Paan leaves

Here's a photo of some paan leaves that had just been harvested, that we came across on our tour of Srimangal. Paan is something people lots of people here chew. It's a big cash crop. It gets combined with some white paste stuff and bits of betel nut, and then you chew it all together. I've tried it, but I'm not a big fan. It makes my tongue go numb. There's some kind of drug quality in the leaves and nuts. Lots of people are addicted to it in Bangladesh, and have all kinds of dental problems as a result.

Jackfruit, a most amazing fruit

Jackfruit is the national fruit of Bangladesh. There were a bunch of jackfruit trees right outside our bungalow in Srimongol, so I took a few pictures. Jackfruit is a very interesting fruit. It can range from the size of a grapefruit to a watermelon. They grow right off the trunk of the tree. The shell is very hard and spiky. Inside, it has sections kind of like an orange. The texture is unlike anything I've tasted before. The closest I can get to describing it is that it is a cross between a banana and a mango, with a bit of extra slime. I can't say that I'm a big fan of jackfruit, but it is quite an interesting taste. Given the choice between that and mango, I'd definitely go for the mango.

Mukhta, Our Bua

Since I was talking about Mukhta, our bua, yesterday, I thought I should put a picture of her up as well. Here she is! She is a very good human being. And I'm also grateful to her for how much she's been helping me with my Bangla! She doesn't know any English at all, which actually speeds up my learning process quite a bit, since I have to figure out how to communicate with her. She's always teaching me new words. And she's a fabulous cook! I feel rather spoiled here in Bangladesh in that regard--I haven't cooked my one meal on my own (except for snacks here and there) since I've been here! Now, don't get me wrong, I like cooking. But I certainly don't mind the break! Between Mukhta and my mother in law, someone is always cooking meals for me. I'm really enjoying all the fresh fish in Bangladesh! We eat fish every day. And rice. Lots and lots of rice. In Bangladesh, rice is such a staple part of the diet that when you ask someone if they've eaten, you say "bhat caise?" (which means "did you eat rice?").

Sisters

I think it might be easier to tell stories that go along with some pictures. So, I'll work backwards a bit with some photos I took a while ago. This is one of the first pictures I took in Bangladesh, with Azfar's sisters. Azfar's mom bought us all these matching outfits. Azfar's sister Rosy is on the left. She's the second oldest after Azfar. She's brilliant and hilarious. We have really hit it off. She teaches at a teacher's training college in Rajshahi, which is about 5 hours north of Dhaka. So, unfortunately, we don't get to see much of each other. But when we do, we have a great time. A classic "Rosy" statement is: "the louder it gets, the more fun we have." Whenever she comes to visit, we get loud, tell funny stories, laugh alot, and generally have a blast. I get to hear some great stories from Rosy about Azfar as a kid. Urmi is sitting next to me on the right. She's Azfar's sister in law, married to his brother Dipu. Urmi is a real sweetheart. She and Dipu and their two children (Audry and Jasra) live with Azfar's parents. So I get to see lots of her. Urmi is staying at home with the kids and is also self-employed as a seamstress. She can do amazing work with a sewing machine. She designs her own clothes and gets orders from all kinds of people to have her make clothes. I keep telling her she could open her own store. She has made me a few salwar kameez that are absolutely gorgeous. (Salwar kameez are the staple women's outfit in Bangladesh--that's what we're wearing in the picture.) Rumi (on the far right) is Azfar's younger sister. She is teaching at an elementary school in Dhaka. She just got married recently, and she and her husband have their own apartment in Mirpur (a neighborhood in Dhaka) not too far from Azfar's parents' house. She is always working so much. She gets up to leave for work at 6am and comes back late in the night. So I don't get to see too much of her, except on some weekends. Even though she's so busy, she's always inviting us over to her house. When mangos were in season this summer, she had us over for a mango feast. Mmmm! I just can't get enough! They're out of season now. There's all kinds of interesting ways Bangladeshis have come up with for eating mangos. One way to eat them is to puree them and eat them like soup, mixed with rice crispies. But I think nothing beats pure, fresh mango all by itself. Anyway, random thoughts...but Azfar's sisters are great human beings, and I'm really enjoying getting to know them.