Why I'm Going & What I'll Be Doing

In February, 2007, I applied - mostly on a whim and with little hope of actually receiving it - for a scholarship offered through the State Department and the Council for American Overseas Research Centers. The scholarship was for an intensive language study in Bangladesh. Bangla has been identified by the State Department as a critical need language under the National Security Language Initiative.

Over 10,400 applications were received for the 367 available scholarships in 11 different critical languages. I was fortunate enough to be the recipient of one of those scholarships, and will be studying Bangla in Dhaka, Bangladesh at the Independent University of Bangladesh (IUB) from June 7 through August 11, 2007.

The program is equivalent to one year of college-level instruction. The emphasis will be on aural comprehension and speaking, with reading and writing complementary. At the conclusion of the program, students should expect to have command of basic structures of grammar, the ability to comprehend basic speech, speak a functional Bangla sufficient to negotiate everyday situations, and read and write simple prose and poetry with the aid of a dictionary.

Classes will be held from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., Sunday through Thursday.
Class instruction will include:

• Lessons on the structures of the language, grammar, lexicon, etc.
• Conversational drills and aural comprehension
• Breakout groups for individualized conversation, role playing, and task-oriented activities
• “Adda” - directed conversation with local students
• Lectures by visiting scholars, artists, actors, health care workers, etc.

Students will also participate in a variety of cultural enrichment activities:

• Museums
• Archaeological & Historical Sites
• Religious Sites
• Political Centers
• Educational Centers
• Development
• Art, Theatre, Music

Needless to say, I am very much looking forward to this opportunity! The next month will entail the completion of a significant amount of paperwork, obtaining of inoculations, and general rearranging of my work, school, and personal life. While there will likely be little blogging in the interim, I do intend to post regularly while I am away, and will have regular access to e-mail, so please keep in touch!

Information from the CIA World Factbook

Europeans began to set up trading posts in the area of Bangladesh in the 16th century; eventually the British came to dominate the region and it became part of British India. In 1947, West Pakistan and East Bengal (both primarily Muslim) separated from India (largely Hindu) and jointly became the new country of Pakistan. East Bengal became East Pakistan in 1955, but the awkward arrangement of a two-part country with its territorial units separated by 1,600 km left the Bengalis marginalized and dissatisfied. East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan in 1971 and was renamed Bangladesh. About a third of this extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development.

Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated, and inefficiently-governed nation. Although more than half of GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single-most-important product. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, inadequate port facilities, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Reform is stalled in many instances by political infighting and corruption at all levels of government. Opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups also have blocked progress. On an encouraging note, growth has been a steady 5-6% for the past several years.

Location:
Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India

Size:
slightly smaller than Iowa

Climate:
humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)

Population:
150,448,339
The population of Bangladesh ranks seventh in the world, but its area of approximately 55,600 sq mi is ranked ninety-fourth, making it one of the most densely populated countries in the world, or the most densely populated country if small island nations and city-states are not included.

Religions:
Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1%

Languages:
Bangla (official, also known as Bengali)

Government:
parliamentary democracy