Title: Bangla in the 'Desh (
Bangladesh)
Status: Active
URL:
http://josephinewhitaker.blogspot.com/
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Goodbye, Bangladesh - 16/Jul/2010 11:16 - 5042 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...
Goodbye, Bangladesh - 16/Jul/2010 11:16 - 5042 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...
Jascim-bhai's house - 24/Apr/2010 16:03 - 5125 days ago
As the end of my placement draws near, I’m being increasingly flooded with invitations and entreaties for me to visit peopleâ€...
Domestic failure - 23/Apr/2010 16:00 - 5126 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 ...
Workshops from hell 1 - 20/Apr/2010 14:03 - 5129 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...
Bizu - 17/Apr/2010 07:48 - 5132 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...
One night in Chittagong - 15/Apr/2010 14:00 - 5134 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...
On not getting the message - 06/Apr/2010 07:55 - 5143 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...
The bastard ants - 01/Apr/2010 07:49 - 5148 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 ...
Dirty Dhaka stricken by diarrhoea epidemic - 15/Mar/2010 17:18 - 5165 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 ...
A bit of an epiphany - 05/Mar/2010 16:45 - 5175 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 ...
Silver linings - 17/Feb/2010 16:43 - 5191 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...
Job hunting - 08/Feb/2010 16:42 - 5200 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...
Back in the desh - 27/Jan/2010 15:59 - 5212 days ago
Bangladesh got really annoying while I was gone. Perhaps it’s just going through a particularly irritating phase. Perhaps. Mor...
Welcome home, Dhaka style - 15/Jan/2010 16:40 - 5224 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...
Homecoming, or, Searching for a Love Actually moment - 15/Dec/2009 21:05 - 5255 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...
Kolkata - 13/Dec/2009 21:02 - 5257 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...
How to drive in Bangladesh - 11/Nov/2009 20:56 - 5289 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, ...
Bangladeshi Baburchi - 17/Oct/2009 03:50 - 5314 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...
A room of one's own - 17/Oct/2009 03:43 - 5314 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....
The plague - 09/Oct/2009 11:30 - 5322 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...
VSO envy - 06/Oct/2009 11:29 - 5325 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...
Being brought back down to earth - 05/Oct/2009 11:28 - 5326 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. ...
Narrative Structure... - 04/Oct/2009 11:26 - 5327 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...
My screen debut (04/08/09) - 05/Sep/2009 14:11 - 5356 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...
Roza (25/08/09) - 28/Aug/2009 07:20 - 5364 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 ...
A small mystery - 24/May/2009 16:08 - 5460 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...
Green mangoes (17/5/09) - 22/May/2009 16:09 - 5462 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...
Reflections from the Sonargaon Hotel (5th May 2009 ) - 17/May/2009 15:38 - 5467 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...
The unbearable harshness of honesty (22nd April 2009 ) - 17/May/2009 15:34 - 5467 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, ...
The house of horrors (17/04/09) - 18/Apr/2009 17:04 - 5496 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...
09/04/09 A scenic tour of Gazipur - 18/Apr/2009 17:01 - 5496 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...
The change of seasons 20/03/09 - 20/Mar/2009 12:12 - 5525 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...
The hills, the hills! 7th-9th March - 20/Mar/2009 12:05 - 5525 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...
The Mutiny (25th-26th Feb) - 01/Mar/2009 15:49 - 5544 days ago
Some of you no doubt caught the BBC’s rather sensationalist coverage of the mutiny of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) which began ...
'The difference between Bangladesh and England...' (18/02/09) - 25/Feb/2009 10:53 - 5548 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...
18/2/09 Shona Bangladesh - 22/Feb/2009 05:16 - 5551 days ago
It was only during my recent sojourns to Hakimpur and Aftabganj that I realised whatshona bangladeshreally means. Of course, wit...
Motorcyling (17/02/09) - 22/Feb/2009 04:55 - 5551 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...
Peaks, troughs and roller-coasters (9/02/09) - 10/Feb/2009 15:33 - 5563 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...
A day in my life... (8/2/09) - 08/Feb/2009 11:09 - 5565 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...
Way down south (18/01-20/01) - 23/Jan/2009 11:57 - 5581 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...
A glimmer of hope (7/01/09) - 23/Jan/2009 11:56 - 5581 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...
While the nation voted, I went to the beauty parlour... (29/12/08) - 23/Jan/2009 11:50 - 5581 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...
We wish you a deshi Christmas (25/12/08) - 10/Jan/2009 16:53 - 5594 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...
Grinding my teeth, Part Two: Adjusting to Bangla Time (16/12/08) - 10/Jan/2009 16:52 - 5594 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 ...
Grinding my teeth, Part One: What am I doing here? 15/12/08 - 10/Jan/2009 16:50 - 5594 days ago
(A disclaimer: I’m feeling somewhat bitter and frustrated right now, so apologies if this post turns into a rant.)Realizing th...
9/12/08 Eid ul-Azha, or Eating my own body weight in meat - 11/Dec/2008 09:35 - 5624 days ago
Today was Eid ul-Azha, or Korbani Eid, which roughly translates as slaughtering or sacrificial Eid. It’s linked to that episod...
The nightlife of Parbatipur 08/12/08 - 11/Dec/2008 09:32 - 5624 days ago
The title of this post might be somewhat optimistic in hindsight. Parbatipur isn’t exactly a raving hotspot, and what ‘night...
29/11/08 Turning 22 - 11/Dec/2008 09:30 - 5624 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...
23/11/08 The Grand Pancake Party of Parbatipur - 11/Dec/2008 09:26 - 5624 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...
21/11/08 My neighbors - 11/Dec/2008 09:25 - 5624 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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