To clear up any lingering confusion – I finished my three months of Bangla studies, and moved from my room in Mymensingh to a house in Ramchanrapur on September 30th. The Shanks (Jerry and Ethel) had been living in my house while they studied Bangla, but they recently finished their studies and moved to Dhaka. Ramchandrapur is about 45 minutes or more from Mymensingh depending on the public transportation. Mymensingh is a fairly large city, and Ramchandrapur is a village. People stare everywhere in Bangladesh, but old men on bicycles have almost driven into the rice field when they spotted Carolyn and me. I actually live in a farm compound with four houses, a clinic, and numerous duck houses. This is nice because I can actually walk outside around the farm without being stared at if I want to. The farm is run by a Korean couple, my closest neighbors, and is enclosed by a gate. There are a lot of ducks, a few rabbits, fish ponds, and numerous types of crops. We think the Koreans are actually missionaries who use the farm as their excuse to live in the country. They do sell the food from the farm at a market in Dhaka to the city’s large Korean population. Carolyn is living with me just as she lived with the Shanks. She will move to Dhaka at the beginning of December when she completes her studies. My house has two bedrooms, a bathroom with a toilet, and a kitchen/living/dinning room. The house has a refrigerator, stove, even an oven, but there are a lot more bugs and creatures than in Mymensingh. I have a woman, Ishmatara, who comes to cook and clean and do my laundry. She is friendly, married, has a six year old son, and is probably a year or two older than me. This is slightly weird for me, but in this culture is completely normal. MCC provides this because it offers needed employment and gives us time to focus on our MCC work instead of hand washing our clothing and making food (no frozen dinners here). Outside the gate of the farm are several villages. One day Carolyn and I went on a walk through some of the villages and tons of kids asked us to take their pictures! From the farm gate is a dirt road that is a three minute walk from the main road that goes to Mymensingh. Muktagatcha is about 15 minutes away from Ramchandrapur on the way to Mymensingh. Most days I will go to the MCC office in Muktagatcha for work. I feel like I live in the middle of nowhere, but I think it will be fine since I will be traveling alot. I've spent very little time at my house so far.
November 11, 2005
I live in a village
To clear up any lingering confusion – I finished my three months of Bangla studies, and moved from my room in Mymensingh to a house in Ramchanrapur on September 30th. The Shanks (Jerry and Ethel) had been living in my house while they studied Bangla, but they recently finished their studies and moved to Dhaka. Ramchandrapur is about 45 minutes or more from Mymensingh depending on the public transportation. Mymensingh is a fairly large city, and Ramchandrapur is a village. People stare everywhere in Bangladesh, but old men on bicycles have almost driven into the rice field when they spotted Carolyn and me. I actually live in a farm compound with four houses, a clinic, and numerous duck houses. This is nice because I can actually walk outside around the farm without being stared at if I want to. The farm is run by a Korean couple, my closest neighbors, and is enclosed by a gate. There are a lot of ducks, a few rabbits, fish ponds, and numerous types of crops. We think the Koreans are actually missionaries who use the farm as their excuse to live in the country. They do sell the food from the farm at a market in Dhaka to the city’s large Korean population. Carolyn is living with me just as she lived with the Shanks. She will move to Dhaka at the beginning of December when she completes her studies. My house has two bedrooms, a bathroom with a toilet, and a kitchen/living/dinning room. The house has a refrigerator, stove, even an oven, but there are a lot more bugs and creatures than in Mymensingh. I have a woman, Ishmatara, who comes to cook and clean and do my laundry. She is friendly, married, has a six year old son, and is probably a year or two older than me. This is slightly weird for me, but in this culture is completely normal. MCC provides this because it offers needed employment and gives us time to focus on our MCC work instead of hand washing our clothing and making food (no frozen dinners here). Outside the gate of the farm are several villages. One day Carolyn and I went on a walk through some of the villages and tons of kids asked us to take their pictures! From the farm gate is a dirt road that is a three minute walk from the main road that goes to Mymensingh. Muktagatcha is about 15 minutes away from Ramchandrapur on the way to Mymensingh. Most days I will go to the MCC office in Muktagatcha for work. I feel like I live in the middle of nowhere, but I think it will be fine since I will be traveling alot. I've spent very little time at my house so far.
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5 comments:
Thank you so much for clearing up your living situation and for the cultural lesson. It is so interesting to hear how well you're adapting to the new culture. I am very impressed! I got your text message and I was glad to know you got my card. I didn't text message you back though because you never got the other one I sent you, right?
Wow - Reba, that picture looks just like it came from National Geographic! You should a photography exhibit when you come home! I'm glad you are getting comfortable in your new place!
Yeah, I never got any text messages from the U.S., but you might have to add the country code for Bangladesh 880. Yesterday I took another walk in the village, and the whole time I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The village is so different from anything I've experienced.
Hi there rebekah. . .rachel o. sending you a "shout out" from the Philippines. Love your blog! No promises about mine-- I'm terrible about keeping updated, but thought I'd send it to you anyways. Thinking of you!
I loved reading about the village. It seems like Carolyn is fun, and I'm glad you have her to live with for now. I think it is awesome that you live on a farm!
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