Title: Bangla in the 'Desh (Bangladesh)

Status: Active

URL: http://josephinewhitaker.blogspot.com/

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Goodbye, Bangladesh - 16/Jul/2010 11:16 - 5256 days ago
This post has been a long time coming. I sit writing it in my parents’ house in Leicester, shivering in an English summer, and...
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Goodbye, Bangladesh - 16/Jul/2010 11:16 - 5256 days ago
This post has been a long time coming. I sit writing it in my parents’ house in Leicester, shivering in an English summer, and...
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Jascim-bhai's house - 24/Apr/2010 16:03 - 5339 days ago
As the end of my placement draws near, I’m being increasingly flooded with invitations and entreaties for me to visit peopleâ€...
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Domestic failure - 23/Apr/2010 16:00 - 5340 days ago
Today, craving something sweet and having long ago devoured the chocolate supplies I lay in every time I go to Dhaka, I decided ...
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Workshops from hell 1 - 20/Apr/2010 14:03 - 5343 days ago
Over the last few months, I’ve facilitated a lot of trainings and workshops. While I really enjoy facilitation, some of my exp...
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Bizu - 17/Apr/2010 07:48 - 5346 days ago
Unbelievably, or so it feels, I have just passed my second Bizu in Bangladesh. Last year, I spent it in Khagrachari, enjoying lo...
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One night in Chittagong - 15/Apr/2010 14:00 - 5348 days ago
Whatever romantic notions the title of this post may conjure up– discard them now. For those of you who’ve never heard of Ch...
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On not getting the message - 06/Apr/2010 07:55 - 5357 days ago
I’m going to shout at someone soon if I don’t get this off my chest, so please forgive me another rant…What is it with Ban...
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The bastard ants - 01/Apr/2010 07:49 - 5362 days ago
Regular readers may remember my rants about the ants last spring. Well, they’re back and they mean business.I don’t know if ...
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Dirty Dhaka stricken by diarrhoea epidemic - 15/Mar/2010 17:18 - 5379 days ago
As some of you may have picked up from my pathetic-soundingtweetsover the last few days, I was recently struck down by a rather ...
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A bit of an epiphany - 05/Mar/2010 16:45 - 5389 days ago
I’ve had a bit of an epiphany lately, dear readers: I am ready to leave the ‘desh.Although the thought of leaving regularly ...
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Silver linings - 17/Feb/2010 16:43 - 5405 days ago
I arrived home from work the other day, pretty tired, and ran into Meena, my landlady. Because I’ve been working such long hou...
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Job hunting - 08/Feb/2010 16:42 - 5414 days ago
The bright sparks amongst you have probably guessed from the title of this post that, finally, after many months of denial and p...
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Back in the desh - 27/Jan/2010 15:59 - 5426 days ago
Bangladesh got really annoying while I was gone. Perhaps it’s just going through a particularly irritating phase. Perhaps. Mor...
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Welcome home, Dhaka style - 15/Jan/2010 16:40 - 5438 days ago
I was slightly disappointed not to be met by cheering fans as I emerged from customs, especially after an annoying delay in Calc...
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Homecoming, or, Searching for a Love Actually moment - 15/Dec/2009 21:05 - 5469 days ago
As many of you (but not my parents) already knew, back in July I booked flights to come home for Christmas. Since then, I have b...
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Kolkata - 13/Dec/2009 21:02 - 5471 days ago
Back in July, when I was booking my flights home, a minor stroke of genius led me to book flights from Kolkata to Heathrow, rath...
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How to drive in Bangladesh - 11/Nov/2009 20:56 - 5503 days ago
Travelling in Bangladesh is rarely easy. Despite being a country so tiny its name usually has to be written outside it on maps, ...
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Bangladeshi Baburchi - 17/Oct/2009 03:50 - 5528 days ago
At the risk of sounding like a complete wuss, until today, I had yet to cook any meat in Bangladesh. Instead, I’ve happily exi...
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A room of one's own - 17/Oct/2009 03:43 - 5528 days ago
Having lived here for a year now, I can safely say that one of the best things about living in Parbatipur is having my own flat....
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The plague - 09/Oct/2009 11:30 - 5536 days ago
My chilled-out Friday evening was shattered this week by the plague that seems to have descended on Parbatipur of late. Not locu...
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VSO envy - 06/Oct/2009 11:29 - 5539 days ago
As a VSO volunteer, it’s nice to have a network of other VSO volunteers who are serving in different countries. It’s nice to...
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Being brought back down to earth - 05/Oct/2009 11:28 - 5540 days ago
This confession does not make me feel proud, but yesterday I may have had a bit of a tantrum. Actually, I had alotof a tantrum. ...
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Narrative Structure... - 04/Oct/2009 11:26 - 5541 days ago
… is massively lacking in this blog of late. Extreme business and a dash of utter indolence have combined to make me a terribl...
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My screen debut (04/08/09) - 05/Sep/2009 14:11 - 5570 days ago
Yes, my friends, it’s true. The time has finally come when the rest of the world has been forced to recognize my prolific acti...
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Roza (25/08/09) - 28/Aug/2009 07:20 - 5578 days ago
Walking home from drinks with a friend this evening (non-alcoholic, of course), I happened to be passing my local mosque at the ...
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A small mystery - 24/May/2009 16:08 - 5674 days ago
Travelling to and from Dhaka over the last few days, I stumbled upon something quite curious. In the roadside hotel that the bus...
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Green mangoes (17/5/09) - 22/May/2009 16:09 - 5676 days ago
I’ve been waiting for mango season since I got here, and it is with GREAT pleasure that I’d like to inform you all I enjoyed...
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Reflections from the Sonargaon Hotel (5th May 2009 ) - 17/May/2009 15:38 - 5681 days ago
The Sonargaon is one of Dhaka’s premier fancypants hotels. To a VSO volunteer like me – and to most of the population of Ban...
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The unbearable harshness of honesty (22nd April 2009 ) - 17/May/2009 15:34 - 5681 days ago
I came out of my house this morning, as I do every morning, and walked up the dirt track, past the goat pasture and the mosque, ...
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The house of horrors (17/04/09) - 18/Apr/2009 17:04 - 5710 days ago
My return to Parbatipur yesterday made me question why in the world I decided to come to Bangladesh in the first place. I was gr...
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09/04/09 A scenic tour of Gazipur - 18/Apr/2009 17:01 - 5710 days ago
For those of you who don’t know (and I’m sure the only people who know Gazipur are the ones unfortunate enough to live there...
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The change of seasons 20/03/09 - 20/Mar/2009 12:12 - 5739 days ago
Last night, I woke around midnight and lay awake, trying to figure out what it was that had woken me.After a few sleep-dazed mom...
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The hills, the hills! 7th-9th March - 20/Mar/2009 12:05 - 5739 days ago
Since I first learned that I’d be going to Bangladesh to work with indigenous peoples, I’ve had the fabulousness of the Chit...
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The Mutiny (25th-26th Feb) - 01/Mar/2009 15:49 - 5758 days ago
Some of you no doubt caught the BBC’s rather sensationalist coverage of the mutiny of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) which began ...
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'The difference between Bangladesh and England...' (18/02/09) - 25/Feb/2009 10:53 - 5762 days ago
I don’t know whether it’s because I’ve been spending so long sitting on Mahabub’s motorbike (he likes to talk, let’s j...
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18/2/09 Shona Bangladesh - 22/Feb/2009 05:16 - 5765 days ago
It was only during my recent sojourns to Hakimpur and Aftabganj that I realised whatshona bangladeshreally means. Of course, wit...
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Motorcyling (17/02/09) - 22/Feb/2009 04:55 - 5765 days ago
In another demonstration of the highs and lows of Bangladesh, since arriving back in Parbatipur, I’ve had one great week of hi...
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Peaks, troughs and roller-coasters (9/02/09) - 10/Feb/2009 15:33 - 5777 days ago
Back in the UK, we were warned time and again by VSO, through many a delightful metaphor, about the ups and downs you’re likel...
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A day in my life... (8/2/09) - 08/Feb/2009 11:09 - 5779 days ago
Inspired (well, mystified, really) by the number of people from home who ask me things like‘Is there a supermarket near your h...
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Way down south (18/01-20/01) - 23/Jan/2009 11:57 - 5795 days ago
This last weekend I went on a jolly to Mongla, a port town in the south west of Bangladesh, perched on the edge of the Sunderban...
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A glimmer of hope (7/01/09) - 23/Jan/2009 11:56 - 5795 days ago
This is just a quick update on the work situation, for anyone who was concerned that I might be out here committing violent crim...
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While the nation voted, I went to the beauty parlour... (29/12/08) - 23/Jan/2009 11:50 - 5795 days ago
The 29th December 2008 was a big day for Bangladesh. The first national elections in six years were held after a state of emerge...
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We wish you a deshi Christmas (25/12/08) - 10/Jan/2009 16:53 - 5808 days ago
Being swept up in the newness of everything, I hardly noticed that Christmas was just around the corner until I was on the night...
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Grinding my teeth, Part Two: Adjusting to Bangla Time (16/12/08) - 10/Jan/2009 16:52 - 5808 days ago
16/12/08Grinding my teethPart 2: Adjusting to Bangla timeWhen I first arrived here, I was surprised how quickly my jet lag wore ...
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Grinding my teeth, Part One: What am I doing here? 15/12/08 - 10/Jan/2009 16:50 - 5808 days ago
(A disclaimer: I’m feeling somewhat bitter and frustrated right now, so apologies if this post turns into a rant.)Realizing th...
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9/12/08 Eid ul-Azha, or Eating my own body weight in meat - 11/Dec/2008 09:35 - 5838 days ago
Today was Eid ul-Azha, or Korbani Eid, which roughly translates as slaughtering or sacrificial Eid. It’s linked to that episod...
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The nightlife of Parbatipur 08/12/08 - 11/Dec/2008 09:32 - 5838 days ago
The title of this post might be somewhat optimistic in hindsight. Parbatipur isn’t exactly a raving hotspot, and what ‘night...
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29/11/08 Turning 22 - 11/Dec/2008 09:30 - 5838 days ago
I’d just like to take this opportunity to record the fact that I celebrated my 22nd birthday lying beside a swimming pool in t...
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23/11/08 The Grand Pancake Party of Parbatipur - 11/Dec/2008 09:26 - 5838 days ago
Bearing in mind the overwhelming generosity of everyone here, I decided that I’d have to make some attempt at returning all th...
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21/11/08 My neighbors - 11/Dec/2008 09:25 - 5838 days ago
There are days here when I don’t spend more than ten minutes inside my flat from the moment I arrive home till the moment I go...
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