Letter 46. Norwegians in Bangladesh.
12th October 2005
Dear friends,
After a long week with lots of programme, I find the time to write again. I have had a very good group of Norwegians here, seven youth and two adults. They have prepared for this exchange since January when they were selected for the programme. This was the eighth group from Buskerud YWCA-YMCA (my region in Norway) visiting Bangladesh. The first group travelled in 1998. I first visited Bangladesh as part of the second group in 1999. This is my fifth visit to Bangladesh. We also receive visitors from Bangladesh in Buskerud each year. Meeting some of them now has been really nice. This exchange programme has developed to be the main leadership training in Buskerud YWCA-YMCA, as it includes several weekend courses before the youth are ready to travel.
The groups from Buskerud spend around ten days on their exchange, and the last years the programme has included a visit to a YWCA branch outside the capital city of Dhaka as well as a Girls’ Seminar and visiting the YWCA and YMCA in Dhaka. We have had many more girls than boys on exchange from Norway. Does it reflect the numbers of girls and boys in Ten Sing or the interest in development issues, or both? Anyway, this year we had two male participants, so while most of the girls attended the Girls’ Seminar with YWCA, some from the group took part in a Bible Seminar with YMCA.
Travelling in Bangladesh is not quite like travelling any other place. I actually start to get used to it, though I don’t always like how it works. We visited the YWCA branch in Khulna, southwest in Bangladesh, an eight-hour bus drive from Dhaka. The air-conditioned chair coach we went with was quite comfortable, first class with large soft seats. It is the driving which is the problem. I don’t have the close-to-death-feelings when travelling now, as I did my first visit to Bangladesh. But I keep on wondering why they have to do this slalom driving passing other vehicles when it is so unsuitable. Even more I wonder why they keep on using the horn every little turn. This is what really drives me crazy on the road in Bangladesh. –And why do they have to use the horn with the worst sound the most when they have two horns? You are guaranteed a headache if you don’t approach the situation with all the humour you can come up with. What helped our group were laughter and the jokes about how you get a driver’s license in Bangladesh; show that you know where the gas pedal is, and then the horn, and you are qualified.
We went back to Dhaka by train, 11 hours. Our second-class seats were soft, but they were not tailored for Norwegian long legs. Travelling by night with open windows and light inside, we were a big attraction for any kind of bugs available. After wondering if we would reach Dhaka with complete bodies, trying to cover any bare skin with ornas (scarves being part of the salwar kameez dress for girls), looking like burqa-covered women, someone found out how to turn off the light, and the rest of the trip passed quite comfortably.
In Khulna we were received by a beautiful group of girls showing the best of their culture in the welcoming ceremony. We were traditionally painted on the feet and forehead before they performed dances and songs. The next day it was our turn to show our culture by conducting a small Ten Sing seminar. The Bengali girls were very excited about the new songs they learnt, and the final concert for the staff was done with lots of energy though the electricity, that means all fans making the air tolerable, was gone and the only sources of light were candles and emergency torches. One of the best results of the frequent loss of electricity is the appreciation of the fans when it comes back.
In Khulna we also had the chance to see the important programmes of YWCA. We visited their free school in the slum and their centre in the village of Senhati. Playing with a bird, holding babies and talking with the young mothers was a great experience. I believe the locals had quite a funny time with these ten white strangers, shouting the Bengali words they knew to the people they passed, using the rickshaw-puller not only as driver, but also as language teacher.
The Girls’ Seminar for girls from Bangladesh and Norway was now organised for the fifth time. The theme this year was “Violence Against Women: Our Responsibilities”. The Norwegian group had already learnt a lot about this from the Global Week in Oslo a couple of months ago, and so they could conduct the seminar together with Bangladeshis of higher age. I think Norwegian teenagers with such confidence were good examples for shy Bangladeshi girls, and we could see how they dared more just during these few days.
At last a little about the health situation… My foot is not far from normal. My stomach is fine. After having told the Norwegian group that you never get sick at YWCA, I had to stay in my room an evening as something unwished had entered my stomach, and the result was four times vomiting without control. The unwished certainly got out, as I was ready to go to Khulna the next morning. Anyway, this might have made the bus journey a bit more tiring, as the foot might have made the train journey a bit more difficult. Now I am also soon finished with my cold, so my health is good! They must think these Norwegians are a week people…
I have started posting pictures on my blog again: http://banglahanne.blogspot.com/
Bangla greetings from Banglahanne.
Dear friends,
After a long week with lots of programme, I find the time to write again. I have had a very good group of Norwegians here, seven youth and two adults. They have prepared for this exchange since January when they were selected for the programme. This was the eighth group from Buskerud YWCA-YMCA (my region in Norway) visiting Bangladesh. The first group travelled in 1998. I first visited Bangladesh as part of the second group in 1999. This is my fifth visit to Bangladesh. We also receive visitors from Bangladesh in Buskerud each year. Meeting some of them now has been really nice. This exchange programme has developed to be the main leadership training in Buskerud YWCA-YMCA, as it includes several weekend courses before the youth are ready to travel.
The groups from Buskerud spend around ten days on their exchange, and the last years the programme has included a visit to a YWCA branch outside the capital city of Dhaka as well as a Girls’ Seminar and visiting the YWCA and YMCA in Dhaka. We have had many more girls than boys on exchange from Norway. Does it reflect the numbers of girls and boys in Ten Sing or the interest in development issues, or both? Anyway, this year we had two male participants, so while most of the girls attended the Girls’ Seminar with YWCA, some from the group took part in a Bible Seminar with YMCA.
Travelling in Bangladesh is not quite like travelling any other place. I actually start to get used to it, though I don’t always like how it works. We visited the YWCA branch in Khulna, southwest in Bangladesh, an eight-hour bus drive from Dhaka. The air-conditioned chair coach we went with was quite comfortable, first class with large soft seats. It is the driving which is the problem. I don’t have the close-to-death-feelings when travelling now, as I did my first visit to Bangladesh. But I keep on wondering why they have to do this slalom driving passing other vehicles when it is so unsuitable. Even more I wonder why they keep on using the horn every little turn. This is what really drives me crazy on the road in Bangladesh. –And why do they have to use the horn with the worst sound the most when they have two horns? You are guaranteed a headache if you don’t approach the situation with all the humour you can come up with. What helped our group were laughter and the jokes about how you get a driver’s license in Bangladesh; show that you know where the gas pedal is, and then the horn, and you are qualified.
We went back to Dhaka by train, 11 hours. Our second-class seats were soft, but they were not tailored for Norwegian long legs. Travelling by night with open windows and light inside, we were a big attraction for any kind of bugs available. After wondering if we would reach Dhaka with complete bodies, trying to cover any bare skin with ornas (scarves being part of the salwar kameez dress for girls), looking like burqa-covered women, someone found out how to turn off the light, and the rest of the trip passed quite comfortably.
In Khulna we were received by a beautiful group of girls showing the best of their culture in the welcoming ceremony. We were traditionally painted on the feet and forehead before they performed dances and songs. The next day it was our turn to show our culture by conducting a small Ten Sing seminar. The Bengali girls were very excited about the new songs they learnt, and the final concert for the staff was done with lots of energy though the electricity, that means all fans making the air tolerable, was gone and the only sources of light were candles and emergency torches. One of the best results of the frequent loss of electricity is the appreciation of the fans when it comes back.
In Khulna we also had the chance to see the important programmes of YWCA. We visited their free school in the slum and their centre in the village of Senhati. Playing with a bird, holding babies and talking with the young mothers was a great experience. I believe the locals had quite a funny time with these ten white strangers, shouting the Bengali words they knew to the people they passed, using the rickshaw-puller not only as driver, but also as language teacher.
The Girls’ Seminar for girls from Bangladesh and Norway was now organised for the fifth time. The theme this year was “Violence Against Women: Our Responsibilities”. The Norwegian group had already learnt a lot about this from the Global Week in Oslo a couple of months ago, and so they could conduct the seminar together with Bangladeshis of higher age. I think Norwegian teenagers with such confidence were good examples for shy Bangladeshi girls, and we could see how they dared more just during these few days.
At last a little about the health situation… My foot is not far from normal. My stomach is fine. After having told the Norwegian group that you never get sick at YWCA, I had to stay in my room an evening as something unwished had entered my stomach, and the result was four times vomiting without control. The unwished certainly got out, as I was ready to go to Khulna the next morning. Anyway, this might have made the bus journey a bit more tiring, as the foot might have made the train journey a bit more difficult. Now I am also soon finished with my cold, so my health is good! They must think these Norwegians are a week people…
I have started posting pictures on my blog again: http://banglahanne.blogspot.com/
Bangla greetings from Banglahanne.
posted by Hanne at 5:40 AM
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