Toot sweets

So you know that bit where you walk around like a chicken, what with head jerks and all? I've always liked doing that, and I think I could probably make millions of taka here doing the Murgi (chicken). My host family goes into fits of laughter when I do it. But watch a little Bangladeshi TV and you'll see why it's not so hard to be funny here -- Okay, so, Hollywood tends toward cheesy and asinine, right? And Bollywood (India) is copying Hollywood, so it's bound to be even worse. Well, Dhaliwood (Bangladesh) is copying Bollywood. So it's like an imitation of an imitation of something that wasn't any good to begin with.

At about 5:30 every night, Muslim families (which means most families) have Iftar, the meal that finishes off a day of fasting. They're not allowed to eat, drink, smoke, or--for the most conservative--swallow their own saliva (which makes for a lot hocking going on) during the daytime. Come 5:30, they eat all of these delicious fried foods before prayer. Then there's a meal at the regular time of about 9 p.m., and most people then eat again at about 3 a.m. I, however, get to eat during the day. My family doesn't want me to fast, and I don't argue. Most restaurant huts put sheets in front of their entrances to hide the sinful eating that goes on during the day, out of respect for the good Muslims who are fasting correctly. Oh, and speaking of good Muslims, I busted out my camera yesterday and my host ma promptly warned me not to let grandma (who is currently visiting from out of town) see it, because grandma thinks that taking pictures is a sin. Wow.

Address stuff:
Right now, I think that the "safest" way to send packages/letters is the Dhaka address I gave on an earlier post. But, if you're sending something that's not too terribly valuable or it's replaceable, you could try this one, to have it sent directly to me soon-to-be new home in Khulna. I made up a pseudonym for myself so as to keep the packages flying under the radar. Only problem is I'm not 100% positive it will work. It should though . . .
Prodip Roy
c/o Shamol Kumar Roy
Islamia College Road, Choto Boyra,
Thana: Sonadanga, Khulna - 9000
Bangladesh
. . . this one has the potential to get here faster, but it hasn't been tested yet.

Swearing in is only 3 days away. Then we all get dressed up and become real Peace Corps Volunteers.

Anyone out there (like Jack or Matt) who can tell me the best way to link a short video (taken on a personal digital camera) to this blog? I think it's a .mov file, if that helps. I'm pretty clueless here, but a friend and I have been fooling around with his camera and I might be able to show a little bit of what it's like here with all of you cool cats.