One friend of mine described it as “cultureshock” to come back home after being abroad for an extended period of time. And, I must admit, I’ve got a mix of feelings about returning to the States. Here are some of my thoughts. While here, I’ve been exploring and understanding my identity as an American more […]
Expectation is the enemy of humility. I don’t know if that’s a quote by anyone famous, but it’s something that I’ve put away in my mental filing cabinet for whenever I feel like I’ve failed at learning something. And trust me, on this trip, there have been many times when I’ve felt like I’ve failed. […]
Homemade burfi! It’s a sweet milk cake. Since I talked about fasting earlier, I thought I should talk about what I’ve actually been doing during this month – often, people assume that I’m not doing anything but feeling hungry/thirsty all the time! Instead, here are the most common things I’m doing each day. 1. Sleeping. […]
Though not many people in the United States are hearing about it (what’s new about that?), a refugee situation has become a central focus of Bangladeshi politics in the last few months. Myanmar (formerly Burma) has just gone through a period of heavy civil unrest and war, sending persecuted Muslim refugees streaming into neighboring countries […]
Last week, I returned from a rural village in Bangladesh to its capitol city of Dhaka. Left with my research and some photographs as the only “proof” of our stay, the view looks rosy: a bucolic local existence that city people harken back to. But there’s a lot left to be desired. Too much has […]
These past four days, I have been conducting my very first interviews on Bangladeshi perceptions of madness and mental health – I jumped in feet first with some of (what I consider) my most challenging interviews with people in Bahadurpur, a rural village in Kushtia, Bangladesh. These villagers spoke no English and often had troubles […]
This sign says ‘Friends Builders Limited’ – in English, but with Bengali letters
I was speaking with a friend living in Oregon about how Bangladesh is right now, and she asked about whether it was quieter here – heavens no! So here’s a list of common sounds that I have been hearing in our home in Dhaka: 1. Prayer call at five times during the day (someone recites […]