Traveling: Views and Destinations

The one glorious aspect of the countless hot, sticky, cramped hours I've spent traveling between cities in Bangladesh is hands-down the view of the countryside that passes beyond my window. I love it, and haven't yet tired of it.

The biggest difference between my twenty-hour roadtrips from Chicago to Maine and the ones to and from Chittagong is summed up in one term that my students just learned in our Econ unit: population density.

While one can travel 50 miles in the U.S. without seeing a sole person, that just wouldn't happen here in a country of more than 162 million inhabiting an area the size of Wisconsin. The majority of the population is still rural (although Dhaka is now receiving a thousand immigrants a day since food prices have risen and rural jobs are scarce.)
Through the windows, along the railway and roads, you'll see the two toned grounds of brick factories. The unbaked-grey and warm-red bricks interrupt the green landscape all throughout the country.
For the last few months, the greens have faded into dusty winter hues. But the rains will come soon!

Most of my train journeys so far have been the Chittagong-Dhaka express. Almost everything goes through Dhaka, be it imports from abroad or passengers in transit. Except for the ridiculous traffic, I do enjoy the eventful weekends I get in this nation's capitol.

The number of food options are at least double those of Chittagong. Despite all the choices, my friends and I chose a favorite chicken place last December called the Kosturi Kitchen, and we make sure to hit it up at least once every visit.
Something else Dhaka has, that Chittagong hasn't caught onto quite yet, are coffee shops... with coffee... and WiFi. It's so luxurious. At least to us country bumpkins from Bangladesh's smaller cities. Maybe coming straight from the States, this little cafe called Cup o' Coffee Club in the upscale district of Ghulshan wouldn't be so glamorous. For example, this little mouse that joined us on the counter while we sipped lattes probably wouldn't be nearly as welcome in the Wheaton, IL Starbucks. But when I alerted the waiter about this furry critter below, he smiled and said "It's okay."
Alyssa and I decided he was right, it was ok, or at least that a little mouse oughtn't interrupt our caffinated conversations over Skype with friends back home....

John & Jan back in Bangladesh!

John and Jan Thorpe have left the piles of beautiful snow on the coast of Maine to move back to Bangladesh -- long-term, indefinitely, committed. I'm amazed.

I had the exciting opportunity to surprise them at the Dhaka airport when they arrived. I hadn't counted on meeting up with them until my spring break, a few weeks after their arrival. But when I realized they were arriving Thursday, I figured I could easily miss and make up one day of class for this chance to be with them in their first 24 hours back in the country.

We'll be spending my spring break together, in the tea gardens of Srimongol with some of my teaching colleagues.

One of the many benefits of their arrival is that I was able to retrieve the camera chord that I'd left in Maine, which is part of the reason I've been so delinquent and unmotivated about posting blog entries. They're just not as fun without recent photos. I'll have to play some catch up too, since I've finally gotten my photos from Christmas break in the States. Admittedly, the other reason for my blog neglect is that I'm teaching overtime, and it's midterms week.... and I need to write 3 midterm exams.... so I'd better sign off for now!

shouts of joy in chittagong

Live from Chittagong: BANGLADESH JUST BEAT ENGLAND IN A CRICKET WORLD CUP GAME!

I'll take this brief writing break from weeks of non-stop teaching, grading, working, travelling to fill you in on the current joyous happenings in Chittagong....

Midnight now, I'm at my desk in my room on the 9th floor of an apartment building on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway, and the shouts, honks, chants, drums below me are those of utter jubilation. It's reminding me of being in Paris in 2000 when the city hosted the final match of the Euro Cup and France beat Italy. Tonight's game (not a final) took place here in Chittagong and lasted about 7 hours.

Apparently these games can last for days. When I went out with some friends for afternoon coffee, the little restaurant had a huge screen set up with a projector and all customers and workers alike were a rapt audience of the game that I admittedly don't understand at all.

Although the festive screaming outside my window is in part a rather disheartening promise that shouldn't expect a solid night's sleep (on this weekend when I desperately need it), the excitement is still catching. It's nice to see this city full of energy. Chittagong sometimes feels to me like the bland and ugly little stepsister of Dhaka. Even with the ridiculous traffic and congestion of Dhaka, most Chittagonians would prefer to get their entertainment, shopping, and haircuts up there.

So having a couple of the ICC World Cup games here has been a source of great pride for Chittagong, not to mention for Bangladesh as a whole. The streets are cleaner, there are new fountains at every traffic circle, the telephone poles are all painted brightly in the national colors of red and green, and blinking lights adorn every tree and traffic median. It looks like Christmas actually.

Again, I can't say the heightened volume and quantity of car horns on the street right now is my cup of tea... but do appreciate how this game is unifying Bangladeshis across the world. A recent BBC article stated that,

"Co-hosting the Cricket World Cup is being seen here as one of the biggest events in the country's history since independence in 1971... 'In Bangladesh cricket is not simply a game, it is a symbol of national unity.' "

Comparing a few cricket games to a bloody liberation war seems pretty overstated to me, but like I said, I don't know what I'm talking about when it comes to cricket. So I'm sure I'm missing something. Not the victory shouts out my window though. Those are unmissable.

By the way, Bangladesh won by 2 wickets with 6 balls remaining.....?