September 12

September 12, 2009

Last week Donna (my roommate) and our friend Kristen and I did the hash again. It was out in the country for the second week in a row. Two weeks ago in was in village called Ashulia about 45 minutes away. I walked that one so I could take pics. It was soo incredibly nice to get out of the city. We didn’t even go that far away but we were totally transported to a completely different place. It was quiet and we walked through this little village, going right through people’s front and back yards. There was vegetation everywhere. They grow veg on elevated vines so its protected from rising flood waters. There were fruit trees everywhere. People would come out of their houses and look at us and the children would run next to us laughing and kicking homemade soccer balls. They were so happy and loved seeing us and thought it was hilarious that this group of white people were all walking together in a line.
Last weekend I did my first running Hash. We went out to a country village that took forever to get to because it’s actually really pretty close to where we all live but a this time of year the water is higher so you have to take a really long route around. As we were driving there I started monsooning-pitch black sky and just down pouring. So it was nice and muddy for our run. When we finally got there, we piled as many people as possible onto a rickety row boat and this native man poled us across a river. I swear I thought the boat was going to sick mid-way. Water was pouring in over the sides and these old men in their lungis had to keep bailing out the water with tin buckets as we shakily made our crossing. Once on the other side, the trail was incredibly muddy and I bit it within the first 5 minutes. We had to traverse really muddy banks and it was the type of mud that really sucked your feet in. The run was crazy-through dense bamboo forests one second, then a small group of mud huts, then barren rocky areas, then crawling underneath vegetation patches.
Again, the village children would come out and crowd around us when we were stopped. They knew very little, if any English. They loved my roommate Donna and I. They would laugh hysterically when we would say our names and then repeat them. When we started moving again, they would hang onto our hands and arms on either side. It is very hard to run this way. When we would stop, they would fan us with homemade fans. They were adorable.
The run was nuts-I had no sense of direction at all and I was thankful to finally see the boat again because it was getting very dark and shapes were not what they seemed to be. A pile of moss-covered bricks looked like tree roots. They had Iftar dinner for us and for the drivers, who if they were fasting for Ramadan had not eaten since before sun-up that day. We had delicious vegetable samosas and Tiger beers. The circle was cut short because it started down-pouring again. Another long ride back home that night, snaking slowly through villages with only one road running through them. It was about 9 at night but the streets seemed busier than ever. I love passing through these streets with all the shop vendors with open stalls that face the streets-seeing all the bright fabrics and the colors of the fruits and vegetables. Right now, mangos are still in season, but not for much longer, as are pineapple, and eggplant. Things like pumpkin and squashes are starting to come into season as well. One of my favorites right now are the Asian pears; they are so juicy and crunchy when you bite into them. Pomegranates are in season as well too and are soo tasty!
This weekend we took the 8th graders on a teambuilding retreat. We took 4 buses to Proshika, which is about 2 hours away, with traffic. Proshika is out in the country and is run by a big N.G.O. (non-government energy). They provide hundreds of jobs for local Bangladeshis who probably wouldn’t otherwise have work. They have an orchid farm and a honey farm and they manufacture textiles. They also have livestock. They raise cows and use the cow dung to produce biogas, which they use to power their kitchens. This was interesting to learn about because it fits right in with our vision of being sustainable! I’m not sure the students saw it this way though and were less than thrilled that they had to stand around these smelly containers of cow crap. The orchids were beautiful though and the honey was delicious and I bought some to bring home.
For the day and a half that we were there, we did lots of team-building activities and lots of getting to know people that we didn’t know before. I was really impressed by how well the students did with all this. We also played many many games of dodgeball, which our 8th graders are obsessed with. We only have about 15 girls and about 45 guys so the games get pretty vicious. They kept us very well fed there two with breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and tea and cake break in the afternoon! We had chipatis, white rice, veggie curry, beef, fish, a thin dhal, and beans and chillies. Lots of places in Bangladesh make these sauted beans and chilies. The beans are delicious but the chilies look exactly the same as the beans and so every gamble is a bite. When you bite into a chile, you know it; you can barely speak and your eyes just start watering. Good for the sinuses though.
At night we were all tired and ready for bed but the students were just winding up and so excited to be away from their parents/with the friends. All night they were coming out of their rooms and hanging out in the hallways. We did not have a very restful night at all.