bangkok in less pain than when I arrived.
Thai Airways came through again on the return. After great service on the plane, they had the bags out in 10 minutes. It had taken an hour when we arrived on Qatar Airways in August. Despite huge crowds of people arriving with giant boxes of stuff (all tied with yellow rope), I was able to get out of the airport in less than half an hour.
Unfortunately , I arrived home to find that my fridge had stopped working while I was away and all of the food I had bought to last me through the end of the Eid holiday (which for the stores was still several days away) was spoiled.
I don't know if going to Bangkok was a good idea or not. It did let me buy things I needed and recharge my batteries. But it also made me realize how much I love Thailand, and how difficult it was going to be living in Bangladesh for two (at least) more years. I guess I'll just need to take regular trips out of the city to keep me happy and sane.
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