A Culture of Contradictions? Or a world of possibility…

Tomorrow, I will have lived in my new home, Dhaka, Bangladesh for two weeks. It isn’t an incredibly long amount of time, compared to the span of a life, but 14 days, 336 hours, 20,160 seconds (give or take a few) has quite a lot of potential packed into it’s seeming brevity.

For example, already I have traveled on the nearby river by boat-African Queen style. I have enjoyed some amazingly flavorful and creative foods, including an awesome ice cream place called Cream and Fudge (twice!). I have been pampered with a massage and manicure at two different salons (although to get to the second we walked through/around sewage). I have taught 3 full days of school to a not entirely full year 5 (4th grade) class due to the Muslim holiday Eid finishing and strike days being called for political reasons (thankfully we are in the safest part of the city/country). I have been violently ill with what I am lovingly calling “Banglazuma’s revenge” (local missionaries say the "Deshi dash!") by simply brushing my teeth with the tap water…for the record, I will no longer be stubborn on “getting acclimated” and will humbly return to brushing my pearly whites with boiled water. I have gone shopping at some amazing fair trade shops, ridden in a rickshaw three times, and bought some snacks at the local grocery, Pick N Pay.

But through the experience of being introduced to a new culture, a new language, and a new climate (it is seriously hot and sticky here), I can’t help but laugh at the disparity between what we as Americans would call “normal” and how Bengalis define the word. Here are some new examples of "normal" to tickle your funny bone (and perhaps bring some healthy perspective):

-Americans/westerners are considered strange for 3 reasons that I know of already though I’m sure there are more:

1) We use cutlery to eat our food. Where Americans would say it is a much more sanitary way to eat since our dirty hands don’t touch what we put in our mouth, Bengalis would say WE are dirty because “you don’t know whose mouth has been on that fork!”

2) We use TP in the washroom, whereas Bengalis prefer a teapot-like approach with washing/cleaning since TP (pardon the graphic image) just smears it all around down there…ahem. Hence the cultural expectation of doing everything clean with your right hand and things unclean with your left (though of course there are exceptions to that rule).

3) Bengalis laugh at American men who wear shorts, although the typical outfit for the rickshaw wallahs and those of similar class is a skirt-length piece of fabric that they kind of tie up in a knot around the important regions (also where they keep their rickshaw money…ew). Yesterday I had the unfortunate chance of walking behind a man who decided he was too hot to walk with his clothes falling any lower than his bum region…guess it gets the breeze flowing…yeeeea, and shorts are hilarious.

-Women are not allowed to show any kind of emotion in public, yet men are often seen holding hands (interlaced fingers too), arms around shoulders and lower all in a totally platonic, best-buddy way…seriously, I’m not joking. I saw it happen just yesterday. It’s guuuy love…very bromantical.

-Also, modesty is defined a bit differently here: women must ALWAYS wear an orna, which is essentially a long scarf draped around their neck and/or waist. If she isn't wearing one it's almost like she's naked, and in fact I felt a bit naked today after realizing I had left the house without one! Plus, the bottom part of the shalwar kameez ensemble (3 pieces: top, bottoms, and orna) must cover the ankles as apparently that's what really causes the men to stumble here. In fact my sexy ankles (accidentally) got me moved to the front of the line the other day in Pick N Pay. However, on the other hand, a blouse/top may show as much midriff/back as you like! Not so sure why love handles aren't considered sexy...

-And last but not least, I may never understand the British system of doing school!! Ok, that's not true. I'm feeling much better about things after taking a bit of time to study at least the tip of the Brit's educational iceberg, but let's just say I would definitely appreciate your prayers when it comes to teaching this year. Obviously I would appreciate your prayers in simply adapting to the culture but it's going to be interesting juggling both school-life and Bangla-life!

One last thought to leave you with...no matter where you live, which culture you call yours, or what you call "normal," remember this:

"Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ." -Philippians 1:27