Joel Katz
Outreach Blogger
20 May 2010
Bangladesh here we come! In just a few weeks we’ll be arriving in Dhaka as the next Outreach Bloggers, and I’m doing some rigorous pre-departure research to get a feel for the place.
That’s right – like every expert in the field, I Google it.
First site that pops up: Wikipedia. “Pffft…Skip that.”
Second site is the CIA World Factbook. Sounds kind of conspiratorial, but let’s have a squiz anyway.
Here we find some interesting facts. Population: 156,050,883. Check. Ethnic groups: Bengali 98%, other 2% (includes tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims). Check. Gross National Product: $93.2 billion. Check.
Odd, but I still feel no connection.
Maybe more luck with the next link. It’s called Virtual Bangladesh – a portal to everything Bangladeshi, but the colour scheme is a tad distressing, so moving on quickly.
Google Images. Okay might be onto something here. Clicking now…
Bangladesh has come to life. I’m looking at a map that’s so criss-crossed with waterways it looks like my Aunt Zelda’s varicose vein-ridden legs. To the south the Ganges River spills out of a giant jagged mouth into the Bay of Bengal.
And then there are the photos. Crowded cities over-flowing with rickshaws. Smiling faces of children dressed in colourful salwar kameez. Sweet sticky balls of doughy ‘gulab jamun’ that I’m aching to sink my already cavity-filled teeth into. And old women trying to earn a few ‘taka’ toiling away in rippling green rice paddies.
Sure, like other places in the developing world, Bangladesh has its fair share of problems, but these images have set my heart a-flutter with anticipation. I can’t wait until my Bengali adventure begins, so I can see Bangladesh in all its wonder – both good and bad.
Check out this slideshow to see incredible Bangladesh come to life.
Tags: Bangladesh, Bay of Bengal, blogging, Ganges River, outreach blogger, poverty, project toto, social media
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Project TOTO · Googling Bangladesh: … in Haiti as hurricane season looms: http://bit.ly/djrcwL 8 hrs ago; Perth http://url4.eu/3aXpV
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
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Googling Bangladesh – new blog post from Joel Katz on his preparations for Project TOTO: http://bit.ly/cYQDkk
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
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Ha! great post Joel- every journey does start with a google.
Images are sooooooooooo where it is at when you want to get to know a place! Take lots of snaps while you are over there!
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Thanks Emily! Gonna pack my pockets with camera memory cards so we can go snap crazy, and we’ll definitely post heaps of images and video as we go… Can’t wait!!!
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hi Joel! great that you are not afraid of the humidity you’ll find yourself in here. there’s this tricky thing about a single photo – i am sure you know, which is why i completely agree with emily. just one photo, or even a hoard of them, cannot capture all that’s there. for example, the smell!
i hope you have a strong stomach – ’cause when you’ll find these crunchy and tasty items (samocha, singara, piaju, halim, borhani, chot-poti, fuska, nimki, beguni, chop, … and …) on the streets of the capital, you will end up swallowing an epiphany!
and oh! expect to sniff at the summer fruits aplenty! -
Hi Amir! Sounds incredible! My mouth’s watering just thinking about those tasty treats – you’ll have to guide us through the Bangladeshi culinary world, although it’d probably take years to taste everything.
See you soon!
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hey joel! i am looking forward to this new job as a guide…
so, you are so very welcome!
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