Bringin' you to Bangladesh

Cambodia has led us to creative freedom.

2011-09-22T14:11:00.000+06:00

One of the most important times was passed in Cambodia.

It came at point where I was dying for a break from everything that is, Bangladesh. I had been treading in Asian seas of film, and wasn’t sure how long I could endure. I was tired of holding my head just above water, racing to people, asking them to believe in me, hoping someone would pull me out of the bay and give me a gig. Writing scripts, pitching to clients and getting them tossed into the trash bin. It’s a place where we’ve all been as filmmakers, artists, and dreamers- chasers. A place where you throw yourself down every street and knock on every door, only to get each one slammed in your face. But what Cambodia taught me- “take time for yourself, and you’ll accomplish more later”.

That is the thing- I seem to never let myself take a break in Bangladesh, which is probably why I love my time here so much as well- inspiration around every corner and within every person I meet, never lets me slow down. After a 9-5 work day, I’m off meeting potential clients, having dinner with fellow filmmakers, spending weekend afternoons learning the art of color correction or the technicalities’ of the top digital film cameras this will soon take over for 35mm- or shooting yet another short film. Even when I decided to take a yoga retreat to Cambodia, I found myself thinking “what could I make a movie about in Cambodia?” Man, I need to stop for a breather! My cinematographer recently told me “this is the easiest job to get burned out on”. I don’t want to forget about filmmaking by next year because I am too tired, so off to Cambodia for some fresh-no-film-ness.

We went to the heart of historical Cambodia in the North, Siem Reap, to jaunt between temples, lay in old courtyards, get lost in the wide miles between Angkor Wat and gaze over a glorious South East Asian countryside by sunset. Not only were our days backed with lovely rides around a beautiful sleepy city, but we came home to a comfy bed draped with king and queen canopies and rose petals draped in sunshine peeking through our balcony to a lovely outside world (oh, and massage all for a mere 10 dollars a night, doesn’t get any better than this folks!).

Crazy markets kept us entertained for hours, followed by wine and tasty food- it’s the simple things really that made me smile. One of the most unique and beautiful “finds” were these vintage opium pipes. Lined up in antique stores, they looked like little hand painted ceramic bowls, you know the kind you can find at Pier One for 10 bucks. But these were the real hand painted deal! Immediately I knew I had to have it, not even knowing what it was. Yes, my favorite find in Cambodia, ancient opium pipes and I’m stickin to it!

We had a hilarious bus ride across the country to the capital city of Phnom Penh with a bunch of loud Australians. They seemed to be on a kind of family reunion vacation, and were not the types that you would expect to be trekking across South East Asia- complaining about a shortage of toilet paper and such- but it was some fine entertainment and a good laugh!

Upon arriving in PP, we made our way over to reunite with our friends Chris and Para, who have also been living in Bangladesh for the past 2 years. A lovely reunion with old friends, a scooter rides around the city, lit up temples at night, no honking, people obeying traffic rules, book shops, beer, shopping, peace… just some of my favorite things about this city on the first night. After a wonderful visit with old friends, and exploring a beautiful city that has a wonderful charm, just the right amount of people, and just the right amount of things to do. After an afternoon filled with shopping, exploring and a “ladies lunch” filled with lovely salads and white wine, we joined the local community in an exercise around the park before moving down to the south of Cambodia to a city called “Kep” to stay on an organic farm and eco cottage for a 4 day yoga retreat. It was just what we needed after a week of indulging in great food, wine and shopping- time to refresh, relax, read and dream in a simple and quiet place. Greeted with the most wonderful green tea with ginger that I have ever tasted in my entire life, I took one look out over the hills and thought, “I don’t ever want to leave this place”. I finally was getting that rest that I needed. Morning medication at 5:30, power yoga, afternoons at the seaside and fresh air, organic vegetables, kom pot pepper and fabulously home grown vegetarian dishes.

If you are close, don’t ever miss the beautiful Cambodia. And if you don’t know- go read about some of the tragic history of Cambodia, there are other’s out there who can write about it better than I can.

Bangkok. Bliss.

2011-09-22T12:52:00.000+06:00

Bangkok.

Fashion, Skytrain, Coffee, Cameras, People Watching, Street Food, Cinema, Art, Color, Music, Quiet, Bubble Tea, Pad Thai, Temples.

I pretty much knew from the very second that I landed in Bangkok after an overnight flight from Dhaka, that I would want to stay in this place for more than the week that I set aside. I couldn’t wipe the giddy smile off of my face. It was like the first time I landed in New York City, it does something to you- a little girl from the mid west sets foot in the big apple for the first time (sounds like a hokey coming of age film, but you get the idea), that is what it was like landing in Bangkok. If you don’t know where I am, surely a safe bet to find me would be Bangkok, it just might be my favorite Dhaka getaway from here on out.

We made our way to a lovely guest house near the river in Sathorn called Baan Pra Nond. A beautiful old home, all the walls opening to the surrounding gardens, and quaint tiled pool in the backyard. Greeted with an ice cold Thai tea, I immediately fell in love with the antiques, old photographs, novels and table top clocks around me. It was absolutely wonderful and was a great place to call “home” on our days in this lovely city. Just so happened that the owner went to the very terrible OHIO STATE! That was unfortunately, but he make up for it with his fabulous breakfast and hospitality.

I met up with my roomies from Dhaka after a lil nap in the most comfortable bed in the world. I jumped on the skytrain and rode to Siam, listening to “The Longer I run” by Peter Bradley Adams. I could stay on there for hours, watching people, looking over the city. I pried myself off for great coffee and pastries with friends as we dreamed of how we would get ourselves some jobs in this great place ☺

The next southern adventure was to a favorite beach spot, Phuket. This time, I somehow ate seafood, not a usual trait of mine, and it was absolutely fabulous. Set up along the beach, Tony’s had the best thai food and fresh bbq’d blue crab, lobster and crab. I think my taste just got that much more expensive! Most of the southern thai vacation was spent taking in as much light, love and sun from the sea and enormous waves, filling our bellies with delicious food and ice cream, sleeping, and looking at the stars- I’ll need to bottle that beauty and energy to get me through the next couple months before heading home to the bay and family.

Sonargaon & Max

2011-09-22T11:15:00.000+06:00

There is not much in terms of restored architecture in Bangladesh. Most of the amazing historical sites are crumbling, or have already fallen to the ground forever. Sonargaon, the old capital of Bengal, still houses some of the most beautiful ancient architecture of the region. It was a great excuse to get out of the city for the day, fall in some mud, and bring my new camera, a Canon 5D Mark II (named Max) into the world. I think the photographs say so much more than I can about this place.

What do I do?

2011-09-20T14:57:00.006+06:00

A day in the life of SB (Sara Baumann, Southern Bangladesh, Shooting Beautifully ;)

I’m writing this post from the 5th floor of my guest house in Barisal, Bangladesh. I’m waiting for the rain clouds to clear out so we can capture some b-roll (footage to cut to between the interviews and main footage of the documentary, that will help to paint the setting and picture of where the film is taking place). We have finished in record time, its always great to work with a team that is efficient! But the weather is keeping us from getting the very last shots we need- so why not write to you guys and give you a peek into what I do.

As a filmmaker, only 50% of my time is spent actually “making films”. At least ¼ of my month is spent writing, meeting with clients, pitching ideas to companies. This is the tough part, as you may only get one out of ten projects you pitch for. But once we a project, the fun begins!

We work with the clients to secure a great script, plan how we are going to make that script some to life (what kind of camera, shots, lights, costumes, props, locations do we need to tell this story?) Logistically, how will it be possible? We have to figure out just how many people we need to create this film- will it be too rainy? What if we get delayed? Do we need electricity backup in these places? Will we travel by road, sea or air? All of these depend on the project, the script, the budget and the client. Every project is different, the pre-production stage is figuring out exactly what this project truly needs.

Shooting is the most intense part of the project, but also the most exciting! Its where you really get to see all the hard work come to life, in front of the camera. If your pre-production planning is strong, and you have a great team, your shooting can be a breeze. Well I lied, that is actually not true. The point of pre-production is planning so that the avoidable circumstances can be avoided, and so you can leave space for the unavoidable. Basically, it always happens that something goes wrong, so you need to give as much space as possible to address those problems when they come up on your shoot. You can get your shots, and have time to experiment with some crazy stuff, which often turn out to be the coolest! For this shoot, MK sat on the hood of the car and used the vehicle as our very own dolly for a documentary, which after some after effects post production work, turned out to be a very cool shot!

After shooting, we recharge our batteries and bodies with food and sleep, and log and transfer all the footage to make sure everything is up to par. Once the shots are confirmed, and the Director yells “pack up” we can head back to the city to start the grueling editing process- I only say grueling because its always a painful process for me, since we take so much great stuff and I can only end up using about 1/10 or what we got. Its always sad to look at the footage that doesn’t make the final cut- but you gotta be picky!

Once we pieces together a great cut of the film, we show the client, and they give us a million changes to make before we can go and record voice over’s, add music, adjust sound levels, color correction, and add in animations and credits.

And there you have it, a basic overview of what I do!

Calcutta Summers

2011-09-20T14:46:00.000+06:00

India. Something about it will always have my heart. My friend Josh and I took a last minute trip to Calcutta this weekend to renew our visas, and I always seem to forget just how much I love the grit and character of India. Just a 30 minute flight, and west Bengal is another world. The people, the food, access, and ability to remain anonymous. It was a refresher to my long summer in Dhaka.

Penang-ness

2011-08-12T13:30:00.000+06:00

After spending an all-nighter in the capital airport, discussing the role of female police officers in Islamic countries… we finally arrived at the island state of Penang. Somehow, we managed to stumble to our WWII dated guest house with just enough energy to drop our bags and wish for a bed to rest our heads for a few hours. Well, that was only hoping. After 2 espresso shots, and wondering why we decided to stay up all night, we grabbed a bus, shades and sunscreen and made our way to Batu Ferrengi on the North end of the island. Now, its always a lovely feeling traveling from Bangladesh, because as much as I love it, I forget about many wonderful things that make a city “more livable” so to speak. Even though I hadn’t had any sleep, I could somehow find the energy to appreciate the sidewalks, the gentle streets, public transportation and even the 7-11 shop. I cannot tell you how elated I was to sit on a public bus that didn’t look like it had been blasted with bullets and a lived through a century of monsoon storms. No one looked at us- and I sighed with relief. The bus skirted around tight corners along the edge of the rocky shoreline- not in a way that freaked me out, because somehow I trusted my life with these drivers much than I did in Dhaka.

By this time, Hannah and I had only a matter of minutes before we collapsed from exhaustion- we headed for the nearest shady piece of beach and passed out- the first sleep in 2 days next to the sea, I have to say it wasn’t bad at all! Until Hannah’s massive sunburn put her back a few days, and made her ankles inflate to the size of Buddha’s very own belly. Poor thing!

Penang, Malaysia is a place of humble beginnings. It started out as a British Straights settlement in the 18th century- and has a handsome and complex movement about it; it has been a prized port island and a bustling trading post that left me feeling like ever turn I made was a twirl into another country. Indo-Malay Palladian, to Anglo-Indian, Art Deco, Neo Classical all in the same little island, was Penang.

Church bells, Chinese lanterns, Hindu temples, incense with a faint call to prayer 5 times a day left my mind wondering, am I wandering the streets behind the Blue Mosque in Turkey, or am I wandering temples in Tamil Nadu? Penang has this old wonder about it.

One of my favorite memories of Penang was our street food tour- is arguably the best street food you can find in Asia- Chinese, Nyonya, Malay and Indian ethic mixes, with the influence of Thailand. You could wander from stall to stall, hawking on brilliant tastes for hours. Seafood and chicken satays, to salty soups and noodles, to grilled corn on the cob and brilliant spices. Yes I did accidentally eat something like an eel or an octopus.

But really nothing beats the company you keep, and I think I laughed off more calories than I did hiking the mountain to see the massive Buddha you will see in photos below. And that was a steep mountain.

Sri Mongol and Silence

2011-04-18T15:36:00.003+06:00

It is wonderful to be able to go to the middle of nowhere, with no plan other than to relax. 7 of us were off to Sri Mongol, north of Dhaka where the tea gardens from the British era are still in full force. There are some rolling hills, cooler weather, cool streams and jungles full of massive spiders. We parked ourselves at a lovely eco resort, were we stayed in huts made of bamboo on the river. It was one of the quietest and most peaceful nights I have had in this country. No honking horns, just the sound of nature all around.

Some of my favorite moments:

1. Swimming through the amber-colored stream

2. Good music and good company

3. Discovering a white puff animal in the forest that looked like a flower but definitely was some kind of critter

4. The Bangladeshi fishing pole!

5. Surviving the leeches attacks

6. Yoga overlooking the lake

7. Getting stuck in a massive hole in the road!

8. Seeing a snake charmer get attacked by his own snake

9. 7 layer tea

10. Sunset bike ride through the village

crowns. instruments. kites. o my.

2011-04-18T15:26:00.000+06:00

Just a few of my favorite things in Dhaka:

Finding my roommate’s picture in a random store in Dhaka.

H&M Garment sales- yes H&M clothes are made here, and they love to sell the leftovers for about 2 bucks an item at massive garment sales every few months. Its absolutely wonderful! Yes there is a lot of digging but you can sometimes find great stuff, like this hippy dress! Hehe

Hazy sunsets over the city.

Friday mornings- the quietest time of the week, the roads are free, excepts for the massive amounts of burning trash- lots of plastic included. Yummy.

Coopers- the best bakery in town. Here is us on the tour of their factory!

How the amount of wires that weave through the sky remind me of a Jackson Pollock.

Conk bracelets- slicing up this shell makes for ornate, yet fragile bracelets.

Bengali, in general. Look at those letters, how could you not just fall in love with it?

Crowns- wonderful.

Handmade instruments- and watching the careful construction.

The tree house- or is it the house tree? This is my favorite new discovery in Old Dhaka.

music, in general

lovely instruments

Hand carved teeth that you can find on the streets. Brilliant!

Becoming a Director of Photograhy

2011-04-18T15:19:00.002+06:00

There is a lot to know about putting together visual images for a director on set. I have a little experience with cameras, since I mess around with photography, but definitely realized this past week that there is a lot more to know. Over the past couple of weeks I have been working on the set of 5 short films. They are really interesting modern day, set in Bangladesh parables. The goal is to use these films to teach about values that are applicable to the lives of Bangladeshis. Its hard for me to explain these without giving away the entire film, or making them sound cheesier than they actually are… so I will wait and let you watch them for yourselves in a month or so when they are finished with editing. They are short, 3-5 minute films they hopefully will make you think about life, our actions, God, and what comes after this life.

I played a different role in film production than I usually do for these films. I helped put together the visual images for 3 of these films, meaning I was the person behind the camera. I wouldn’t hardly call myself a director of photography because there is so much about lighting that I am still learning, but it was an excellent experience to watch another director, and it was fun for me to be behind the camera!

Look forward to sharing these with you soon. Until then, check out some photos from behind the scenes!

goat wants some food.

second hand smoking at its best

talk about crowd control

a moment for makeup

father and daughter in shop

boy by girls

boy by wood

smoking in safe places?

creating a fake rainstorm

A New Film Direction- World Concern

2011-04-18T14:31:00.002+06:00

Many of you have seen my recent video for World Concern Bangladesh. This was my most recent direction, highlighting a microfinance program in Bangladesh. It was particularly interesting because many of you also know about my first film “Botomul” that is about microfinance in Bangladesh. It highlights both the positive and the negative impacts of microfinance, so it was interesting for me to be put on a project to cover a microfinance project when I returned to Bangladesh a couple of months ago. I had to look at the issue from the perspective of an NGO and donors, and therefore was a different kind of film, but I liked getting the chance to talk with beneficiaries about their businesses, as well as be able to highlight the issues honestly, and talk about the challenges that the organization faces as well. Its short and sweet, hope that you learned something new!

The WORLD CUP!

2011-04-18T14:06:00.001+06:00

I have hit a writing block, and I has left me distant from you all and I apologize for that! I don’t always feel creative, artistic or articulate, but I have been learning that I need to push trough those barriers and be disciplined! I am learning this as I am trying to put together scripts, and I often don’t feel inspired, but keeping the pen moving is key.

Bangladesh was the host of the World Cup for Cricket this year! Now, to many of you, cricket may be a foreign concept as it was for me. Sitting through a 7-hour game in the 90 degree heat didn’t seem appealing. Its like baseball, just not as interesting. However, I surprised myself! Yes, there is a good… oh say… 4 hours… in the middle of the game that are just hard to get through, but the end of the game was full of excitement; or at least this game was! Bangladesh pulled off a brilliant comeback at the end against England, resulting in quite the party and flooded streets. I’ll probably never go to another cricket game this is true, but I went to one of the most interesting games in the entire tournament. I think the photos say more than I can about the sea of people, and chaos. Also note that we definitely did play cricket in the train station for a good 2 hours while waiting for our late train. What a way to connect with the locals, and they sure got a kick out of playing their favorite sport with a bunch of “bideshis” (foreigners) cause that doesn’t happen everyday!

Adventures in Fashion Photography

2011-04-16T21:25:00.008+06:00

It was only my second day in town, when my lovely friend Eram, a chocolatier, fashion designer and public health researcher called me to be a part of her next vision. Now, I have to begin by giving Eram a little introduction, though it will not do her character justice because I’m simply not good enough with words. Eram is one of those women in South Asia that we (as development workers, sociologists, artists and anthropological activists) love to see. She is bold, bright, down right hilarious (yes sometimes ridiculous given the conservative national context) and a beautiful addition to what is, Bangladesh. That is the thing about educated and actively engaged South Asian women, they are a breed like no other. They have the ability to capture the attention and ears of anyone in the room, and have power to change the world, I truly believe it. You will know when you meet a woman like this, and I pray that all of you at some point in your life do. A woman who comes from a place where it is more difficult to succeed as a woman than any other place, breaks all social constraints, and creatively changes the world, all while dancing or doing stand up comedy by night. Its wonderful.

Back to the project! Eram is a fashion designer, and her most recent line of western dresses was being featured in one of Bangladesh’s top fashion magazines. Eram recruited me, since I am a sucker for good fashion, and any kind of creative “set”. I ended up jumping on board as the makeup artist and photographer to highlight some of Eram’s wonderful new pieces. Given the fact that we had no lights and little space, and 0$ budget, I think we did a pretty good job! It was my first time doing a real “fashion shoot” which was super fun, and our models were great too!

Hope you enjoy my adventures in fashion photography.

“..inventing a job, is better than finding a job” – The Social Network

2011-02-13T09:18:00.004+06:00

Today is the day that I physically put myself in the most vulnerable place that I ever have for a dream. Choosing to pursue this dream is an alternative to settling, and it’s a challenge, creatively and intellectually. A dream to change the world through creativity through the medium of film.

I have found a way to use my God-given talents to bring about a more beautiful and just world; now, the challenge is making that happen. I can’t expect it to be easy, anything worth fighting for is never easy, and I pray for perseverance and for God to use me to impact people and the world for him.

I will be living in Bangladesh for the next few months, pursuing a number of different projects as a freelance filmmaker. I am looking for challenging projects that help me to build a more diverse portfolio, as well as working on writing and creating my own films along side directing and working on others’ films.

On the way over the Atlantic, I met a pilot ukulele player that showed me that wanting to see the entire world and creatively build a bridge between cultures is possible through music and photography- as well as the importance of generosity. Its so important to put yourself out there, to make yourself vulnerable, and to do things for other people- after all, isn’t this what life is all about? He brought me back to that point, because his generosity and curiosity for life was a wonderful breath of fresh air.
Then there was the man sleeping next to me from Brussels to Mumbai- he did have bad breath, as I’m sure I did too, but he was filled with so much excitement when I told him that I too, enjoy Hindi films! Next, I thought it would be wonderful to fall asleep to one of the best movies of the year, The Social Network. But the movie was purely too powerful for me to blink or give it my “minimal attention”. Although the film highlights the dark side of humanity, selfishness, and just how enemies can be acquired- the film also showed a peculiar breed of individuals in a different light. The few that happened to attend Harvard in this picture (but in reality they may pursue any number of forms of higher education, or not) were leaders. Something about the perseverance of these characters made me believe that anything possible- however, I hope to create change through teamwork and partnership rather than the actions that were taken in this film.

Look forward to updating you with my specific projects soon.

You can keep up with my most recent work on my website: www.oldfanfilms.com

You can follow me on twitter through my travel and work in Asia: Twitter- saralizabaumann

Until the next post- enjoy my pictures from my first few days in Dhaka!

Cox's Bazar, St. Martin's Island & a Peek at Burma.

2010-02-21T14:59:00.000+06:00

Cox’s Bazar is the longest, unbroken natural sandy sea beach in the entire world. Along the southeast coast of Bangladesh, it has many visitors from within Bangladesh, but you are always surprised when you meet some fellow international travelers. Staying with my friend Djanita who works for UNHCR, we got to meet a lot of interesting people investing on health, rights, and social justice outcomes for refugees from Myanmar, as the boarder can be seen from a lot of these photographs. We took a trip to the southern most point in Bangladesh, a tiny island called St. Martins Island, and finally arrived after about a 7 hour journey via terrible mini bus and a huge slow boat. We traveled down the Nat river where we could see the coast of Myanmar to our left ( and a huge barbed wire fence that extended the entire coast) and the hills of Bangladesh to our right. Arriving to St. Martins I must say that I was impressed, and I had no idea I was still in Bangladesh (until we arrived at had a typical dal, bhat, aloo, sobji lunch- lots of rice and lentils). It was so windy that it took about an hour, and 4 times swinging the boat around to land it on the dock… but finally we hit shore, and were able to say for a total of… 2 hours. It took us so long to get there that we barely had time on the island, but I still thought it was worth it! Especially sipping fresh coconut water on the sandy beach. Nothing can really beat that.

My life so far!

2010-02-21T09:05:00.003+06:00

dear friends, family, loves:

My life has been a whirlwind. Graduating with a Master of Public Health degree from one of the most unique institutions in the world, spending this past year living in both beautiful rural (and simple) Bangladesh, and through the madness and chaos of the capital city has really taught me more than I cared to learn. But what I can say, is that I have the experience I need to take me to the next step in my career, whether it be research in public health issues, running programs in developing countries to improve health outcomes, or use creativity to make a change… I believe that I am now at a place where I have to skills to do something more! Its both an exciting place, and also a scary place because now is the time when people really start to expect you to do something…! The past few months I have been throwing around hundred of ideas in my head… do I stay in Bangladesh… do I go home… do I dive deeper into the subject I have been studying…. Or do I try something completely new and untouched for me. I decided to do a little bit of both.

I am in a country that I have fallen in love with, for its good times and bad, for its natural beauty and natural madness… somehow I have learned the ropes and feel I can live comfortably here, I am safe, and under the watch of amazing friends. Therefore I have decided to extend my stay in Bangladesh for a few more months to dive deeper into thins that I haven’t had time to do yet. I will be taking 2 jobs with international NGOs to push me ahead and to gain experience in my career in public health, with Save the Children USA & Hellen Keller International. When I am not busy with work, I will be directing my first film. I am headed to Bombay next week to learn a lot more about film, and get some experience, and I look forward to telling you all what its about… but for now it’s a surprise!

Can’t wait to see all of you back in America during the course of the summer. I will be road tripping all over the place to see everyone and can’t wait!

banana boy

2010-02-19T16:27:00.004+06:00

Its important to get out of this city once in a while, for your mental health. Rural Bangladesh is unlike any place in the world really. There aren’t crowds of tourists, or fancy hotels… there isn’t a lot to entertain or distract you… rather rural Bangladesh is a place that is flooded with nothing but natural beauty, and simplicity (and sometimes lots of water in the rainy season). And to be honost, I have come to expect just eh bare essentals on my vacation. So fancy bus ride, or etravagent hotel… just simple, and I have learned to love that for what it is worth.

My favorite was the banana boy, who brought us loads of fresh bananas on the bus when we stopped half way for gas. I met this cute kid that was carrying a basket on his head that was bigger than his body, and overflowing with yellow. On the way back, we stopped at the same place, and I had to get out of the bus and ask for the banana boy. At first he was no where in sight, and I just stood there on the edge of a dusty highway. But then, a few seconds later I saw the same boy, dashing towards me just in time to sell me a few more bananas before I set out for the last leg of my journey.

exposing the hilltracks

2009-12-19T10:34:00.004+07:00

It seems to easy to overlook this population of indigenous people in Bangladesh. It is such a beautiful culture of traditional music, dance, drumming and drama... and somehow I am so far removed from it. These are dances and performances from a UNDP sponsored event that was conducted to bring into light those communities which have been discriminated against and pushed to the fringes of Bangladeshi society in many ways. Their land has been raided, entire communities killed in order to slowly allow the mainstream Bangladeshis to take over. But in fact, these people are Bangladeshi's too, these are the Chittagong Hilltracks people who have been so overlooked. I am delighted to seem them light up and stage and be the center of attention. It was a beautiful and powerful performance.

Martyred Intellectuals

2009-12-14T10:32:00.001+07:00

Why is development moving at such a slow pace in Bangladesh? Well, lets not go into issues of flooding, over population, massive urban migration, climate change effects, food insecurity, and continuous corruption in government decision making… no, despite all this maybe some has to go with the wiping out of the more intellectual established individuals in Bangladesh. Today is Martyred Intellectual Day in Bangladesh, a remembrance and tribute to the individuals who were killed at the end of the Liberation war in 1971. Pakistani forces killed 3 million people at that time, violating women and made a plot to kill Bangladesh’s best and more prominent intellectuals to cripple the nation even further. Academics, doctors, engineers, professors, and journalists were killed from their homes and dumped around the city, leaving the nation to have to “grow up again” so to speak, pushing it back and basically leaving the country to rebuild their intellect from the bottom up. Two days after this massive martyr, Bangladesh gained freedom and victory… but the cost was a huge loss of the backbone and brains of the country.

2009-12-04T17:01:00.006+07:00

We all piled into a microbus, that would us safely on our 5 hour journey to rural Matlab, south east of Dhaka city. As public health students, getting to take the trip to ICDDR,B’s hospital in Matlab is a very excited excursion for us. There is no other research hospital like this one in the entire world, and it is most knows for its convenience in conducting clinical vaccine trials. They have established intervention and control groups in such a precise way, that is it used for research projects around the world.

We went to conduct a small scale study on fever→ who it effects, what they do to treat it, and what was the final diagnosis. We spent two days roaming the village, going house to house asking about cases of febrile illness. When we found one (which was very often!), we would stay and talk with the respondent about their experience. Due to the nature of Bangladeshis (being the curious and family orientated type), I spent my days roaming with children, photographing the incredible landscape and enjoying some fresh air and day long walks, which you never ever get in the crowded capital!

It it times like these that I fall back in love with this wonderful country. It is full of people who are so hospitable, and full of joy, and the country side is breathtaking. When you see places like this, you wonder how it could possibly be one of the most densely populated countries on earth… until you make the journey back to Dhaka.

2009-12-04T16:49:00.004+07:00

The days the roads are filled with blood. Yes, I remember how excited I was to witness this Muslim holiday last year, and as I remember, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought. This year, I could barely pull myself out of bed by 10… I was just not looking forward to the sounds of goats crying out for their last beath, the sights of cows the size of small elephants being skinned, the the smell that floods densely polluted air. The nice thing about eid, is that the streets are virtually empty, a sight that only those who live in this place and have to deal with honks, jams and hours on end each day spent in traffic can resonate with.

I spent the morning with Rahib’s beautiful nephew who is learning to walk, and then went for a lamb bbq at a friends place. Their neighbors had some of the largest cows in Dhaka, obviously brought in from India, and waited til the evening hours to slaughter their cows. Many of the pictures of the crowds you see here, are the beggars waiting for a portion of the meat to be given to them. The crowd was building all day as we watched from the 5th floor balcony… only getting more intense as the sun began to set. Beggars had been waiting for hours and hours with plastic bags in hand, hoping to get a portion of the fresh cow flesh being sacrificed for Eid.

H1N1 fear?

2009-11-04T22:24:00.001+07:00

I would like to discuss this issue, from a personal and public health perspective. H1N1 virus, we might also hear the terms “swine flu” or a crazy outbreak of influenza that has shifted it’s genome to a new, and deadlier strain. Lets first discuss the name, “swine flu”, its very bad. I mean I know it’s a lot easier to remember, and in order for the general public to put a certain disease in context we should name it something that is easy to pronounce, but calling it “swine flu” really stigmatizing the pigs you know? I mean they are living animals too aren’t they? Ok well more importantly, calling it “swine flu” has had huge ramifications on trade, and negatively impacted economies around the world that will find it devastatingly difficult to recover from. If we could have helped a little by keeping the pigs out of it, we could have possible saved a lot of money.

Secondly, what is this H1N1 thing? As a soon-to-be public health “practitioner” (whatever that means?!), I look at this in two ways. I first look at it like most of you who are not in the medical field… what is this crazy disease and what can I do to protect me and my family from it! It apparently is killing off thousands, people are panicking so I better be too… Wrong. Then I have to take a step back and look at this pandemic in context. Actually, lets take a second to look at the numbers. So far there have been 6,174 confirmed deaths according to WHO. Worldwide the “common flu” alone causes between 250-500,000 deaths worldwide. So you might be worried about the common flu more… just a thought. Its actually impacting the middle ages, and not so much the youngest and oldest in the population which is quite striking, its not what we would expect in comparison to other diseases. Secondly, people are freaking out about this flu, running out from their houses and flooding the health system. Well, this really doesn’t do us any good… because first of all you are more likely to catch H1N1 just by going into one of these virus infected clinics so stay away if you have anything else, and also over 75% of these people are too late in seeking care anyways to get any kind of medication so you better just go home and rest. Why do I say this? Tamiflu needs to be used within 2 days of onset of symptoms or its not gonna do you any good, but most of us would probably wait it out and see if things got better and by that time, its simply too late.

If you are in the developed world, you have the luxury of taking off work, being indoors, drinking lots of clean water and taking fever reducers… but its not so easy in Bangladesh. So many people are missing out on the information that is necessary to protect themselves, especially in the rural areas, like basic hygiene and sanitation messages. We also live in one of the most densely populated countries in the world, so you can imagine the impact that has on the spread of an infectious disease. Furthermore, we don’t have the kind of health infrastructure that is needed to even distribute drugs or vaccines if they were available and affordable. So what to do? The question is a but more difficult under such rough conditions. People wear masks… well they did for about a week, but what else can we do to help keep this H1N1 under control here? I mean if its gonna get out of control anywhere, a likely candidate is Bangladesh so we are working to do everything we can to go against the odds!

All this being said, definitely watch out for the symptoms, get help early if you need it (especially if you have preexisting conditions)… but this is just food for thought and a reminder that panic doesn’t do us any good. Rather what we are working towards, in the area of public health, is spreading messages that are clear and actually spread the truth… not a fabricated or disillusioned version of the truth. So be healthy now and don’t always fall for what’s on the surface!

Malnutrition. hard. core.

2009-10-21T23:11:00.004+07:00

I held the smallest 1 year old in my life today. She was a twin, and irritable when she was away from her other half. She was dressed in handmade top that that tied up the middle, though I thought it would be better suited for a doll. Her pale, anemic face was expressive… her eyes narrowed and eyebrows cinched in the center of her face that was no larger than the palm of my hand. She striked a glare at every stranger in the room. Her twin was much more patient with onlookers, and even though she was protective of her sister and herself, she looked even a bit healthier than her counterpart. I guess its true; a happy baby is a healthy baby... even happiness on a small scale.

Millions of kids die each year across the world through complications of malnutrition… and its something that is so easy to prevent right? Well partly yes, and partly know. It seems quite simple, you just feed a kid and it grows right? All you need to do is feed them… but when I wandered the lab of the largest diarrhea hospital in the world, the hospital where ORS (oral rehydration therapy) was first promoted on a large scale, along with the cholera cot invention, I wonder how mothers could let their children get this bad? Wasting away, not able to hold their head, why did mother’s wait so long to seek care?

There are so many reasons to explain why this happens to children in Bangladesh.
• Socio economic status- people are poor, and they either they can’t afford proper nutrition to their children, they breast feed for up to 2 years without feeding anything else because they simple don’t know, or they just think their child is thin and there really isn’t anything wrong… until a mad case of diarrhea wipes the child out to barely nothing.
• Exclusive Breast feeding… is GOOD! But only for 6 months, some of the mothers were feeding the kids solely on breast milk up to 2 years… as you can imagine a 2 year old child looked like a dying 1 year old, completely stunted and wasted for its age.
• Big families… can result in neglect of the other children, and lack of money to feed them and treat them properly
• Child Spacing- one lady was taking care of her two year old who was severely malnourished, and she had to leave ever 2 hours to feed her other infant… talk about a busy mother.
• Young mothers and malnourished mothers- I saw an 18 year old mother holding a dying 2 year old child from severe pneumonia, diarrhea and malnutrition… all the while she was taking care of another infant, and she was anorexic herself. If the mother isn’t healthy, we can’t expect the breast milk of that mother to be healthy.
• Lack of awareness- mothers simple don’t know how to treat the children when they fall sick, they continue to seek traditional care and my the time they resort to a hospital, it sometimes is too late.
• Food insecurity… In Bangladesh with the impacts of global climate change, mothers do not have as many opportunities to get foods to cheap.
• Structural factors- accessibility- there are not the resources in rural Bangladesh where women have to travel across land and sea for days to react the nearest big hospital where they can properly treat malnutrition.
• Sanitation- if the mothers aren’t using clean water, this can result in more acute illnesses, leading to severe dehydration, loss of appetite, and hence malnutrition.

There are so many factors that lead children to acquire severe acute malnutrition… I used to walk through the ward and see these children, and be so overwhelmed and angered that children were so neglected. Maybe that is the case with a few of them, but then I realized that the mothers are not only to blame for such neglect. In fact, it is more the overarching societal structure that cause such horrific things to happen on the grassroots level. The government doesn’t acknowledge the needs of these starving children, public health interventions do not focus enough on this global burden of malnutrition, which leads many of the mothers to continue to be naïve about the issue. After all, mothers can only make good decisions about their children if the options are available and if they know about the problem at hand.

Therefore, the solution is complex! BUT we need support systems from the government and some better educated mothers in order to break out of this continuous cycle of poverty that exists.

I wish I had a photo to show you from my own hospital, but due to ethical reasons I don’t feel comfortable breaking that privacy of my own patients. This photo is from an online search, and just the beginning of what I have been seeing and studying these past weeks. I now realize that treating and taking care of the patient, and also the overarching system in which malnutrition happens is a necessity in Bangladesh and around the globe. Thanks for being interested in this issue.

2009-09-22T19:21:00.004+07:00

As I am getting ready to start my thesis, I am building as many contacts and picking the brains of as many scholars as I can get my hands on. With that being said, networking I have learned is one of the biggest keys to success in Bangladesh, and probably not different from everywhere else in the world. Fulbright helps too! After chatting with the head of USAID, meeting the health department and getting involved in their Bangladesh AIDS Project, I found myself out in the field one afternoon. As I am interested in studying HIV/AIDS among vulnerable populations, we checked out the sites of a drop-in-center for males, and a drug rehabilitation center for females. There was such a stark difference between the two environments.

The drop in center was strategically located, aka hidden. We got dropped off in a chaotic intersection in mohammedpur deep in Dhaka city, trekked down a flooded back street and then entered what looked like an open market in the ground floor of an old cement building without windows or doors. Weaving our way through stalls of computer speakers, cell phone sim cards, brooms and gamsha towels…. We walked up the 2 flights to the USAID drop in center. If you didn’t know where to find it, you definitely would have been lost.

Inside we evaluated the clinical resources, HIV testing center, and got to see a dance from the MSMs who gather in the center socially for support. It was thriving with Bangladeshi culture, and you could tell that everyone that was there, really wanted to be there, sharing their hardships with each other.

The next place we visited wasn’t as joyful. Women who are drug addicts are given a chance to enter this rehabilitation center to restart their lives. But its not always so simple. It is a 3 month program, and many of them may choose to stay on longer to help with the program and have a place to live, but others when they leave the center after the program, end of back on the streets, falling back into the same crowds and same habits that they just worked so hard to overcome. 90% of the women relapse, and we wonder, what can we do to make this program more sustainable? The most obvious answer is bridging the gap between the center and the real world, which can be done through creating jobs and tangible job skills, but there just aren’t he resources or infrastructure for such expansion right now. And after talking with the women, I found it to be so depressing that they are working so hard to take a courageous step to get out of their old lifestyles (many of the women got involved in drugs because of their family influences, drug lords as husbands or brothers or fathers), and the doctors and social workers believe so much in helping these women that they dedicated their life to this. But something needs to change.

Moral Dillema?

2009-09-10T14:25:00.006+07:00

I went to the field a few weeks ago to do some photographing for World Food Programme. They need pictures displaying the current food insecurity issues in Bangladesh, which I found very difficult to capture. I realized, as I sifted through thousands of photographs trying to find something that resembles the issues of nutrition, water and hygiene, women suffering and food insecurity, and I realized that I didn't have any pictures of the like. I realized that even though I am surrounded by extreme poverty, and hardship everyday, I never can get myself to capture it on film. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing, maybe I think if I don't have photographs of it, then I will forget that it exists... its just too hard to reflect upon sometimes. But I think this is exactly what WFP was trying to promote, a photographer's awareness to the real issues that are being faced everyday. It was a difficult project to say the least, here is just a little bit of what I came up with.

Giving birth at home?

2009-09-10T09:52:00.005+07:00

80% of births are performed at home in Bangladesh. As you can imagine, it is very culturally defined and seen as a regular experience that a women undergoes as part of being a mother. This birthing experience is usually accompanied by a traditional birth attendant (usually untrained just learned the tricks of the trade throughout the years from generation to generation), and other community women. It is all considered a natural experience, and doesn’t require the help of doctors.

As much we, as public health experts, need to respect cultural tradition and practices, we also have to realize that these practices have led to many deaths that are easily preventable. Women die from complications that could easily be prevented by saline, simple procedures and clean supplies, or minimal drugs.

This is where MANOSHI comes into play. This small referral and delivery center works in the community, identifying pregnant mothers at early stages, working with them to provide them antenatal care, community meetings. While this all may seem quite boring for a lot of you to read through, but those of you who have delivered babies, and are mothers, I’m sure you can related to how difficult it must be to lack infrastructure, a place to go in case of an emergency, and just overall education about what to do and what is happening in your bodies. It is incredibly important in the field f public health to address these issues, because as women in the developed world we have only a 1/8000 chance of dying during delivery, and on average in the developing world it’s a 1/76 chance… many countries even as low as 1/10 chance of mortality.

Even in America we are seeing this “trend” of giving birth at home, or not taking epidurals to make a statement, or just because of any kinds of medical or social pressure or belief. As all well and good as this is, its only because we have the choice to do so. These women really don’t have the choices that we have about accessing health care systems, and I shouldn’t say that this doesn’t happen in America either…because there are many people in our backyard that still don’t have access to these services that are really a human right. We all, as human beings living on this planet, have the right to life and health in whatever scope that may be. Lets get this same access and choice to the rest of the world to use formalized training for delivery. After all, its a natural part of life that should not result in preventable death.

Agony & Ecstacy

2009-09-09T21:56:00.005+07:00

When I was invited to an evening event called a “trany fashion show”, I really didn’t understand the context in which I was getting involved. Agony and Ecstasy is a cultural evening organized by Bandhu Social Welfare Society, who are known for their advocacy work in supporting sexual health and well being of males in Bangladesh. I have heard about the organization briefly in the past from working with UNAIDS, and even met the program manager of the organization at a UNAIDS conference last year, but really didn’t think anything of it.

Since I am in Bangladesh trying to understand the concept, issues, dilemmas, stigma, discrimination, vulnerable groups, prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and other opportunistic diseases relating to HIV transmission, I thought I should definitely give more of a look to the transsexual population in Bangladesh. I have been working with vulnerable groups with my previous work in India, such as sex worker studies, and working with injecting drug users and domestic violence cases in HIV/AIDS prevention, and even talking with a few MSMs in India, but honestly the “hijra” population was frightening to me. Frightening only because society has shaped these people to be different, to be outsiders, to be shunned, and looks at them as “freaky”… and like any normal human being my opinions were shaped by those around me, before actually taking a closer look at the issue. But of course, human experiences and interactions always have a huge role to plan in shaping our opinions about an issue, even if they are skewed… and I will explain via example what I mean by this.

One afternoon I was roaming around New market, probably the most populated place on earth, where everyone around Bangladesh comes to do their home, grocery, fashion, hardware, school shopping… you name it, New market has it. It is absolutely overwhelming and even the days that I go there for an adventure, I come back regrettably exhausted never wanting to go back. Its just that insane. You meet people form all walks of life, but mostly Bangladeshis who are just curious about why a white person would be wandering the muddy and congested streets on a hot afternoon.

I was in a little shop buying some thread and buttons for some new shalwar camiz that I was making (local Bangladeshi dress), when two hijras, decked up in sarees and all, grabbed my shoulder and shouted in a high-pitched and flamboyant voice “girl, you give me money!!!!”. I was like “umm no!”, mind you I absolutely hate it when people touch me, you touch me and its over, we are not becoming friends. And for the next few moments they harassed me as I shopped around and then I scooted out of that place. Ever since then I had a picture of what I thought all hijras are like in the back of my mind. They are just rude and pushy and I didn’t want to have anything to do with them. I was completely wrong by the way.

Now I have gone back to look at the story of hijras, this completely isolated group in society, which they are all over the world, but especially so in southeast Asia. You have to lose your family to express yourself, and if you join to network of other hijras for support… you always have the chance of them rejecting you if you take a mainstream job (which are hardy ever available), or don’t sell yourself for sex. It’s a very complex social situation that they face to say the least, one that most of us will never have to understand.

For this reason, Banshu Social Welfare Society, formed in 1996 to address human rights concerts regarding abuse, denial of sexual health rights, and provide a rights-based approach to health and social services for the most stigmatized and vulnerable populations in Bangladesh (hijras/kothis, and their partners). Since the main health sector will not even treat them, something has to happen outside of what the government is already doing, and Bandhu along with USAID, FHI and numerous other institutions is helping put their rights into place. We need to acknowledge transsexuals as human beings, after all don’t we all have the right to freedom in terms of basic health care? More so, the labor market in Bangladesh does not accept hijras into the work force, and bandhu is working and striving to get them into the workforce so they can turn from sex work and have another form of livelihood.

There is so much to learn about this population in Bangladesh, and I cannot even touch the surface in this conversation, but I hope that as I continue to dig into this issue furthest you will have an open mind to talking about such issues. And, like I have learned the hard way, break away from the social opinions already formed into a view that at least acknowledges every human being as equal.

All-American Wedding

2009-08-17T09:08:00.007+07:00

You may wonder what its like to return home after being away for practically a year in the third world. Well clearly, its very difficult to put into words, since that amount of time spent away from your own culture, your home, your family and friends you have known your entire life, will clearly change you. Especially when it is a place where there is no one like me, an altogether different language, a different culture, a different religion and different lifestyle, the only thing you can do is learn to adapt. But there is something fundamental about myself that I have come to learn and I am now realizing that I have taken it for granted: my ability to adapt.

I realized this though many long talks with people who have worked in development, spent time in the global south, and witnessed harsher conditions that most of us ever dream about in the Midwest. This place is not for everyone, yet I find it completely fascinating, beautiful and I consider it a part of me, even though it can be entirely frustrating and claustrophobic. Bangladesh is a place that I tend to paint in a grandiose way, in fact I really love it but I often find myself maybe describing it in a way that is “benefit of the doubt”, until I have a hard day and then those days are usually painting with bias and rage. But every time I take a step out of my life in Bangladesh, I find that I miss it more than ever. Yes its hot, polluted, stiff and difficult to maneuver… but that is part of the adventure of living here. At this point in my life I cannot imagine being anywhere else, and I know what you are thinking… Sara you have gone crazy! Well maybe a little bit, this place will make everyone a little “pagol” but I am thankful that I have learned how to live in this place, so much so that I actually find it hard to leave even for a short vacation.

I recently went home to northern Michigan for my second brother Dan’s wedding. It was the most relaxing wedding I have ever witnessed really! I mean typically you hear about mad chaos the 3 days before the wedding but everyone was just enjoying each others company and everything went smoothly. I didn’t even see the bride freak out when there was rain on the morning of her wedding day! (by the way Liz maybe you did and I didn’t see but props to you!) Thankfully the weather cleared up just in time for their beautiful outdoor summer wedding overlooking the beautiful scenery at Timberlee. I kept thinking to myself how perfect the wedding was for Dan and Liz, it was exactly what they wanted and I am so glad that I was able to make it home for this special day!

The rest of my trip to America included boating on the great lakes, golfing in the cherry capital of the world, sailing on lake Michigan, climbing the famous sand dunes, eating lots of amazing cherry food and warren’s amazing cooking, bbq's and even a day in New York City. It was a perfect two weeks in America, now I have to get back to work! Ciao!

Monsoon Where Art Thou?

2009-08-15T16:57:00.002+07:00

Is there such thing as a monsoon, or it is a concept that exists in fiction, in books, on CNN? It seems to be a notion that humans on the opposite side of the world have been faced with since the beginning of time. In fact, when I begin to picture what it means to be covered in tens of meters of water, I think about “yaweh” parting the red sea for his people… then by his power released the waves to cover the enemy. A naturally occurring substance, that makes up majority of the earth’s surface and even our bodies has a power like nothing else to take life, and to give life. When growing up in northern America, this perfect combination of 2 parts hydrogen and one part oxygen has been beautiful, calm, and fresh. A concept that Bangladesh hardly knows.

The months of July and August are known to be months of excess, months of immobility, loss and flows of water that make it difficult for millions to survive. An extreme from the rest of the year in Bangladesh, which is faced with extreme water shortages, and access to clean water is hardly a normal occurrence. The rain is a necessity of a land of rice paddy’s, greenery, and agriculture, yet Mother Nature likes to withhold rain from this land until a breaking point in which when it rains, it literally pours. The road I used to travel weekly to Savar, outside of the city, in the past was surrounded by rice plantations, field workers, and brick factories. What was once a place that could be traveled across by foot, it now only accessible by boat. Hundred year old trees that are 5 times as tall as me are nearly engulfed by water.

Even so, the rain has been said to be at a low this year until this past week. I finally know what it feels like to be trapped in a monsoon. As I was riding a rickshaw home the other afternoon, I was kicking myself as usual for forgetting an umbrella (which is an everyday occurrence because I haven’t been able to predict this crazy rain pattern). It began to pour and the bike that I was riding in was literally covered in water up to the ankles of the driver. We were riding through a shallow lake, trying to dodge the pot holes beneath meters of water from sheer memory since there was no way to detect where the holes were. Every few seconds we would drop into a hole and the bike would go underwater. But the driver wasn’t worried, instead he was thinking, “finally… we were thirsty”!

North Bengal. Dinajpur

2009-07-15T11:24:00.005+07:00

I have been itching to get out of this crazy city for ages. I always make it a point to see as much as I can of a country when I travel, and I have been here so long, in such a little country and I feel like there is still so much that I need to see! I keep telling myself that I have so much time, but its about time I get to seeing this place because I am on my last 6 months here!

Dinjapur is located in North Bengal, an overnight train ride from Dhaka. Overnight trains are fun, especially in the south where things are crazy, people crowd around and watch your every move because they have never seen something like me before, or they are just waiting to rob me (o wait don’t mean to scare you, those things really are not common in Bangladesh…). I sat down in the waiting area at the train station, when I noticed scratching and odd noises from my feet. There they were, bunches of chickens just chilling in the waiting room, just waiting to freak out people like me who are not used to that sort of thing! Since the chickens to my right were freaking me out, I moved a little to the left where there was an older Bengali gentleman reading the newspaper, particularly an article about Obama. He looked at me and smiled, and we connected over our love for this President. Well beyond him sat a boy, who was about 18 years old, but to me seemed like a very young boy. He literally was so fascinated with me that he was basically sitting on top of the gentleman with the newspaper so he could have a good look at me. I thought it was funny, so I talked to him and he kept moving closer to us until he decided that it wasn’t enough just to talk to us and ask a million questions… so he began to recite his own Bengali poetry. He went on for about 10 minutes about love and wind and skies and whatnot… I’m sure it was inspired by Tagore, one of the most spectacular writers of all time coming from Bangladesh. Then he tried to steal my Pocahantas book (which was in Bangla of course and one of my favorite reading materials ever so needless to say, I was a little pissed by this time).

Upon arriving in Dinajpur after the most insane train ride I have ever experienced, we found peace and quiet, open fields, and a slow paced life. It was so green everywhere you looked, with beautiful rickshaws, clean streets and people roaming with simple lives. It was absolutely spectacular. We stayed in an old village home, from before the independence of Bangladesh in 1971. Actually, during the war the family had to flee to north India, and left behind their home, which was looted by the Pakistani army and left in shambles. Upon returning, as you can imagine, the family was devastated that they had lost everything, even part of their home. They eventually returned and made their home their own once again, and this time in a land called Bangladesh. Just walking through the home, you can feel the history that this place has, from the cool and smooth cement floors, to the old black and white photographs that crookedly lined the walls… everything had so much character. Each day auntie cooked us spectacular Bengali food over traditional outdoor ovens, and we gorged on mangos and lichees… the best fruit in the world!

red clay villages.

2009-05-25T19:29:00.007+06:00

Flat tires n' mud puddles.

2009-05-19T20:39:00.005+06:00

Its getting about that time of year when the rain starts to fall. I have lived here since October and I am pretty sure that it has been bright and sunny every single day except for 3. That is pretty darn consistent weather and I am ready for a change. When it comes to Bangladesh its all or nothing. Hot and sunny and unbearable heat, or pourrrrring down rain for days, where the rain wipes out village and routes that used to be traveled by road are now taken by boat (I haven’t witnessed this yet but I will be sure to report thoroughly on my first monsoon experience!).

We got a little bit of taste of the new weather today. Jawaid and Brianna came out to the school of public health to visit me and Lameck. We decided to take a bike ride through the surrounding villages, when we were hit with numerous challenges along the way… such as 2 bikes getting flat tires…. And one bike getting a flat tire twice! The beautiful thing about facing challenges in this country is that I have just learned to not worry, and take it as an opportunity to practice my bangla. As the rain was pouring down, the potholes in the dirty roads began to fill at an unquantifiable pace and we sat under the small roof covering a long wooden bench at the “cha” tea stall. We cuddled together, already soaked and laughed and used lots of gestures and broken bangla to talk to the villagers.

When the bike was finally fixed, we wandered down a new road, taking us out over two bridges where you could see open green fields on each side, with no houses or people, just fields of rice filling quickly with the rainwater that Bangladesh desperately needed. When I need sights like this, I wonder how in the world this country can be the most densely populated in the world, there is just so much space, I could run for miles without being crowded (of course when you make it back to Dhaka city you feel the heat of millions of people piled into a few square kilometers- the contrast is amazing actually, it’s a sight that needs to be seen).

We rode for hours, until we were riding down dark slippery streets to get home, and I remember telling myself that I would never ride these dinky old bikes in the dark again because last time it was so much trouble…All in all the rain and mess that we had to go through to have a good sight of the villages this time of year was by far worth all the effort.

Sunsets, Mosques, Lights and Futbol.

2009-05-19T19:46:00.005+06:00

This evening we took a trip to the old futbol stadium in Dhaka for their club football quarter final game. A friend of ours hold a VIP box so we all piled in to watch an evening game in an empty stadium. Apparently after the Bangladeshi Cricket team took off, that became the popular sport, an futbol is now shoved under the rug only for the hardcore dedicated fans who don't just follow the trend. It was a nice relaxing evening, and the sun setting over the green field with what looked like abandoned building filling the skline left for an erie ambiance over this part of the city. The buildings with barred windows and broken neon signs made me think we were in a dingy and abandoned part of the city, but aparently we were in the banking capital. I guess the banks keep the money on the inside, and make people like me believe that its a run down shack so I don't perform a robbery or anything of the like.

My 23rd Harpy Bipthday

2009-05-18T16:54:00.006+06:00

I am one that has a bad memory. You know its kind of like how children have select hearing when they are asked to do the dishes, but they always remember that mom said they could have ice cream on Tuesday. Weird, but its happening to me…except I am forgetting with age and not selection I think. Its my 23rd birthday and I couldn’t remember for the life of me where I spent my last birthday… but then I was remembering that I think its because I wasn’t home I was in Amsterdam visiting Jason! Is that true jay??? I like to look back on “monumental” days one year last to see how far I have come ( or how crazy my life has changed). And that it surely has.

My wonderful amazing friends in Dhaka city through me an awesome birthday party last weekend (President of Sara’s Birthday Club: Rahib, Vice President and all time lover of party planning and DJ-ing with cheesy mixes- David Shapiro) They rented out the top story of the American club, everything was lit by small icicle lights under the cabana of a cloudy evening awaiting the monsoon. It was beautiful, all of my hilarious and wonderful friends came as we danced the night away… but of course no gathering in Dhaka would be complete without a night full of conversations probing each other’s development, health and microfinance research because everyone is just that passionate. I was debating whether I should do a project within the Bangladesh Health Ministry on AIDS policy, or if I should go a different direction focusing on a sociological study on the upper class and educated health seeking and risk behaviors. As of now I’m leaning towards AIDS policy because after all my love for sociology and anthropology… policy is where all the change happens in this world right Dr. Johnson? I think you are the one who predicted that within just a few short years I would be involved in politics and policy making… well we shall see…

Red, White and...Orange.

2009-05-10T13:15:00.005+06:00

I have never felt so alive in this place. All you need are a few open streets and a reason to celebrate the new year, and you are soon to be surrounded by millions, literally millions of Bangladeshis celebrating loud instruments and with new clothes in the colors of red, orange and white. This 14th day of April, I have to say, has been my favorite holiday in Bangladesh. We headed down to the most culturally “happening” place in Dhaka, all around Dhaka University, and it was flooded… with people that is. Now if I would have come to such an event during my first days in Dhaka I would have been so overwhelmed that I would have turned around, went home and probably flew back to America for that matter! But after spending the past 6 months in arguable the most densely populated country in the world… I know what its like to never have your own space. Everything you have you share with everyone else because there is literally no space and no privacy. Inevitably that means your life has to slow down, and you have to develop my favorite characteristic: patience (which I still haven’t mastered). You just have to learn to love it. And that I do.

In addition to the millions of souls, there were amazing pieces of artwork everywhere, from an outdoor photography gallery, to 40 foot tall colorful masks and toys and instruments for sale everywhere were contributing to the cloud of intense sound that was blanketing the entire country of Bangladesh. I’m usually not into those cheesy sorts of things, but a friend gave me one of those spin wheels made out of colorful paper and I was amused all day as you will see from the pictures haha. Every time the wind would blow it would create an array of moving color before my eyes, and I felt like a child in a candy shop (in particular I felt like I was just on my ritual routine to the dentist in Wauwatosa as a kid when we would head to the candy shop called “not just nuts” across to street to get back to rotting our teeth… I was simply that happy dad!). We also bough some string instrument that I see everywhere in Bangladesh, and some little drums to we could contribute to the madness.

As you can imagine it didn’t take us long to get noticed, the 2 white people that is! EVERY SINGLE PERSON, I KID YOU NOT wanted a picture of us or with us. I felt like Britney Spears walking through downtown Chicago 7 years ago in her glory days, or maybe more like Hannah Montana in small town America. I felt like I was captain Cannavaro stuck in a mess of die-hard futbol fans after a world cup victory. I was the Bill Gates releasing windows to the world, or the ever so popular OBAMA. There wasn’t a moment of my existence that 10 people were not staring and collecting photographs of me. In fact, there was a point when we were standing on the roof of Dhaka University Fine arts school overlooking the crowds dancing and celebrating, when all of the sudden the hundreds of people shifted their attention to us… and we found ourselves on every TV news station, and on the cover the Bangladeshi newspaper the next day. We were quite a hit for doing nothing but celebrating, and that made us feel quite good!

What a colorful, wonderful and exhausting day.

Chai Ci Tomar Bondhuta!

2009-04-25T12:51:00.007+06:00

It’s a funny story actually. I got an acting gig in what they call a “natok” in these parts of the world, which is a short tv drama… so much more legit that the actual Dhallywood movie scene so it was actually pretty cool to get this opportunity. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into.

It was a regular afternoon, after spending 4 hours sitting in the classroom learning bangla grammar, I really wanted to get out and apply it. I was on my usual routine, stopped by to see my friend Mili in a little fashion boutique where I would sit and speak Bangla with her everyday after class. This was we were just chatting and I was getting ready to run out the door, when one of the store customers stopped me and complimented my bangla. After a long morning the last thing I really wanted to do was speak anymore bangla, but since she was impressed I just had to stick it out a little longer! We chatted, and she spoke entirely too fast for me to understand everything, but I just pretended I did with the typical “heee heeee acha acha”. She handed me her card, while explaining that she has been on the lookout for a new actress to act in her special Nobo Borsho film (Bangla New Year), and she thought I would be perfect. Of course, she knew me too well already that I was not ever going to turn down an opportunity to have a new "cultural experience"!

A few weeks later, over tea and nasta we had a deal, I was the new foreign girl who would be acting in the drama, it would be close to a true story about an america girl in Bangladesh, getting involved in the film industry very unexpectedly… and the relationships and drama and hardships that come along.

So the time had finally come, it was the weekend of the shooting and I was expected to report at 7am sharp. Well, realizing very quickly that things tend to run a little behind in Bangladesh, I set my alarm for 8am, knowing full well that I would still have plenty of time to stall before heading to the set. Around 9 am I got a text, saying to just chill out and be cool, someone will be there to pick you up shortly. Another hour went by and I was happy since I was laying in bed, dozing in and out of the much needed sleep that I desperately needed after a long week of classes. Before I know it, it was noon so I wandered out of my house and down to the American Club for my ritual Friday morning American breakfast and Starbucks coffee… probably the most comforting feeling and highlight of my week to say the least☺ Well by this time I was completely over it, I mean there was no way I was going to be able to act now I was just too distracted and not going to be able to perform well after so many schedule changes. So I was quite happy when I got the message that the shoot had been canceled. “This is so Bangladeshi” I muttered to myself, just thinking again and again that I shouldn’t be surprised at such a little hiccup. Things always seem to work out. And come to find out later, the reason for canceling the shoot was quite interesting…. ("political drama" between other media directors and writers and the big shot actor, led to threats that caused the prodction house to have to cancel the entire shoot that weekend until things cleared up and things were safe. Talk about a good movie plot...)

Well since that was a bust, when the next weekend rolled around, and it was the big study weekend before my epidemiology exam, I was quite annoyed that I hadn’t gotten his over with last weekend. I was now cramming and preparing for my first big acting gig ever, in a different language! When I finally got to the set down near Dhaka University, things were rolling and a lot of the footage had already been shot. It met everyone, unable to distinguish who were really the film set crew, and who were the actors who were playing the roles of film set crew members (since the film was actually about the set of a movie, it got rather confusing at times!). Again, I waited and waited for my shot to be ready and then I was put into place. I cannot even begin to explain the nervousness that came over my body. I was out in the open with at least 30 onlookers crowded around, listening to every word that pored out of my mouth. Deep down I was already nervous, thinking “ man these people chose me for this part and they have no idea that I can't even act... that is too bad for them!” Nervous, not remembering bangla, everyone staring, pointing, laughing and taking pictures and then there is me: sweating in the bright midday sun I was freaking out. But that is the thing. I had to get over it, and tell myself that I don’t know these people and I can only do the best that I can do…. I also realized that the most I freeze up and become shy, the stupider I look so I had to exaggerate and go all out... although later in watching the film I realized that all my great acting techniques didn’t really shine through in the movie haha. Acting is much much harder than I ever realized, especially when you are on a time schedule, have a budget, and have so many people relying on you and that particular shot. It’s a tough biz!

After the first take I was able to chill out with my co-actors and actresses and opened up. We shared some Bengali street food, took walks around the park and ate lots of dal, bhat, and murghi together over lunch with our hands… after that we were totally bonded together and could let lose and just be ourselves on the set. That is what I learned the most… you have to be comfortable first with yourself because if you are comfortable with yourself then you can “act” in any setting, with anyone around you. But it also helps if you are comfortable with the people on the set. At first, since I know nothing about acting and the only thing I had in my bag of tricks was to be myself, I had to get to know the people who I would be spending the next 48 hours with… and I am so glad I did! By the first afternoon we were laughing and sharing so many good times together… it came to a point where it was hard for me to keep a straight face and get “angry” on camera because to me, these were my friends… and I had to yell at them like I hated them! By 9pm I was getting exhausted. We switched sets to a film shooting home, and I fell asleep in the makeup room. Much of filming is sitting around until the director is ready for your one shot, and then you are put into place for 5 minutes and then you wait again for another few hours. Its tedious and time consuming, but I had fun company and that really made the experience worth every second!

I remember one shot in particular where I had been woken up from my nap, threw on some makeup and had to do a shot at 12:30 am having to act like it was my surprise birthday party. Now, let me tell you this was tough considering I had just been woken up from a glorious nap and had to actually be demonstrating excitement and true happiness☺ In the dancing scene, me and the “top model actor” had to dance together in a forest for a coconut hair oil commercial and just made it up as we went… it was blast but what you don’t see in the movie is how many shots we actually took of that 3 minute long dance to “tomake chai ami aro kache”, which will forever me the soundtrack to my life in Bangladesh, and won’t leave my mind for at least the next month. Between each take we were sweating like crazy, and boys would run up to us with water and tissue, but after a while nothing would help, we were just looking soaked! I think I also didn’t mention the intensity of attention that was being drawn to this set… I mean not only did I have to speak in another language but I had to improvise my character on the spot in a crowd of Bangladeshi onlookers. But after a while, you just get used to it when you are a foreigner in Bangladesh… its like every day of my life.

By the end of the shooting, we were getting ready to wrap things up at the end of the second night, and as I was dreading my epidemiology exam the next day, which I had been studying in my off hours, I just couldn’t help but want to stay and hang around with everyone from the set. They definitely became my family, my brothers, in those 2 days and not being around their jokes and charisma was definitely going to leave a gap in my life!

By the next weekend we were working on media outlets for the drama, it was advertised on tv with a short commercial, and the leading actor and myself, and the director got our very own radio show! Stationed at the top of the Gulshan 2 circle towers, and overlooking Dhaka city on Nobboborsho ( Bangladesh’s New Year) we could look down over the city on the beautiful sunny day, to everyone celebrating, and wearing red and white. We discussed the film, sang our theme song and they cracked jokes about me in bangla that I had to pretend to understand on live radio. People called in and asked silly questions to us and we had a blast as usually and got to eat lots of Bangladeshi sweets. There was even a Mosorrof fan (the big big famous actor in the film) who heard him on the radio and ran all the way form his hour 30 minutes away just to get a peek at Mosorrof. As we were leaving the studio, the young guy ran up to him and about knocked him out with a strong hug. He was fanatic and out of control. Morshorof kept his cool, an acted as if that was his brother and everything was just totally normal. After he left he proceeded to tell me that he had never seen that guy in his life… some dedicated and intense fan that is for sure!

As of now, the DVD is in stores, and apparently there are posters in DVD shops that I can only imagine will take a matter of hours for all the Dhaka city dwellers to spot me, its not like I can blend it. What a fun experience I had, I met beautiful people who were extremely talented and made me laugh until my stomach hurt. I’m looking forward to the sequel coming up soon!

The Dusty Road Home.

2009-03-23T10:07:00.008+06:00

In the nearby village yesterday, we fond ourselves conversing with people here and there, roaming around until everyone in the village knew we were there. So far we had built relationships with a few different family, that always insisted on feeding us more and more food… hospitality is one things that Bangladesh will never be short of. Everyone was open to talking to us, when we visited one home, the surrounding homes quickly found out there were foreigners in the village and they couldn’t help but come and look over the shoulders of our respondents. This welcoming feeling I have never experienced anywhere else in the world, and its especially astonishing coming from America, where people are way too busy with this jam packed schedules that they spend their 10 minute breaks running to Starbucks for their next energy boost, for send off computer written messages to friends who live in the same state. Man if that were a Bangladeshi, they would have gotten on the local city bus after work and just went to see that friend who lives in the same state. I’m not saying that Bangladeshi’s don’t love their tea time, but instead of getting the 5 shot venti extra hot skinny latte to go, imagine Bangladeshi style Starbucks: The tea bell rings and all chaos breaks out, actually 5 minutes before the tea bell everyone is in anticipation for the tea bell so really the tea break should just be 25 minutes instead of 20, but then again, they are always a bit late so just bump it up to 30 if you are trying to plan something. Everyone clusters together at the end of the counter, reaching for the next cup as it becomes available and the barista is thinking… man I’m glad I’m not out there… I just want my coffee and I want to get outta here. They take tea in the cup the size of a shot glass, you know those little sample cups they give away, most of us would say that is kid stuff… then they pack that thing full of sugar up to the half way marker, fill the other half with cream and toss out the teabag. I think the tea is more about the cream and sugar than the tea itself. Those who have tea in their hands could not be happier, of course the ones who don’t have tea are smiling too but never took a minute to wonder why those who already have the tea won’t just move out of the way. No, they just stand there at the end of the coffee bar, in Starbucks and if you are and onlooker you are thinking again… these people are absolutely crazy. Patient of course, but crazy! The noise lever at this point has risen 3 decibels, and you have lost 20% of your hearing because they just love to talk that much. Those in the back don’t get tea, because the didn’t have the courage to push through, but that ok because at least they got to socialize. We can apply these social themes to many kinds of interactions and situations in Bangladesh. Ok back to the village.

We stopped along a dusty desolate road to talk with a woman who was sweeping rice into a pile under the sweltering mid morning sun. “Auntie” we said to get her attention. We asked her to talk, and she motioned us under a big tree that birthed a large plot of shaded land. She continued her work as we waited in the dry grass that yearned for a bit of rain. While we waited I watched a young boy, wearing only a pair of shorts and a necklace around his neck to ward off evil, ride an old crickety rusted bike down a hill into a tree. He laughed. All the other kids laughed too although I couldn’t tell by the look on his face that he did not do it intentionally. And so I laughed. The woman came, giggling and shy to talk to us, but the men that came around were not. One insisted that we had to come to his house because e had many problems: His wife left him because he beat her under the influence of drugs, and he had been in the business of sending young girls from that village abroad for prostitution. After that we were a bit shaken up to say the least.

In the evening we stayed late to finish a focus group discussion, when they got to asking us many many questions about the origin of AIDS, we couldn’t leave. The sun had went down, and we walked our bikes through the small yards, and through the fields until we reached the main road. With no lights and only the shining headlights of big trucks in the distance, I was a bit nervous. We pedaled down the dusty road, trying to dodge potholes that were invisible at this time of night. The dry sand pulled the bike side to side, and when trucks would come we would ride our bikes off into the field on the side of the dusty road. The two strong headlights coming straight towards us was blinding, especially when the truck would pass and we would be left in the pitch black for our eyes to readjust, when they were already trying to adjust to the amount of dust that was stirred up and place in our eyeballs.

But there are stretches of the road that reminded me that I am living in such a desolate place, you could hear the bugs in the air, feel the little small breeze against your face and even see the stars above. In that very moment I realize where I am, and I feel relieved and thankful for the experience to be here, to learn, and to grow in sharing and communicating with people who are worlds different from me. Yet deep down we have the same heart and are not really that different after all.

I picked up acting?

2009-03-03T19:25:00.003+06:00

I somehow find myself in these crazy circumstances, this time landing me a lead role in what we call a “Natok” in bangla… a Bangladeshi soap opera so to speak. Lets just say that one say I was speaking Bangla to a friend who works in a little clothing boutique, and before I knew it I was getting offers to be the lead role in a little film that will be released on Bangladesh’s new year. I will be playing the role of an American girl, who travels to Bangladesh alone in search of her boyfriend. When she hasn’t heard from him for weeks she travels throughout Dhaka and parts of the country looking for her true love. Through this time she discovers a lot about Bangladesh, going on adventures that she never dreamed of and really falls for this place. I don’t want to give away the end because you will all have to see it, but I think its one of those cheesy and cute shows.

Anyways I did my first shooting- well practice run that is, last week in old Dhaka. We went to one of the oldest parts of town and filmed in a few historical places, such as Karjon hall. We got lot of attention form onlookers not only because I am white and draw a lot of attention, but I was speaking a little bangla and everyone is so amazed at that. My co-actor is quite a well known guy in Bangladesh and so therefore everyone was very intrigued.

I am really excited about this opportunity. Not only will it give me a great opportunity to get to know a lot about Dhaka city, but also help my bangla skills a lot! I will be speaking a mix of English and bangla for the film, but all the English will have to be followed by the bangla translation. Trust me, this is not easy, especially after only learning the language for 4 months! But hey, I love the challenge! It was featured in the local newspaper last week, so lets just hope it turns out as well as they all expect!

Wonderland

2009-03-02T23:13:00.003+06:00

Sometimes you just have to let it all go and be a kid. So right down the street from our house is some kind of amusement park which draw a lot of curiosity since it looks like something out of the Flintstones to me with lots of colors and balloons, there are kinds outside into late hours of the nigh eating cotton candy and hittin up the rides. We decided it was time to give it a shot. I think the pictures really say it all, but I have to say that Henry, David and I had some really hard laughs. My favorite was when we rode this machine that like something like a “water rollercoaster”. We put on raincoats and sat in a swam compartment where our bent knees would barely fit into the cart. Basically we got soaked at the end of the adventurous track with water that probably has been sitting in that pool for the past few years, infested with all sorts of infectious diseases. Well I am still alive and well, and we all had a good laugh! It pays to bring out the kid that lives deep inside of all of us☺