Eid Mubarak
Well I just returned from the Eid celebration, it was the most amazing experience I have had yet. Not the actual celebration but the events surrounding it. Or better said the strange situations that I found myself in. First I must lay some ground work, Eid is the largest Muslim holiday by far and away. It is the close of Ramadan, which makes it an incredibly important day. I was invited to my families home village, let me stress the word "village." This place is well beyond the beaten path, for Bangladesh that is pretty remote. It is probably safe to say that as many as 70% of the people have never left the village, as for the women it is probably closer to 95%. So most of these peoples only access to the outside world/information comes from two places: the state run media and word of mouth. It is safe to say that 98% of the people in the village have never met a white foriegner in person. So now that some ground work has been laid I can tell my story.
My uncle Dhali (who is the rich person in the family) sent his personal car and driver to take us out to the village. After about an hour of some of the craziest driving I have ever experienced we turned off the pavement..........when I say we turned off the pavement I mean we turned off the cart path. So we turned onto this little dirt path, you know like a hiking trail. I felt like I was surveying out in the most remote part of Madison county. We drove down that trail for about ten or fifteen kilometers. Then we arrived in the village, as we were going through the village people started to crowd along the side of the path to see the Bideshi. When the car stopped because it was not feesible to go another inch, the people started to really crowd around the car. All the men over forty had long beards and all the women had their heads covered. Everyone was staring at me in disbelief while I was still sitting in the car, and then it happened, I got out of the car and stood up. All I heard was oohs and aahs, I was by far and away the biggest person any of them had ever seen. I kept hearing "gacher moto, boro gach," this means "like a tree, huge tree." I couldnt help but laugh, which was good because it let them see that I was actually human. So anyways after a little crowd control by my family went to my room, which I got all to myself. My family then proceeded to explain that I was the first foriegner that any of these people had ever seen, so please dont feel uncomfortable if people ask some strange questions, or just act strange all together. I recieved an invitation to go take tea in the Bazaar ( one tea stall, a pharmacy and a pirated movie store, you know the essentials). So we went down to the tea stall, there were probably about sixty or seventy people there to meet me. I was ushered to the front of the crowd and they sat me down, I was promptly served some of the best milk tea I have ever had. They broke out the private stash of tea for me. At this point the leaders of the village came to me with prepared questions, I cant help but feel like I am in Star Wars and meeting the Ewoks (about the same size ratio). First question: Are you married? -No, Second Question: When will you marry? -I dont know, Third Question: Are you interested to marry one of our Bangladeshi women? -No, Fourth Question: So why did you come here then?............... They sure know how make you feel akward in a hurry. On Eid day it was pretty cool, it is kind of like Christmas. All the parents give cloths and presents to their children, and the parents recieve nothing from the kids. I recieved a new shirt and a Panjabi, the Panjabi is really cool. It is made with some really nice fabrics. On the actual day the people wake up in the morning and eat shamai (fried vermacelli, coconut, sugar and milk) which is reeeally good. After that everyone has a bucket bath, a kind of ritual cleaning. After that everyone puts on their new clothes and the men go to the Eid Ga, which is a large field where everyone gathers and prays. I didnt actually go out there in the field but they (the entire village) asked me to come observe. It was about two thousand men all dressed in white listening to the Imam sing verses from the Koran, it was really interesting to see. After that it turned into a sort of trick or treating type of thing. Everyone goes around and eats food at everyone elses house, usually sweet breads then rice and beef then rice and chicken and then shamai in that order every time. So we did that about six times, it blew hometown buffet out of the water. I was stuffed by about four oclock, so then we went home to eat more. It is the custom to serve food to people even if they dont want it. They will actually pile the food on your plate even though your hand is covering it. It is crazy! I must say I really enjoyed it thoroughly, it was one of the cooler experiences I have had yet.
This are just a few examples of what it is like to visit a small Bangladeshi village. A number of other things happened but it would take forever to explain. It is impossible to put something into words, it just seems to lose its luster.
I am going to Kurigram tommorrow. My time is Gazipur is over, it is kind of sad, I know my host family is really depressed. Every where I go with them now I am introduced as a member of the family and not a guest. It is pretty neat and a little strange at the same time. The ask me everyday how I will be able to survive without them, it is kind of humorous. Now I have to start all over with a new host family that I have met only one time, they were nice people but they were really strange. I am sure it will be okay, it is only for three months. If the past three months were any indicator then it will go by really fast. Besides now I get to start doing what I came here for, although I get a one month vacation. Not that I will be traveling, but it is just time to relax and get accustomed to the new place. So it should give me a chance to hone some of my Bangla and just take it easy, something that I have not been able to do since I arrived. Sorry about the length this blog, it is just that I am not sure when a I will post again. I have a new saying to leave you with, "I know this, you Americans are maximum large, I know this, Americans are also heavy sexy, I know this is because of your good weather." I definately have my work cut out for me. Anyways, signing off from the Far side of the World,