Well, I survived my first weekend in Bogra, where I'll be studying Bangla, the official language of Bangladesh! Apparently I got here to Bogra just in time for a big Hindu celebration called Durga Puja (Background story here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durga_Puja). Durga is a war goddess w/ 10 arms and is featured in the video clip below. Hindus only represent around 10% of Bangladesh's population, but this is one of their biggest yearly festivals. We were invited to join in the festivities by one of the Bogra office employees. When we got to his house, we were treated to all kinds of sweets, chick-pea dahl, naan (bread), etc. It was a great time and a wonderful cultural opportunity.
So tomorrow the language teacher arrives and I start learning Bangla. Please pray for me that this old brain will accept yet another language into it! And that I'll learn as much as possible about the language and culture before heading to my assignment in Mymensingh. Thanks all!
Make sure you learn how to say "É complicado" in Bangla right away. That way you will know how to answer any question that you don't understand.
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