Things aren't going so well....
Wednesday, 09 August 2006
I’m just tired…….
We’ve been in this country for a bit over 4 weeks now, time seems to be going by more slowly too…. I’m down with diarrhoea, and feeling very weak… It’s a lot hotter today compared to yesterday….. Thankfully the electricity is back at the Shibchar village branch, making it bearable for work, though not quite comfortable….. its good that people around me are in high spirits, which is in contrast to me, I’m feeling quite miserable…..
I’m tired….. tired from being sick….. from the low grade fever, to the diarrhoea, which prevents me from sleeping….. I’m tired from sleep deprivation, as due to being a light sleeper, I’m awaken at night from unfamiliar sounds outside our rooms….. I’m tired from the amount of work that we do at the villages…. I’m tired from the worry of the hygiene of the food (I’ve fallen sick because of it after all)…. I’m tired from having to cope with all the dust, and with the heat, which affects my sinuses, resulting in watering eyes and a leaking nose…… I’m tired of altering my speech to make myself understood by the locals here….. I’m tired of having to listen and think so hard to interpret what they are trying to tell me….I’m tired of having to tolerate such low levels of hygiene maintained by the locals here….. I’m tired of shaking hands with nose diggers….
Most of all, I’m tired of missing home, missing my family and friends…. I’m tired of not being able to play futsal (its been 5 months now since my last game due to work commitments) and badminton…. I miss my salsa as well, from going for classes, to the clubs and hanging out with my classmates….. I wish I could see my friends leaving for a new life overseas for the last time before they depart…..
I wish I didn’t have to be in this country for such a long period, and to think that there is another 3 more weeks to go doesn’t help…. I don’t see why we could not be flown home at least once during this 7 week ordeal…. Its as if we are being punished for something that we did, and while I’m sure that it is not the case, it sure feels like it….
Most of all, I’m just tired of being tired, and while I try to look for the nice things about Bangladesh, I’m too tired for that now…. We seem to be limping in the direction of the finishing line…. I ….. just …… want ….. to ….. go …… home…….
Tuesday, 08 August 2006
Today was tough…. We had our closing meeting at one village in the morning, before proceeding to the next village called Shibchar, arriving only at 1pm…. To our dismay, there was no electricity…. Apparently, it had been that way since morning….. And as it turned out, the power failed to resume even after our departure at 7.30pm…. Thankfully, it was a cloudy day, yet it was hot enough to be very uncomfortable….. We were making futile attempts at cooling us down, such as fanning ourselves, drinking plenty of water and taking lots of fruits….. The feeling of beads of sweat dripping across your brow, and feeling your soaked t-shirt sticking to your body proved very distractive throughout the day as we struggled to maintain our working pace of the last 2 days….. As a result, we will not be able to depart for Dhaka tomorrow as we hoped…. But I suppose going back on Thursday isn’t too bad, as we would still be a day earlier than scheduled……
Stock Counts
Stock counts are not very pleasant to carry out….. That’s because the store room is usually the most basic room around in the whole building…. In some cases, there are no lights, and the fans don’t work (that’s if there are any fans in the first place)…. Big items are usually stored outside, and knowing how hot our country is, its not a very pleasant experience….. hehe, the external auditors would especially know all about this……
So what about performing stock counts in Bangladesh? I’d say the experience is even worse….. The air in the store rooms are usually stale, the items are arranged haphazardly, its back-breaking work retrieving some of these items for the pesky auditors to count….. If I were a staff in the branch, I’d hate it everytime the auditors come around….
Today, I performed a stock count on medical items stored. As the Health Programme is handled by 2 female Programme Organisers, they were the ones assisting us in locating and counting the stock items…. What was embarrassing were the presence of 2 other men from the village branch management who didn’t lift a finger to help the 2 women move boxes in their effort to locate the stock….. I guess its the culture here, that the women do all the work, while the men smoke, read the papers and drink tea….. I’m sure its not true for all men, but in some places, men would have volunteered to help…. I have offered in the past to assist during the process, but have always been stopped by the men, presumably that it is not a common practice for outsiders to get involved, together with the fact that being a guest, I should merely observe and not get physically involved in any of the counting here…..
Monday, 07 August 2006
In Bangadesh, its really difficult to sleep in .… The sun rises so early in this country, 6am here is more like 8.30am back home…. Because its summer here, the day starts a lot earlier than what I’m used to at home….. I try to turn away from the sunlight pouring into the room, but resistance is futile…. So I end up tossing and turning, waiting for my alarm clock to go off, I refuse to get out of bed until I really have to….. After all, I have a long day ahead….. Actually, every day in Bangladesh is a long day for me….. So what do I see in the early mornings, on the way to the village branch? I see people walking around while brushing their teeth, and chatting with other people, mouths still foaming…..
I see mothers bathing their kids as we drive by….. I also see kids of a similar age in uniforms walking in groups, chatting happily, presumably on their way to school…. I see older girls, also in uniform, in rickshaws, who are also probably going to school…. I see bus drivers washing their buses…. Let me correct myself there, they wash the rims of their buses, but its still a lot more than what some of the car owners back in KL would do, where you see a 3 inch layer of dust on their cars…..
I also see people walking their livestocks, I would presume the cows are being sent to plough the fields, the goats and sheep are probably being sent to the markets to be sold…. I see people opening up their stalls, selling food and everyday items….. I see other people chasing after buses, some walking, some taking rickshaws….. I see rickshaws carrying other types of cargo aside from people, including bricks, jute, hay, sacks of rice, bamboo, metal rods, just about anything really….. I hear bells of the rickshaws and bicycles ringing, horns of trucks and buses…. I also see women processing their jute, soaking them in the water, stripping the jute of the bark and leaves….. I see men drying the jute on the roadside….. (by the way, jute are the plants used to make rope, its apparently a very big thing here in Bangladesh….
Men processing the jute
I witness a hive of activity on my way to the village branch, it would be wise not to just sleep in the car, as you’d miss out on a lot of things…. I’m glad though that I don’t lead such a lifestyle, as among other things, I would just hate having to brush my teeth out in the open…..
PS: Another startling observation was made here in Bangladesh, most men here wear collared shirts!!! From rickshaw riders to stall sellers to bus drivers, all the common people, 9 out of 10 men would be wearing a collared shirt/t-shirt, of which probably 7 of then would be wearing a shirt (usually long sleeved)….. makes our people back home look really shabby!!!
I’m just tired…….
We’ve been in this country for a bit over 4 weeks now, time seems to be going by more slowly too…. I’m down with diarrhoea, and feeling very weak… It’s a lot hotter today compared to yesterday….. Thankfully the electricity is back at the Shibchar village branch, making it bearable for work, though not quite comfortable….. its good that people around me are in high spirits, which is in contrast to me, I’m feeling quite miserable…..
I’m tired….. tired from being sick….. from the low grade fever, to the diarrhoea, which prevents me from sleeping….. I’m tired from sleep deprivation, as due to being a light sleeper, I’m awaken at night from unfamiliar sounds outside our rooms….. I’m tired from the amount of work that we do at the villages…. I’m tired from the worry of the hygiene of the food (I’ve fallen sick because of it after all)…. I’m tired from having to cope with all the dust, and with the heat, which affects my sinuses, resulting in watering eyes and a leaking nose…… I’m tired of altering my speech to make myself understood by the locals here….. I’m tired of having to listen and think so hard to interpret what they are trying to tell me….I’m tired of having to tolerate such low levels of hygiene maintained by the locals here….. I’m tired of shaking hands with nose diggers….
Most of all, I’m tired of missing home, missing my family and friends…. I’m tired of not being able to play futsal (its been 5 months now since my last game due to work commitments) and badminton…. I miss my salsa as well, from going for classes, to the clubs and hanging out with my classmates….. I wish I could see my friends leaving for a new life overseas for the last time before they depart…..
I wish I didn’t have to be in this country for such a long period, and to think that there is another 3 more weeks to go doesn’t help…. I don’t see why we could not be flown home at least once during this 7 week ordeal…. Its as if we are being punished for something that we did, and while I’m sure that it is not the case, it sure feels like it….
Most of all, I’m just tired of being tired, and while I try to look for the nice things about Bangladesh, I’m too tired for that now…. We seem to be limping in the direction of the finishing line…. I ….. just …… want ….. to ….. go …… home…….
Tuesday, 08 August 2006
Today was tough…. We had our closing meeting at one village in the morning, before proceeding to the next village called Shibchar, arriving only at 1pm…. To our dismay, there was no electricity…. Apparently, it had been that way since morning….. And as it turned out, the power failed to resume even after our departure at 7.30pm…. Thankfully, it was a cloudy day, yet it was hot enough to be very uncomfortable….. We were making futile attempts at cooling us down, such as fanning ourselves, drinking plenty of water and taking lots of fruits….. The feeling of beads of sweat dripping across your brow, and feeling your soaked t-shirt sticking to your body proved very distractive throughout the day as we struggled to maintain our working pace of the last 2 days….. As a result, we will not be able to depart for Dhaka tomorrow as we hoped…. But I suppose going back on Thursday isn’t too bad, as we would still be a day earlier than scheduled……
Stock Counts
Stock counts are not very pleasant to carry out….. That’s because the store room is usually the most basic room around in the whole building…. In some cases, there are no lights, and the fans don’t work (that’s if there are any fans in the first place)…. Big items are usually stored outside, and knowing how hot our country is, its not a very pleasant experience….. hehe, the external auditors would especially know all about this……
So what about performing stock counts in Bangladesh? I’d say the experience is even worse….. The air in the store rooms are usually stale, the items are arranged haphazardly, its back-breaking work retrieving some of these items for the pesky auditors to count….. If I were a staff in the branch, I’d hate it everytime the auditors come around….
Today, I performed a stock count on medical items stored. As the Health Programme is handled by 2 female Programme Organisers, they were the ones assisting us in locating and counting the stock items…. What was embarrassing were the presence of 2 other men from the village branch management who didn’t lift a finger to help the 2 women move boxes in their effort to locate the stock….. I guess its the culture here, that the women do all the work, while the men smoke, read the papers and drink tea….. I’m sure its not true for all men, but in some places, men would have volunteered to help…. I have offered in the past to assist during the process, but have always been stopped by the men, presumably that it is not a common practice for outsiders to get involved, together with the fact that being a guest, I should merely observe and not get physically involved in any of the counting here…..
Monday, 07 August 2006
In Bangadesh, its really difficult to sleep in .… The sun rises so early in this country, 6am here is more like 8.30am back home…. Because its summer here, the day starts a lot earlier than what I’m used to at home….. I try to turn away from the sunlight pouring into the room, but resistance is futile…. So I end up tossing and turning, waiting for my alarm clock to go off, I refuse to get out of bed until I really have to….. After all, I have a long day ahead….. Actually, every day in Bangladesh is a long day for me….. So what do I see in the early mornings, on the way to the village branch? I see people walking around while brushing their teeth, and chatting with other people, mouths still foaming…..
I see mothers bathing their kids as we drive by….. I also see kids of a similar age in uniforms walking in groups, chatting happily, presumably on their way to school…. I see older girls, also in uniform, in rickshaws, who are also probably going to school…. I see bus drivers washing their buses…. Let me correct myself there, they wash the rims of their buses, but its still a lot more than what some of the car owners back in KL would do, where you see a 3 inch layer of dust on their cars…..
I also see people walking their livestocks, I would presume the cows are being sent to plough the fields, the goats and sheep are probably being sent to the markets to be sold…. I see people opening up their stalls, selling food and everyday items….. I see other people chasing after buses, some walking, some taking rickshaws….. I see rickshaws carrying other types of cargo aside from people, including bricks, jute, hay, sacks of rice, bamboo, metal rods, just about anything really….. I hear bells of the rickshaws and bicycles ringing, horns of trucks and buses…. I also see women processing their jute, soaking them in the water, stripping the jute of the bark and leaves….. I see men drying the jute on the roadside….. (by the way, jute are the plants used to make rope, its apparently a very big thing here in Bangladesh….
Men processing the jute
Harvest of the jute
I witness a hive of activity on my way to the village branch, it would be wise not to just sleep in the car, as you’d miss out on a lot of things…. I’m glad though that I don’t lead such a lifestyle, as among other things, I would just hate having to brush my teeth out in the open…..
PS: Another startling observation was made here in Bangladesh, most men here wear collared shirts!!! From rickshaw riders to stall sellers to bus drivers, all the common people, 9 out of 10 men would be wearing a collared shirt/t-shirt, of which probably 7 of then would be wearing a shirt (usually long sleeved)….. makes our people back home look really shabby!!!
posted by zufar | 5:47 AM
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