Things my cousin says

Ladies and gentlemen, meet again my cousin brother Jarrar. Now two and a half years later, he is turning four years old in December.

Jarrar (middle) together with Taslima and Meem in Shahpur

I did not think that Jarrar could get any smarter, but he did. He corrects my Bangla every now and then, wants to eat an egg and cheese sandwich exactly when I am eating one and has his kind ways to blackmail me. Jarrar is at that stage now, where he questions authority, gives you “no” for an answer and sticks chewing gum in his hair. The fun parts are his sayings, when he cracks me up but I have to remain calm and act like I am taking his seriously. These are the highlights so far:

 

“Smell my hands! I washed them with soap!”

"Look! I can drink Sprite!"

"Why don't you let me watch Cartoons?" after his TV marathon of three hours

"I don't wanna wear pants!"

"Once, someone kicked me out of bed. Then ghosts came, bit me and ate all my hair. And then I went to the store and got new hair."

"Can I touch your chips?" meaning "Can I eat your chips?"

"Tewing Gum."

"I didn't throw water on the sofa. It was the ghost!"

"Pease, pease, peeease!"

Shahpur Bazaar

Shahpur is still “Amar Shahpur“. I was fortunate enough, to spend the Eid Holidays in the most relaxing and peaceful environment with my aunts, uncles and my cousin brother Jarrar.

What fascinated me is that people pretty much lead their daily life according to sunrise and sunset on the countryside. They get up very early and once it is dark outside, they gather in their homes, watch TV, have dinner and go to bed early as well.

Somehow, I adapted to that schedule immediately. I got up before 7 a.m. and before breakfast I was off to visit the local bazaar. It was a lot of fun, taking a walk in the mornings and then sitting down at one spot of Shahpur bazaar and watching the people come and go; bringing items to sell or going back home with fresh milk, vegetables and fish. So after basically spotting people and the vivid market life, I went off to take a look around myself. This intrigued me to buy fresh vegetables, sweets, toys and drinks during a couple of morning visits. My bazaar spotting contained lots of conversations with local people, such as the development of the milk prices the previous few days. And from time to time, people came up to me, had a quick chat, because they knew who I was: the grandson of Hiron Doctor.

Milk prices went down to 70 Taka

I bought him candy. Trust me, he can smile!

Paan Wallah

Little fish

Tea/chai - very important in Bangladesh

Back on my feet

Hey young world! Here I am, back on my feet, back on my blog.

So basically as said, I had Dengue Fever. I was really sick for a week and medication hardly did it any better. That's when I decided on a doctor's visit and was advised to go to the hospital. And at the hospital I was advised to go to the emergency room. After a brief check-up and questioning I gave blood and urine and was asked to stay for two hours.

Here I was, at a hospital in Dhaka, lying in bed at the e.r. in a to me total new environment.
Somehow the blood report was a relief, as I precisely knew what I had - also if it was Dengue Fever.

Dengue is transmitted by daytime mosquitoes, that have black and white tiger stripes. And there isn't any vaccination nor medication for it. Wikipedia might tell you precisely the risks that come with it.

After resting for a long time, a lot of blood reports, ultra sonogram and doctor's visit later, I am now almost cured. Eid holidays were really relaxing and helped me recover. But I will post on this separately.

I will have my blood tested again, just to make sure that everything is back to normal as some indicators were higher than they should be. And my strength is increasing day by day. So prepare for a bunch of stories and photos to come!

Jungle Fever

So I have been gone for a minute, suffering from Dengue fever for over a week now. I should be alright, but recovery will take a few more days. So that and the upcoming Eid holidays will keep me from posting the next days. I'll be back soon, with pictures and posts!