Dedicated to Someguy (as well as the rest of the teenage population in the Desh)
Dear Someguy,
Ive been reading your blog and your comments on other people's blogs for a while now. Your disgust and disregard towards life in Bangladesh bothers me! Although I totally understand your frustration having lived in the Desh for about 18 years of my life, I really dont think its as bad as you some times portray it! Its easy to be frustrated with everyday annoyances like loadsheddings during your HSCs or the lack of proper lab facilites at NDC (which i guess is one of the better colleges of BD). But is that enough to assume life in America (where 11 of your cousins are enjoying their every living moment) is so much better? I appologize if this post is offending to you, but your comments about my (our) country is kinda offending to me! Having said that...I really dont mean to offend you here:) And this post is not necessarily aimed only towards you...its for all the other half westernized (indianized?), or wishing to be westernized teenagers out there in Bangladesh.
Like I said, its really easy to be frustrated...but isnt life all about making the best of what you have? Yes, the education system is screwed up...yes, the country doesnt generate enough power to last 48 continuous hours without a loadshedding, yes the govt is messed up and yes the weather is really bad. But why does that make people assume life in 'America' is so much better? Its different I agree. There are a lot more material conviniences I agree. But is that really better? Isnt it all dependant on the circumstances? A question may arise at this point as to why I left Bangladesh, or why did I choose to live in Canada! I may sound like a hypocrite...but I was alsto fed up with the education system back home! Having browsed (literally and physically!) through odds of the public and private universities for two years I decided things werent going my way. Why you may ask. Because I come from Rajshahi. A little university town with little or no outlet to the world beyond the jamuna and the padma! At least for me there wasnt. My world consisted of the Rajshahi University campus since I was 2 yrs old. All my friends lived there, my Nana Nani lived there, my Dadi lived there, and of course most of the people I knew lived there. My school was also within the boundaries of the campus. Yes indeed, that was my world. And as most people on that campus did, I also started out with Rajshahi University. But just like you Someguy, I was 17 and the 'western lands' as I watched on tv or heard from my cousins (yes I also have those!) seemed so much more lucrative than the imminent life at RU...of the 8 months that I spent with Somlal Das and Ganjer Ali and Kanto Sir (with due respect, no personal offense meant to my ru teachers!), we had only 3 months of classes!!! And for whatever amusing reason...I chose computer science, which I never really liked. Apparently it was the hardest department to get into..and since I got through the admission test, I couldnt miss out on such an opportunity could I! Talk about wrong decisions! But I digress. Anyways...so after 8 months, I felt myself being sucked into the brain drain syndrome...but at that point I was still putting my heart before my brains. I chose to stay back. BUT not in Rajshahi. My oh-so-bright future and oh-so-high-hopes about my future were being dragged down by the monotone of Rajshahi. I had to get out! *this is still the point in life where I felt your frustration someguy:)* So lo and behold...I moved to NSU! And guess what...I LOVED DHAKA!!!!Much to everyones amazement I must say. You hardly meet people who love dhaka anymore...but I truly am one of them. Infact, if you ask me now...after recovering from my someguy-syndrome...I love Rajshahi too. Let me explain...
In your late teenage yrs, you grow a certain sense of unsettled-ness. You feel like you have to do something better with your life. Specially when the circumstances around you push you to belive you're living in the pits. Also you have the media and a few grown ups around you who are not satisfied with their own lives constantly subconsciously leading you to belive that your life is crap...and this country is going to the dogs, and that you have to leave before it all comes to an end. But once you grow older (and mature) you start thinking for yourself. I can only describe these facts based on my own experience (although most of the people Ive talked to feel the same way!). My year at NSU was the best EVER. I had the most fun in my whole entire life. Partially due to the fact that I found csc at nsu to be really easy...but thats a different story. A year went by...and I realized csc is really not for me. My engineering mind was seeking something more challenging! My parents dreaded the idea of me going to BUET. Apparently I would be facing the same session jams as RU or even worse, and so there was no point in switching to buet, specially since i was already 2 yrs behind. Thats the point in life where I blindly and subconsiously and almost by default opted to come back to my land of birth! Resisting all warnings of crazy winters, having to live on my own, having to deal with real life (the scariest by far)...I moved to Ottawa. And guess what...my engineering insticts are certainly satisfied...but life is still as crappy in terms of materialistic gains as it was in Rajshahi!!!! Only to a different level! But the difference is, I know the crappiness is eventually coming to an end. So in short, to compare my life in Rajshahi and my life in Ottawa...here are the similarities and differences...in Rajshahi, when I wanted to hang out with friends, the only place I was allowed to go was either my friend's house, or to the only fast food place at the time Chillis! Here in Ottawa I can choose from a whole different things to do with my friends. In Rajshahi, if I wanted to go anywhere at all, I could just hop on a rickshaw and go. In ottawa I actually have to wait forever for buses to take me places (I cant afford a car yet). In Rajshahi I never NEVER had to worry about food or money. In Ottawa, my life evolves around thinking about the next meal and how to finance it (ok thats dramatizing it...but its sorta true hehe!). In Rajshahi summers were DISGUSTING. Winters were beautiful. In Ottawa Winters are DISGUSTING..and this year ... SO IS THE SUMMER. It wasnt only 39 degrees...it was 47. There arent any loadshedding issues in Ottawa, BUT I dont have a ceiling fan, let alone an AC!!! I dont even have to step outside to sweat or bake myself! So you see...there will ALWAYS be pros and cons. No matter where you live. No matter how poor or rich or corrupt or perfect your country apparently is. It all depends on circumstances! Yes, it took me a year or so to figure out the facts of life. But in the mean time I dont think I ever disrespected or publicly defamed my country (although the media took care of that for me hehe!). Teenagers in Bangladesh these days not only tend to disregard their country, but also the religion and culture and everything that comes with the package. That is such a shame! I dont understand why these teenagers tend to forget they are the ones who collectively represnt the coutnry. If you make a global show of disrespect for your country, the global community in return will grow disrespect for you. YOU ARE YOUR CULTURE. YOU ARE YOUR RELIGION. YOU ARE YOUR NATION. No matter how corrupt the country is, no matter how messed up the government or the society is...no matter where I go, I represent Bangladesh. I represent Islam. I represent my family. Do I not? So even though millions of kids out there choose to wear western outfits to be a part of the 'in' crowd...I dont at all mind wearing my typical deshi attire while Im in the desh. Infact Im a lot more comfy in deshi clothes while in the desh. And whether or not in the blogging world, or the real world...I can never forget what I represent. Yes I represent a corrupt third world country. Yes I represent the people of a nation that is apparently going down the drain...but that shouldnt stop me from being the person I was brought up as. It shouldnt stop me from being proud of the lifestyle in my country. The social life in bangladesh, the natural beauty, the family values, the friends, the hartals, the loadsheddings, the aunties and their gossip, the rickshaws, the traffic jams, the streets always always full of people, the broken down buses on the streets, the fruits all year round, the uncertainty....its all amazing...its all bangladesh. You've got to love it! Maybe the western world has its own materialistic comforts as well as an obvious incentive of social security...and maybe we all love that aspect of it. But if you think of it, the west has its cons too. Just like Bangladesh has its pros. Its just easier to see the pros of the west and the cons of the Desh. But you will only find peace when you look beyond all that. When you accept your life as it is. Im not saying you stop dreaming....cos thats what will take you places after your HSCs lol! But your dreams shoud not just be focused towards the west. Yes the life at Cornell and Texas A&M maybe fabulous in terms of academic facilities. And maybe for the sake of your education, it is logical to go to university where there are no session jams and you actually learn stuff from your teachers and not private tutors! But then again...think about all those 17/18 yr old rich kids in gulshan and baridhara living in their own apartments given to them by their parents (eeek....no personal attacks to me friends...just saying u guys are so darn lucky!!hehe)! With your Texas A&M undergrad degree...what are the odds of you owning an apartment of your own at 18??? Compare the number of 18 yr olds driving their own fancy shmancy vehicles in dhaka and those in the west. How many of the kids in the west are being finances by their parents after the age of 18? How many are there in Dhaka, let alone Bangladesh. Let alone rich families...think about middle class famlies. Where will a typical middle class kid be better off financially? So its not about Texas A&M, its not about Rajshahi University, its about YOU. Its about what you make of your life. I know a whole bunch of people who came to the the states for education, but eventually went back to Bangladesh. If life was really that bad, that you have to blog around the world always saying negative things about it, would so many people really choose to go back? Speaking for myself, I appreciate my life here, just as much as I appreciated my life in Rajshahi or Dhaka. Yes there were hardships. There were times when i was fed up with everything. But not for a single moment was I announcing to the world that I live in a crap hole!!! Because I never felt that way. I always judged my life from the point of view of my life alone. If things around me were ruining my life...so be it. There could always be things around me that could ruin my life. Not the country itself!!! Its sporadic events or people. Definitely not the country as a whole! RU closed down for 3 months after a maramari while I was going there. I couldnt care less! Nothing I said or did would change the situation! There was really no point in complainig. So I moved to NSU. I didnt like csc. I moved to Carleton. If theres something about your life that you dont like...CHANGE IT. If you cant change it DONT COMPLAIN ABOUT IT TO THE WHOLE WORLD! And if you really truly cant change it right now, be patient, and dont give up. Persistance is the key:) If you doubt the state of Islam in the current world, dont leave questionable comments in other people's blogs! Practice Islam the way you think it shoudl be in your own personali time/life. Read the quran, interpret what it tells you, and follow it the way you think it should be followed. Its as simple as that. And once again, this is not specific to Someguy, its for all the complainy people out there lol!
In conclusion...I really truly did not mean to offend anyone here. Its just random thoughts in my mind that were provoked by various kids over the last couple of months. For some people life is really hard, for some people things just come easy. If youre living in Bangladesh, and have HSCs going on during a massive phase of loadsheddings, I understand the agony totally. I lived through it too. But honestly, theres sooooooo much more crap going on in the world. Just look around you. Literally. And think about it...if all the people in Bangladesh were just as bitter and sullen about life, then what would happen to the country? Try to make the best of it. Its really not that bad when you make the effort to clearly define your purpose in life. And another HUGE message I want to sign out with...DONT JUDGE BANGLADESH BY DHAKA AND DHAKA ONLY! Theres soooooo much more to the country! SOOOO MUCH MORE! Theres a world outside of dhaka and theres a world outside of ndc someguy! Some people like me passed our HSC's from crappy schools like RU school...we didnt tip the Mama, or bribe the external! Things worked out fine:) Plus with all the recent crack downs on cheating during board exams, Im pretty sure all the people interested in dui nombori in HSCs and SSCs will think twice. So things are getting better, and its not that the country is absolutely hopeless. Actually come to think of it...why are we even comparing bdlife to western life??? If America was 30 something yr old, we would probably have grounds to compare....right now we should leave the two lifestyles separate without any comparisons:) Im glad to know all your family members in America always tell you the bright side of things, thereby giving you only the positive picture. How about you try it out for the next few months. Blog about all the good things in Bangladesh, completely ignoring the negative things! I wish we could all do that!!! Things would be so much simpler:)
Ok, so now that Ive established that life is only good or bad depending on what you make of it, it is time for me to go get some sleep! I feel so much better now:) Once again....no hard feelings Someguy!!! We can still be friends;)
Note: I dont want to generalize...not all the teens are the way i assume them to be...and not all the people I assume to be the way I do are teens! SO NO OFFENSE MEANT IS MY BOTTOM LINE!!!
Ive been reading your blog and your comments on other people's blogs for a while now. Your disgust and disregard towards life in Bangladesh bothers me! Although I totally understand your frustration having lived in the Desh for about 18 years of my life, I really dont think its as bad as you some times portray it! Its easy to be frustrated with everyday annoyances like loadsheddings during your HSCs or the lack of proper lab facilites at NDC (which i guess is one of the better colleges of BD). But is that enough to assume life in America (where 11 of your cousins are enjoying their every living moment) is so much better? I appologize if this post is offending to you, but your comments about my (our) country is kinda offending to me! Having said that...I really dont mean to offend you here:) And this post is not necessarily aimed only towards you...its for all the other half westernized (indianized?), or wishing to be westernized teenagers out there in Bangladesh.
Like I said, its really easy to be frustrated...but isnt life all about making the best of what you have? Yes, the education system is screwed up...yes, the country doesnt generate enough power to last 48 continuous hours without a loadshedding, yes the govt is messed up and yes the weather is really bad. But why does that make people assume life in 'America' is so much better? Its different I agree. There are a lot more material conviniences I agree. But is that really better? Isnt it all dependant on the circumstances? A question may arise at this point as to why I left Bangladesh, or why did I choose to live in Canada! I may sound like a hypocrite...but I was alsto fed up with the education system back home! Having browsed (literally and physically!) through odds of the public and private universities for two years I decided things werent going my way. Why you may ask. Because I come from Rajshahi. A little university town with little or no outlet to the world beyond the jamuna and the padma! At least for me there wasnt. My world consisted of the Rajshahi University campus since I was 2 yrs old. All my friends lived there, my Nana Nani lived there, my Dadi lived there, and of course most of the people I knew lived there. My school was also within the boundaries of the campus. Yes indeed, that was my world. And as most people on that campus did, I also started out with Rajshahi University. But just like you Someguy, I was 17 and the 'western lands' as I watched on tv or heard from my cousins (yes I also have those!) seemed so much more lucrative than the imminent life at RU...of the 8 months that I spent with Somlal Das and Ganjer Ali and Kanto Sir (with due respect, no personal offense meant to my ru teachers!), we had only 3 months of classes!!! And for whatever amusing reason...I chose computer science, which I never really liked. Apparently it was the hardest department to get into..and since I got through the admission test, I couldnt miss out on such an opportunity could I! Talk about wrong decisions! But I digress. Anyways...so after 8 months, I felt myself being sucked into the brain drain syndrome...but at that point I was still putting my heart before my brains. I chose to stay back. BUT not in Rajshahi. My oh-so-bright future and oh-so-high-hopes about my future were being dragged down by the monotone of Rajshahi. I had to get out! *this is still the point in life where I felt your frustration someguy:)* So lo and behold...I moved to NSU! And guess what...I LOVED DHAKA!!!!Much to everyones amazement I must say. You hardly meet people who love dhaka anymore...but I truly am one of them. Infact, if you ask me now...after recovering from my someguy-syndrome...I love Rajshahi too. Let me explain...
In your late teenage yrs, you grow a certain sense of unsettled-ness. You feel like you have to do something better with your life. Specially when the circumstances around you push you to belive you're living in the pits. Also you have the media and a few grown ups around you who are not satisfied with their own lives constantly subconsciously leading you to belive that your life is crap...and this country is going to the dogs, and that you have to leave before it all comes to an end. But once you grow older (and mature) you start thinking for yourself. I can only describe these facts based on my own experience (although most of the people Ive talked to feel the same way!). My year at NSU was the best EVER. I had the most fun in my whole entire life. Partially due to the fact that I found csc at nsu to be really easy...but thats a different story. A year went by...and I realized csc is really not for me. My engineering mind was seeking something more challenging! My parents dreaded the idea of me going to BUET. Apparently I would be facing the same session jams as RU or even worse, and so there was no point in switching to buet, specially since i was already 2 yrs behind. Thats the point in life where I blindly and subconsiously and almost by default opted to come back to my land of birth! Resisting all warnings of crazy winters, having to live on my own, having to deal with real life (the scariest by far)...I moved to Ottawa. And guess what...my engineering insticts are certainly satisfied...but life is still as crappy in terms of materialistic gains as it was in Rajshahi!!!! Only to a different level! But the difference is, I know the crappiness is eventually coming to an end. So in short, to compare my life in Rajshahi and my life in Ottawa...here are the similarities and differences...in Rajshahi, when I wanted to hang out with friends, the only place I was allowed to go was either my friend's house, or to the only fast food place at the time Chillis! Here in Ottawa I can choose from a whole different things to do with my friends. In Rajshahi, if I wanted to go anywhere at all, I could just hop on a rickshaw and go. In ottawa I actually have to wait forever for buses to take me places (I cant afford a car yet). In Rajshahi I never NEVER had to worry about food or money. In Ottawa, my life evolves around thinking about the next meal and how to finance it (ok thats dramatizing it...but its sorta true hehe!). In Rajshahi summers were DISGUSTING. Winters were beautiful. In Ottawa Winters are DISGUSTING..and this year ... SO IS THE SUMMER. It wasnt only 39 degrees...it was 47. There arent any loadshedding issues in Ottawa, BUT I dont have a ceiling fan, let alone an AC!!! I dont even have to step outside to sweat or bake myself! So you see...there will ALWAYS be pros and cons. No matter where you live. No matter how poor or rich or corrupt or perfect your country apparently is. It all depends on circumstances! Yes, it took me a year or so to figure out the facts of life. But in the mean time I dont think I ever disrespected or publicly defamed my country (although the media took care of that for me hehe!). Teenagers in Bangladesh these days not only tend to disregard their country, but also the religion and culture and everything that comes with the package. That is such a shame! I dont understand why these teenagers tend to forget they are the ones who collectively represnt the coutnry. If you make a global show of disrespect for your country, the global community in return will grow disrespect for you. YOU ARE YOUR CULTURE. YOU ARE YOUR RELIGION. YOU ARE YOUR NATION. No matter how corrupt the country is, no matter how messed up the government or the society is...no matter where I go, I represent Bangladesh. I represent Islam. I represent my family. Do I not? So even though millions of kids out there choose to wear western outfits to be a part of the 'in' crowd...I dont at all mind wearing my typical deshi attire while Im in the desh. Infact Im a lot more comfy in deshi clothes while in the desh. And whether or not in the blogging world, or the real world...I can never forget what I represent. Yes I represent a corrupt third world country. Yes I represent the people of a nation that is apparently going down the drain...but that shouldnt stop me from being the person I was brought up as. It shouldnt stop me from being proud of the lifestyle in my country. The social life in bangladesh, the natural beauty, the family values, the friends, the hartals, the loadsheddings, the aunties and their gossip, the rickshaws, the traffic jams, the streets always always full of people, the broken down buses on the streets, the fruits all year round, the uncertainty....its all amazing...its all bangladesh. You've got to love it! Maybe the western world has its own materialistic comforts as well as an obvious incentive of social security...and maybe we all love that aspect of it. But if you think of it, the west has its cons too. Just like Bangladesh has its pros. Its just easier to see the pros of the west and the cons of the Desh. But you will only find peace when you look beyond all that. When you accept your life as it is. Im not saying you stop dreaming....cos thats what will take you places after your HSCs lol! But your dreams shoud not just be focused towards the west. Yes the life at Cornell and Texas A&M maybe fabulous in terms of academic facilities. And maybe for the sake of your education, it is logical to go to university where there are no session jams and you actually learn stuff from your teachers and not private tutors! But then again...think about all those 17/18 yr old rich kids in gulshan and baridhara living in their own apartments given to them by their parents (eeek....no personal attacks to me friends...just saying u guys are so darn lucky!!hehe)! With your Texas A&M undergrad degree...what are the odds of you owning an apartment of your own at 18??? Compare the number of 18 yr olds driving their own fancy shmancy vehicles in dhaka and those in the west. How many of the kids in the west are being finances by their parents after the age of 18? How many are there in Dhaka, let alone Bangladesh. Let alone rich families...think about middle class famlies. Where will a typical middle class kid be better off financially? So its not about Texas A&M, its not about Rajshahi University, its about YOU. Its about what you make of your life. I know a whole bunch of people who came to the the states for education, but eventually went back to Bangladesh. If life was really that bad, that you have to blog around the world always saying negative things about it, would so many people really choose to go back? Speaking for myself, I appreciate my life here, just as much as I appreciated my life in Rajshahi or Dhaka. Yes there were hardships. There were times when i was fed up with everything. But not for a single moment was I announcing to the world that I live in a crap hole!!! Because I never felt that way. I always judged my life from the point of view of my life alone. If things around me were ruining my life...so be it. There could always be things around me that could ruin my life. Not the country itself!!! Its sporadic events or people. Definitely not the country as a whole! RU closed down for 3 months after a maramari while I was going there. I couldnt care less! Nothing I said or did would change the situation! There was really no point in complainig. So I moved to NSU. I didnt like csc. I moved to Carleton. If theres something about your life that you dont like...CHANGE IT. If you cant change it DONT COMPLAIN ABOUT IT TO THE WHOLE WORLD! And if you really truly cant change it right now, be patient, and dont give up. Persistance is the key:) If you doubt the state of Islam in the current world, dont leave questionable comments in other people's blogs! Practice Islam the way you think it shoudl be in your own personali time/life. Read the quran, interpret what it tells you, and follow it the way you think it should be followed. Its as simple as that. And once again, this is not specific to Someguy, its for all the complainy people out there lol!
In conclusion...I really truly did not mean to offend anyone here. Its just random thoughts in my mind that were provoked by various kids over the last couple of months. For some people life is really hard, for some people things just come easy. If youre living in Bangladesh, and have HSCs going on during a massive phase of loadsheddings, I understand the agony totally. I lived through it too. But honestly, theres sooooooo much more crap going on in the world. Just look around you. Literally. And think about it...if all the people in Bangladesh were just as bitter and sullen about life, then what would happen to the country? Try to make the best of it. Its really not that bad when you make the effort to clearly define your purpose in life. And another HUGE message I want to sign out with...DONT JUDGE BANGLADESH BY DHAKA AND DHAKA ONLY! Theres soooooo much more to the country! SOOOO MUCH MORE! Theres a world outside of dhaka and theres a world outside of ndc someguy! Some people like me passed our HSC's from crappy schools like RU school...we didnt tip the Mama, or bribe the external! Things worked out fine:) Plus with all the recent crack downs on cheating during board exams, Im pretty sure all the people interested in dui nombori in HSCs and SSCs will think twice. So things are getting better, and its not that the country is absolutely hopeless. Actually come to think of it...why are we even comparing bdlife to western life??? If America was 30 something yr old, we would probably have grounds to compare....right now we should leave the two lifestyles separate without any comparisons:) Im glad to know all your family members in America always tell you the bright side of things, thereby giving you only the positive picture. How about you try it out for the next few months. Blog about all the good things in Bangladesh, completely ignoring the negative things! I wish we could all do that!!! Things would be so much simpler:)
Ok, so now that Ive established that life is only good or bad depending on what you make of it, it is time for me to go get some sleep! I feel so much better now:) Once again....no hard feelings Someguy!!! We can still be friends;)
Note: I dont want to generalize...not all the teens are the way i assume them to be...and not all the people I assume to be the way I do are teens! SO NO OFFENSE MEANT IS MY BOTTOM LINE!!!
posted by Sameen at 5:02 PM
10 Comments:
Wow Sameen. You are abolutely right and you make my day.
I wish all the Bangladeshis could be proud of all our positive things. All we need is total self respect and respect our country (irrspective of negatives & positives) and from that pride will come. This is a notion that can make people think twice before engaging in any corruption or other disrespectful things. You only do those when you are not bothered about your moral and self respect.
Because of this negativity and disrespect more and more people are being trapped in the mud and our country is remaining stagnant. I wish the younger generation could break free and leap forward from that.
heh heh....an elegy for a paranoid teen...thanks a lot apu. I respect views by everyone...but that doesn't mean that i assimilate their idealism in my own way of thoughts and thinkings....the dedication wa priceless...and to be honest i agree with you at some points as well..although i didn't read the whole post cuz i kinda feel gooey-gooey when someone's being kewl to me...but i do have something to say here goes:
1) I know life in the states isnt kewl...at all... i have 18 relatives(Who dont know we exist), two sisters(generally aatel 3rd and a gold medalist from BUET)..but" nai mamer chaite kana mama" is way better
2)If someone knows the "F" of the word frustration its us, the hussains....here's why...my dad was a 1st class first from BUET, went to cornell to have his degree,received job offers but returned to his beloved country and now he pulls his hair in anguish and self disgust as to why he made such a moronic mistake(although he was a respected prof at bd)
3)Both of my sis....although currently safe from the paranoia of BD(meaning outside of BD)..graduated top of the class...then they didn't get any jobs..cuz their friends who merely passed in third class had better "mamus" in the hierarchy of BD.
and there are countless other ways to describe why bangladesh isnt a safe heaven for those who dream of owning a Harley-titan someday....but you know what? We wouldn't leave our country for anything if its really in distress...we bengalies are selfish..and its our selfishness that makes us entwined when an alien power tries to take hold..after defeating the diabolique force against all odds...we battle against each other...totally forgetting the land that harboured us with its 'aam',"jam" and stuffz like those...i've spent my childhood in the most serene and greatest place on bd...the BANGLADESH AGRICULTURE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS(B.A.U, probably didn't heard of it right? Well not many people knows bout shang-gri-la as well)...
and actually not many (and i dare if even a few) teens in BD are like me...most of them are the same blind-hamsters running after a mirage like all their predecessors have done so...i do that everyday as well..i try to be versatile...mixing my own-self with both "khhat(uncool)" and "kewl" people..and in the webworld i want to be expressive....like Icarus(dude died in Helios spectrum) i want to express what i wanted to do if i had the chance...but that doesn't mean i actually do that....one day or another i'd yield to the dark and regular side....become one with the brainwashed innocent people of bd...but until then i wanna talk bout "what ever hell i wanna"....
again thx for the dedication...that was not really bangladeshi of you to be so nice to someone who you have know for some kilo-bytes across the seven seas..but thx anyway...
BTW: i'd really like your comments on my (-ve) thoughts on BDLIFe..do come visit me often and lets see you dextro-rotary motion can cancel my laveo-rotary aggression.
another thing..i didn't realized you were a "UNIV GAL" AS WELL...i;ve spent my whole life in BAU campus as well..my dad was a prof there...there was this community feeling..everone of neighbours cared bout everyone else...we had our own school much like you inside our campus boundary(Which is the biggest in bd and south-east asia)...its such a great experience living in a university campus with lotsa friends...i graduates from Krishi Bisso Biddaloy(KB) high school...probaby the worst school in bd when it comes to class-teaching....looks like we can share thoughts about our univ life as well...BTW i grew of on a mesmerising backdrop beside the river brahmaputra...our two story delux-looking-but-broken-inside house was not a good place to live in...but a great place for a chilhood...i've been in touch with the nature longer than anyone else....i loved the whole community so much...all chacha-chachis, all those fields,the canopy above,the balmy winds,the rural plains had their own enchanting incantations....its just that for the last 2 yrs or so (after my dad retired and we took refuse in dhaka) while i was living in Dhaka,reading in notredame the metropoliton-madness has kinda screws my gray matter..oh how i long for those days at BAU....oh how much i strive for those sepia-moments.
wow.
Thanks Rezwan bhai:)
Dr Frank, I wasnt being 'kewl' to you.
1. Whether or not life in the states is 'kewl' is to be judged by each individual person depending on what stage of life they are in. What you call nai mama(your life in dhaka), maybe kana mama or even better for someone else(maybe someone who lost everything in the tsunami!)...think about it:)
2. The 'F' is not experienced only by you the Husseins. My parents also got degrees and all that jazz from the west, and despite all the worldly comforts, decided to move back home to take care of my grandparents. My parents havent regretted their move back home ever.Neither have I (my sister does a little bit...but then again shes also an emerging teen!so there are hopes for her to get over it!)
3. make a list of all the buet gold medalists and du gold medalists and hsc-ssc stand kora people. In 10 to 15 years...how different will these people's lives be than those who were regular graduates? A good academic result doesnt always guarantee a job...and thats a fact not only for Bangladesh. Doesnt matter how brilliant you were in university, doesnt matter where youre degree is from (BAU or johns hopkins), chances are you will end up with the same standards of life as most other people. Nature tends to balance things out for its inhabitants. If you think Bangladesh is the only place where you need mamus to get jobs, you are compltely wrong! I am about to graduate next year, and belive me when I say, contacts are all you have...otherwise youre on your own. The apparent 'paranoia' is just a fact of life, no matter where you are. The anxiety over finding a job is just as perplexing anywhere in the world when you dont have contacts.That doesnt mean u should stop studying right now cos it doesnt make a difference! The point is to challeneg your intellect as much as you can...and enjoy the challenge as you experience it. Whether your challenge takes you to the top of your class or not, doesnt matter. As long as you know you tried your best.
I didnt read your entire blog. I read two posts, and have been reading your comments on other people's blogs as well as mine and my sister's.
Its nice to know you're almost a clone of me in terms of childhood memories:) Nothing beats campus life in the Desh:D
I second that wow. People are just suddenly writing too much...
Apta, to be honest I really didn't read your post AT ALL, neither did I read the comments... seriously... I think Raj rocks and I think Dhaka sucks (but thats a different matter) and BD's cool... so I didn't bother...
what i dropped out of the blog world and suddnely everyone else is sooooo into it? ? ? :@
Sameen,
Absolutely brilliant stuff, and right on the money!
This is getting very cliched by now, but I can't say otherwise: WOW! Like W-O-W!! Believe it or not, you're basically just speaking my mind: I'd been planning some very similar responses dedicated to some very similar people. I haven't read the whole thing yet, but I will, soon iA.
so, what's all this about the school Cornell??? I just wanted to let the kids know that Cornell has the HIGHEST RATE OF COLLEGE SUICIDE! Now, would you really want to be there? And I personally know TWO bangladeshi students at Cornell (couldn't finish their degree though) ended up in hospital for about two years suffering from extreme depression and anxiety disorder!
"someguy" .. here they say something about getting a job...
"networking networking networking.. and it's NOT what you know, but it's who you know!"
That's true for even graduate school admissions. Even those Ivy league schools for undergrads you are talking about... man, donate big money, and you are IN! I am NOT exagerating a bit! You are welcome to inquire with the admission committee.
IN the States, we oppress in the name of "freedom and liberty".
It's just that now you are about to get out of your parents' shelter and experience the reality bite. And it hurts no matter where you are. Life is HARD and HARSH no matter where you are. Definitely, Bangladesh has less opportunities for "worldly achievement' but does that necessarily mean that Americans or Canadians or Western kids in general can make good use of their opportunities? NO! In the state of Colorado, less than 40% of all the High school graduates make it to some sort of college, and we have one the highest rates of college graduation in the nation. think about other states now! In California, 97% of the Black american are NOT qualified enough to get into any of the schools of the UC (Uni of Cal.) system. And that's a disparity created ON PURPOSE by the influential people who make and shape our lives.
Life is really harsh here for the poor given the fact that even families don't care. In Bangladesh, I don't think, a good family would let their 17 yr old kid get out of the house and say, "get a job, look after yourself" it happens here all the time. We call ourselves, "The Prozac nation."
I don't know why you think BD is the worst living hell. Trust me, it all depends on your attitude. You can make either hell or heaven out of your life.
heh heh....this is getting soooo weird..so much...all of a sudden there's 9 post regarding my view on bD! all from bloggers i know,like chiral,arafat,rezwan and so on..this is getting interesting.For once i wanted to have a (-ve) look on life....and everyone's turning into the oppsite a "P-type" semi-conductors....hmm "Everyone's an apprentice,until death dictates"-says some gay guy who wrote T'Sawyer. I think im learning how to evolve into the shell of an echinodermata who likes BD...to be frank,all my post seems to suggest im dying of hunger,none of my close ones are well established,all my relatives were humongous "aatels" who despite their academic achievements weren't able to get a job or something---but actually (LOL) stuffz arent that bad. I just feel so sick when Nishat(thats my sis) calls from dallas and says, "Amma ajke ki ranso?" or "Tomra khub moja kortaso na?"...maybe life isn't so dandy anywhere in earth, maybe grass is always green-gracious-graceful-great on the otherside of the river; but as life goes...heh heh.. i wont realize that truth until im really under the skin of a 31 yr old Bangladeshi suffering from the oppression of the white-koo-clax-clan somewhere in USA or UK or uganda or giles-3(an interstellar planet,thought to be habitable)...its good to remain with my morphed reality..in person im not pissed of at all..but when these keyboards are under my digits they become frustrated... life is full of bad(like the time when my mom was diagnosed with 3rd stage breast cancer) and good(like when we wont the match against a local bully club under the rain, drenched in mud with stenches like mules) times...guess gotta make both ends meet.and my dad doesn't really regret his "deflect" to BD..that ws a mere exaggeration my your only "ME"...instead he gives a "Respect is better than earthly possessions" sorta look when i bug him for knowing as to why he left a country that says "give me your talented..your aspiring..your energetic masses..yearning to breath free..so that i can turn them into intel-workers,and odd-job hunters working in local Bengali-paras like bees in honey-cones" [Changed the whole St of Lib dialogue,dig? ^__^)..guess he is too proud to be in BD..well i'm sort of guy who's too "uchchabhilashi" guess that might screw me up somedays....
[PS:When i came to dhk, the boys of Dhk though "who is this melancholy yahoo from Mymensingh?"...now i've been transformed as well...i'm afraid im adhering to some of the insolence that metropolitan life has gifted us with]
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