Last full day in Chittagong

We celebrated the 4th of July at a mehndi party.  My foot will look like this for quite a while, so far it shows no signs of fading.  The traditional henna is augmented by a host of frightening new dyes.

In the "best pineapple in the world" contest, Bangladesh wins!  They're so sweet and the core is soft too.

If you happen to like Jackfruit, this is the time of year for it.  Karole's lips swell up if she eats it, so I end up eating all the Jackfruit I want.  I'd say it tasted better than it looks, and it smells weirder.

A new friend who came to see the play.  She's working to start an art school in Bangladesh.

Post theater revelers.  Everyone did a great job with "The Three Faces of Medea"  We didn't want the night to end.  Food, beverages, and music topped off the evening.

Lots of photo opportunities after the show.

Karole with cast members.

See if you can spot me.

This sign for hearing aids seems to cater to Homo Erectus all the way to Neanderthals, or am I reading the images wrong?

Mangoes are in season, grapes, apples and oranges are also plentiful this time of year.  The apples are average, everything else is outstanding.

Another typical street scene, with two bicycle rickshaws and a CNG.  I like the colors and design of this building, haven't a clue to its purpose.

Lots of advertising, quite a bit in English, it's not widely spoken though.  Tomorrow we leave for Nepal, so the next posting will likely be from there.

Caption Contest! Winners to be Announced. (see last image for details)

 The neighboring university has this nice bas relief by the entrance.  There are always nice details to notice when walking around Chittagong.

Local purveyor of fashion and apostrophes 

Graduation Day for first year students.  The ceremony was really inspiring, in part due to Karole's touching speech.  The students wore traditional clothing and displayed a wondeful  assortment of the most beautiful clothing anywhere.

Two more proud graduates, Laila (L) and Tien (R) introduced Karole prior to her speech.  Both were in "The Three Faces of Medea"  We're going to miss all the amazing students.

The murals are a delight.  I'm guessing this depicts some aspect of village life.

This is just a wonderful image.  

A typical street scene.  Unremarkable here, but very memorable.  To photograph such a thing seems to cause amusement for bystanders.  " Why is he taking a photograph of this"  is a question hard to answer.

Looking out from the entrance to a shopping mall.  Bicycle rickshaws are waiting for shoppers in need of a lift.

Street vendors do a brisk trade feeding students after class.  Most snacks are made from scratch with fresh ingredients.

This guy's hypnotic gaze is everywhere.

happy friends.

A lone "city crow"

The comedic potential of a skeleton in limitless.  Shall we have a "fill in the caption contest"?  Please add your caption to "comments".  Winners to be announced.

Final Days in Chittagong, Bangladesh

July 5, 2013 Friday  Chittagong, Bangladesh

Coming to the end of a long haul here in Chittagong.

I was the featured speaker for Commencement of the Access Academy
students at AUW.  The Access Academy is the one year preparatory course that
all students take before beginning their 4 years at the University.

story of AUW documentary
http://media.ikeafoundation.org/video/4312
I was up late writing the speech.  A bit intimidating since I haven't done a commencement
talk since high school!  I decided to talk about acting principles as applied to leadership.
It seemed to go over well.  I was just relieved to get through it and exhausted afterwards;
however Anjoli, our cook, persuaded Peter and I to walk up to the Krishna Temple for a
festival they were having.

The music was and singing was great.  The emotion in the singing and enthusiasm of the devotees reminds me of being in a black Baptist church back home...I'm just saying. We love the blue dude. :)

They were about to serve a meal at the temple, but Peter and I had to come home as I agreed to do a scene and some singing for this local artist/filmmaker who's a friend of one of the faculty members.  Really nice guys.  He's working on some kind of experimental/artistic kind of piece and it seemed kind of interesting, so I thought why not?

We sat around and had a great conversation afterwards. A lot packed into one day!

Peter booked a ticket for us to Nepal on Monday, so tomorrow I want to do some shopping and packing to get ready to head out.

We've had so many wonderful experiences here in Chittagong and at AUW.  The dedication and hard work of the faculty and staff and the commitment and enthusiasm for the students is awe-inspiring.  If students back home appreciated what they had and were as hungry for learning as the young ladies here (and most American students don't have as many obstacles as), education in the States would advance tremendously.

I felt so lucky to have had this opportunity to teach at AUW and to have encountered so many wonderful people and new friends in Chittagong.

Karole