Cute Children 1
Cute Children 2
Snowflake Marshmallows in Cocoa...Martha Stewart
Purple Moonlit Nights
Purple Moonlit Nights
Friday, November 20, 2009
Things That Make Me Happy
Since the last post was long and depressing, these are current pictures that make me happy.
Troubleshooting to Take Off
Even though sometimes it doesn't feel like it, I am technically here for my Master's practicum. Throughout the entire process of searching for a practicum we were all told to not expect anything, that some practicums turn out badly, etc, etc. So while I was open-minded, I, of course, did have some expectations. Turns out, working abroad here is not meeting a single one of them. Lets take it from the top.
Disclaimer: Everything I am about to say, even if negative, is not a reflection on the organization, the people, the country, etc. it is merely the experience that I am having. Other people are having wonderful times...
The associated study: I approached the study team in September of 2008 to work on this project...and after 8 months of applying for funding, talking the project over with the staff, meeting with people at Hopkins about the project, etc. etc. I had some money and a confirmation from the investigator team that this would be a good experience for me and that there was lots to work on regarding the project because it was new.
The project was supposed to officially start in May, then June. I was asked to come at the beginning of July, but due to commitments in Baltimore, I opted to go in August. Although I did not have IRB approval before I left Baltimore, I was told right before I left that there would be some kinks to work out on the surveillance system and I would be helping with some project management duties. When I got to BG, the project still hadn't started and after being told oh, 4 days, oh 3 more days, oh 2 days...I got frustrated and did some travelling - Sylhet, Nepal, a visit to the fieldsite, etc.
During this time, there wasn't much for me to work on. I had helped with the surveys prior and although I went to the office every day asking to help, I was told I couldn't help with anything.
This taught me three things: 1. Make sure that before you leave, you know exactly what the stipulations of your job will be, when it will start, and what the responsibilities of the host organization will be if that doesn't work out (e.g. will they find other work for you?). 2. Be as candid (but polite!) as possible when discussing problematic issues and what can be done about them so that everyone involved is happy. 3. Don't rely on anyone but yourself.
The main reason I was so frustrated with the project is that every three days, the start date would get pushed back...for two months. And at first, I thought it was actually every three days, but apparently that had been happening since May and I just didn't know. Maybe naively, I thought it would really be in three days and so put off making any plans - e.g. getting a Bengali tutor, finding another project, finding a gym...If I had been more up front with how frustrated I was earlier, they could have been more upfront with me about how little they knew about when they were going to be ready to start - they honestly didn't know because it depended on the construction of their office (something that wasn't necessarily conveyed to me as such). More of my frustration wasn't that I wasn't doing anything, it was that I didn't know when I would be doing something - I was unprepared for all the waiting...And waiting...I didn't have a back-up project, I had wrapped up all my work in Baltimore, my med school apps were in and being processed, etc. etc. And there is only so much your adviser's can do from other countries. If I had known of the delays, even before I left, I could have opted to stay in India and travel or spend time with family and they could have emailed me when they knew a particular day and I would have flown in the next day. Granted, I think the project team was under the naive understanding I was - that it would actually start in three days (I'm not sure how much I believe this, but I think they had convinced themselves of it). Eventually I tried to find other projects, lots of bureaucracy is involved with everything and it didn't work out at the time... All these experiences I can use in the future
Eventually the project started and I would try to help, but again, was told there was nothing I could actively do. Although I was disappointed (this isn't what I had been told prior to coming), I still did learn a lot from just observing and asking questions (e.g. how project's are run, field visits, the fact that you have to check up on everyone about everything, troubleshooting). I still do learn a lot...
My personal project: the first fieldsite visit, I chose an interviewer, who although did not have experience in this type of work, spoke three of the tribal languages, very good Bangla, and moderate English (she had spent some time in Australia). We discussed the stipulations of her job and what she would do and etc. etc. And then she came to Dhaka to get trained (in Bangla just to make sure there were no communication issues). While I thought that would be enough - my training, the Bangla training, some practicing - it, unsurprisingly, wasn't. Although that is all the training we received at Hopkins, I couldn't really translate it to the here. I spent an extra three weeks practicing 7 hours a day with my interviewer on how to probe and elicit detailed answers to posed questions. By the end of it, she had it (!) - at least while she was talking to me. And during that time we also got our ethics approval to start (another side point: know when the holidays in your country are - the local approval was delayed by about three weeks because of Eid and then Durga Puja - timing I was again uninform
Over the course of the past month and a half and interviewing, I have learned the benefits and challenges of who you choose as an interviewer, which is really beneficial for future work and the development of future protocols and any future job I get - all for the future. Main challenges I've had: language barriers, ethnic associations, and training. I appreciate ethnographic/anthropologic/public health research so much more in these respects. I have also learned the differences (implicit responsibilities and expectations) between working in the West and working here. That has been another challenge all in itself - showing up to work on time, timeliness of turnaround on materials, how many hours are in a work day, bureaucracy, etc.
The latter stuff I was not prepared for. And it has been the biggest challenges for me. I am a 23 year-old women in a Muslim country where everyone is older than me. Although I do get added (?) respect for being from Hopkins and from America, ethnically I blend in quite well and so the expectations of who I should be are very different - basically, I shouldn't act like a white Western person, even though I am. Having to motivate workers is hard for me since I am so personally motivated - how do you evoke that passion and desire in others? Having to set rules and boundaries to those older than me is difficult and upsetting - again, that goes with implicit expecations in the West. Having to "reprimand" people when they are doing things inappropriately is even more difficult - I've never really been reprimanded by a boss, so I also don't know how to feel about it and the best way to go about it. I have definitely made mistakes and I have definitely learned from them, but it's not something I ever thought I would be exposed to and something I was completely unprepared for. I suppose a learning experience for everyone involved.
There have of course been some other bureaucratic issues and mistakes and disappointments and cries and yells, but nothing that is probably appropriate for a public blog.
Other projects: Eventually I did get some other projects through some convoluted ways and I will detail them in later posts...
Next time: the results of my interviews...thus far
Disclaimer: Everything I am about to say, even if negative, is not a reflection on the organization, the people, the country, etc. it is merely the experience that I am having. Other people are having wonderful times...
The associated study: I approached the study team in September of 2008 to work on this project...and after 8 months of applying for funding, talking the project over with the staff, meeting with people at Hopkins about the project, etc. etc. I had some money and a confirmation from the investigator team that this would be a good experience for me and that there was lots to work on regarding the project because it was new.
The project was supposed to officially start in May, then June. I was asked to come at the beginning of July, but due to commitments in Baltimore, I opted to go in August. Although I did not have IRB approval before I left Baltimore, I was told right before I left that there would be some kinks to work out on the surveillance system and I would be helping with some project management duties. When I got to BG, the project still hadn't started and after being told oh, 4 days, oh 3 more days, oh 2 days...I got frustrated and did some travelling - Sylhet, Nepal, a visit to the fieldsite, etc.
During this time, there wasn't much for me to work on. I had helped with the surveys prior and although I went to the office every day asking to help, I was told I couldn't help with anything.
This taught me three things: 1. Make sure that before you leave, you know exactly what the stipulations of your job will be, when it will start, and what the responsibilities of the host organization will be if that doesn't work out (e.g. will they find other work for you?). 2. Be as candid (but polite!) as possible when discussing problematic issues and what can be done about them so that everyone involved is happy. 3. Don't rely on anyone but yourself.
The main reason I was so frustrated with the project is that every three days, the start date would get pushed back...for two months. And at first, I thought it was actually every three days, but apparently that had been happening since May and I just didn't know. Maybe naively, I thought it would really be in three days and so put off making any plans - e.g. getting a Bengali tutor, finding another project, finding a gym...If I had been more up front with how frustrated I was earlier, they could have been more upfront with me about how little they knew about when they were going to be ready to start - they honestly didn't know because it depended on the construction of their office (something that wasn't necessarily conveyed to me as such). More of my frustration wasn't that I wasn't doing anything, it was that I didn't know when I would be doing something - I was unprepared for all the waiting...And waiting...I didn't have a back-up project, I had wrapped up all my work in Baltimore, my med school apps were in and being processed, etc. etc. And there is only so much your adviser's can do from other countries. If I had known of the delays, even before I left, I could have opted to stay in India and travel or spend time with family and they could have emailed me when they knew a particular day and I would have flown in the next day. Granted, I think the project team was under the naive understanding I was - that it would actually start in three days (I'm not sure how much I believe this, but I think they had convinced themselves of it). Eventually I tried to find other projects, lots of bureaucracy is involved with everything and it didn't work out at the time... All these experiences I can use in the future
Eventually the project started and I would try to help, but again, was told there was nothing I could actively do. Although I was disappointed (this isn't what I had been told prior to coming), I still did learn a lot from just observing and asking questions (e.g. how project's are run, field visits, the fact that you have to check up on everyone about everything, troubleshooting). I still do learn a lot...
My personal project: the first fieldsite visit, I chose an interviewer, who although did not have experience in this type of work, spoke three of the tribal languages, very good Bangla, and moderate English (she had spent some time in Australia). We discussed the stipulations of her job and what she would do and etc. etc. And then she came to Dhaka to get trained (in Bangla just to make sure there were no communication issues). While I thought that would be enough - my training, the Bangla training, some practicing - it, unsurprisingly, wasn't. Although that is all the training we received at Hopkins, I couldn't really translate it to the here. I spent an extra three weeks practicing 7 hours a day with my interviewer on how to probe and elicit detailed answers to posed questions. By the end of it, she had it (!) - at least while she was talking to me. And during that time we also got our ethics approval to start (another side point: know when the holidays in your country are - the local approval was delayed by about three weeks because of Eid and then Durga Puja - timing I was again uninform
Over the course of the past month and a half and interviewing, I have learned the benefits and challenges of who you choose as an interviewer, which is really beneficial for future work and the development of future protocols and any future job I get - all for the future. Main challenges I've had: language barriers, ethnic associations, and training. I appreciate ethnographic/anthropologic/public health research so much more in these respects. I have also learned the differences (implicit responsibilities and expectations) between working in the West and working here. That has been another challenge all in itself - showing up to work on time, timeliness of turnaround on materials, how many hours are in a work day, bureaucracy, etc.
The latter stuff I was not prepared for. And it has been the biggest challenges for me. I am a 23 year-old women in a Muslim country where everyone is older than me. Although I do get added (?) respect for being from Hopkins and from America, ethnically I blend in quite well and so the expectations of who I should be are very different - basically, I shouldn't act like a white Western person, even though I am. Having to motivate workers is hard for me since I am so personally motivated - how do you evoke that passion and desire in others? Having to set rules and boundaries to those older than me is difficult and upsetting - again, that goes with implicit expecations in the West. Having to "reprimand" people when they are doing things inappropriately is even more difficult - I've never really been reprimanded by a boss, so I also don't know how to feel about it and the best way to go about it. I have definitely made mistakes and I have definitely learned from them, but it's not something I ever thought I would be exposed to and something I was completely unprepared for. I suppose a learning experience for everyone involved.
There have of course been some other bureaucratic issues and mistakes and disappointments and cries and yells, but nothing that is probably appropriate for a public blog.
Other projects: Eventually I did get some other projects through some convoluted ways and I will detail them in later posts...
Next time: the results of my interviews...thus far
Thoughts and Observations of the Day
Thoughts
1. If everyone keeps telling me that monsoon season is over, why does it rain everyday?
2. If you are going to put an army in place to monitor the safety of foreigners, shouldn't they be able to communicate with the foreigners?
3. I don't understand rickshaw-wallahs who are chain smokers. I want to do a study on their lung function - does biking all day cancel out the effects of tar?
4. In the middle of a village with no cell phone or radio reception, I heard Aqua's Barbie Girl. And the tribals sang along to the chorus....
1. If everyone keeps telling me that monsoon season is over, why does it rain everyday?
2. If you are going to put an army in place to monitor the safety of foreigners, shouldn't they be able to communicate with the foreigners?
3. I don't understand rickshaw-wallahs who are chain smokers. I want to do a study on their lung function - does biking all day cancel out the effects of tar?
4. In the middle of a village with no cell phone or radio reception, I heard Aqua's Barbie Girl. And the tribals sang along to the chorus....
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
My Fieldsite and My Life's People Thus Far
When I first arrived at my fieldsite, it was a breath of fresh air. Bandarban is on the Southeast nub of Bangladesh in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The area has had its political ups and downs, some of which I will detail, but suffice it to say that the area is mainly full of indigenous populations. In Bandarban alone there are 11 or 12 (I can't remember) and others groups are dispersed around Bangaldesh. Bandarban is full of trees and relatively clean-smelling air. It has rain and mist and dirt roads and women and walking and cows in the streets and PIGS - it has PIGS people. Dhaka is crowded and congested and smelly and by the following pictures, you can see why it was amazing to get here.
I can't remember whether I have briefed you on the larger project, so I will do it again. It's an active surveillance study for the next three years and every week, they will randomly take 12 people and take blood slides to test for malaria (via RDT, PCR, and microscopy). It's the first active surveillance study for malaria in Bangladesh and a previous study showed a parasite level of around 8% during non-rainy seasons here, which is almost as high as some African countries. If you know about malaria: P. falciparum (the worse kind) is most prevalent here and of the CHT (Chittagong Hill Tracts - the surrounding region), Bandarban has shown higher rates. The entire project staff here is tribal people - the 12 fieldworkers for communication reasons, but even the entomologist and the data analyst, who both have university degrees. The medical officer has lived his whole life here and the project manager was brought in special for this project. They are from 4 different tribes I think, which is great because they work with about 6. And most people, even the villagers, know at least one language and Bengali...
The time I spent here in September is useless to detail, except to say that I was welcomed warmly by the fieldstaff, the project manager (Jacob), the medical officer (Chai), the entomologist (Sumit), and the data manager (Annie). We even went on a couple "sightseeing" tours - to a temple and to a small waterfall and did all the prerequisite stuff like meeting people at the hospital we would be recruiting people from and getting
"permissions" from the chief of health something-or-other. It was also the opening of the office and I came down with the PI, so there were lots of celebrations, invitations to dinners, visits to the field, etc. etc. However, since I didn't have IRB approval yet, I couldn't actually do real things.
"permissions" from the chief of health something-or-other. It was also the opening of the office and I came down with the PI, so there were lots of celebrations, invitations to dinners, visits to the field, etc. etc. However, since I didn't have IRB approval yet, I couldn't actually do real things.
Bandarban is a major city within the area, so it's not as remote as I thought it would be. That's both a positive and a negative. I wanted a more remote experience and while this is remote, I can take a bus back to Dhaka overnight or a two hour ride to Chittagong and an airport. However, it is nice to have civilization sometimes. And there are wonderful friends there....who I will detail now.
Alison: former Dhaka roommate, Fogarty fellow, and trying to solve the problems of cholera in a lab
Taher, Murshid, and Taibur: three Bangladeshi boys who work in Alison's lab who explain to us the workings of this country and why we shouldn't say some of the things we do...
Muraly: Canadian expat doing some sort of business where he sells things to people...
Lameck: Kenyan boy studying for his MPH at the BRAC School of Public Health
Tarik: Egyptian (?) expat also doing some sort of business here - either with phones or telecomm...or are those the same thing?
Evelyn: second former Dhaka roommate, Fogarty fellow, and involved in many many projects trying to solve the problems of Bangladesh...
Khoshal: other ICDDR, B intern, Dutch medical student, studying Gullian-Barre syndrome
Meghana: other ICDDR, B intern, US medical student from Buffalo, trying to get people to wash their hands
So those are the major people involved in my Dhaka life. All wonderful.
And I think that is probably enough catching up for today. Soon to come: my feelings on conferences, Eid, Durga Puja, my project, Hallowe'en...
The Way You Look Tonight
I loved everything about Nepal and it is definitely on my list of places to visit/work in the future. I would have loved more time to explore the country and the culture, but I suppose for now I will have to do it vicariously through L. and books I've ordered online, waiting for me in Niagara...
Other things I loved about Nepal was the fact that Nepali women are just so damn beautiful. Of course saris make all women look majestic, but there was something about their facial structure and their ethnic ambiguity (to me) that added an extra layer of awe...they weren't Indian, or Tibetan, or Bhutanese, or anything...but you could see resemblences of all of it in them. I know it's naive of me to say they are ethnically ambiguous because they are obviously Nepali, but not having known many Nepalis I try to abstract from the people I do know...Even the modern women were fashionable - with their henna and kajol paried with 3-inch stilettos and cute hair - totally different from Bangladesh...
Even more other things I loved...chai. BG doesn't make chai, they have tea from tea bags and thats about it. It makes me sad. But here, there was a warm milky smoothness of a good pot of chai - the fragrance of cloves and cinnamom wafting through restaurants and the oh-so-magnificant taste of cardamon as it rests in your mouth. For a coutry that produces 10 million pounds of tea a year, you think BG would have gotten the splendor by now...but still people ask me "why do you like milk tea so much?" I cry.
Other things I loved about Nepal was the fact that Nepali women are just so damn beautiful. Of course saris make all women look majestic, but there was something about their facial structure and their ethnic ambiguity (to me) that added an extra layer of awe...they weren't Indian, or Tibetan, or Bhutanese, or anything...but you could see resemblences of all of it in them. I know it's naive of me to say they are ethnically ambiguous because they are obviously Nepali, but not having known many Nepalis I try to abstract from the people I do know...Even the modern women were fashionable - with their henna and kajol paried with 3-inch stilettos and cute hair - totally different from Bangladesh...
Even more other things I loved...chai. BG doesn't make chai, they have tea from tea bags and thats about it. It makes me sad. But here, there was a warm milky smoothness of a good pot of chai - the fragrance of cloves and cinnamom wafting through restaurants and the oh-so-magnificant taste of cardamon as it rests in your mouth. For a coutry that produces 10 million pounds of tea a year, you think BG would have gotten the splendor by now...but still people ask me "why do you like milk tea so much?" I cry.
Day 6: Bodnanth and Leaving...
The Bodnanth stupa is one of the largest stupas in Nepal and has tons of Tibetan influence. Om mani padme hum (a mantra to the Bodhisattva of Compassion) is everywhere...chanted...written...it's in the air. Not much to say about this other than it was really big and I don't have pictures of it for the same reason. Once I get my computer back, I promise to update everything with lovely pictures.
After spending some time wandering, having tea, and buying a thanka painting, I returned to the hotel, had some chai and made my way to the airport. K. had to renew his visa, so had returned to Kathmandu alone earlier. I didn't know if it would be granted in time and I didn't know if I would see him on the plane...luckily and after the plane waited specially for him, he made it (!).
Flying home was an adventure in itself. I was probably the only girl in coach and was sitting alone among Nepali workers heading to Malaysia and Saudi Arabia for work. Another highlight was that we got to see Mt. Everest - rising from the clouds like something you would see in a Disney movie - completely unreal and some sort of etherial plane for higher beings. I mean it just looks like a snow-capped mountain, but really, when have you seen a mountain that is higher than your at-full-altitude plane (well, maybe YOU have).
The moment we stepped into Bangladesh, I missed Nepal - the cool breeze, the presence of women, the Hindu/Buddhist culture, and the lack of smell of defecation...oh well, we were back.
After spending some time wandering, having tea, and buying a thanka painting, I returned to the hotel, had some chai and made my way to the airport. K. had to renew his visa, so had returned to Kathmandu alone earlier. I didn't know if it would be granted in time and I didn't know if I would see him on the plane...luckily and after the plane waited specially for him, he made it (!).
Flying home was an adventure in itself. I was probably the only girl in coach and was sitting alone among Nepali workers heading to Malaysia and Saudi Arabia for work. Another highlight was that we got to see Mt. Everest - rising from the clouds like something you would see in a Disney movie - completely unreal and some sort of etherial plane for higher beings. I mean it just looks like a snow-capped mountain, but really, when have you seen a mountain that is higher than your at-full-altitude plane (well, maybe YOU have).
The moment we stepped into Bangladesh, I missed Nepal - the cool breeze, the presence of women, the Hindu/Buddhist culture, and the lack of smell of defecation...oh well, we were back.
Day 5: to NamoBuddha and Back...
Our second day at Dhulikhel began with the early morning sunrise. As I was saying, since we came at the end of the monsoon season, everything was misty and cloudy and foggy and any other synonym you can think of for that. However, although we awoke to a very misty morning, for about an hour, the sky cleared up and we caught a view of the Himalayas to the north (the ONE picture I salvaged...). Apparently in October/November, you can see the whole range of the mountains...I.have.no.words.
The hike to NamoBuddha was a winding footpath through eons of corn fields and up and down hills. We passed two villages and small groups of children on their way to school, as well as men with huge baskets of maize and women carrying enormous bundles of kindling on her head. Often, the groups of children we passed would yell out, "One pen!" After being very confused, someone told us that often when tourists come and they pass the children, their hearts break and they want to give these poor children something. And most of the time, the only thing people have in their bags/purses/etc that they are willing to part with is a pen, so the children have collections of pens that the tourists give them on their walks. While this was probably an over-dramaticized telling, it may be true.
Pictures cannot capture the beauty of this scene.
After breakfast, we headed out on a hike to NamoBuddha - a temple approximately 3 hours away from where we were staying. The stupa is a pilgrimage site, mainly for Tibetan pilgrims on their way to Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha. Although little is actually known about the temple, legend has it that, centuries, ago, there were three princes who love to hunt in these hills, which were overrun with tigers (see origin of the word Dhulikhel). One day, three princes were out hunting and the youngest prince found a very ill tigress nursing her cubs. Seeing the tiger on the verge of death, the prince offered himself up as food, sacrificing his life.
The hike to NamoBuddha was a winding footpath through eons of corn fields and up and down hills. We passed two villages and small groups of children on their way to school, as well as men with huge baskets of maize and women carrying enormous bundles of kindling on her head. Often, the groups of children we passed would yell out, "One pen!" After being very confused, someone told us that often when tourists come and they pass the children, their hearts break and they want to give these poor children something. And most of the time, the only thing people have in their bags/purses/etc that they are willing to part with is a pen, so the children have collections of pens that the tourists give them on their walks. While this was probably an over-dramaticized telling, it may be true.
On our leisurely walk, we befriended a French girl who was travelling alone and who brought us to a Tibetan monastery for lunch. The monastery was HUGE - much larger than the one K. and I found in Pokhara. Lunch there was amazing. We sat in a section marked visitors, removed from the rows and rows of monks, ranging from notice to beginner. There were maybe 150 monks in total, some carrying their own bowls, some with saffron cloth added to their maroon robes, and some just shuffling in with their friends and giggling - I assumed each had to do with how senior they were. One monk led hypnotic chanting through a microphone and once the bell range, younger monks came around serving everyone our of huge metal buckets. From the time we were served to the time the end-of-meal chanting began, to me, felt like 10 minutes, but I am sure it was at least 30 minutes. People had scarfed their food and I was still slowly eating - it was delicious, but I'm just slow.
After lunch, we trekked down to NamoBuddha. The temple was simple, surrounded, as always, by a prayer wheel and at the end of a footpath lined with Tibetan prayer flags. Spending some time just soaking it all in, we then headed back to Dhulikhel.
Getting back, we realized that we had missed the last bus back to Kathmandu. Through much finagling, we were able to procure a taxi for a reasonable price. Within 15 minutes of our ride, the car broke down after the decent from the bumpy hill. Despite this being the "only" taxi in the city, another car mysteriously appeared and we were able to make our way to Bodhnath, another Buddhist site, and a wonderful hotel with HOT water (!)
Day 4: The Height of the Mountains
After an early rise of watching a gorgeous view of the mountains, we trekked to Kali temple at the top of 100 steps up a mountain. On the path, a newly built Buddha towers over the side of the forest, shining in gold though the dense green. Again, no pictures, but try and think of a diamond in a dark sky. The Kali temple wasn't anything too special, but the view was in describable - soaring over a valley and watching the mist roll in and out. We sat at a nearby hotel for chai and just watched the sky. It was amazing that in the span of 20 minnutes, the mist rolled in and out so heavily that your hand could disappear in front of your face, but come back within 10 minutes. Because I think you need some sort of pictures, I have stolen these from L.'s blog.
L.'s collegue walked us around the Old Town, in which the traditional architechture is still preserved. We had breakfast, walked around, K. and I played carrem with a bunch of random guys in the street, and we followed a group of boys behind a school to play ping pong, football, and cricket.
I was amazed at how friendly the people were here. No one stared, people said hi, no one asked for money, and adorbale little children followed us shouting "one photo please". After showing them their picture on the digital camera, they would break down into fits of giggles and laughter.
For the rest of the afternoon, we sat atop the mountain hotel, drant beer (it's in the country!), played cards, talked, and just watched the mountains. It seemed a popular hangout spot for college kids and at least 3 groups of people came to eat, drink, and smoke. One group of college kids we talked to for quite a while and as soon as they pulled out their smokes, I, of course, began my lecture on the dangers of smoking. While two of his friend's agreed with me, he responded "From childhood, it has been a hobby of mine." I couldn't stop laughing.
It was a great place to spend a day relaxing and after watching a gorgeous sunset, we went to bed in anticipation of the sunrise...
Day 3: Travelling
After one wonderful day in Pokahar, we took an 8 hours bus back to Kathmandu . The Gods must have decded to make it a good day because the clouds parted and we got to wach the Annapurna ridge as we left eht city. As I was mezmarized by teh bautry, I couldn't help but think of the economic status of these people and the view they have, compared to the thousand dollar apartments in Baltimore that have a view of delapidated ruins. Do the people here realize the view they have or am I just so amazed because its completely unfamiliar?
Getting back, I got to say goodbye to Marijn, still blown away by the fact that I had seen him again after so long. A classmate from JHSPH, L. is doing her internship in Nepal on infant feeding practices and malnutrition in more of the remote ethnic populations and a collegue from her work was going to take us to his home town of Dhulikhel, a small tourist town outside the city.
It was great of her collegue to be willing to drive us and he gave us a great history/current events less on the way. Dhulikhel is about 30 km east of Kathmandu and has lots of trade between Tibet and Nepal (from a highway built in 1965 by the Chinese) and an elevation of ~1550m (~5500ft), making it pretty cold at night. Recently, the desire for a rise in tourism has led to the construction of a highway from Kathmandu to Dhulikhel with some Japanese assistance. unfortunately, the Maoists often bomb the highway, destroying recent construction.
Dhulikhel is a traditional Newari town and the Newa community is one of the older ethnic communities of Kathmandu. The city name comes from the Newari word town Dhunkhyo, where Dhun means tiger and Khyo means playground. Unfortunately there are no tigers. However, the town has existed for at least five centuries and is layed out according to ancient Hindu planning (with respect to psoitioning, shape, scale, and dominance of building, temples, and public squares). Only parts of the old town still remain, but the retain the traditional window carvings of the people - a craft that seems to now be lost. The town has about ~15,000 people, 80% who are Hindu (the rest are Buddhist). The council of Dhulikhel has an 11.5$ million plan to develop tourism....which while I think is ambitious, but good for the community to create business, makes me sad that they are willing to develop it so much. One of those, you-don't-realize-it-until-it's-too-late kind of developments. L.'s collegue was alos very proud of the fact that the city's water system had multiple slow sand filters, providing the town with some of the best tap water in the Kathmandu valley.
Although we were told this was a tourist town, it wasn't anything like the Niagara Falls I have set in my mind as "toursit." After we checked into our hotel, we realize there was no power and I think we were the only people staying there (?). We decided to walk to find some dinner, but realized that the whole entire town was sleeping (it was maybe 8?) and after running into one older couple on the road who directed us towads food, we had to bang on the gate to get the security guard to let us in to eat. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel only to find ourselves locked out with the gate shut and a huge padlock wrapped in chains. There was no guard. K. climbed over the brick wall and went to find someone to let us in (despite the fact we had passed the entire family watching tv and playing cards as we left).
With that, we called it a night!
Getting back, I got to say goodbye to Marijn, still blown away by the fact that I had seen him again after so long. A classmate from JHSPH, L. is doing her internship in Nepal on infant feeding practices and malnutrition in more of the remote ethnic populations and a collegue from her work was going to take us to his home town of Dhulikhel, a small tourist town outside the city.
It was great of her collegue to be willing to drive us and he gave us a great history/current events less on the way. Dhulikhel is about 30 km east of Kathmandu and has lots of trade between Tibet and Nepal (from a highway built in 1965 by the Chinese) and an elevation of ~1550m (~5500ft), making it pretty cold at night. Recently, the desire for a rise in tourism has led to the construction of a highway from Kathmandu to Dhulikhel with some Japanese assistance. unfortunately, the Maoists often bomb the highway, destroying recent construction.
Dhulikhel is a traditional Newari town and the Newa community is one of the older ethnic communities of Kathmandu. The city name comes from the Newari word town Dhunkhyo, where Dhun means tiger and Khyo means playground. Unfortunately there are no tigers. However, the town has existed for at least five centuries and is layed out according to ancient Hindu planning (with respect to psoitioning, shape, scale, and dominance of building, temples, and public squares). Only parts of the old town still remain, but the retain the traditional window carvings of the people - a craft that seems to now be lost. The town has about ~15,000 people, 80% who are Hindu (the rest are Buddhist). The council of Dhulikhel has an 11.5$ million plan to develop tourism....which while I think is ambitious, but good for the community to create business, makes me sad that they are willing to develop it so much. One of those, you-don't-realize-it-until-it's-too-late kind of developments. L.'s collegue was alos very proud of the fact that the city's water system had multiple slow sand filters, providing the town with some of the best tap water in the Kathmandu valley.
Although we were told this was a tourist town, it wasn't anything like the Niagara Falls I have set in my mind as "toursit." After we checked into our hotel, we realize there was no power and I think we were the only people staying there (?). We decided to walk to find some dinner, but realized that the whole entire town was sleeping (it was maybe 8?) and after running into one older couple on the road who directed us towads food, we had to bang on the gate to get the security guard to let us in to eat. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel only to find ourselves locked out with the gate shut and a huge padlock wrapped in chains. There was no guard. K. climbed over the brick wall and went to find someone to let us in (despite the fact we had passed the entire family watching tv and playing cards as we left).
With that, we called it a night!
Day 2: Riots Turn Buses into Planes...
Okay, so Day Two in Nepal. The plan was to take a bus to Pokhara, the second biggest tourist city in Nepal, home to the Annapurna mountains. Arriving at the bus stand, we dosciver that Maoist rebels have taken control of the highways and the bus is cancelled. No road traffic for the whole day. Apparently its common for this to happen and it usually only lasts for a day, but that didn't really help us considering we were only in the country for like 5 days total. K. had planned to meet a friend and really wanted to head out there, so we forked over the money to take a 20 minute plane ride there.
Arriving at the airport, it was so weird to see how many domestic carriers existed for such a small country. It was probably twice the size of the international airport section we arrived at (!). Flying just above the clounds reminded me again of Girl with a Pearl Earring (the book, not the movie) (what colour is a cloud?) Seeing these white, puffy, cotton balls in the sky is my favorite thing about flying and the view of the cities and landscape was worth the extra money to fly here and not miss this part of the country!
Once we got there, apparently everything in the entire COUNTRY was closed due to the revolt. We had to overpay a taxi to tak us to our hostel. Considering how often these revolts happen, I was surposed at how much it still stops everything. Since we couldn't get rickshaws or CNGs into town and around, we decided to rent bikes and just rise. Armed with a small map with no names, we set off to see Pokhara. First stop: a Hindu temple (Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave) where a stalagmite in a cave was worshipped as Shiva. Next: getting lost trying to find a waterfall. Then we were watched by an entire family (5 sisters!) while we ate lunch. Although we found a bunch of temples on the map, we missed all of these and then finally, we came across a monastry emerging from the top of a mountain (Karma Dubgyu Chokhorling Monastery). Climbing a ridiculous amount of steps, we ran into two girls who were kind enough to show us . Other than the amazing view, it was completely peacful with the soft boom of the drums.
On the way back, we crossed a bridge and my bike faltered over a bump. Catching my balance and trying to be aware of my surroundings, I looked to the river below. Looking back up, out of nowhere, the Annapurna mountains emerged (our first glimpse!). As if cloudy Nepal couldn't get any better, the clounds parted and it did. I tried to follow the mountain ridge, but unfortunately, it disappeared behind some clouds. Being completely ecstatic at having seen one mountain, I could return to Bangladesh.
We stopped at this big lake (Phewa Tal - apparently famous in Nepal) on the way back and K. really wanted to oar a boat - appaarently he didn't get how difficult it could be. After about 15 minutes, he was really tired and gave up. We got to watch a beautiful sunset and if it hadn't been so cloudy, apparently the mountains reflect into the lake. I've decided I want my honeymoon here, haha. Apparently you can also go paragliding here!
Arriving at the airport, it was so weird to see how many domestic carriers existed for such a small country. It was probably twice the size of the international airport section we arrived at (!). Flying just above the clounds reminded me again of Girl with a Pearl Earring (the book, not the movie) (what colour is a cloud?) Seeing these white, puffy, cotton balls in the sky is my favorite thing about flying and the view of the cities and landscape was worth the extra money to fly here and not miss this part of the country!
Once we got there, apparently everything in the entire COUNTRY was closed due to the revolt. We had to overpay a taxi to tak us to our hostel. Considering how often these revolts happen, I was surposed at how much it still stops everything. Since we couldn't get rickshaws or CNGs into town and around, we decided to rent bikes and just rise. Armed with a small map with no names, we set off to see Pokhara. First stop: a Hindu temple (Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave) where a stalagmite in a cave was worshipped as Shiva. Next: getting lost trying to find a waterfall. Then we were watched by an entire family (5 sisters!) while we ate lunch. Although we found a bunch of temples on the map, we missed all of these and then finally, we came across a monastry emerging from the top of a mountain (Karma Dubgyu Chokhorling Monastery). Climbing a ridiculous amount of steps, we ran into two girls who were kind enough to show us . Other than the amazing view, it was completely peacful with the soft boom of the drums.
On the way back, we crossed a bridge and my bike faltered over a bump. Catching my balance and trying to be aware of my surroundings, I looked to the river below. Looking back up, out of nowhere, the Annapurna mountains emerged (our first glimpse!). As if cloudy Nepal couldn't get any better, the clounds parted and it did. I tried to follow the mountain ridge, but unfortunately, it disappeared behind some clouds. Being completely ecstatic at having seen one mountain, I could return to Bangladesh.
We stopped at this big lake (Phewa Tal - apparently famous in Nepal) on the way back and K. really wanted to oar a boat - appaarently he didn't get how difficult it could be. After about 15 minutes, he was really tired and gave up. We got to watch a beautiful sunset and if it hadn't been so cloudy, apparently the mountains reflect into the lake. I've decided I want my honeymoon here, haha. Apparently you can also go paragliding here!
Way Back in September: Day 1: Nepal
Okay. While I'm writing, I may as well try and get as far as I can...The first week of September, I took a last-minute trip to Nepal because my project was running into so many delays. A fellow ICDDR, B intern (K.) was already going, so it seemed easy enough and I need to get away from Dhaka and the office and everything before I screamed - I don't think that's appropriate here.
Anyways, we took Biman Airlines, notoriously know for it's untimeliness and the fact that its not commissioned by the World Organization for Planes (or whatever it's called). Everything turned out fine and we ended up in Nepal, inact and on-time (surprising!).
I fell in love with the country before the plane even landed - it was just absolutely breathtaking and while I wish I could post pictures, my computer has subsequently crashed and that's just not possible anymore (I did grab one in time and will attach with a later post). Kathmandu sits in a sit just below the Himalayas, so matter where you looked, majestic mountains rose from the fog and mist around us - an amalgamation of blues, greys, and purples. Absolutely stunning. We had come during the end of the rainy seasosons, which meant that the view wasn't as clear as it could have been and the Himalayas were hidden by the clouds...Granted, I was so blown away as it was, I couldnt even imagine what we would have seen had we come during the winter - peak mountain viewing time.
Anyways, we took Biman Airlines, notoriously know for it's untimeliness and the fact that its not commissioned by the World Organization for Planes (or whatever it's called). Everything turned out fine and we ended up in Nepal, inact and on-time (surprising!).
I fell in love with the country before the plane even landed - it was just absolutely breathtaking and while I wish I could post pictures, my computer has subsequently crashed and that's just not possible anymore (I did grab one in time and will attach with a later post). Kathmandu sits in a sit just below the Himalayas, so matter where you looked, majestic mountains rose from the fog and mist around us - an amalgamation of blues, greys, and purples. Absolutely stunning. We had come during the end of the rainy seasosons, which meant that the view wasn't as clear as it could have been and the Himalayas were hidden by the clouds...Granted, I was so blown away as it was, I couldnt even imagine what we would have seen had we come during the winter - peak mountain viewing time.
The owner of the hostel we were staying at picked us up from the airport, which was great! Although he had never been outside of the country, his accent was definitely not South Asian - some words were British, some Aerican, and some Aussie all mixed with his Nepali accent to make something...weird is all I can ascribe to it. Coming from Dhaka, Kathmandu was paradise. Although we were staying in the tourist district, the noise was monomal, there was barely any trash on the ground, and the putrid smell of public defication was absent. Just standing there made me happy and more relaxed. The city was also less hectic and less crowded - no honking of cars or CnGs or anything. And people were wearing Western clothes (!) Things I had forgot existed. Now, granted, we were probably in the tourist section of town, but there were definitely Nepalis who were ascribing to all the things I have described.
Side note: before going to Nepal, I had found out that Marijn, an exchange student who had gone to McGill with me was also there - somewhere. I had sent M. my details and had never heard back, but knew he was going to be in Kathmandu Saturday. I was waiting on pins and needles. As we described our plans to the hostel owner and how I was going to meet up with this Dutch guy, he, funnily enough, told us that M had just been at the hostel the day before! How did we know we were talking about the same blue-eye, blonde-haired beauty? The hostel guy described him "yeah, the guy who never stops smiling?" I knew it was him.
Since we only had an evening left by the time we got there, we decided to hit up Durbar Sqaure. Durbar = Palace and back in the day of Nepal (around the 15th century), the land was divided into three kingdoms - Kathmandu being one of them (Polan and Bhaktapur being the others). [Side note: an invasion by outsiders to all three kingdoms occured in 1768 which unified the kindgoms to what Nepal is today.] The Durbar Square was where the kind lived and reigned from, so the small block is filled with temples and old buildings that resemble courthouses and town halls. This sqaure dates from around the 17th - 18th cenutries, but in 1934 there was an earthquake that kinda destroyed a bunch of the buildings. Although the section was quite touristy (you had to pay to "get in" and everyone kept asking if you needed a guide and people wanted you to take their pictures for money - come on guys, the whole thing was like one city block by half a city block), it was still one of those places that if you lived here, you would come on a weekend and read a book or sit and people watch. If you are ever there, I suggest climbing the tall stairs and just looking down watching the sunset. Again, unfortunately no pictures.
While walking to this place many things amazing me: 1) the amount of people who spoke English - A LOT. One little boy, probably around 12 asked me what coutry I was from. When I said Canada, he replies "capital: Ottawa" and then starts telling me about snow. When the boy asked K., he stupidly replied Zimbabwe (he's from the Netherlands in reality) and the boy replies "capital: Harare" I felt like we were on a game show; 2) how every time you turned a corner, there was a shrine or temple just sitting there, being worshipped, covered with garlands and candles. It was like everything around you was sacred - how could you walk anywhere? It's also such a great mix of Buddhist and Hindu shrines - it seems much more harmonious than other places I've been. And the fact that it was so "out there" - for everyone and anyone to see and worship; 3) The presence and dominance of women - women driving motorcycles, women selling nuts in the street, women just everywhere. Although I never really saw a huge presence of women in Dhaka, it wasn't something that struck me as so odd. However, now comparing it to the overwhelming amount of women here and the openness with which they walk around, I was srtuck by how deserted Dhaka actuallly is - a complete different role of women.
Getting back to the hostel, the owner tells me my Dutch friend is back - early! I bounded up the stairs like a kid in a candy store and after two years, got to see him! We spent a couple hours talking before we had to hit the hay, but just that little bit of time could definitely hold me out for another two years!
Thoughts of the Morning
1. When the sunrise prayer call from the mosque next door doesn't wake you up, you know that you needed sleep. And such a good sleep it was.
2. When the pitter-patter of the rain wakes you up two hours later, you know it's a perfect time to rise. One of those not-too-tired, not-too-awake type moments where you can lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, listening to the rain, and just be content?
3. There is a spider in my room. Total, a little larger than my hand (or equal to what a normal person's hand would be), with a body that's quite small - maybe the size of an apricot - but HUGE legs. You know how I feel about spiders. I found him one day and freaked out. I have learned to live with him, but every night when I return, I turn on the lights before I step into the room to make sure I know where he sits. He never moves. I sleep. When I wake, he is gone. However, the next night, he is in the exact same spot - how does he know? And why can I never find him during daylight? There are only so many places in the apartment...
4. Living my food life vicariously through bloggers these days, I realize that it is coming ridiculously close to Thanksgiving...and I long for the pungent aroma of rosemary and garlic turkey in the oven, the taste of wild mushroom stuffing, and the sweet tang of homemade cranberry and walnut sauce. Cheesy-chili cornbread and dense pumpkin pie with light-as-air whipped cream. Freshly grated nutmeg and cinnamon stick twirlers in my piping hot apple cider....Unfortunately there are no ovens here. Let alone anything else I mentioned. My dreamworld comes to a crashing hault.
2. When the pitter-patter of the rain wakes you up two hours later, you know it's a perfect time to rise. One of those not-too-tired, not-too-awake type moments where you can lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, listening to the rain, and just be content?
3. There is a spider in my room. Total, a little larger than my hand (or equal to what a normal person's hand would be), with a body that's quite small - maybe the size of an apricot - but HUGE legs. You know how I feel about spiders. I found him one day and freaked out. I have learned to live with him, but every night when I return, I turn on the lights before I step into the room to make sure I know where he sits. He never moves. I sleep. When I wake, he is gone. However, the next night, he is in the exact same spot - how does he know? And why can I never find him during daylight? There are only so many places in the apartment...
4. Living my food life vicariously through bloggers these days, I realize that it is coming ridiculously close to Thanksgiving...and I long for the pungent aroma of rosemary and garlic turkey in the oven, the taste of wild mushroom stuffing, and the sweet tang of homemade cranberry and walnut sauce. Cheesy-chili cornbread and dense pumpkin pie with light-as-air whipped cream. Freshly grated nutmeg and cinnamon stick twirlers in my piping hot apple cider....Unfortunately there are no ovens here. Let alone anything else I mentioned. My dreamworld comes to a crashing hault.
I just can't seem to get this right...
So, I guess I'm not too good with the blooging culture and I keep trying to figure out what it is...sometimes I have time to update it and either it seems like such a laborious task or I have no motivation to write about things here or...oh, what does it matter. I realize that even if short, I should update you all and that one of the main daunting tasks is updating you on the month of September (really, I haven't done too much since then!). SO, I'm going to ignore it for now and eventually, one day, my trip to Nepal will be detailed. For now, I am just going to take it day by day and try...and then try some more to post.
Monday, November 2, 2009
It's been a while...
So, I obviously haven't updated this in a really long time...mainly it was because I was really frustrated with my project and the delays we had been encountering that I didn't want that frustration to taint the rest of my experiences...the issues haven't really gotten much better, rather they have morphed into new and different issues. I figure its all part of the research game and definitely the internship experience, so I might as well update you all on what else has been happening since the beginning of September. I will detail it slowly over the course of a while so bear with me.
September 2 - 7: I went to Nepal, which is one of the most beautiful places I have been, so I definitely need time to expand and put up pictures.
September 8 - 19: I took a visit to my field site, which is GORGEOUS. Although we didn't have IRB approval to actually do any research, I met the staff, introduced myself at the hospitals we would be working at, and made some field visits to see how the actual project was going to work.
September 19 - October 12: I sat in Dhaka waiting for my project start. Eid occured and my advisor from Hopkins came for a conference. I went to the conference, attended a planning meeting for a new neonatal health study, and just hung out. Once the beginning of October hit and my project still wasn't off the ground, I began to look for extra work to supplement my time. I found 3 new projects/people to involve myself with...I then FINALLY got IRB approval and headed down to my field site to start my work.
October: Throughout October I have been travelling back and forth from Dhaka (the capital) to my field site by overnight bus (it takes 11 hours) to handle the extra projects I am working on and my own research project.
October 29: We had a Hallowe'en party where we got to invite all the Bangladeshi's from ICDDR, B and exposed them to a wonderful Western holiday - complete with costumes, decorations, candy, and candied apples...mmmm.
So, now I am again at my fieldsite for a week before I head back to Dhaka for a week to have some more meetings and trainings. Throughout the week I will be updating and expanding on all of the things above, complete with pictures!
September 2 - 7: I went to Nepal, which is one of the most beautiful places I have been, so I definitely need time to expand and put up pictures.
September 8 - 19: I took a visit to my field site, which is GORGEOUS. Although we didn't have IRB approval to actually do any research, I met the staff, introduced myself at the hospitals we would be working at, and made some field visits to see how the actual project was going to work.
September 19 - October 12: I sat in Dhaka waiting for my project start. Eid occured and my advisor from Hopkins came for a conference. I went to the conference, attended a planning meeting for a new neonatal health study, and just hung out. Once the beginning of October hit and my project still wasn't off the ground, I began to look for extra work to supplement my time. I found 3 new projects/people to involve myself with...I then FINALLY got IRB approval and headed down to my field site to start my work.
October: Throughout October I have been travelling back and forth from Dhaka (the capital) to my field site by overnight bus (it takes 11 hours) to handle the extra projects I am working on and my own research project.
October 29: We had a Hallowe'en party where we got to invite all the Bangladeshi's from ICDDR, B and exposed them to a wonderful Western holiday - complete with costumes, decorations, candy, and candied apples...mmmm.
So, now I am again at my fieldsite for a week before I head back to Dhaka for a week to have some more meetings and trainings. Throughout the week I will be updating and expanding on all of the things above, complete with pictures!
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