A kid named Mohammad Badiul Hossain broke his head by falling on the staircase while playing at school. His head started bleeding heavily. It is 5 pm in a remote char(island) named Bojra Diyar Khata in the district of Kurigram situated in the North of Bangladesh and very close to India. The nearest hospital is one and half hours ride which is subject to lengthen upon the availability of boats. It is the month of Ramadan and thus boats run less frequesntly. Luckily Badiul's uncle knew about Emirates Friendship Hospital ship which anchored in this char six month ago. They have been providing treatment to the people of this char for ridiculously nominal amount.
I went down to the operation room as soon as Badiul arrived. I was really nervous when I saw blood all over his head. All his playmates have gathered infront of the hospital. OT Specialist Shaheen Bhai started cleaning the place of cut. He cleaned the place and removed all the haid from that place. Badiul was given 4 stiches. It was my 1st time witnessing something like that. Badiul was brave. He did not cry loud. Tears were coming from his eyes. I held his hands firmly to provide comfort and a sense of assurance that everything will be alright. I started talking to him as Shaheen Bhai put 4 stiches. It was a job well done. Badiul looked fine. As soon as we were done his playmates started clapping outside. It was one of those moments that sort of gives a reason for you to be a doctor. Badiul was given medicine. I asked him if he was feeling any pain. He replied negative. Just imagine what could have happened if Friendship wasn't here. Since Chars are not stable and not permanent, Government tends to focus less. Most of the nonprofits in Bangladesh are profitable as they are corrupted. I think what Friendship is doing should be replicated throughout the whole world. I have the fortune to work with this NGO and get to know it. What it does is worth mentionable but I believe there is always room for improving.
The weather was terrible in the morning. There was absolutely no patient because of the heavy rain. We did not get a single survey done. I could not believe it but we actually saw the Himalayas this afternoon. The visibility increased and the Himalayas could be seen. This was truly amazing.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
I don't need to get older to get stronger, they will still call me freedom just like the waving flag
Just finished doing another survey. Yeah!!! we got about 40 done. You might say it is not that much but given that the surveys are 40-45 minutes long, exclusive to parents of 5 years or younger and it is the month of Ramadan, it's quite an accomplishment. I am hoping we will get about 75. It takes a lot of hard work to get the patients for the survey.
We sort of figured out that the patient flow is very slow now and we need alternatives. That's why we have been going to the villages. The villagers have been very welcoming. One of them offered as a bag of fishes as gift. The Road to the village is very beautiful. The village is a Char (Island) . So infrastructure is very poor partly because of the fact that chars are temporary. They could be vanished anytime in the river whenever the water level increases. People survive by fishing,cultivating paddy, jute and peanuts. The land is very fertile because of the fact that the sand contains an element named poli which makes the sand very fertile and perfect for cultivation. As I am writing this blog, I am looking outside and I could tell the difference since yesterday. New lands are emerging as the water level is increasing. I swear that land wasn't there even yesterday. I am sittng on the 4th floor of the ship. The ship is operated from here. On my right is the river Brahmaputra. On my left is green land. On one side farmers are cultivating. On the other side fishermen are fishing. I can't express how beautiful the scenarios are. It is just amazing. It is a shame that this part of Bangladesh is often neglected. I won't even get into the politics.
Back to the village story. You could call me a village boy as I have been wandering around village in barefoot. The cool feeling you get while walking on the muddy land is heavenly. The beauty around me makes me think how we appreciate the creation of God and think how beautiful they are when we often fail to appreciate God. I won't get religious but that's something to think about.
So, Joe, Raneesha and I decided to go to the village with the intention to get some surveys done. One of the female paramedics of the ship who was translating for Raneesha was sick so I had to take a double role. So we went to this house. I should say a house complex. People in the village sort to live closer to each other. There where about 20 kids surrounding us. They are like teach us how to do exercise, take our pictures. So while Joe and I were doing the surveys, Raneesha was entertaining them by taking their pictures and reciting twinkle twinkle little star. We took turns and then Joe was entertaining them with some games and showing them how to do exercises. It was so colorful to look at. The kids were so much fun to be with. It was my first time interacting with village kids to that extent. I greatly enjoyed it.
I gathered a bunch of kids to do the three dot dash sign-The Morse code for peace. I explained them what that means. It was wonderful. I bought few glucose biscuits from the village store. A lot of times I dont wanna come to the ship from my boat house. So, I prefer just to get something to eat which is ready made. So far I am having a wonderful time. I am so happy that I am helping people in this holy month of ramadan. The month of abstinence and the month of sacrifice. I am sacrifice my vacation for a true cause. It feels great to do so :)
That's all for today. I will keep you updated about any current progress. Until then Adios.
Oh Wait!!!!! I did not tell you about how I just sit alone by riverside and think about life deeply and what I have done and what needs to be done. It is just amazing. It refreshes my mind :)
We sort of figured out that the patient flow is very slow now and we need alternatives. That's why we have been going to the villages. The villagers have been very welcoming. One of them offered as a bag of fishes as gift. The Road to the village is very beautiful. The village is a Char (Island) . So infrastructure is very poor partly because of the fact that chars are temporary. They could be vanished anytime in the river whenever the water level increases. People survive by fishing,cultivating paddy, jute and peanuts. The land is very fertile because of the fact that the sand contains an element named poli which makes the sand very fertile and perfect for cultivation. As I am writing this blog, I am looking outside and I could tell the difference since yesterday. New lands are emerging as the water level is increasing. I swear that land wasn't there even yesterday. I am sittng on the 4th floor of the ship. The ship is operated from here. On my right is the river Brahmaputra. On my left is green land. On one side farmers are cultivating. On the other side fishermen are fishing. I can't express how beautiful the scenarios are. It is just amazing. It is a shame that this part of Bangladesh is often neglected. I won't even get into the politics.
Back to the village story. You could call me a village boy as I have been wandering around village in barefoot. The cool feeling you get while walking on the muddy land is heavenly. The beauty around me makes me think how we appreciate the creation of God and think how beautiful they are when we often fail to appreciate God. I won't get religious but that's something to think about.
So, Joe, Raneesha and I decided to go to the village with the intention to get some surveys done. One of the female paramedics of the ship who was translating for Raneesha was sick so I had to take a double role. So we went to this house. I should say a house complex. People in the village sort to live closer to each other. There where about 20 kids surrounding us. They are like teach us how to do exercise, take our pictures. So while Joe and I were doing the surveys, Raneesha was entertaining them by taking their pictures and reciting twinkle twinkle little star. We took turns and then Joe was entertaining them with some games and showing them how to do exercises. It was so colorful to look at. The kids were so much fun to be with. It was my first time interacting with village kids to that extent. I greatly enjoyed it.
I gathered a bunch of kids to do the three dot dash sign-The Morse code for peace. I explained them what that means. It was wonderful. I bought few glucose biscuits from the village store. A lot of times I dont wanna come to the ship from my boat house. So, I prefer just to get something to eat which is ready made. So far I am having a wonderful time. I am so happy that I am helping people in this holy month of ramadan. The month of abstinence and the month of sacrifice. I am sacrifice my vacation for a true cause. It feels great to do so :)
That's all for today. I will keep you updated about any current progress. Until then Adios.
Oh Wait!!!!! I did not tell you about how I just sit alone by riverside and think about life deeply and what I have done and what needs to be done. It is just amazing. It refreshes my mind :)
Friday, August 13, 2010
Ramadan, Medical Research Surveys and Tour to the Village
FIRSTLY, I would like to recognize all of you who have been reading my irregular blogs very regularly. I am really touched by how many emails/fb inbox messages/wall post I got regarding my blog. Thanks a lot for your continuous support.
SECONDLY, This will be my 1st blog in the last 5 days. I was preoccupied with so much work throughout the whole day so I did not have the time to work on it. So, sorry to keep you waiting. This blog will be a recollection of many small events from the 9th-13th.
We started doing surveys from the 9th. We had to make many adjustments. The thing with all medical surveys is that they need numerous troubleshooting. Even if you think it's perfect for conducting it's not. We have made more than 10 adjustments ever since we have arrived in Emirates Friendship Floating Hospital ship. Dr. Joe and I are doing the Men's questioniarre. It takes about 40 minutes to get one survey done. Dr. Raneesha and local paramedic Selina are doing the Women's questioniarre. Because of the fact that I am billingual in both Bangla and English, we were communicating throughout the whole survey. If problem arose, we could talk about it between ourselves and reach a conclusion. Dr. Raneesha on the other hand did not have a female companion who could translate everything word for word. The survey had to be changed a few times to meet the local context. Since many people are uneducated we had to use the simpliest words and often pictures of medical instruments to make them understand. It was such a great experience to learn more about their kids, the medication they got etc. I will post the questioniarres in the future. the questioniarres cover a wide variety of questions. It is broken into a few sections. The sections about prenatal care,delivery, resuscitation and new born care are worth mentionable. Due to the fact that it's the month of Ramadan, tthe patient flow is slower than usual and since our research is restricted to parents who have kids of 5 or younger, it is hard to recruit this category of people.
The month of Ramadan has started and people in the ship are fasting. Molly and Laura, the two Mt. Sinai medical students actually fasted the 1st day. The more I see them speak Bangla the more I get amazed. They have become so fluent that they could easily continue through a conversation. Dr Joe, Dr. Raneesha and Ankur are also learning Bangla in a great pace. I really admire all of them for dillegently trying to learn.
Most of the crews fast, pray 5 times a day with congregation and for Taraweh. It is just an amazing experience fasting and praying in a ship. For Iftar (food eaten after sunset to break the fast) we gather together and eat, does not matter if you are fasting or not, or if you are a Muslim or not. The crews and us have bonded very well. They are very cooperative. They want to learn. They have been teaching us so many things. Yesterday night, I was too lazy to wake up for Sehri (the food eaten before sunrise). All 30 crew members came in turns to ask me if I am sick or is there anything they could do. It is so amazing how caring they are. They all make you feel home even when you are thousand miles away from it in the middle of nowhere isolated by the nearest market by good 30 minutes boat ride!!
Since today was very slow in terms of patient flow, Dr. joe and I decided to go to the village and do some surveys. My trip to the village was another experience. You have to go through two water bodies/ pool and the only way to go is to walk through it. Sounds crazy? yes it is especially in rainy season. Joe and went barefeet. It is such a great experience to walk through a village barefeet. Well, the way I thought about is that human beings once walked barefeet and I am just going back to that human instinct. The sort of cool feeling you get when you walk on soil barefeet can't be expressed with words. We walked through paddy fields, jute fields. Farmers are working hard. It was a little uncomfortable to walk on muddy roads. But it's definitely an experience. We walked through the village asking people if they have kids younger than five. we stopped at a village grocery store. Some people were chatting there. We surveyed this guy whose child is one and half years old. he let us in his house as the survey requires a place where he can have privacy. This guy is smart. He took is wife to a hospital when in labor. He had saved money and arranged transportation beforehand if God forbid anything bad would have happened. The other guy we started interviewing was from another district and not from the char. So we had to stop in the middle after he told us he only came to visit here. The last guy we encountered today had a very sad but interesting case. His wife gave birth to a dead baby. He did not save any money. Neither did he take his wife to a hospital. He told us that he had learnt his lesson. His wife is pregnant now and he has been saving money. He will also take his wife to a hospital and make sure that she gives birth to a safe baby. This sort of attitude was reflected by many in this area and it is very encouraging to hear that and also to see that some of the nonprofits are actually doing their work. We encountered rain on our way. The roads were full with mud and we were trying to run back to our mother ship. we had to take shelter under a tin shade house on our way. We met a few people with kids there. The kids were carrying banana leaves as umbrellas. We took their pictures and showed it to them. They were very excited. We figured out that if we stayed longer we won't be able to get back because of the road conditions. So they cut banana leaves for us and used that as umbrellas.
Right now it's raining. The weather is very stormy. The waves are constantly hitting the boat house hard and it is sort of shaking. I feel like I am in a cradle. This is a nice feeling!!!
That's all for today. I need to sleep before starting another days of hard work. I might go to the village today but to help out Raneesha with her surveys and Joe too if time permits. I will update you punctually this time. I promise!!!
Adiou :) <3
Fahim Farazi
SECONDLY, This will be my 1st blog in the last 5 days. I was preoccupied with so much work throughout the whole day so I did not have the time to work on it. So, sorry to keep you waiting. This blog will be a recollection of many small events from the 9th-13th.
We started doing surveys from the 9th. We had to make many adjustments. The thing with all medical surveys is that they need numerous troubleshooting. Even if you think it's perfect for conducting it's not. We have made more than 10 adjustments ever since we have arrived in Emirates Friendship Floating Hospital ship. Dr. Joe and I are doing the Men's questioniarre. It takes about 40 minutes to get one survey done. Dr. Raneesha and local paramedic Selina are doing the Women's questioniarre. Because of the fact that I am billingual in both Bangla and English, we were communicating throughout the whole survey. If problem arose, we could talk about it between ourselves and reach a conclusion. Dr. Raneesha on the other hand did not have a female companion who could translate everything word for word. The survey had to be changed a few times to meet the local context. Since many people are uneducated we had to use the simpliest words and often pictures of medical instruments to make them understand. It was such a great experience to learn more about their kids, the medication they got etc. I will post the questioniarres in the future. the questioniarres cover a wide variety of questions. It is broken into a few sections. The sections about prenatal care,delivery, resuscitation and new born care are worth mentionable. Due to the fact that it's the month of Ramadan, tthe patient flow is slower than usual and since our research is restricted to parents who have kids of 5 or younger, it is hard to recruit this category of people.
The month of Ramadan has started and people in the ship are fasting. Molly and Laura, the two Mt. Sinai medical students actually fasted the 1st day. The more I see them speak Bangla the more I get amazed. They have become so fluent that they could easily continue through a conversation. Dr Joe, Dr. Raneesha and Ankur are also learning Bangla in a great pace. I really admire all of them for dillegently trying to learn.
Most of the crews fast, pray 5 times a day with congregation and for Taraweh. It is just an amazing experience fasting and praying in a ship. For Iftar (food eaten after sunset to break the fast) we gather together and eat, does not matter if you are fasting or not, or if you are a Muslim or not. The crews and us have bonded very well. They are very cooperative. They want to learn. They have been teaching us so many things. Yesterday night, I was too lazy to wake up for Sehri (the food eaten before sunrise). All 30 crew members came in turns to ask me if I am sick or is there anything they could do. It is so amazing how caring they are. They all make you feel home even when you are thousand miles away from it in the middle of nowhere isolated by the nearest market by good 30 minutes boat ride!!
Since today was very slow in terms of patient flow, Dr. joe and I decided to go to the village and do some surveys. My trip to the village was another experience. You have to go through two water bodies/ pool and the only way to go is to walk through it. Sounds crazy? yes it is especially in rainy season. Joe and went barefeet. It is such a great experience to walk through a village barefeet. Well, the way I thought about is that human beings once walked barefeet and I am just going back to that human instinct. The sort of cool feeling you get when you walk on soil barefeet can't be expressed with words. We walked through paddy fields, jute fields. Farmers are working hard. It was a little uncomfortable to walk on muddy roads. But it's definitely an experience. We walked through the village asking people if they have kids younger than five. we stopped at a village grocery store. Some people were chatting there. We surveyed this guy whose child is one and half years old. he let us in his house as the survey requires a place where he can have privacy. This guy is smart. He took is wife to a hospital when in labor. He had saved money and arranged transportation beforehand if God forbid anything bad would have happened. The other guy we started interviewing was from another district and not from the char. So we had to stop in the middle after he told us he only came to visit here. The last guy we encountered today had a very sad but interesting case. His wife gave birth to a dead baby. He did not save any money. Neither did he take his wife to a hospital. He told us that he had learnt his lesson. His wife is pregnant now and he has been saving money. He will also take his wife to a hospital and make sure that she gives birth to a safe baby. This sort of attitude was reflected by many in this area and it is very encouraging to hear that and also to see that some of the nonprofits are actually doing their work. We encountered rain on our way. The roads were full with mud and we were trying to run back to our mother ship. we had to take shelter under a tin shade house on our way. We met a few people with kids there. The kids were carrying banana leaves as umbrellas. We took their pictures and showed it to them. They were very excited. We figured out that if we stayed longer we won't be able to get back because of the road conditions. So they cut banana leaves for us and used that as umbrellas.
Right now it's raining. The weather is very stormy. The waves are constantly hitting the boat house hard and it is sort of shaking. I feel like I am in a cradle. This is a nice feeling!!!
That's all for today. I need to sleep before starting another days of hard work. I might go to the village today but to help out Raneesha with her surveys and Joe too if time permits. I will update you punctually this time. I promise!!!
Adiou :) <3
Fahim Farazi
Sunday, August 8, 2010
1st working day at Emirates Friendship Floating Hospital
Greetings from a Char (an island that comes out when a river becomes dry) named bojro diyar khata. It is part of Chilmari subdistrict and under Kurigram district. If you look at a map of Bangladesh, it is situated in Northern Bangladesh. It is pretty close to Meghalai and Asham of India.
I am writing from my room situated in a boat house attached to the mother ship Friendship Emirates Floating Hospital. The Ship is four storied. The top floor has the cockpit or whatever it's called. The Top floor has 3 rooms for guests. All female personnels accompanying us are staying there. Those are air conditioned as well. The 3rd floor has a living room, two dinning rooms, a kitchen, a big dock and a few rest rooms. That's where we spend most of our time of the day when we are not doing survey. We got our cable access today so the cabin crews are happy.
2nd floor which is at the base level is the hospital. There is a registration room at the entrance of the hospital. Patients are each given a card which has their life long immunization records. Patients also pay there. First time male patients are charged 10 Taka which is about 15 U.S cents. First time females are charged 5 takas which is about 7.5 U.S cents. Next time males and females are charged 5 and 3 takas which is equivalent to 7.5 and 3.75 cents respectively. All medicines are given for free based on their availability. The Hospital is divided in mini departments. There is one room for dentistry, one for eye care, one for gynecology,one for pedetriatics. Besides there is a operation theater where 3 operations could be performed at a time. It also has a pharmacy where patients are advised on how to take medicine. They also have a pathology lab equipped with modern medical equipments. There is one MBBS doctor in the whole hospital. Rest of the people are paramedics. But sometimes doctors from other countries provide service in a rotational manner.
The Ship has about 30 crews including paramedics, doctors and pharmacist. It also has a full time cooking team. The tea I drank this morning was awesome. I had 2 cups of teas. Then we started working on the survey.
Let me give you a background about what we are doing here. Friendship, the NGO I have wrote about in my previous blogs have asked for help to reduce maternal death and infant mortality in this area. So Mount Sinai Hospital of New York have send a medical team to examine the current situation through research and surveys and based on it's recommendation help will arrive. Our job as researchers or surveyers are to determine is what is the current health care situation here and what exactly they need help with. They know that they have to train people to help with the situation but whom would the comminity want to be taught. These are sorts of questions we are looking to get answers of to provide the best service in the most effecient way.
So we made corrections to the survey based on the advice of local paramedics anjali and others to match the local context. We wanted to make sure that it flows regularly. so we tested it amongs us first.
So I had to act as a mother and answer those questions. So I created a scenario. I acted as a mon who is 16 years old. My husband is 22. I was pregnant thrice. Two of my kids survived and one died during birth. Yeah it was awkward as I was asked to remember about the time of my labor and questions only females or moms would be able to answer but I tried my best to make it realistic. all the paramedics were impressed with my acting as it was super realistic. They mentioned that patients actually do these things and I understand Char areas completely even though I live in U.S.A and I was never in a Char before. So based on how the survey was done further corrections were made. So we could not start doing it today as patients ar seen between 10 am to 2:30 pm. But we are looking forward of starting tomorrow.
After we finished revising I attended clinical rounds in the hospital. I shadowed doctor and paramedics as they were seeing patients. I was also tring to find out about arsenic contamination and sanitation situation here. I was told that this was something that is the source of many other problems. More reasearch needs to be done and more investments are necessary to tackle there problems. We had rice, rui fish, dal and a mixed vegetable for lunch. After Lunch I taught Bangla to Molly, Laura, Ranisha, Ankur and Joe. They had so many questions for me!!!
Molly's and Laura's Bangla is so impressive. It's been only 3 weeks and they have won the hearts of all the people of the ship through their impressive Bangla conversations. They are becoming fluent day by day. The more I listen to them speaking Bangla, the more I get amazed. They are both students of Mount Sinai school of medicine.
The nearest market and community is about 30 minutes away. So at 5:00 local time the boat was suppose to go the market to but somethings and pick up a few guests. So we went to the market place. I needed to buy a notebook to take notes on many things I learn. Molly wanted a bunch of banana, papaya and apple. I got banana but papaya and apples weren't available. Joe had asked me for Lungi ( it's a clothing man wears: often called man's skirt. I got one for me and also got one for Joe. We came back to the boat by 6:00. They guest hadn't arrived at that time. The people who went to buy things for the ship wasn't there either. It was so dark that visibility was less than 5 feet. There were many mosquitoes. I was kind of tired of waiting!!!
The guests finally arrived at 8:00. After two hours of delay we finally headed back to our mother ship. It was a little hard to come back as the visibility was less than 5 feet. We had to follow stars and the mother ship had to lit up brightly so that we could see. the boat got stuck once because the depth of the river was low in one part and the fan of the boat was blocked by some kind of underwater weeds. So after 30 mins of struggle we headed back to the ship. Most of the people were done eating and they had gathered to watch TV-the dish was connected just today and it works just fine.
Joe and I tried wearing Lungi for the 1st time in our lives. We sort of cat walked to the room where people were watching TV and they were very excited seeing us wearing Lungi. It was such a great experience!!!
Another thing I have seen today was a grasshopper about 6 inches. I have also seen a 4 inches long cockroach. Yeah!!! it was a little scary.....and I am not lying!!!
I guess I will wrap it up here. It's 2:50 am here and mad silent as people are sleeping. the only noise I hear is me typing, the sound of romantic songs I am playing as I am typing and the sound of waves hitting the boat house. I am looking outside through my window. All I see right now is the river and the sky. There are countless stars shinning brightly. The stars are sort of the chocolate part in grandma's cookies!!!!!!!
YES YES YES, I am a little hungry. Here, we only eat 3 times and I haven't eaten that much for dinner. I ran out of cookies and snacks. I need to buy some more tomorrow. Now all I could have is fresh wind, Well, not really! It's not that windy today. May be I will count stars or hear the river current or just look for some shooting stars so that I could make some more wishes. No, I never wished to get Megan Fox!!!! She got married recently. My wishes are......... I am sorry I can't share them. Well, I forgot what I wished for. Let me know if you want me to make wishes for u as I bet u don't see that many stars in the big cities!!!
Ok, enough with that! I just saw a big cockroach on my floor but I have too lazy to kill it. I am planning to fish tomorrow after we are done seeing patients and conducting surveys. I have never caught fish in a river in Bangladesh. Let's see it it really works!!!
That's all for today. I have written a lot but I still think i might be missing a few stories or experiences I wanted to share. It's all good. Thanks for reading and any questions please let me know. I will try my best to answer them.
Mucho <3 from the Boat house on Brahmaputta river
Fahim Farazi
I am writing from my room situated in a boat house attached to the mother ship Friendship Emirates Floating Hospital. The Ship is four storied. The top floor has the cockpit or whatever it's called. The Top floor has 3 rooms for guests. All female personnels accompanying us are staying there. Those are air conditioned as well. The 3rd floor has a living room, two dinning rooms, a kitchen, a big dock and a few rest rooms. That's where we spend most of our time of the day when we are not doing survey. We got our cable access today so the cabin crews are happy.
2nd floor which is at the base level is the hospital. There is a registration room at the entrance of the hospital. Patients are each given a card which has their life long immunization records. Patients also pay there. First time male patients are charged 10 Taka which is about 15 U.S cents. First time females are charged 5 takas which is about 7.5 U.S cents. Next time males and females are charged 5 and 3 takas which is equivalent to 7.5 and 3.75 cents respectively. All medicines are given for free based on their availability. The Hospital is divided in mini departments. There is one room for dentistry, one for eye care, one for gynecology,one for pedetriatics. Besides there is a operation theater where 3 operations could be performed at a time. It also has a pharmacy where patients are advised on how to take medicine. They also have a pathology lab equipped with modern medical equipments. There is one MBBS doctor in the whole hospital. Rest of the people are paramedics. But sometimes doctors from other countries provide service in a rotational manner.
The Ship has about 30 crews including paramedics, doctors and pharmacist. It also has a full time cooking team. The tea I drank this morning was awesome. I had 2 cups of teas. Then we started working on the survey.
Let me give you a background about what we are doing here. Friendship, the NGO I have wrote about in my previous blogs have asked for help to reduce maternal death and infant mortality in this area. So Mount Sinai Hospital of New York have send a medical team to examine the current situation through research and surveys and based on it's recommendation help will arrive. Our job as researchers or surveyers are to determine is what is the current health care situation here and what exactly they need help with. They know that they have to train people to help with the situation but whom would the comminity want to be taught. These are sorts of questions we are looking to get answers of to provide the best service in the most effecient way.
So we made corrections to the survey based on the advice of local paramedics anjali and others to match the local context. We wanted to make sure that it flows regularly. so we tested it amongs us first.
So I had to act as a mother and answer those questions. So I created a scenario. I acted as a mon who is 16 years old. My husband is 22. I was pregnant thrice. Two of my kids survived and one died during birth. Yeah it was awkward as I was asked to remember about the time of my labor and questions only females or moms would be able to answer but I tried my best to make it realistic. all the paramedics were impressed with my acting as it was super realistic. They mentioned that patients actually do these things and I understand Char areas completely even though I live in U.S.A and I was never in a Char before. So based on how the survey was done further corrections were made. So we could not start doing it today as patients ar seen between 10 am to 2:30 pm. But we are looking forward of starting tomorrow.
After we finished revising I attended clinical rounds in the hospital. I shadowed doctor and paramedics as they were seeing patients. I was also tring to find out about arsenic contamination and sanitation situation here. I was told that this was something that is the source of many other problems. More reasearch needs to be done and more investments are necessary to tackle there problems. We had rice, rui fish, dal and a mixed vegetable for lunch. After Lunch I taught Bangla to Molly, Laura, Ranisha, Ankur and Joe. They had so many questions for me!!!
Molly's and Laura's Bangla is so impressive. It's been only 3 weeks and they have won the hearts of all the people of the ship through their impressive Bangla conversations. They are becoming fluent day by day. The more I listen to them speaking Bangla, the more I get amazed. They are both students of Mount Sinai school of medicine.
The nearest market and community is about 30 minutes away. So at 5:00 local time the boat was suppose to go the market to but somethings and pick up a few guests. So we went to the market place. I needed to buy a notebook to take notes on many things I learn. Molly wanted a bunch of banana, papaya and apple. I got banana but papaya and apples weren't available. Joe had asked me for Lungi ( it's a clothing man wears: often called man's skirt. I got one for me and also got one for Joe. We came back to the boat by 6:00. They guest hadn't arrived at that time. The people who went to buy things for the ship wasn't there either. It was so dark that visibility was less than 5 feet. There were many mosquitoes. I was kind of tired of waiting!!!
The guests finally arrived at 8:00. After two hours of delay we finally headed back to our mother ship. It was a little hard to come back as the visibility was less than 5 feet. We had to follow stars and the mother ship had to lit up brightly so that we could see. the boat got stuck once because the depth of the river was low in one part and the fan of the boat was blocked by some kind of underwater weeds. So after 30 mins of struggle we headed back to the ship. Most of the people were done eating and they had gathered to watch TV-the dish was connected just today and it works just fine.
Joe and I tried wearing Lungi for the 1st time in our lives. We sort of cat walked to the room where people were watching TV and they were very excited seeing us wearing Lungi. It was such a great experience!!!
Another thing I have seen today was a grasshopper about 6 inches. I have also seen a 4 inches long cockroach. Yeah!!! it was a little scary.....and I am not lying!!!
I guess I will wrap it up here. It's 2:50 am here and mad silent as people are sleeping. the only noise I hear is me typing, the sound of romantic songs I am playing as I am typing and the sound of waves hitting the boat house. I am looking outside through my window. All I see right now is the river and the sky. There are countless stars shinning brightly. The stars are sort of the chocolate part in grandma's cookies!!!!!!!
YES YES YES, I am a little hungry. Here, we only eat 3 times and I haven't eaten that much for dinner. I ran out of cookies and snacks. I need to buy some more tomorrow. Now all I could have is fresh wind, Well, not really! It's not that windy today. May be I will count stars or hear the river current or just look for some shooting stars so that I could make some more wishes. No, I never wished to get Megan Fox!!!! She got married recently. My wishes are......... I am sorry I can't share them. Well, I forgot what I wished for. Let me know if you want me to make wishes for u as I bet u don't see that many stars in the big cities!!!
Ok, enough with that! I just saw a big cockroach on my floor but I have too lazy to kill it. I am planning to fish tomorrow after we are done seeing patients and conducting surveys. I have never caught fish in a river in Bangladesh. Let's see it it really works!!!
That's all for today. I have written a lot but I still think i might be missing a few stories or experiences I wanted to share. It's all good. Thanks for reading and any questions please let me know. I will try my best to answer them.
Mucho <3 from the Boat house on Brahmaputta river
Fahim Farazi
Friday, August 6, 2010
From The Bank Of Brahmaputta River (1st night sleeping on a floating boat house)
So last time I wrote a blog was when I was on my way to Chilmari. You might remember that the shaky bus ride interrupted my blog. I have so many things to say today. I hope to get it done. The internet has been very slow that's why my blogs can't accompany pics and videos. Don't get me wrong, I really wanted to share those pics but uploading even one would take about an hour which I lack in this research project.
The local time is 7:32 right now. I actually woke up 6 in the morning. my room in the boat house faces the river. So the sound of river current hitting the boat and the sunset and ofcourse the chirping of the birds woke me up on this 1st morning. Currently I am floating in my boat house which is attached to the mother ship Emirates Friendship Floating Hospital. The ship is medium sized. It is about four storied and fully air conditioned. The floating house has about 8 rooms and 2 bathrooms and a lobby area on the upper portion. The rooms are well furnished with bed, study table, table lamp,fan, mosquito net and a chester drawer and a hanging wardrobe. It is small but the quality is about 2/3 star. I had expected it to be really worse. But it is so good.
There is no electricity in the boathouse. So I opened up my window and getting refreshed by the soothing calm wind of the river. Most of my team is still sleeping. They are really exhausted by the 12 hour journey from yesterday.
The journey was one of it's kind. We took an Air conditioned bus from Dhaka to Kurigram--a district in the Northern part of Bangladesh. From there we took a local overcrowded bus. People like literally all over us. These people were carrying chicken,duck, fish, vegetable, rice etc with them. It was a little uncomfortable as I was riding on a bus like that for the first time but I got used to it as it was for an hour and half. After we got out we had to get on a speed boat to reach the mother ship. the speed boat ride was for 25 mins. I can't fully express the experience. I sensed FREEDOM-freedom from over crowded Dhaka, freedom from overcrowded NYC, freedom from the influence of outside world, freedom from all sorts of material stuff in my life. I stressed my hands in both directions and closed my eyes to let the wind flow through me and clear out all the stressses of life.
My study team consist of Dr. Joe, Dr. Raneesha, Mr. Monir and I. Dr. Mausd-the main doctor from the hospital as our mentor. There are other research teams also. We have Ankur--a senior University student from Michigan accompanied by Mr. Jasim. Two other Americans here is the boat are Molly and Laura who are Medical Students from the States. They have been here for almost three weeks and I was surprised to see how fluent in Bengali have they become. When they spoke Bengali with an American accent it sounded so sweet. I was amazed to see how comfortably they adjusted to the current scenario. they have been eating the local food with bare hands-the same way locals eat. That is some real dedication.
We were trying to get started with our surveys by today but it seems like we can't today. We went over the surveys with local paramedics who advised few changes. After making the corrections it has to be printed and then photocopied from the nearest town which is about 2 hours from here. I really wish I could accompany pics with this blog but internet is very slow as this part is very isolated. I dont even have full network on my cell phone. But I will take the nearest opportunity to add pics to it.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me or if you want to call me my number is posted under my 2nd last fb status (I have a hardtime memorizing the number as it is long)
That's all for now. Take care and keep reading my blogs!!!
The local time is 7:32 right now. I actually woke up 6 in the morning. my room in the boat house faces the river. So the sound of river current hitting the boat and the sunset and ofcourse the chirping of the birds woke me up on this 1st morning. Currently I am floating in my boat house which is attached to the mother ship Emirates Friendship Floating Hospital. The ship is medium sized. It is about four storied and fully air conditioned. The floating house has about 8 rooms and 2 bathrooms and a lobby area on the upper portion. The rooms are well furnished with bed, study table, table lamp,fan, mosquito net and a chester drawer and a hanging wardrobe. It is small but the quality is about 2/3 star. I had expected it to be really worse. But it is so good.
There is no electricity in the boathouse. So I opened up my window and getting refreshed by the soothing calm wind of the river. Most of my team is still sleeping. They are really exhausted by the 12 hour journey from yesterday.
The journey was one of it's kind. We took an Air conditioned bus from Dhaka to Kurigram--a district in the Northern part of Bangladesh. From there we took a local overcrowded bus. People like literally all over us. These people were carrying chicken,duck, fish, vegetable, rice etc with them. It was a little uncomfortable as I was riding on a bus like that for the first time but I got used to it as it was for an hour and half. After we got out we had to get on a speed boat to reach the mother ship. the speed boat ride was for 25 mins. I can't fully express the experience. I sensed FREEDOM-freedom from over crowded Dhaka, freedom from overcrowded NYC, freedom from the influence of outside world, freedom from all sorts of material stuff in my life. I stressed my hands in both directions and closed my eyes to let the wind flow through me and clear out all the stressses of life.
My study team consist of Dr. Joe, Dr. Raneesha, Mr. Monir and I. Dr. Mausd-the main doctor from the hospital as our mentor. There are other research teams also. We have Ankur--a senior University student from Michigan accompanied by Mr. Jasim. Two other Americans here is the boat are Molly and Laura who are Medical Students from the States. They have been here for almost three weeks and I was surprised to see how fluent in Bengali have they become. When they spoke Bengali with an American accent it sounded so sweet. I was amazed to see how comfortably they adjusted to the current scenario. they have been eating the local food with bare hands-the same way locals eat. That is some real dedication.
We were trying to get started with our surveys by today but it seems like we can't today. We went over the surveys with local paramedics who advised few changes. After making the corrections it has to be printed and then photocopied from the nearest town which is about 2 hours from here. I really wish I could accompany pics with this blog but internet is very slow as this part is very isolated. I dont even have full network on my cell phone. But I will take the nearest opportunity to add pics to it.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me or if you want to call me my number is posted under my 2nd last fb status (I have a hardtime memorizing the number as it is long)
That's all for now. Take care and keep reading my blogs!!!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
On My Way To Chilmari
First of all sorry to all the readers for the delay in writing of this blog. I had limited access to internet for the last few days. The internet was a little too slow for me and I was slightly annoyed by that fact.
I am on my way to Chilmari. Chilmari is a part in the North Western part of Bangladesh and is very close to the Indian Border. The NGO we are working with FRIENDSHIP has a floating hospital over there. Excuse minor mistakes/typo as the road is a little shaky and the bus driver is driving crazily.
I was in Friendship office for the last two days. I was amazed to see how big the organization actually is. They have about 300 employees working in and out of the field which to me is super awesome! They have so many dedicated workers who are passionate about their work. I have mentioned them in previous blogs. I encourage you to look them up.
I was in ICDDR,B( google it) I attended morning clinical rounds with doctors. It was such a unique experience. British Doctor Jonathan explained to us the conditions of different patients as we were walking through many wards. I really felt like a doctor in there. Beleive me or not but I understood even the clinical terms they used. We were given a tour of the hospital. They have so many wards like short stay,long stay, intensive care unit, emergency unit,ward to handle epidemic outbreak, child care unit, ward for HIV patients etc. Besides they have initiated programs on how to make toys from recyclable materials and how to eat healthy without paying too much. They have social workers/health workers whose job is to MOTIVATE people in favor of scientific health treatment. People often mistrust this treatment and go for traditional treatment which often proves fatal.
OK the road is way too uncomfortable. I will write more on the next blog.Thanks for following me and special thanks to a friend of mine for the reminder that I have not written a blog in a while.
ADIOU!!!
<3
Fahim
I am on my way to Chilmari. Chilmari is a part in the North Western part of Bangladesh and is very close to the Indian Border. The NGO we are working with FRIENDSHIP has a floating hospital over there. Excuse minor mistakes/typo as the road is a little shaky and the bus driver is driving crazily.
I was in Friendship office for the last two days. I was amazed to see how big the organization actually is. They have about 300 employees working in and out of the field which to me is super awesome! They have so many dedicated workers who are passionate about their work. I have mentioned them in previous blogs. I encourage you to look them up.
I was in ICDDR,B( google it) I attended morning clinical rounds with doctors. It was such a unique experience. British Doctor Jonathan explained to us the conditions of different patients as we were walking through many wards. I really felt like a doctor in there. Beleive me or not but I understood even the clinical terms they used. We were given a tour of the hospital. They have so many wards like short stay,long stay, intensive care unit, emergency unit,ward to handle epidemic outbreak, child care unit, ward for HIV patients etc. Besides they have initiated programs on how to make toys from recyclable materials and how to eat healthy without paying too much. They have social workers/health workers whose job is to MOTIVATE people in favor of scientific health treatment. People often mistrust this treatment and go for traditional treatment which often proves fatal.
OK the road is way too uncomfortable. I will write more on the next blog.Thanks for following me and special thanks to a friend of mine for the reminder that I have not written a blog in a while.
ADIOU!!!
<3
Fahim
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Random Thoughts on Bangladesh
Hey Readers!!!
Sorry for the brief delay in writing as I did not have access to internet. I have come to Bangladesh after five years and I have mixed feelings about it. So far I have been staying in Dhaka for the most part. Dhaka is overcrowded. All you see is people and people. The roads are jampacked causing traffic delays. When you wait in the signals, you see beggers (mostly kids and handicapped) begging for alms. You will see street vendors trying to sell you papers,mineral water, popcorns and other stuff. Another thing that is very common is that when you are stuck in traffic, kids as young as 6 cleaning your car without any permission in the hope that you will spare some money. their hard work never pays off as people refuse to pay them. I have seen many street children around dhaka. They are all working hard to support their family. even though Bangladesh have made significant progress to reduce child labor, it needs to go a long way.
Nonprofit organizations have developed like mushrooms in the last few years. Bangladesh has one of the largest number of nonprofit organizations in the world. they are nonprofit only in name though as most of them are profitable!!!
I have seen more flags of Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Spain than existing flags even in those countries. It is a shame that Bangladesh ranks like 145 among the soccer playing nations despite this fact. People are football fanatics here!!!
My blogs are very personal as I like it to be personal. So, I will take this opportunity to write about a few things. I went to My friend Ariq's house the day before yesterday. Saadman was there too. Me, Ariq and Saadman are best friends. We are more like three idiots!!! (inside joke, Reference: 3 Idiots the movie) It was an amazing reunion. We had so much catching up to do. I also met a friend of mine from Rajuk Uttara Model School & College named Kanta. Kanta's dad and my dad were coursemates/batchmates in Bangladesh army. Kanta recently got married. I met her husband too who used to be in the same school as I was. It was great to see old friends. I am trying to organize a reunion so that I see more friends. the time is very limited. Lets see if something could be worked out!!
Last night was Shobeborat--a very holy event in Islam. It is the day when Allah writes our future. this day is celebrated by praying whole night and exchanging home made sweets and haluyas to friends, family and neighbors. I had the fortune to be here during this occasion. I will tell you it was awesome!!!
The food in Bangladesh is just amazing. People like to eat in here. I have seen restaurants of all kinds,shape and forms. There are many thematic restuarants too. There is one which has a haunted theme. It is simply amazing. This is one industry Bangladesh as undoubtedly surpassed all countries. I don't think I will be criticized if I say PEOPLE WORSHIP FOOD. Well, not literally but you get the idea.
I have seen numerous pajeros and latest models of BMW all over Dhaka. You would be surprised to see how the luyxerious houses are in here signifying how rich the rich actually are. They sure know how to enjoy their lives!!!
IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF MONEY AND MINUS THE TRAFFIC JAM AND BIT OF POLLUTION HERE AND THERE AND HUGE DISPARITY BETWEEN RICH AND POOR, IT COULD BE REGARDED AS PARADISE. I MEAN IT TO THE UTMOST POSSIBLE MEANS.
That's all for today. Thanks for reading. If you have any question, hit me up at fahim_farazi@yahoo.com or my facebook. ADIOS and THANK YOU for reading!!! love you all
Sorry for the brief delay in writing as I did not have access to internet. I have come to Bangladesh after five years and I have mixed feelings about it. So far I have been staying in Dhaka for the most part. Dhaka is overcrowded. All you see is people and people. The roads are jampacked causing traffic delays. When you wait in the signals, you see beggers (mostly kids and handicapped) begging for alms. You will see street vendors trying to sell you papers,mineral water, popcorns and other stuff. Another thing that is very common is that when you are stuck in traffic, kids as young as 6 cleaning your car without any permission in the hope that you will spare some money. their hard work never pays off as people refuse to pay them. I have seen many street children around dhaka. They are all working hard to support their family. even though Bangladesh have made significant progress to reduce child labor, it needs to go a long way.
Nonprofit organizations have developed like mushrooms in the last few years. Bangladesh has one of the largest number of nonprofit organizations in the world. they are nonprofit only in name though as most of them are profitable!!!
I have seen more flags of Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Spain than existing flags even in those countries. It is a shame that Bangladesh ranks like 145 among the soccer playing nations despite this fact. People are football fanatics here!!!
My blogs are very personal as I like it to be personal. So, I will take this opportunity to write about a few things. I went to My friend Ariq's house the day before yesterday. Saadman was there too. Me, Ariq and Saadman are best friends. We are more like three idiots!!! (inside joke, Reference: 3 Idiots the movie) It was an amazing reunion. We had so much catching up to do. I also met a friend of mine from Rajuk Uttara Model School & College named Kanta. Kanta's dad and my dad were coursemates/batchmates in Bangladesh army. Kanta recently got married. I met her husband too who used to be in the same school as I was. It was great to see old friends. I am trying to organize a reunion so that I see more friends. the time is very limited. Lets see if something could be worked out!!
Last night was Shobeborat--a very holy event in Islam. It is the day when Allah writes our future. this day is celebrated by praying whole night and exchanging home made sweets and haluyas to friends, family and neighbors. I had the fortune to be here during this occasion. I will tell you it was awesome!!!
The food in Bangladesh is just amazing. People like to eat in here. I have seen restaurants of all kinds,shape and forms. There are many thematic restuarants too. There is one which has a haunted theme. It is simply amazing. This is one industry Bangladesh as undoubtedly surpassed all countries. I don't think I will be criticized if I say PEOPLE WORSHIP FOOD. Well, not literally but you get the idea.
I have seen numerous pajeros and latest models of BMW all over Dhaka. You would be surprised to see how the luyxerious houses are in here signifying how rich the rich actually are. They sure know how to enjoy their lives!!!
IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF MONEY AND MINUS THE TRAFFIC JAM AND BIT OF POLLUTION HERE AND THERE AND HUGE DISPARITY BETWEEN RICH AND POOR, IT COULD BE REGARDED AS PARADISE. I MEAN IT TO THE UTMOST POSSIBLE MEANS.
That's all for today. Thanks for reading. If you have any question, hit me up at fahim_farazi@yahoo.com or my facebook. ADIOS and THANK YOU for reading!!! love you all
Friday, July 23, 2010
wedding/ party crasher (don't attempt as results may vary lol)
OKKK!!! I have to admit what we did today. I wish I had secret cameras to record it. We went to a party without any invitation, had dinner and left......this was quite an adventure..
Well, you know I won't dare do something like that. So me and my cousin were driving. we were looking for a restaurant for dinner preferably Bangladeshi-Chinese (Yeah!!! it exists lol). Most of the restaurants were either closed or they were full. We were about to give up..... We finaly found a restaurant and a parking. It was a big restaurant. We were about to go in. The manager told us that there were five different private parties going on and there was no more seat. I was about to leave. My cousin called me and told me to follow him. So we went in one ball room. there was a wedding reception going on. We went in. People were almost done eating.
we went straight to buffet area. It was chinese food but Bangladeshi style. So we got our food and went to sit at a table. The good thing with Bangladeshi part is that they invite a lot of people and they have really large families. So people from bride's side thought we are from groom's side and vice versa. so we talked between us, enjoyed food and music and left with paying tips to the doorman and the waiter lol. no payment for food is required!!! Thank God!! I was wearing good clothes. Otherwise we would have had a hardtime getting in and people would have been more suspicious. It was quite an adventure on the 1st night in Bangladesh
Please don't attempt this. Results might be different
Well, you know I won't dare do something like that. So me and my cousin were driving. we were looking for a restaurant for dinner preferably Bangladeshi-Chinese (Yeah!!! it exists lol). Most of the restaurants were either closed or they were full. We were about to give up..... We finaly found a restaurant and a parking. It was a big restaurant. We were about to go in. The manager told us that there were five different private parties going on and there was no more seat. I was about to leave. My cousin called me and told me to follow him. So we went in one ball room. there was a wedding reception going on. We went in. People were almost done eating.
we went straight to buffet area. It was chinese food but Bangladeshi style. So we got our food and went to sit at a table. The good thing with Bangladeshi part is that they invite a lot of people and they have really large families. So people from bride's side thought we are from groom's side and vice versa. so we talked between us, enjoyed food and music and left with paying tips to the doorman and the waiter lol. no payment for food is required!!! Thank God!! I was wearing good clothes. Otherwise we would have had a hardtime getting in and people would have been more suspicious. It was quite an adventure on the 1st night in Bangladesh
Please don't attempt this. Results might be different
Flight and 1st day
I was a little too early for the fight. It was the 1st time I am travelling my Etihad-- the national airlines of the United Arab Emirates. My parents came to see me off. They seemed very worried as it was the 1st time I am travelling by myself to an international destination. The plane was suppose to depart by 10:45 eastern time.After four medical attentions in the plane we left at 1:50. To make the situation worse, I had a connecting flight to catch at Abu Dhabi.
The journey was about 22 hours in total. From N.Y to Abu Dhabi it takes about 14 hours. Luckily the person sitting next to me was quite interesting. She is a American who moved to Kathmundu the capital of Nepal 31 years ago. She runs day cares and hospitals which provides service to mothers and children
I did not sleep the entire road. I used that time to catch up on latest movies and TV shows. It was awefully long but the service for the most part was great.
When I got off at Abu Dhabi, the capital of United Arab Emirates. I had less than an hour to catch the connecting flight. It tooke me about 20 minutes to get to gate number 2. The terminal was so overcrowded. Yes!!! now is the time I will start complaining about discriminatory behavior. United Arab Emirates has a lot of Bangladeshi workers who hail from extreme poverty. Most of them are illiterate. I had to translate for the guy sitting next to me. I also had to show him how to tie the seatbelt and how to operate the entertainment options in the plane.
I guess Etihad has knowledge of that's why their service changed dramatically in the second flight. The 1st item they served was mineral water. it was in a container as small as that of apple pudding. I ordered fish for dinner. To my surprise it was fish cury even though nothing was mentioned in the menu about it being cooked as curry. I had a stomachache in the place for consuming that sh*t. I also found the food table not that clean. I later received an apology from the flight crews for that but it was very annoying for that moment.
After I got off from the plane, it took me an hour to get pass the customs police because of a very long line. That's what happens when I don't use influence. I should have asked someone to get me pass through that very quickly.My baggages were in the last batch to come. It took me another half an hour to get my baggage.
My cousin Tony Bhaiya came to receive me. In case you did not know the term "bhaiya" refers to older brother and for female "Apu"
I slept crazy when I got back from the airport. I just woke up now and I am writing the blog now. I am having the famous Haji's Biryani (For food lovers). It is so delicious. The place I am staying is Bashundhara--a favorite place for the rich. It is next to the Apollo Hospital--a vey well knowned hospital in Dhaka.
I was enjoying the view from veranda/balcony. Some kids were playing cricket and soccer in an empty field-- a very rare scene in a crowded city like Dhaka.
I am going to Jaidevpore tomorrow in the morning where my uncle has a summer house. it is a picnic spot too. I will have pictures of that too tomorrow. for now, I thank you for reading and following me. Adios!!!
The journey was about 22 hours in total. From N.Y to Abu Dhabi it takes about 14 hours. Luckily the person sitting next to me was quite interesting. She is a American who moved to Kathmundu the capital of Nepal 31 years ago. She runs day cares and hospitals which provides service to mothers and children
I did not sleep the entire road. I used that time to catch up on latest movies and TV shows. It was awefully long but the service for the most part was great.
When I got off at Abu Dhabi, the capital of United Arab Emirates. I had less than an hour to catch the connecting flight. It tooke me about 20 minutes to get to gate number 2. The terminal was so overcrowded. Yes!!! now is the time I will start complaining about discriminatory behavior. United Arab Emirates has a lot of Bangladeshi workers who hail from extreme poverty. Most of them are illiterate. I had to translate for the guy sitting next to me. I also had to show him how to tie the seatbelt and how to operate the entertainment options in the plane.
I guess Etihad has knowledge of that's why their service changed dramatically in the second flight. The 1st item they served was mineral water. it was in a container as small as that of apple pudding. I ordered fish for dinner. To my surprise it was fish cury even though nothing was mentioned in the menu about it being cooked as curry. I had a stomachache in the place for consuming that sh*t. I also found the food table not that clean. I later received an apology from the flight crews for that but it was very annoying for that moment.
After I got off from the plane, it took me an hour to get pass the customs police because of a very long line. That's what happens when I don't use influence. I should have asked someone to get me pass through that very quickly.My baggages were in the last batch to come. It took me another half an hour to get my baggage.
My cousin Tony Bhaiya came to receive me. In case you did not know the term "bhaiya" refers to older brother and for female "Apu"
I slept crazy when I got back from the airport. I just woke up now and I am writing the blog now. I am having the famous Haji's Biryani (For food lovers). It is so delicious. The place I am staying is Bashundhara--a favorite place for the rich. It is next to the Apollo Hospital--a vey well knowned hospital in Dhaka.
I was enjoying the view from veranda/balcony. Some kids were playing cricket and soccer in an empty field-- a very rare scene in a crowded city like Dhaka.
I am going to Jaidevpore tomorrow in the morning where my uncle has a summer house. it is a picnic spot too. I will have pictures of that too tomorrow. for now, I thank you for reading and following me. Adios!!!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Pre-departure/1st blog
I am leaving in 10 hours for Bangladesh. I will maintain this blog to share my experience with all my family,friends and well wishers.
From, August 4- August 26, I will be working with doctors/researchers from Mt. Sinai hospital. I will be assisting them with translation, surveys/data collection etc. the purpose of this research project is how to most effeciently reduce infant mortality and maternal death in Bangladesh.
I will have some free days before the project starts. I plan to use that time to catch up with relatives and friends, travel a little bit and thus get the maximum out of this trip.
From, August 4- August 26, I will be working with doctors/researchers from Mt. Sinai hospital. I will be assisting them with translation, surveys/data collection etc. the purpose of this research project is how to most effeciently reduce infant mortality and maternal death in Bangladesh.
I will have some free days before the project starts. I plan to use that time to catch up with relatives and friends, travel a little bit and thus get the maximum out of this trip.
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