Hello again,
I am not volunteering in schools for my charity drive until January 5th, but there are still some cool things that have already happened, so I would like to use this blog entry to keep you up to date about them.
The journey was very long, as we have travelled halfway around the world, 'we' being my mother, brother and I. We left home Thursday at ten am, and did not arrive to where we were staying till six pm on Saturday, counting time zones. (Time zones are a big accomplishment, and are so ingrained in our everyday thought that we hardly remember they were invented by humans in the 1800s. It kind of makes you question what is inherent about us, and what isn't, and to how far of an extent this goes.) On the flight, like usual, I read, slept in contorted positions, and stared into space. That's about it. While flights are physically draining, the comedian Louis CK helped me realize that I should be grateful I even have the opportunity to fly, because it's about as amazing a human accomplishment as time zones are. In the past, it took 30 years to get to California, and you'd be an entirely different group of people when you got there, so I should really suck it up and look how far we've come. Sure, there are advances yet to be made, and I am not really even the most optimistic of people: not even close. All I'm saying is that I think it is nothing short of a miracle that I am here to tell you all this today.
It was very helpful to our physical health that we were able to stay in Doha for the night. But like I said in my previous blog entry, I woke up at 2:30 anyways. I felt so clear for the next few hours: except that I was hungry. We took a shuttle to Doha's Hammad International Airport, which, by the way, is a wonder: everything seems to hit a perfect ratio, aesthetically. The main square has a giant statue of a bunny who is impaled by a lamp. It's kind of violent. I don't know if it's purely for looks or not, and I can't tell you what it symbolizes. Yet. It looks artsy, though.
I am not volunteering in schools for my charity drive until January 5th, but there are still some cool things that have already happened, so I would like to use this blog entry to keep you up to date about them.
The journey was very long, as we have travelled halfway around the world, 'we' being my mother, brother and I. We left home Thursday at ten am, and did not arrive to where we were staying till six pm on Saturday, counting time zones. (Time zones are a big accomplishment, and are so ingrained in our everyday thought that we hardly remember they were invented by humans in the 1800s. It kind of makes you question what is inherent about us, and what isn't, and to how far of an extent this goes.) On the flight, like usual, I read, slept in contorted positions, and stared into space. That's about it. While flights are physically draining, the comedian Louis CK helped me realize that I should be grateful I even have the opportunity to fly, because it's about as amazing a human accomplishment as time zones are. In the past, it took 30 years to get to California, and you'd be an entirely different group of people when you got there, so I should really suck it up and look how far we've come. Sure, there are advances yet to be made, and I am not really even the most optimistic of people: not even close. All I'm saying is that I think it is nothing short of a miracle that I am here to tell you all this today.
We flew to Dhaka starting at 10 am, and before that, I had a mediocre tuna sandwich from a cafe in the terminal. I used to dislike tuna, but I've really broadened my tastes in the past five or six years. It is again a miracle that I have food, since many children do not. I will see this when I volunteer for schools.
For those of you who have flown: you know that feeling of relief and happiness you get when the plane wheels hit the ground? Well, this was no exception. I was ready to stretch, and explore a new place. Maslow was wrong this time: though my physiological fulfillments were shot, nothing else 'above' them went too far down. I was glad to see they had made improvements to the city since I came two years ago. Things seemed to be renovated and cleaner.
It was interesting to observe the road rules. In many developing nations, there are no crosswalks, and people just walk across the road. Oddly enough, according to my uncle, accidents are not very common in Dhaka. But traffic is terrible. Nonetheless, it still makes me question the true merits of the organization we've become obsessed with. Is there not a beauty to some entropy? Do not tear me up: it's just a thought. I'm not here to have a debate, because I am terrible at debating. You can make of my idea what you will, but I advise you against taking it too literally. Isn't this picture beautiful?
We will be staying with my maternal grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins. My grandfather came from Bogra, another region in Bangladesh, and I didn't see him until this morning. So far, I have been reading my books, writing, doing math, talking to my cousins, and going to a few restaurants. I have been reading Great Expectations, A Brief History of Time, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower: three very different books. I like to compare and contrast Charlie's mode of thought with my own. Charlie often writes about what goes on in his life, and the train of thought comes from there, while I write about vague ideas. He is a true wallflower, but I am not really much of any one thing. Sometimes, I am a wallflower, sometimes, I am a windbag. Someone told me I am random, and someone else told me I seem meticulous. Someone said I need to shut up, someone else told me I was reserved. Someone said I have a mental age of five and seventy-five at the same time. I am just quoting people to share a little something about myself: I am an adjustor to my surroundings, as I remain in this arbitrary construct of a human. Please don't think that means I see myself above everyone else, because chances are, a lot of you guys kind of have the same thing going on.
Yesterday seemed long, like it had several universes. I slept in the afternoon, and did all those things I talked about earlier for the rest of the day. My brother Sahir, and my cousins Raeed Zainuddin and Reethee Ghafoor are trying to become Youtube sensations. I guest starred in one of their videos, and will probably do several more. You can watch this video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyANWeSwcvc. Check out their other videos, subscribe, leave a comment: whatever you like. (The sound quality is kind of amateur, so preferably, use headphones. It picks up at around 30 seconds.)
Meanwhile, I am very proud of the Miami Valley School. The Middle and Upper School together collected about 104 pounds of school supplies. Though the high school didn't make three suitcases, I am thinking about performing a song and dance on the first day back anyways just for effort and principle, because the kids will appreciate the supplies regardless. Nothing is written in stone yet, since I am having a conflict between my thinking and feeling self. This is what you've collected:
That is pretty good.
I guess that is all for now. Leave comments, and share this blog. I hope you enjoyed what you've just read, and that you made something out of it.
Stay cool,
Ahsem Kabir
Images from (respectively):
http://blog.vanillaforums.com/philosophy/3-ways-a-vanilla-forum-is-better-than-a-flight-from-london-to-vancouver/
My phone
http://www.henderson-art.co.uk/art-detail.php?id=chaos
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Perks_of_Being_a_Wallflower
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