American Dental Association Accepted

One of the most interesting things about being in a Muslim country is that... it's okay to be Muslim. That sounds like an odd thing to say, I know, but hear me out. Because pretty much everyone is Muslim, the standard greeting isn't hello, it's Assalam-o-alaikum, which is what Muslims say to each other when they meet. There are billboards that advertise for Eid specials, similar to the Christmas sales you would see in December. And one of the things that struck me the most is that you can hear the Adhan (call to prayer) being called, regardless of where you are, when it is time for prayers. Case in point: this morning, we heard the Adhan being called around 4:45am and my dad and I got up to say our morning prayers. There was something indescribably beautiful about the whole experience.

Today is Friday so we went to the mosque for Jummah this afternoon. Jummah is the weekly sermon and prayers that Muslims do, analogous to Sunday for Christians. Because Jummah is on a Friday, the weekend in Bangladesh is on Friday and Saturday.

We arrived at our mosque about an hour early. No one knew we were coming but we were immediately welcomed and shown to a place to sit while we waited. The mosque is huge, easily holding a few thousand people for prayers. After sitting for a few minutes, we were shown into the office of the private secretary for the Ameer, or country president, of our sect. He chatted with us a bit, and gave us some food and water, and a few minutes later, we were taken to sit with the Ameer himself. He was an incredibly warm and welcoming man. Very friendly and easy to talk to. I was surprised that he was able to receive us so close to Jummah; it was very nice of him. The Jummah sermon was all in Bangla, the national language of Bangladesh, so we couldn't understand a word of it. After Jummah, the Ameer wanted to talk with us some more, so we went back to his office. There, we were joined by a few others as well. They all talked business and religion for the better part of an hour before we left. I sat, nodded my head and smiled a lot.

After Jummah, we went to a supermarket to buy a few things. I had sort of expected this, but I was still a little surprised to see just how many things in this supermarket I would be able to find on the shelves of Safeway at home. Even the packaging is the same; I bought a pack of Trident that says "American Dental Association Accepted" on it.

I've only been here two days, but there is certainly some level of familiarity that I miss. There is a part of me that is dying to know every time I see a white person, "What are you doing here?! This is Bangladesh. I'm brown and even I wasn't sure I wanted to come here." I have to suppress my instinct to talk to every Caucasian person I see as if somehow we share some bond by being foreigners here.

Thus far I've only really seen Bangladesh from the inside of a car. I hope we get a chance to go outside and walk through the streets a little more before the end of the trip.