My Two Weeks in Bangladesh

To the reader:
In February 2011, the Department of State, through the IREX/TEA program, sent me to work with the students and teachers of the Scholarshome School in Sylhet, Bangladesh. My host, Musammat Badrunnesha, serves as the Assistant Principal. Scholarshome is a private school that is operating on four different campuses around Sylhet. I was priviledged to observe, teach, and hold teacher workshops at these schools.
I found the culture of Bangladesh to be totally invigorating! You will find many photographs throughout this blog that are evidence of a vibrant, colorful, and alive culture. The people were accepting of me, although for many of them I was their first glimpse of American culture. They accepted my clothing, language, religion, (The people of Bangladesh are mainly Hindu or Islamic.) and traditions. The students were curious about me, yet very respectful.
Since my return to Tennessee, my students have connected via email with the students at the Scholarshome school. We hope to have many future connections and I pray that I will someday be able to return to my friends in Bangladesh.
Rita Cochrane
David Lipscomb Campus School
Nashville, TN

Final look at Bangladesh

Sharee shop
Fruits

Meat market
Vegetables

Sweeping

Kitchen helper chopping vegetables on a "da".

School children

Student at work

International Mother Language Day Celebration

I visited in my host's home where she showed me how to make Bangladesh tea. It is the best tea in the world!

Making tea in my host's kitchen
Today was International Mother Language Day and there was a big celebration at school. The students performed Bangladeshi dances.

The students sang Bangladesh songs about the sacrifice of lives given for the Bangla language.

The students dressed in black and white as a sign of mourning for the ones who lost their lives defending the Bangla language. They placed flowers on a memorial to the brave men who died to preserve their language.

Student with flowers for the memorial

Student with flowers for the "Mother Language" memorial

A large crowd gathered at the school for the celebration.

Shopping Center

Mr. Alum is the president of this shopping mall. It is the second largest in Bangladesh. It has 11 floors. I was able to have dinner with him and his family last night. He wanted me to see his mall so he came and picked up Badrunnesha and me and took us.

This is the "Sharee" shop that Mr. Alum owns. The colors were magnificent!

Mr. Alum also owns this shoe store. He really insisted that he give me a dressy pair of shoes. He picked these out for me. They are sparkly gold. Now, I will need a party to go to so I can wear them. I think he may have been tired of seeing me in my flats.

A Day of Teacher Training and a Home Visit

Interesting Fact of the Day: In Bangladesh, they drive on the
opposite side of the road from us. The steering wheel is also opposite
of ours and is on the right.


This sweet family invited me into their home for dinner. They are friends of my host. We enjoyed a homemade meal and conversation in English. Their son taught me a bit about the game of cricket. The World Cup Cricket tournament is currently being held in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, the World Cup is equal to our Super Bowl or World Series.

These are the teachers from the secondary school who took part in my teacher training class. This is on a Saturday. The students from grade 6 and up, attend school every Saturday until 1:30.

This is the principal of the secondary school. He is retired Brigadier General Jubayer Siddique.

These are teachers at the primary school. This school has children in "play group" (which we call kindergarten) up to 4th grade.

The teachers in this session are all female. Their students, who are young, do not come to school on Saturdays.

Transportation of people and goods in Bangladesh

Mrs. Cochrane attends a wedding ceremony

The teachers at the Scholarshome school honored me by dressing me up in their "sharee" or formal dress.

I was privileged to sit beside the bride on the stage. Tomorrow is her wedding day. Tonight's celebration is her final night with her family. They all gathered together to dress her and escorted her to the party.

During the ceremony, Johan (one of the teachers at Scholarshome school) and I were invited to sit beside the bride. As part of their culture, the bride places a bite of cake in our mouths and then we each give her a bite of cake. How funny is this! The man working with the video company at the wedding celebration had on this shirt! What a hoot! A little piece of Tennessee I found in Bangladesh! I wonder if he even knows what Jack Daniels is. Since Bangladesh is mostly muslim, alcohol is forbidden.