So if these pictures actually load it will be amazing. I know that people have been wanting to see a little of what it looks like here. The first picture is the river /canal near my house. It is about two blocks away, this is the prefered method for fishing here. It is really cool to watch them fish, it is really amazing how many fish are in these rivers. It would blow any anglers mind back home. I have seen these nets come up half full in one scoop, which is enough to feed several families. I really think that Americans might be the only people in the world that use a rod and reel. The second picture is from my roof at sunset. This is my neighborhood, it is really beautiful, anyways if this works I will post more.
well here I am again, my weekly saga continues. I am not sure wether you all are interested in this next blog but I will post it none the less. I got a hold of some Indian wiskey, woah, that stuff is no joke. It is really rough, those Indians are freaking animals, I dont see how they can drink that stuff on a regular basis. It is basically bathtub gin type of stuff. The thing is they dont know the alchohol content, I can tell you now, it is not low. So anyways you dont have to worry about me becoming an alchoholic. Besides it is not exactly the best thing to be in a Muslim society.
On to bigger fish, this is a little off topic, but.......
I met the person that I will be staying with in Kurigram, not actually living with but will be my counterpart. I am not sure how to go about explaining this one, so I will do my best.......she, um, well is tall with long blond hair and well she is...alright never mind somehow that just wasnt going to come out right. Needless to say I am excited to get started in Kurigram. Besides the fact that there is severe flooding and a massive dihorrea outbreak, things are looking up in the area ;-)
I am going up there this week for about a week, it will be nice to escape Gazipur and all the chaotic things that come with it. It will also be cooler up there because it is literally at the foot of the Himalayas, so I will get those nice cool nights and breezy days.
Right now there is a 20 year guy sitting across from me wearing a eighties glittery purple disco shirt with little shimmering things on it. He is sitting there trying to look tough for the girl that is sitting next to me, who happens to be American. It is really funny, because she is laughing at him (quietly) because his shirt is so funny looking, and he thinks that she likes him because she is smiling. So he is sitting here trying to impress her with his shirt (and mullet), I love this country. The whole concept of gender and their roles is so far from what we know it is crazy. If I have said this before forgive me, but I will say it again. The men wear ankle length skirts, they hold hands and they touch eachother in ways that would make the men in San Fransisco cringe. As a matter of fact I think that is why we had our staging in San Fran, it was for preparation. Not that any of it is really bad, it is just different. That has been the most difficult thing for most people in our group, they ask why for everything. The sooner you just realize that is the way it is no matter how strange it may seem, the sooner all of it will make sense. Everyday I am amazed by this culture and the ways that they say that our culture is crazy, not in a bad way. But everyday I am approached with the question "In America it is free sex, right?" So I reply everytime with the same answer, "NO." Then comes the Bengali reasoning, "I thought you lived in a free country?"......"Yes of course I do."........."So isnt the sex free?"........"NO"......."Do you pay a dowry?"......"NO"......"Then it is free sex!... So they walk away from the conversation thinking that they just tought me something about my own culture. I deal with these conversations on a daily basis. Sometimes it is really humorous, sometimes it is very serious. Sometimes when they voice their support for 9/11 I just walk away, and that drives them nuts, because they lost their chance to voice their opinion to an American. For the most part people are very nice about conversation because for some people they will never meet another American in their life. But by the same token people take that opportunity to really try and ream me, but as you can see by their logic that those conversations are not to difficult to navigate. So anyways, I guess I better be moving on. Keep those Islamist militants mad GW, it makes my life a lot easier, haha.Until heavy long time in the tomorrow.
shada bideshi signing off.