Christmas in Dhaka

We are entering the cold season in Bangladesh. Now, don't let the term "cold" deceive you, my hearty Canadian friends and family. The average daytime high is in the mid-20's, and the average night-time low is in the mid-teens. However, to see the Bangladeshi people, you would think that the temperatures were sub-zero! People are walking around with woolen socks, thick sweaters and scarves wrapped around their head and neck! I suppose it is all what you get used to. I find the weather quite comfortable at the moment, and it has been nice to go for a walk and not to be totally drenched in sweat by the time I have returned. I have to chuckle when I think of how people dress here, and how cold it REALLY was at Polaris where I worked in the Arctic...

We have been putting a thicker blanket on our bed at night, and in the cooler weather Clara sleeps under a nice warm blanket, which, she really seems to like.

Christmas is fast approaching, although you wouldn't know it here. Since the 85% of the population is Muslim, Christmas doesn't get much attention. I have to admit that I miss the carols, colours and excitement that surrounds the Christmas season.


The one place that you CAN find a bit of Christmas is at the expat clubs. We went to a Christmas lunch at the British Club a couple of weekends ago, and had a wonderful time. The club was decorated with garlands of marigolds and other bright flowers, and there were beautiful arrangements on all of the tables. A local Bangladeshi man and his daughter were hired to make candy floss, as well as a local magician. There was a large tent set up outside, and a lovely lunch was served. There were some fairly typical dishes, as well as the NOT so typical fare.



















It was quite shocking to see the suckling pig, and our first reaction was to burst out into horrified laughter, but that was tempered by the proud smile of the Bangladeshis serving the lunch.


















Another big draw was Bangla Clause. It was really amazing to see the children's excitement when they saw Bangla Clause enter, as well as the nervous children who were a little apprehensive about meeting this big, red stranger. Bangla Clause came with a bag full of presents for the expat children. It was a little shocking and embarrasing to see the opulence (as well as the occasional greed) in stark contrast to the Bangladeshis serving the food. I wonder what they are thinking underneath their smiles - do they resent these rich foreigners, but put up with us because our habits provide a paycheque?



Clara didn't quite know what to make of her first encounter with Bangla Clause. She wasn't frightened, but she wasn't exactly thrilled either...I think she was trying to figure out what to make of him - and the shiny pink wrapping paper.

We received a gift from Bangla Clause, but felt it would be much more appreciated by the girl who was helping to serve the candy floss. When Mark mentioned this to the woman running the show and asked if he could give Clara's gift to the little girl, the woman said that the girl had been the first one to receive a gift - we were very glad to hear that.

We are going to be spending Christmas in Malaysia. We have booked a 10 day vacation, and will be leaving late tonight. We are looking forward to spending some time in a more developed, less challenging country. We hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas season with family & friends. We will take lots of photos, and post some of the best ones when we return.

Love,
Brenda, Mark & Clara

Another day in Dhaka

This blog seems to have developed a bit of a split personality; either it is a serious discussion about the nature of Bangladesh's politics, or it is more of photo-journal. Today I'm going to attempt to be a little more well-rounded in my entry.

The political situation here is still chaotic and rife with uncertainty. The election date (January 21st, 2007) has been announced amidst a flurry of controversy. To be perfectly honest, I'm not following the news as closely as I was at the beginning. I'm lost in the muddle of details about who said what to whom, who has been replaced by whom, who is more corrupt than who, etc. etc...I find the news quite frustrating and depressing. All of the leaders purport to have the best interest of the people at heart, but I have to ask myself "which people"? The leaders seem to be caught up in juvenile, self-centered, self-aggrandizing games, and it is "the people" who suffer the most.

The two women at the helm of the major political parties (the AL and BNP) recently attended the same event. It was reported that they were within 15 yards of each, but refused to acknowledge each other with so much as a glance. Politics here are deeply personal, and political issues are often a disguise for personal differences. Here is a sampling of the headlines from yesterday's paper (I have added the italices for clarification):

Prof. Yunus' (the Nobel Laureate) New Formula: Proposes a coalition govt, peace deal between parties;
Key question now is whether politicians can forget differences;
14 party (Awami League- previous opposition) youth wing besieges Secretariat office;
Kahleda (BNP - previous ruling party) accuses Awami League of creating chaos;
Worried Annan to send envoy to Dhaka;
More arson attacks on election offices.

Against this acrimonious political backdrop, we are going about our everyday life. In the little while that we have been here I have managed to meet a great group of women, many of whom have small children. There a number of social events loosely scheduled during the week to give people an opportunity to get together with other moms. Bangladesh is a hard place to live, and these groups provide a comfortable, "Western" forum to socialize and discuss experiences and exchange advice.

It has been wonderful to develop these friendships, however, it is uncomfortable to realize that all the people I have met thus far are from outside of the country.

On Mondays, I host a baby massage group. Rani, a trained masseur (on the right in the forefront) demonstrates different techniques, and we copy her on our respective children
















Every Wednesday a group of 15-20 people (and their children) get together at someone's home. The children range in age from a couple of months to a couple of years. This can be a bit of a raucous affair when the older toddlers start to discover the new toys! Clara is one of the younger ones, and definitely one of the cutest! :-)


















These socials offer a fantastic opportunity to meet people, and to develop friendships. Here are some more recent, random Clara photos:

Well, that's about it for today. I hope that all is well with our friends and family. We look enjoy all of your email, and look forward to hearing how everyone is doing.