Life lately...

The past couple of weeks have flown by! My language program is very intensive, but I'm really enjoying learning Bangla. And slowly but surely, I'm making progress! It's definitely challenging, but I'm having a lot of fun trying to learn Bangla and immerse myself in the language.

They're keeping us really busy around here. I'm in three language classes, which focus on reading, writing, and speaking. In addition, we've all been assigned a conversation partner, whom we meet with 10-20 hours per a week outside of class. My partner's name is Reemana, and I'm really enjoying getting to know her. She definitely keeps me on my toes, but I greatly appreciate all that I'm learning from her! Also, I'm participating in a weekly teachers' training program that aims to provide us future teachers with a deeper understanding of the structure of the Bangladeshi education system, while simultaneously educating us on issues that are particularly relevant for teaching in this region. In the next couple of weeks, I will begin guest teaching at various local high schools as part of my placement process. All that to say, there are a lot of exciting things going on!

Reemana and I having lunch at her home. I'm still mastering the art of eating with my hands...

New friends Mishti and Reemana, along with some other students from my university, took me on an excursion to see some new parts of Dhaka.

Everybody here is gearing up for the upcoming Eid holiday. We have a week of vacation, so tomorrow morning (bright and early at 5 am) I'm going to my friend's village, Noakali. I'm incredibly excited to get out of the city for a little while and to see what village life is like. After a couple of days in the village, I'll head to Dubai to visit with a dear family friend. I'm very excited to share about my travels when I return!

Happy Eid!

Made it to Dhaka!

So I officially made it! I've been here for about a week, and I've really enjoyed exploring the city. Dhaka is a happening place with lots to see, do, and experience. The people here are friendly, and I appreciate how willing they are to help me get around and how enthusiastic they are to share Bangladeshi culture with me!

view from my roof

park across the street from my building

I'm looking forward to eventually teaching English and also partnering with some NGOs and development organizations here who are doing some fascinating work in educational development, particularly in providing education for women.  But for the first two months of my time here, my primary focus will be my Bangla language classes. My classes are at a local university here, and we focus on reading, writing, and speaking. Learning a language in a different script is HARD, but I'm really enjoying it so far! Needless to say, I'll be studying a lot in the next couple of months!

my Bangla homework

I'm living in a neighborhood called Baridhara. It's close to my school, which is convenient, and it's in a nice part of town. All of the Fulbright language students live in my apartment building. It's a fun group, and it's nice to have some familiar faces around!

I've been having a great experience so far, and I'm really loving my time here. The first week has mostly just been getting settled, learning my way around Dhaka, orientations through the embassy, and the start of my language class. More pictures and details to come later, but I just wanted to give you a quick update on my first week!