I have been staying really busy the past couple of days/weeks, it is amazing to see how fast the time is starting to fly by. I am finally getting settled into my new apartment, it is pretty nice to have a little more independence now. Even though I have to start cooking for my self for the first time in six months, let me just say that I am a little rusty. It doesn’t really matter in the end because my students invite me for lunch everyday; I am talking about an all out lunch. At least five or six different dishes along with Pulao (the best rice as far as I am concerned), so I really cant complain too much about the eating situation. When I lived with my host family I at lunch there everyday, and if I didn’t they would be worried about me. Or as they would occasionally say to me when I ate lunch with someone else, “ Bai re khabar bhalo na.” Which means, “food from the outside is not good,” which culturally translates into “you need to eat at home because we make the best food.” The cultural translations are definitely taking a little longer than the actua language itself. Speaking of food… we (Kelly and I) had a barbeque with some friends in the community. It was pretty funny to watch, they weren’t quite sure what to think about a hamburger. The stacking technique just was way too foreign for them. It was really fun nonetheless; everyone was so excited to get to eat American food. That and they wanted to see the bideshis cook. Thank god it turned out okay, I realized about half way through that people were just enjoying trying to master our eating techniques. They kept wanting to use a fork because “that is how all Americans eat,” but I had to explain that in America we had all different types of food and ways of eating it. The response was pretty much unanimous… “America shob ache, kichuri er moto” which means America has everything, like jambalaya. This is pretty much the response that I get from most people when I try to explain things about America. Anyways it was a nice barbeque with the community, it would have been way better if I could have gotten a case of PBR from the commissary but I don’t think the local Imam would be too happy about me boozing up the neighborhood. I guess there is always next time………

I went to Dhaka last week for a few days, every time that I go it reminds me of how much I love Kurigram. Dhaka is a freaking zoo; I think that it is one of the nuttiest places I have seen. They have these little death traps called CNG’s, they are these three-wheeled motorized vehicles with a crazy driver chewing pan the whole way. It is a roller coaster ride from start to finish, and it definitely is the most unsafe thing that I have been doing besides being an American in a Muslim country while G.W. is running the show. Kurigram feels so far removed from everything, probably because there is only one bridge to get in and out, and that bridge is shared with the railroad.

Class is going pretty well so far. today we are having a debate on "Arranged Marriages v. Love Marriages. So I guess I will see how that goes, it should be interesting to say the least. Most of the girls went for arranged marriage and the boys went for love marriages. I think that a couple of the students will end up dating after this class, or at least it seems like they will. I think that it is kind of cool, my class provides a forum for people to be outside of the norms of their culture. In other words it is a place where they can talk about taboos and have political discussions without fear of persecution so to speak. Actually, everyday after my English class I teach a short Spanish lesson to about ten students who are interested. It was not my idea, they just were really interested after I told them that I can speak some Spanish. Which was of course followed by a Spanish song, that pretty much sold them on learning Spanish. So now I hear some of my students practicing Spanish with each other, if I could get them to practice their English like they practice Spanish they would be doing much better. Although I must say that I am proud that they are so eager to learn, from what I understand not all the volunteers are having so much success with their class. It is not necessarily the volunteer but more the will of the students. My students do not have any other alternative, there is no English medium school or any competent English teachers for that matter. Or as some of my students say "we have nothing else to do, it is not like I can go get a job." Which is true, there just is no work to be had in this area.

By the way, this is the picture of the village that my family lives in. This is where John Henry is a living legend.

Well that is about it from this side of the planet, maybe my next blog will be a little more interesting...... especially since there was a article published in the Bangla and English newspapers saying that JMB now wants to KILL Peace Corps volunteers, they said that they want us gone...... you know what I say.....NUTS!
Or whatever that guy said at the Battle of the Bulge. Bombs Away.
Signing off for now Bhodmashiallap (hint: this blog basically is "bhodmashiallap")



P.S. please excuse the grammar errors, I only speak correct english between 3:00 and 5:00 Sunday thru Thursday. It is not like i am an english teacher or something......