Day 6 Update

Today was a wonderful day in Bangladesh. First, we went with Nazrul and Lazina to the America Corner, which is a part of the U.S. Embassy here in Dhaka. I am new to all the security devices that goes along with government buildings, so I had to laugh when the security officer made me open up my water bottle and take a big gulp of water. The visit was very nice and informative. I look forward to working with Catherine and this department in the future. After lunch, we went to a non-formal educational center in North Dhaka. Out of all the schools that we visited this one probably touches my heart the most. Most of the students come from very poor homes, but their intelligence level is incredible. The students and teachers were so open and responsive. Most of the students attend school for half the day and then are force to work out side of the home to provide money for their families. The students showed me their artwork and also sang song for Jack and me. I really understood the faces of these children. As I interact with each child I see a look of hope, but also a look of pain. I hope that by our visit today, we bought a glimmer of hope to them. I really look forward to connecting my classroom and school with these children. I hope that my blog has captured some of the essence of this culture. I will really miss all of the faces of this beautiful country when I return back to America.

Dear 5th Grade Students at Al-Salam Day School
It was wonderful to see your smiling faces again. I really enjoyed our video conference and your questions for me were intriguing. I will see you on Friday, Inshallah.

1. How was your first rickshaw ride through the streets of Dhaka?

2. Which country do you like better the United States of America or Bangladesh?

3. Out of all the food that you have tried which one do you like the best?

4. What is the major difference between American classrooms and classrooms of Bangladesh?

5. What has been your most memorable part of your trip?

6. Did you have an opportunity to play a game of cricket?

7. How is family life different in Bangladesh compared to family life in America?

Excellent Questions, I will think about these and answer them tomorrow.

Teacher Conference in Chittagong

Jack and I had a wonderful time teaching other teachers at the Teacher’s Workshop in Chittagong. You can see from the pictures our excitement and enthusiasm. It was an honor to work with the teachers of Chittagong, Bangladesh and hope that we can grow our connections with their students and ours. After the 2-day conference, Jack and I went to Chittagong Steel Mills H.S. and met their headmaster and teachers. I would like to thank all of them for making us feel so welcomed. Then, we went to the beach and waded in the Bay of Bengal. It is amazing the amount of people that Jack and I can attract to us, but I love interacting with the children of Bangladesh and will never forget their smiles. On the train ride back to Dhaka, our train was delayed for 2 hours. During the lay over in Laskan Junction, Jack and I had the chance to teach children different types of fun games like thumb wrestling and rope tricks. It was such a wonderful time just to relax and interact with the village people of Bangladesh. Life in the villages is much simpler than the city, but the harvest and the thrashing of the rice was an incredible site to see from the train ride. I wish that we had to opportunity to visit some of those people. Well, we are back in the capital city of Dhaka and I am looking forward to another rickshaw ride. This time I will get some pictures.

Day 5 Update

Last night, I took my first rickshaw ride through the streets of Dhaka; you really get a sense of the city from the seat of the rickshaw. The sights, the sounds, and the smells (which are unique) really bring out the atmosphere of the city. The rickshawallah, the driver was wonderful and even taught me a little Bengali. “Kemon Acho Rayan, Dhanyabad for the presentation. Today, we took a 7-½ hour train ride from Dhaka, the capital city, to the seaport of Chittagong. Along the way we saw the rice feeds of Bangladesh along with the palm, jackfruit, banana, and bamboo trees. The fields were very lush and green and it reminded me of the wheat fields back home. It was very interesting to compare the busy streets of Dhaka to the quiet villages of Comilla and Feni. The city of Chittagong is a busy steel and industry seaport located along the Bay of Bengal that reminds me of my college trip to San Diego. It’s not as hectic as Dhaka, but it is still very busy. After checking in at the hotel we then went to Pahartali Girls’ High School. This is the school that I have been working with over the past year. There to meet me was the headmaster, my partner teacher Manumul and one of last year’s
exchange student Jannatul. It was wonderful to see familiar faces and the young ladies at the school were very polite and ask very inquisitive questions. They also sang us the Bengali national anthem and smiled and laughed at our comments to the questions. I am hoping that my students will embrace this wonderful opportunity to expand their culture.
The internet connection in Chittagong is very limited, so be patience with my blog responses.

Pictures and Reponse to Comments

Thank you so much for the comments about my posts. Culture is such an interesting topic. Today during breakfast Jack had a bowl of dal and a Pakistani gentleman came over, took the spoon and proceeded to eat some of the dal without asking. The gentlemen thought we were rude because we looked at him strangely. I hope that you see the differences in this illustration. There are many things that we as Americans must watch, while we are here. It is rude to show the bottom of your feet and point your feet at someone. The thumb up gesture is also considered rude and highly offensive and I have to be very careful. Another thing that we must adjust to is the rolling power outages. When these happen we lose power for an hour. To answer some of your questions, Devin and Ryan I have drank about 20 1.5liter bottles of water. I use the bottled water for drinking purposes and brushing teeth. The going rate for a bottle of water is 25 taka, or about 27 cents a bottle. Steven and Sierra, when we flew from Chicago to Abu Dhabi, we flew over the Mediterranean Sea. We were one of a few flights to take off from Chicago that day. We were supposed to fly over Iceland and Europe. Zach and Jonah, they grow and sell many things here in Bangladesh, jute used for many rope, baskets, and carpets or rugs, rice, coconut, watermelon, mango, and many other items. They also use natural gas instead of diesel and gasoline. Dalton and Kolton, I would probably say removing your shoes before entering their home, but maybe my students can think of other things. Merritt and Nathan, you are frown about very highly because you are sort of disrespecting their beliefs. I thank you all for the wonderful comments. Looking forward to more of the comments.

Day 4 Update

Today, Jack and I went to the Islamic Madrasha. This school was very similar to the school that I teach at. There are both girls and boys students, but most of the students were young gentlemen. Bill, this was Md. Hasibur's former school. He is now attending a military high school. The students were testing and one of the questions on the exam was what did Allah (SWT) do to the camel and why did he do that? I’m interested to hear the answers from my students. The mosque is so much different than our school. It is very simple and very open, so the breeze can blow through it. I tried a beef sharwma and rice and dal mixed together known as chingugi (the spelling may be wrong, my students can help me). It may have been my favorite meal so far. The rest of the day, we will be working on our blogs, trying to downsize pictures.

ADS Homework Time

As I take in the Bangladeshi culture several ideas have entered my mind and I would like to get feedback on my comments.

1. One thing that I have discovered is that Bangladeshis are very open and tolerate of others, but, sometimes too quick to say ha (yes). On the other hand Americans tend to live somewhat sheltered lives and keep to themselves.
Question number 1: How do we built the bridge between the United States and other countries around the world with an emphasis on the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

2. As I opened up the Independent newspaper, I read an interesting article about a Bangladeshi student with Autsim, having two sons with autsim this article struck a chord with me.
Question 2: As a world society how can we make sure that all children in the world get proper education, with proper facilities, technology, and proper training.

3. During our visit with the students at the boys high school, we saw a power point presentation about the upcoming Earth Day on April 22. The students mentioned noise population, and the massive population of Bangladesh, (6th most populated country in the world) and the issues of global warming.
Question 3: What can we do to help solve these issues and what other things should we as global citizens try to manage to help make the world a better place to live.

I would love to hear a lot of feedback. Anybody is welcomed to comment.

Update Day: 3 of the Journey

Another wonderful day in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Jack and I went to the Gazipur Boys School and I had a chance to talk again with Shubhim Roy the exchange student who visited my school last year. It was wonderful to see him doing well, and meet the wonderful students and staff of the School, Jack and I also went shopping at the market today and bought a Punjabi and gifts for our families. We also had another great lunch, I had to order the food and did a wonderful job, thank you students for teaching me about your culture. The meal was vegetable pakura, prawn rolls, (a type of fish), mutton biryini, beef takil (may have spelled it wrong, but it was very spicy and wonderful, chicken tikka, and garlic nan, (a pita bread) and a mango lassie for the drink. There is a unique flavor of this food and I will miss it when I get home. There is a lot more spice in this food, then back at school. Today was a lot quieter, but more personal than yesterday. I loved the historical day yesterday visiting the forts and museums, but today was about the things I love to do, teaching students, family, and fellowship with others. Pictures will come later.

Experiencing Culture

Yesterday was the first day that i really experience the culture of Dhaka, The traffic here is just insane, GNC, cars, rickshaws, horse and carriage, and buses on a street 2 times smaller than America. The people here are so open and very tolerant of others. Seeing the influence of the Chinese, the Monhenjo-Daro empire, the Persian, and the British is incredible. The food is a little spicy, but it makes you sweat more which helps to cool your body more. The weather is steamy and muggy in Dhaka 35 degrees celisius, upper 90's in U.S. I love the food, the taste just lingers in your mouth and its very fulling. Curry and more curry and rice. I had beef curry, rice with a dal soup over the top, lobster curry, a shrimp ball, and pea and lentil spread for dinner last night the only thing missing was the nan (bread). Hoping to eat a sharwma (a Bangladeshi gyro) and ride a rickshaw soon. I have also tried vegetable tempura, and vegetable biryini. The best thing was the tea and samosa that we had with the faculty at Dhaka University. What a snack. I would love to here what all of you have to say. You call also follow me on the following website. gcepbd.ning.com. Looking to see all of you soon.

The Rickshaw Capital of the World.

After a wonderful night of sleep, I am enjoying every minute of my new adventure. Everything has been absolutely been wonderful and the friends and connections that I have made will definitely change my life and the lives of others. I teach so much about culture in the classroom, but out in the real world, little things make all the difference. At dinner tonight Nazrul, Lazina, Eaither, Jack and I had a wonderful conversation about culture and how we should handle our differences. So many time we want to use our force against others, when she should follow the concept of tolerance and conversation. From the rickshaw driver, to the waiter at the restaurant, to the hotel staff, and especially the staff of relief international-Bangladesh, we have seen nothing but tolerance and hospitality. I am trying to download pictures, hopefully have them on in the next couple of days. Zachary, Andrew, Megan, and Joshua and to all of my students remember that you are never too old to learn and be educated. I hope that you are following my site and look forward to this wonderful culture experiment.

Mr. Dave
"Daddy"

Thought of the Day

As I prepare for my travels overseas, I want to see how many of my 5th Grade students are following my blog site, but anybody is welcome to comment on this post. For ten extra credit points in Social Studies, my 5th Grade students should answer the following questions and turn them into the box as Extra Credit-Bangladesh 101. The questions were created by my travel partner for the trip, Mr. Jack Streclec.

1. What are some things that define a culture?
2. What do you like about your native culture?
3. What in your culture are you most proud of?
4. Who in your culture do you admire most?
5. What does it mean to be polite in your culture?
6. What in your culture is considered rude?
7. What do you think is important, when visiting or interacting with another culture?

To Mr. Theobald's classes, I am very curious on your thoughts about these questions as well. As I grow older and wiser, I realize that our connection with the world is only an epal, skype call or a exchange program away. How we response to each other will only represent our culture? How do others see the culture that we represent. Please comment on these questions if you wish.

7th/8th Grade Social Studies-Coat of Arms

7th and 8th Grade World History Coat of Arms made during the Middle Ages Unit.

My Classes!

Fifth Grade

I teach fifth grade communication arts (language arts, (grammar concepts), writing, spelling, and reading.) Currently we are learning about action and linking verbs and tenses of verbs. The students are also working on their informative comparing and contrasting essays. They must compare life in the 5th Grade with life in the 1st Grade. The 1st Graders have enjoyed the new company in their classroom. Another technique we are using currently is the idea of Bloom's Taxnomy and different types of questioning. In my 5th Grade Social Studies classes we are studying the causes of the American Revolutionary War and making timelines and posters about those causes. The students are enjoying the interaction with their peers.

Seventh/Eight Grade World History

We are currently studying the Middle Ages and the Crusades. We are making medeival coats of arms and looking at the government of feudalism. Our next Chapter will be on the Renaissance of Western Europe.

Sixth Grade World Geography

We are currently study the landforms and government of Western Europe. Students are making maps of Europe and working on indivdual country projects. We are trying to connect with a school in Europe using epals and skype. After the trip we will be working with Bangladeshi students using epals and skype to learn about Asia.