Postcards from Bangladesh

Ever since I came back from vacation to BD the summer of 2007, I wanted to write about it like I did on England (http://sfraww.blogspot.com/2012/07/seeing-england-for-first-time.html). I finally had the opportunity to make it work for an assignment for my Creative Non-fiction class this past semester.

The flight to Bangladeshwas an exhausting one. Unlike on the recent trip to England, there wasn’t a TV to entertain myself with on the plane ride. So, I paid more attention to the funny looking passengers. Unfortunately, my hands got sticky thanks to a waiter who later dropped orange juice on me by accident. On the bright side, looking out the little window was an amazing view. The Earth looked just like a map with its separation of blue water and brown land. It was breathtaking from so high up!

Upon landing in Bangladeshbefore sunset and stepping out of the cool airplane, I was hit in the face with humid air. Countless people were crawling on the streets like an army of ants, even while it was getting dark. The driver hired to take us to my dad’s place from the airport was driving like a lunatic. I seriously thought I was going to die! Fortunately, we made it to our destination safely. Exhausted from a long journey and stressed over whether I would die or not, I easily fell asleep that night.

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From the early morning wake ups, humid air, curious stares we got from relatives and neighbors for being Americans, to the stifling smell of smoke from cooking, there was a lot to adjust to. It wasn’t all bad though. It was fun hanging out with my cousins, especially the younger ones and their friends. My cousins and I would pick pears from their trees, race each other and play tag, and just joke around. They would enjoy hearing my siblings and I speak English so one made up his own language similar to pig Latin that I never understood.

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My family and I would travel between the city and country, visiting both my parent’s sides of the family. The bumpy roads and pot holes was a bit frustrating, but also funny. It was amusing seeing each other bouncing up and down in the rented white van while trying to talk. From my experience, the city was populated and polluted in contrast to the country. Of course the city has its perks like better shopping, sanitation, and transportation. But, the countryside appealed to me more. The fresh air while sitting in the back of a rickshaw, the sights of open rice fields and rivers, and people's simple life gave me a better perspective and appreciation of life in the country.

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For some reason, the mosquitoes were horrible in the city. Twice, I woke up to a swollen lip and eyelid! It was so embarrassing that I hid my face from my two younger cousins who would make fun of me. Imagine trying to cover your mouth for the whole day! I couldn’t of course, being as talkative as I am, so I stopped trying and gave my cousins a good laugh out of it. Fortunately, it wasn’t anything serious and eventually went back to normal.                 

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My youngest cousin on my mom’s side, who was four years old at the time, although cute, was a handful. He liked to sit on my lap every time I would sit down on the sofa. He was like a mini shadow! One day I had on a red ornamented Indian-style dress with black palazzo pants and he jumped up from my lap. We both realized that the bejeweled dress wasn’t comfortable for him to sit on. He and I also eventually got into a “routine” where we would wait for each other to finish dinner so we could brush our teeth together before bed. It sounds silly, but he seemed to enjoy the company. And I’m not great at singing, and far from comfortable doing it in front of others, but I would quietly sing to him in his ears. "Dhoom again and run away with me on a roller coaster ride. Dhoom again and see your wildest dreams slowly come alive…" It was an English song from an Indian movie I had learned from a friend that my little cousin was somehow familiar with. I don’t watch non-English movies, but the beat and fast lyrics stuck in my head and made for good entertainment for the two of us.

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I never knew what the night sky had in store until one night in the country. The country night scene in Bangladeshis definitely worth staying up for! Sitting outside on the front porch with my family and relatives and looking up at the night sky was beautiful. With not too much lighting in the country, millions of stars that I wouldn’t see from elsewhere looked like they were within arm’s reach. It's hard to withdraw from such a wonderful sight, but another day must begin.

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I have to admit, I wasn’t looking forward to my family trip to Bangladeshthe summer of 2007, but when the time came to prepare for our return journey back to America, I didn’t want to come back. I don’t have close relatives in Americaand the trip opened my eyes. Previously growing up close to friends and distant to my own family, I realized while on vacation the importance of family. The day before my family and I had to get ready to leave was definitely a sad day. We said our last good byes to our relatives with salty tears in our eyes and dripping down our faces and made our way to the air conditioned van that would take us to the city.