Two dramatically different chars...however, the people are always the same

locals waiting for a boat

Unfortunately I haven't been able to blog in a couple of days and I seem to forget all the things I plan on blogging about. Yesterday we visited a char that has only been there 1-2 years. It is crazy to see a small village in the middle of what is basically a huge sand dune. The best thing I can compare it to is that scene from Pirates of the Caribbean where the ship is sitting on salt (I guess the ocean has evaporated?) and that is all you see for miles. When our boat pulls up to the edge of the char and we climb up from the water, it is just sand as far as you can see with a village faintly present in the far distance. The people are very poor. The men go onto the mainland for a month at a time to work and earn money to buy food. The women invite you into their homes, though and are willing to do anything to help. I am always immediately offered a chair and made to sit. They almost always ask how old I am and if I am married (the wedding ring isn't recognized here as a sign of marriage, I need a nose ring and a dot on my forehead) as they are into arranged marriages here and I am flattered that they wish to have me stay and marry into their families.

In contrast, today we visited a char that has been there for an estimated 15 years (however I often wonder where Jasim gets his estimations from). It was covered in bamboo trees, established buildings, and even has a market. Word quickly spreads that there is a white person that has candy and as always, the kids come running. There was some downtime after our work was done and we were waiting for the boat to come and pick us up. Jasim was busy, so I was sitting outside reading a book but there is only so long that you can sit and try to read with 20 children literally staring at you. The few kids with cell phones take pictures of me, they all want to know my name and show of what little English they know. To kill some time, we got a game going. It was very similar to the game "sorry" that we play in the states. It is amazing how games like this can bring people that don't even speak the same language together.

Sand storms, and other things we take for granted...

Jasim and I on a boat, headed out to a char

Remember that dust/wind storm that I talked about earlier? Well, there was another one today that I got to truly experience! We were on out a char, minding our business, screening some children for malnutrition when we noticed some storm clouds rolling in. We took shelter in a lady's house while a brief rain passed, then headed out to do more work. On our way back to the river to wait for a boat to come by and take us back to the mainland (we just stand and wait for the next boat to come. Jasim always tells me that the boat will come as soon as he has picked people up from the mainland that want to come over to this char. When I ask him how long that will be, he just laughs and tells me "anytime, it could be five minutes, it could be 2 hours"...I never find this as funny as he does) the wind picked up, and when I say "picked up" I mean we looked like the cows in that picture below!

We made it across on the boat to find it even worse on that side of the river. We ran and ducked into a "restaurant" which is a small little hut until we could run for the road to catch an "auto" to take us to our guesthouse.

Then, we make it back windblown, dusty, and a little wet to find that there is no electricity. This is no big surprise as we only have it a few hours a day, but it leaves you to sit outside in the storm as it is pitch black inside your room.

This takes me to the things that I have realized that I take for granted everyday:

1. electricity

2. warm showers

3. unlimited cell phone minutes

4. reliable internet access

5. the ability to drink water from the tap

6. variety of food

7. mattresses (vs the mat on top of my wooden bed frame)

8. being able to go outside without feeling like a celebrity and everyone staring

Oh, and I forgot to mention something when I was blogging about food earlier. I just learned this today, after eating mutton a few times. In the states, we refer to lamb as mutton (as in Keen's infamous mutton chop) however in Bangladesh mutton is either lamb or goat. Goat being the more expensive of the two which makes me think that thankfully when I have eaten mutton here, it is probably lamb!!!

Oh, and they eat pigeon, too.

Bangladeshi Fare...

I have had some queries about the food here, and it unlike me to have gone this long without commenting on the food. Luckily I like "indian" food, because it is all that we have for every meal. Breakfast is usually my favorite meal, mostly because of the ruti (no Sandy, we do not have cereal here :)). It is in the picture below. I would describe it as a hybrid of naan and tortillas (Paul would LOVE it). Their bananas are also very good, small, sweet, and delicious. Give me "milk tea" (it is the equivalent of the "crack coffee" that everyone drinks at Elmhurst Hospital), ruti, and bananas and I am happy!

It is usually served with an egg (on the left) and some curried, spicy potatoes.

Lunch and dinner ALWAYS involve a huge portion of white rice. I mean, this portion puts the Chinese takeout box to shame! There is usually some curried vegetable, some sort of protein. The protein will be egg, chicken (on the bone...poor, skinny, no steroids used chicken), beef (I can not figure out where on the cow this comes from because every piece involves bone, and if you see how skinny the poor cows are here you feel bad for eating it), fish (on the boat we had really good stewed fish, however here in Chilmari we have fried fish for every meal. It is a small fish and is entirely fried...head, tail, bones and all. Jasim loves them and eats the WHOLE thing, so I leave those to him).

They are big believers in tea here. This will be one thing that I plan to take home with me. I have thoroughly enjoyed my tea time. Back in the days where we were on the boat (and spoiled...Tom and Courtney have no idea!) we would have breakfast which involved tea, noontime tea, option of tea after lunch (lunch doesn't happen until 2pm), 5'ish tea, and tea after dinner (which happens around 8pm). I haven't had a single cup of coffee since being here, but have made up for it in tea!

Satellite clinic...

Yesterday was my first trip out onto a char to their satellite clinic. The way things work here: there are theoretically hospitals around but the closest one from here (besides the 10 bed hospital in Chilmari) is a University hospital that I will be visiting that is 75km away. So, on each char there is at least one woman, FCM (Friendship Community Medic) that makes her house available for people to come and be seen. She has a few medications such as paracetamol (tylenol). Then 1-2 times per month, the paramedics come out to her house and hold a clinic (=satellite clinic). Not to belittle or disrespect anyone here (these people work harder than we ever could imagine working), just to give you a good idea the houses are mostly built out of galvanized metal. The floor is dirt and there are usually 1 or 2 beds that the family shares. There is another building where they cook, another "bathroom", and usually another where the animals live (cows, ducks, chickens, pigeons, goats, lamb, etc). So, we set up a clinic in the bedroom portion by hanging a sheet in front of one of the beds to make an exam table and set up a pharmacy on a table. There is a blood pressure cuff and a scale.

I think word got out that there was a pediatric doctor from America and the children came pouring in! Then, word got out that the doctor had candy, and they started coming out from everywhere!!

We saw lots of children! We even diagnosed ear infections with a cellphone flashlight!

It is pretty amazing to be welcomed into the homes of these families and get to really experience what it is like to live the way that they do.

Regrets...

I have always had a problem saying no if I am afraid that I may hurt someone's feelings. It is something I really should work on and is surprising given my usual brutal honesty. However, I have done it again.

All of the women here dye their nails with a natural dye made from certain leaves. I was working with a paramedic yesterday that had her hands dyed and was telling her I liked it and inquiring, out of curiosity, about the process. Well, next thing I know Jasim and I were on a rickshaw to her house. I thought we were just going over to say hello, but when we arrived she had fingernail polish remover (to take off my beautiful manicure that had lasted over a week) and everthing ready to go. She was so excited that I just went with it. Now, the tips of my fingers are bright orange as are my palms. What have I done!? It may last MONTHS!!!

I can only imagine what everyone at Cornell with think if it is still there in July!!!

(the picture above is me with the dye on my hands waiting for it to dry)

Off of the boat and onto the mainland...

We left the hospital this morning and traveled by boat to Chilmari which is a village on the river bank of the mainland. We had a training session with some of the local paramedics. They are very nice women and eager to learn. Then, Jasim and I found our way to the guest house where we plan to stay for the next 6 days or so. It is a nice place (in Bangladeshi terms). I upgraded for an extra ~200 taka a night (a little less than 3 dollars) so that I could have an actual toilet...I am in the VIP room!!

We are currently sitting outside at a table where they feed us because there is no electricity right now and it is really dark in our rooms. However, the sun is quickly setting and I am not sure what we will do. There is electricity at times we are just not sure when those times are. The plan is to have dinner tonight, get some rest, and leave in the morning to go out to a nearby char and visit a satellite clinic there. We will be seeing children and screening them for malnutrition.

Today, after all the patients had been seen we made a trip into the village to see where these people were coming from. We obviously stuck out and were immediately surrounded by and followed by a gang of children and wherever we went the crowd kept growing. We were warmly welcomed and invited into the homes of many, offering seats for us to sit down and stay for a while. I got some really great pictures but unfortunately cannot spare the hours it takes to upload them, so I pick and choose.

I am amazed at how hard these people work all day long and how happy and content they seem to be in their lives. We could all learn a thing or two from them.

It is good that I got to take the trip into this village because I will be leaving the boat in the morning for Chilmari (a char continuous with the mainland) to train their paramedics and local healthcare workers. I will be staying there for a few days to collect data on their rates of malnutrition to get a better idea of what is going on there.

It has yet to be determined whether or not I will be returning to the boat but my time here has been really great!