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.

A favorite poem

In the midst of scrambling to get ready for the next semester, I read this poem this morning by one of my favorite poets, the Native American poet Joy Harjo. It was like a breath of fresh air. We make our lives so hectic sometimes with plans and activity, that sometimes we forget to experience the miracle of living each day. Anyway, I thought I would share the poem:

ceremony

When considering ceremony the act of preparation is most crucial. Each day is a ceremonial progression in which every human takes part. We do so either consciously or unconsciously. You can prepare by setting the alarm clock and jumping into the world with anxiety, or you can still set the alarm clock, but take time to prepare for the day, by singing, by prayer, by a small acknowledgement of the gift of the day itself.

It has a spirit, this creature called day, and will go on without us, dragging us behind it. Or, we can take part in the ceremony and walk (or run!) with grace into the momentum. For the Mayan this is a science, this naming of the spirits of each day, and by knowing the characteristics of the spirit of each day one can understand the manner in which events will unfold. There’s an overall pattern in this calendar that can be examined and if we follow its logical trail we will arrive at the end of the spiral in the memory field of the Milky Way. All this meaning, we can walk or run blindly through the ceremony of our life, a tricky obstacle course no matter the cultural reference points, or incorporate knowledge that will give this journey a heightened sense of meaning, of beauty, despite the terrible complexities and apparent injustices.

[…]

Maybe the spirits of the days live in the world above the earth we call dawn and stand reverently as the sun arrives in the appointed place in the east. Flowers, plants, all creatures prepare for the sun’s arrival. You can hear the rustle of anticipation as the ultramarine sky turns to a cobalt grey. Deer move towards water to drink. Birds chatter plans for the day. In the distance a few humans begin running towards the east to give the sun encouragement, to make sure the sun returns to bless them.

It’s crucial we participate for the sun needs our songs, prayers, acknowledgements. Too often the weight of humans has been carried by others who have not lost their original instructions on how to live with integrity in this system.

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From Joy Harjo’s A Map to the Next World. New York: Norton, 2000. Page 58.

Slums Destroyed

As part of their crack-down on "corruption," the interim government has been tearing down the slum housing of the poor, leaving them with no alternative housing plans. These are photos of the rubble left behind after the military came in the night to tear down the poor people's homes right down the street from our apartment. Now they are all homeless, wandering in the streets to find somewhere to sleep at night. I have no idea how this has helped reduce corruption. If anything else, it will increase violence in the streets as the poor get more desperate.

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.

Our Trip to Srimangal (The Tea Resort)

We just got back from a two-day trip to the Sylhet region of Bangladesh, which is in the northwest part. It's about a 3 1/2 hour bus ride from Dhaka. Here's daddy and baby on the bus:

We stayed in a Tea Resort in Srimongol. The resort was very nice--you could rent your own "bungalow"--a two-bedroom house with a kitchen, dining room, living room, and patio. Here's a picture of our bungalow:

During the two days we stayed at the resort we were the only guests, so we had the whole place to ourselves! More than anything, it was so nice to have some peace and quiet for a few days--such a refreshing change from the chaos of Dhaka. The climate there is quite a bit different from the Dhaka region--actually, it reminds me of the Pacific Northwest. It's got lots of trees and thick luscious undergrowth, and the weather is generally misty and cool. Here's a scenery shot from the Tea Resort:

There are also many rice paddy fields in the area like this one below. As we were riding on the bus, we saw workers picking the rice and maintaining the fields.

There are a bunch of tea gardens and tea estates around Srimongol--the whole Sylhet region is famous for its tea. (And thus this area is one of the oldest outposts of British colonialism, via the East India Company.) We visited some of the tea gardens--there are at least 150 tea gardens in the area. A few of them are some of the largest tea gardens in the world in terms of size and production. There are about 300,000 workers are employed on the tea estates, and most of them are women (according to the owners' sexist assumptions, they think the women do a better job picking the leaves and the women are of course paid less). Here's some workers on one of the tea estates:

Most of the workers are Hindus. When the British began growing tea in the Sylhet region, they brought their own workers with them from India. So today, most of the workers are descendents of these original Indian Hindus. Here's a shot of a tea garden, below. The sign tells you what kind of tea is growing there and how long it's been established (this plot has been there since 1956).

We also visited the Bangladesh Tea Research Institute, which was established in 1957. We went there after working hours, so we couldn't see inside, but I found it fascinating that there was a whole room with a sign over the door that read "Tea Tasting Room"--they take their tea tasting seriously! One of the highlights of the trip was having a "panch rong cha" (five color tea). This is most definitely the most amazing tea I have ever tasted! You can actually look at the glass and see the five layers of different types of tea. I'm not sure how they keep the five types of tea separated, but they do. I tasted mint tea, milk tea, black tea, green tea, and...well, another kind of tea! I'm sure if Starbucks got ahold of the recipe they would make a fortune off it. Here we are having our panch rong cha:

One of the biggest highlights for Salma, however, was THE POOL! She was a big fan of swimming in the pool. Also, she made friends with a dog that was hanging out at the resort. Here she is with her buddy:

Overall, it was a very enjoyable trip and nice to get a bit of peace and quiet and a breath of fresh air before the hectic schedule of the school semester starts up again (summer session starts for us next week).

Our Fifth Wedding Anniversary!

Today is our fifth wedding anniversary! In the photo I'm wearing the sari that Amma gave me for our anniversary gift. I can't believe our fifth anniversary is already here...looking back, the past five years seem have gone by so fast. We have gone through so much together--graduate school, moving across the country, then moving across the world, and of course, our little girl Salma has changed our lives forever. Last night we celebrated our anniversary with our friends, colleagues, and students. We had a really fun party with food, music, and laughter. It was a wonderful time--it brought back warm memories of the get-togethers we used to have with our friends back in Pullman. It's nice to be surrounded with people who we really care about. And of course, the most beautiful gift I have been given is the journey through life that I share with my best friend, my husband.

End of Semester Party

Here's a photo from our end-of-the-semester party with students from a couple of my English classes. We had a fun time! A few of my students are guitar players--they brought a guitar, we listened to them play, sang some songs, ate lots of food, watched Salma make a mess with the desserts, and generally had a very good time.