Dramatic Thoughts for an Eclectic Weekend

Hi Everybody!

Sorry about the lack of posts this weekend, my internet was down so I had to wait to go to work to blog haha. This weekend I was up to a lot of shenanigans (as all twenty-year-old students in a foreign country should be). Just kidding. My entertainment came in the form of two little kids who were living with me for the week. I have posted their pictures below just so that you can see how adorable they are.

Their favorite game to play was doctor, in which they would pretend to cut my arm up and then fix it. The logic there escapes me, but I feel like this is true for most of my experiences with children, as they are rather irrational creatures. Nevertheless, I still love them and am thrilled that I am still able to spend time with kids, despite the fact that I am no longer working at The Children's School. Since I'm on the subject of my developmental psychology class, I feel like I should just mention a few of the questions that have been bouncing around in my head ever since I arrived (knowledge is terrifying in the sense that once something has been learned or you've been taught to look at things a certain way, it is almost impossible to turn it off). It is a shame we don't treat our professors with the respect they deserve and actually receive here in Asian countries. Once again I seem to have gotten off topic, a seemingly frequent danger in blogging. So back to my questions:

1. Play and children's ability to engage in crucial, constructive, creative play has been significantly impacted by modern day technology. Aka tv and video games are really bad for kids because they kill imagination. Surprise, surprise, looks like mom was right all along haha. However, I wonder if there have been studies done comparing a child's socioeconomic status to their ability to play? If children don't have access to toys and such, it would seem like they would be forced to use their imagination more, and in this instance privilege would put others at as disadvantage. How fascinating.
2. As we were playing doctor, the kids pretended to tie me up so that I would be a still patient. Then out of nowhere the little girl goes, "I'm going to set you on fire!" I was stunned and she laughed at my shocked expression. I asked her where she heard of setting people on fire and she nonchalantly responded "tv." Western media is violent, and a lot of shows are unnecessarily bloody. However, I feel like Asian media displays a more domestic type of violence, especially in the popular serial dramas (ie burning or beating mostly women). I wonder how much of that reflects or affects society. This isn't me supporting Western culture above Asian culture, but rather wondering which one really is the lesser of two evils. On one hand, domestic abuse is a serious problem here (that's why BRAC's health,community empowerment, and legal aid programs are the second biggest departments here after micro-finance). On the other hand, I don't see school shootings in the Bangladeshi newspapers every other month.

Wow, when did I become such a Debbie Downer? Moving on with my weekend. I finished this book called the Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. It was super popular a couple of years ago, so you may have heard of it then. Basically, it was a glorified journal of possibly one of the only individuals to actually follow through on her New Year's resolutions list. That is a little too harsh of a critique as it only was 200 pages, a super quick read, and contained some helpful information on following through with your goals. I think the most significant affect this book has had on me was that it provoked me to consider what I really wanted from this experience. No, working here at BRAC hasn't been anywhere near the internship I expected to have, however that doesn't mean that I am powerless to change the outcome of my time spent here in Bangladesh. I realized that I'm not the only one in the program bored because no one will give us work. However, I'm the only intern determined to make good use of the time I spend sitting in BRAC's office. I keep myself occupied with sites other than Facebook; I read, I blog, I practice my bangla, and when we meet up for lunch I'm a lot happier than the other interns because I've been productive by assigning myself projects and homework. That being said I've come up with a few tangible goals (that now, after blogging, I will most definitely be held externally accountable for haha):

• I will learn how to read and write Bangla (my office team has been very helpful in teaching me new words and correcting my speech. I have no doubt that by the end of my trip my oral skills will have improved dramatically. I also bought a children's workbook for learning how to write and my Uncle has been kind enough to sit down and walk me through it)
• I will design at least four traditional dresses and will have someone make one of them (I have been recommended by multiple people to consider moving my henna designs onto a more tangible surface so let's see how this goes!)
• I will blog often (in other words, as long as I have internet) to keep everyone at home updated
• I will learn more about football and actually play a game or two (watching the World Cup has been a fun experience and I even got my older baihya to agree to take me to a field to play soccer this Friday!....as long as the weather holds up of course. I've always been interested in the idea of sports, but if I'm brutally honest, I lack the motivation and hand-eye coordination to play. I'm hoping that my foot-eye coordination will somehow be wired differently, or else this will sure be an embarrassing experience. If any of you have seen me try to play basketball or volleyball, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Luckily, I know how to laugh at myself, so worst comes to worst my family here will be smiling along with me.)

I even got started on my fashion designing this weekend! (as you can see in the pictures posted separately) I will be sure to keep everyone updated on my progress :)

I spent Saturday night at my baihya's house (the same one who agreed to take me out to play football). He, his wife, and I bonded over our love of British comedy by watching Death at a Funeral. A hilarious movie that kept us laughing well into the night (it was only a two hour film, but we kept switching channels to watch the Iran/Argentina game. SUPER disappointing for Iran. Really Messi? You waited until overtime to score a goal? How rude. Also, what is with this new comb-over mowhawk style that has come into fashion? Super unattractive. This comment is directed at you Nizar baihya, Jihan, and Matthew. We may just have to kick you out of family pictures if you decide to follow this hairstyle haha <3) 

Finally, I think my all time favorite part of this weekend was when I got to put my good CMC education to use when discussing international politics with my baihya (thanks Mom and Dad).That's right. I warned you guys that I could only talk about dresses and the weather for so long before I broke social convention and started talking hardcore politics. What can I say? At least I waited two weeks before shocking the pants off guests (figuratively speaking of course hehe). I never was one to follow rules and social convention anyways. We had a riveting conversation about the Middle East in which we were discussing the inconsistenty of US foreign policies. I learned that I am more interested in developing nations rather than certain global regions. I also need to brush up on my Middle Eastern politics because a few dictators have been replaced since I last studied it. However, thanks to Professor Fabbe, I had enough knowledge to hold my own in a fiery debate. Tomorrow I think I'll bring up more of our conversation because I really am curious to know what you guys think.

Well, in the words of Porky Pig: "that's all folks!"

Sending my love,

Carolyn