Hello!
It feels like it has been forever since I last blogged. I did not realise I would have such a busy schedule where I would not find time to blog. To be honest, I do not even get time to check social media. One way this is good because I am learning to live life offline and it is amazing. Since I have been offline, I have been able to experience life to the fullest in my village for 4 days.
More about my roots:
No doubt I am from Bangladesh (born in Spain). However, that explains nothing. In our culture, when we are asked what district we are from, we have to say where our dads are from. In my case, I have to say I am from Chandradighalia, Gopalgonj. Gopalgonj is where the PM of Bangladesh is from. But she is from Tungipara, Gopalgonj. I know it's hard so basically she's from the neighbouring town. That is where I am from and I will always be no matter where I am born and where I live.
Back to the real point
This is how I spent 4 days in my village:
Day 1:
This is the day we went to Gopalgonj. We got our stuff and went to Gopalgonj. It is an hour drive from where I am currently staying. The drive to Gopalgonj is beautiful, if you ignore the fact that every driver in Bangladesh is careless and horrible. The scenery, the greenery, farms, lands, etc, it is amazing. I also learnt that my dad knows a lot of the stuff we saw on our way. I got to see a glimpse of one of the biggest eye hospitals in Bangladesh, the constructions for the biggest pharmaceutical companies by the Japanese, Gopalgonj University and so much more. We arrive and we stayed at the urban area of Gopalgonj, where my dad's brother lives. They were amazing hosts and got to try fresh veggies, meat and fish (even though I am not a fish lover). We got to eat fresh chicken, duck and this veggie called "Kochu". In fact, we got to try that a lot, almost everyday.
We arrived, looked around my uncle's area and went to another uncle's house.
Day 2:
My dad invited all of his family. He invited his brothers and sisters and their families. My dad has 3 sisters (one passed away before my parents got married) and 4 brothers (5 including him). The sons and daughters of the first sister who is no more came, the other remaining 2 sisters came with their sons and daughters and one uncle came. The event was at the 2nd uncle's house so the 4th uncle came with his family and then it was my dad and us family/ My 1st and 3rd uncle did not attend as one of them is in Dhaka (capital and far away) and the other one is outside Bangladesh My dad got chefs to cook for everyone and they cooked biryani and chicken korma. It was delicious even though I am also not fond of biryani. They all came and had lunch together. I got to see them and talk to them. I also saw how my dad's 2 sisters are still so close to each other. They were attached to each other the whole time and as far as I know, they do not tend to see each other a lot. Everyone also took pictures together (I fell asleep and my mum didn't call me so I missed it, it was so sad). My mum's family (the people I am currently staying with in Khulna city) joined us in the evening and they also got to meet everyone. It was an overwhelming experience. At night, they all started to leave one by one so the excitement was over.
Day 3:
BEST DAY EVER!
We went to Chandradighalia, my village. This is where my dad grew up in his childhood. It was a 15-20 minute drive from my uncle's house. We went there and saw the houses where my grandparents used to live. On the way I got to see my grandfather's grave. It was quite emotional as I have never seen him. I also saw the neighbours of my grandparents and the man who currently takes care of my grandparents' houses. A bit away it was my grandmother's grave. It is hard to reach because right now it is the Barsha (rainy) season so it formed into a lake. We used my grandfather's handmade boat to reach to my grandmother's grave. The boat ride was super fun but super scary because the boat was quite deep down almost to the water level. The closer I was getting to her grave, the more emotional and nostalgic I was getting. When I got close, I could not hold back my tears because she passed away when I was quite young so I did not realise her loss bur now I do. As I am writing this, I am in tears because it keeps reminding me of how my dad explained her last breath and that scenario keeps appearing in front of me as if I was present at that time. I prayed for her a lot. I did not take pictures of the grave out of respect. We got back on the boat and rested at my cousin's who lives in the house beside my grandparents', just for a bit.
We left my village and went to my dad's sister's house (aka my aunt's). We saw my uncle who is supposed to be quite ill as he's quite elderly but Alhamdulillah he was fine because he was really happy to see us. He is so cute. We rested there as they finished cooking for us. They served us the village style and it was dope. My aunt's husband usually does not move from his bed. Out of joy, he got up and sat down to chat with my parents. He was really having fun and so was I seeing him so nice Masha'Allah. They gave us a ton of fresh fruits from their plants and trees and we went back to my uncle's place.
My cousin's father-in-law came to invite us over to his house the day after so I spoke to him for a bit since it's the first time I met him. My cousin then took me to 2 of their neighbours' houses and I almost forgot about them. They were so nice, it was nice to see them after so long as well.
At night, my 4th uncle invited us for dinner so we went. I saw my dad, my uncle and my 2 aunties having serious conversations about their family matters (which I rather not share online because it is family matters and it is confidential). After that we had dinner and went to see my dad's 2nd or 3rd cousin. I have not seen this uncle for almost 10 years so it was awesome to see him and his family again after so long. We got back pretty long and you'd imagine I fell asleep as soon as we got home. NO! My cousin kept me awake till 3:00-3:30 am to chat with her.
Day 4:
We packed our stuff to get ready to go back home. My dad instructed us that we should pack in a way that we come back from my cousin's in-laws house, collect our bags and leave. We got ready and went to their house. It was a rainy day and it was very muddy. Wearing fancy clothes, you can imagine it's hard to cross muddy and dirty roads. We arrived there and they were amazing hosts. They served us so well and I got to meet my brother-in-law for the first time but not for long because he came for lunch from work. We had lunch, chatted and all the stuff you usually do when you're at someone's house for lunch or dinner. We left a bit before evening, got our bags and left my village.
Basically it was the best 4 days out of the whole Bangladesh trip. It is not the only place I have only been to since I have arrived here. I have been to Mongla and in the next few days I'm going to Foridpur and Kuakata.
I strongly encougare you to go out and explore your roots. Thanks to my parents, I have been able to explore my roots and I'm glad I did.
Here is a gallery from my trip to my village:
It feels like it has been forever since I last blogged. I did not realise I would have such a busy schedule where I would not find time to blog. To be honest, I do not even get time to check social media. One way this is good because I am learning to live life offline and it is amazing. Since I have been offline, I have been able to experience life to the fullest in my village for 4 days.
More about my roots:
No doubt I am from Bangladesh (born in Spain). However, that explains nothing. In our culture, when we are asked what district we are from, we have to say where our dads are from. In my case, I have to say I am from Chandradighalia, Gopalgonj. Gopalgonj is where the PM of Bangladesh is from. But she is from Tungipara, Gopalgonj. I know it's hard so basically she's from the neighbouring town. That is where I am from and I will always be no matter where I am born and where I live.
Back to the real point
This is how I spent 4 days in my village:
Day 1:
This is the day we went to Gopalgonj. We got our stuff and went to Gopalgonj. It is an hour drive from where I am currently staying. The drive to Gopalgonj is beautiful, if you ignore the fact that every driver in Bangladesh is careless and horrible. The scenery, the greenery, farms, lands, etc, it is amazing. I also learnt that my dad knows a lot of the stuff we saw on our way. I got to see a glimpse of one of the biggest eye hospitals in Bangladesh, the constructions for the biggest pharmaceutical companies by the Japanese, Gopalgonj University and so much more. We arrive and we stayed at the urban area of Gopalgonj, where my dad's brother lives. They were amazing hosts and got to try fresh veggies, meat and fish (even though I am not a fish lover). We got to eat fresh chicken, duck and this veggie called "Kochu". In fact, we got to try that a lot, almost everyday.
We arrived, looked around my uncle's area and went to another uncle's house.
Day 2:
My dad invited all of his family. He invited his brothers and sisters and their families. My dad has 3 sisters (one passed away before my parents got married) and 4 brothers (5 including him). The sons and daughters of the first sister who is no more came, the other remaining 2 sisters came with their sons and daughters and one uncle came. The event was at the 2nd uncle's house so the 4th uncle came with his family and then it was my dad and us family/ My 1st and 3rd uncle did not attend as one of them is in Dhaka (capital and far away) and the other one is outside Bangladesh My dad got chefs to cook for everyone and they cooked biryani and chicken korma. It was delicious even though I am also not fond of biryani. They all came and had lunch together. I got to see them and talk to them. I also saw how my dad's 2 sisters are still so close to each other. They were attached to each other the whole time and as far as I know, they do not tend to see each other a lot. Everyone also took pictures together (I fell asleep and my mum didn't call me so I missed it, it was so sad). My mum's family (the people I am currently staying with in Khulna city) joined us in the evening and they also got to meet everyone. It was an overwhelming experience. At night, they all started to leave one by one so the excitement was over.
Day 3:
BEST DAY EVER!
We went to Chandradighalia, my village. This is where my dad grew up in his childhood. It was a 15-20 minute drive from my uncle's house. We went there and saw the houses where my grandparents used to live. On the way I got to see my grandfather's grave. It was quite emotional as I have never seen him. I also saw the neighbours of my grandparents and the man who currently takes care of my grandparents' houses. A bit away it was my grandmother's grave. It is hard to reach because right now it is the Barsha (rainy) season so it formed into a lake. We used my grandfather's handmade boat to reach to my grandmother's grave. The boat ride was super fun but super scary because the boat was quite deep down almost to the water level. The closer I was getting to her grave, the more emotional and nostalgic I was getting. When I got close, I could not hold back my tears because she passed away when I was quite young so I did not realise her loss bur now I do. As I am writing this, I am in tears because it keeps reminding me of how my dad explained her last breath and that scenario keeps appearing in front of me as if I was present at that time. I prayed for her a lot. I did not take pictures of the grave out of respect. We got back on the boat and rested at my cousin's who lives in the house beside my grandparents', just for a bit.
We left my village and went to my dad's sister's house (aka my aunt's). We saw my uncle who is supposed to be quite ill as he's quite elderly but Alhamdulillah he was fine because he was really happy to see us. He is so cute. We rested there as they finished cooking for us. They served us the village style and it was dope. My aunt's husband usually does not move from his bed. Out of joy, he got up and sat down to chat with my parents. He was really having fun and so was I seeing him so nice Masha'Allah. They gave us a ton of fresh fruits from their plants and trees and we went back to my uncle's place.
My cousin's father-in-law came to invite us over to his house the day after so I spoke to him for a bit since it's the first time I met him. My cousin then took me to 2 of their neighbours' houses and I almost forgot about them. They were so nice, it was nice to see them after so long as well.
At night, my 4th uncle invited us for dinner so we went. I saw my dad, my uncle and my 2 aunties having serious conversations about their family matters (which I rather not share online because it is family matters and it is confidential). After that we had dinner and went to see my dad's 2nd or 3rd cousin. I have not seen this uncle for almost 10 years so it was awesome to see him and his family again after so long. We got back pretty long and you'd imagine I fell asleep as soon as we got home. NO! My cousin kept me awake till 3:00-3:30 am to chat with her.
Day 4:
We packed our stuff to get ready to go back home. My dad instructed us that we should pack in a way that we come back from my cousin's in-laws house, collect our bags and leave. We got ready and went to their house. It was a rainy day and it was very muddy. Wearing fancy clothes, you can imagine it's hard to cross muddy and dirty roads. We arrived there and they were amazing hosts. They served us so well and I got to meet my brother-in-law for the first time but not for long because he came for lunch from work. We had lunch, chatted and all the stuff you usually do when you're at someone's house for lunch or dinner. We left a bit before evening, got our bags and left my village.
Basically it was the best 4 days out of the whole Bangladesh trip. It is not the only place I have only been to since I have arrived here. I have been to Mongla and in the next few days I'm going to Foridpur and Kuakata.
I strongly encougare you to go out and explore your roots. Thanks to my parents, I have been able to explore my roots and I'm glad I did.
Here is a gallery from my trip to my village:
I hope you enjoyed this post and I have been able to give an insight of my amazing experience with my words. Make sure to check back every Wednesday and Saturday night (although some days I might not blog because as I mentioned above, busy schedule).
Take care,
Yours, Nafiza
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