Fun at the Water Park

We took a trip to Nandan Water Park in Dhaka this weekend, with Urmi, Audry, Jasra, Dilara, and Azfar's cousin Shammi and his wife Nuresha. We had a blast! The water park has 3 water slides, children's slides and play areas, a "rain" dance floor, and a wave pool. Salma didn't want to leave. She kept saying "aro goshol!", which means "more bath!"

Couldn't Resist...

I couldn't resist posting this bumper sticker that has been circulating in Bangladesh. Sorry if I offend anyone, but I think this represents how alot of people in this part of the world feel about the US government, and the "democracy" that it's been bringing to countries like Iraq.

Daddy and Baby

I love this picture of daddy and baby--they've got the same smile here, don't they? This was taken at the Bengali New Year festival.

Sad News

Sadly, Jibon, our little kitten, died yesterday. I'm not exactly sure what happened. We just found it dead in the living room. I think Shonna (the other cat) was too rough with Jibon--she would wrestle "play" with the kitten and bite it. I think she probably bit too hard and broke a blood vessel or something. So we're all feeling sad...

My first book chapter is out!

Hi family and friends,

Just thought I'd let you know that my first article in a book is out in the published world! My article is titled "A Citizen's Guide to Neo-Faschism in the US, Post 9/11." The book is called _Battleground States: Scholarship in Contemporary America_. The book is a collection of essays from a conference I attended last year in Bowling Green, Ohio, organized by the American Culture Studies Program at Bowling Green State University. Unfortunately, currently the book is only available in hardcover in the UK, but anyway, I'm thrilled! Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Battleground-States-Scholarship-Contemporary-America/dp/1847181457/ref=sr_1_9/026-2724293-6812416?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176493383&sr=1-9
Love,

Missy

Shubho Nobobosho (Happy Bengali New Year!)

April 14 is the Bengali new year. In Bangla, "Shubho Nobobosho" means "happy new year." On this day literally millions of people poured out into the streets in Dhaka to celebrate in festivals all over the city. There was music, dancing, food, face-painting, roadside vendors selling everything from popcorn to bamboo flutes, clothes, toys, ice cream, jewelry, and everything inbetween. Azfar, Salma and I spent all day at the festival by Dhaka University. Salma loved it, although she got totally worn out. Salma and I both got our faces painted. And Salma ate ice cream, and she got plenty spoiled with balloons and a Bengali flag. Lots of people took pictures of our "little nationalist" who was running around with her Bengali flag saying "Joy Bangla! Ami Bengali!" Anyway, we had a great time although we were all completely worn out by the end of the day. (And Azfar had quite an adventure with his rickshaw, which had a head-on collision with another rickshaw...quite a funny story, since nobody got hurt, although I don't think the driver is laughing.)

Kitty Update

Our kitty that we rescued is doing just fine! We named her (we think she's a her!) Jibon, which means "life." I thought that was fitting, since she has survived when the odds were against her. And as you can see, she's getting along with our other kitty just fine. Shonna has decided that she likes to give Jibon a good bath. And Salma loves Jibon lots, as you can see, although sometimes she tends to cuddle a bit more aggressively than the kitty likes.

North South University English Department

Here's a shot of the "campus" at North South University. As you can see, there is no campus! The university consists of 3 high-rise buildings, plus the English department in a smaller building. It's chaos just trying to get from my office to school!
Here is a photo of North South University's English department. Here's where I spend lots of hours meeting with students and grading papers, etc.! The English department is in its own building set apart from the other NSU buildings. So it definitely has a "small family" feeling. My office is on the second floor (or, according to the British/Bangladesh system of counting, the first floor).