Keri's Diary Archive
You'll find all my diary entries
below. Follow the links for the whole 9 yards.
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Week
92
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Home at last, home at last
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3 July 2005
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It was 21 months to the day, even to the hour actually, but on Saturday I touched down at Heathrow to end my VSO adventure
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Week
91
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Last week of work and all that
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26 June 2005
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This is it kids, my last diary entry from Bangladesh!
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Week
90
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Farewell party time
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19 June 2005
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Last week's entry certainly wasn't the cheeriest I've ever written so this week it's all about parties and football!
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Week
89
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When an expat isn't an expat
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12 June 2005
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It's not all beer and skittles being a white expat in Bangladesh you know...
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Week
88
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Corporate social responsibility anyone?
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5 June 2005
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So here's the deal. I tell you something strange about Bangladesh and in return...
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Week
87
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Cruising in the Sundarbans
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29 May 2005
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As you may or may not remember, last Christmas I went on holiday with my family and some close friends to the Sundarbans in
India. Well, this week I went again but on the Bangladeshi side.
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Week
86
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Storms now, stormy weather ahead
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22 May 2005
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It occurred to me a few weeks ago that I almost never talk about the weather here...
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Week
85
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Alarming development!
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15 May 2005
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After years of grumbling about the time wasted doing drills I realized this week why fire practices are actually quite useful...
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Week
84
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Barisal audit adventure
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8 May 2005
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As part of my job doing short interventions for partner organisations I went off on a field trip this week...
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Week
83
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Football and bad attitude
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1 May 2005
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Before I mention anything else let me give you a wee update about last week's dinnertime unpleasantness
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Week
82
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Floor shows at Dhaka dinners
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25 April 2005
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A funny thing happened to me while out for dinner this weekend...
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Week
81
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The joy of work?
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17 April 2005
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During my first 6 or so months out here I used to harass you lot to send me more e-mails with news from home...
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Week
80
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A real honest to God social life
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10 April 2005
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Last week I went on a bit about my new job and the more pleasant working environment. But what about moving to and living
in Dhaka?
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Week
79
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1st week at VSO
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3 April 2005
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And so I started working for VSO in Dhaka. I think I'd forgotten what it's like to work in an office with decent computers...
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Week
78
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My last week at BRIF
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27 March 2005
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And so, after 16 actually quite quick months, I came to my last week in the wilds of Northern Bangladesh
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Week
77
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Annual Conference 2005
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20 March 2005
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This whole week was really all about our annual volunteer conference...
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Week
76
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Intrigue and power (cuts) in the office
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13 March 2005
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I started the week with my final VSO workshop on Monday to take stock of what has been achieved, what were the most significant
changes, and how the organisation will move forward once I leave on the 24th...
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Week
75
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Politics and school sports
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6 March 2005
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As of the end of this week I have 2 weeks of work left at BRIF, with the VSO conference giving me a week off between them...
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Week
74
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Anyone for Head Tennis?
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27 February 2005
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Hey, let's start with the good news of the week for a change! To start with, and in no particular order...
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Week
73
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A dog's right to have sex
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20 February 2005
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To say you can get into some bizarre, if not down right surreal conversations, out here is of course an understatement
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Week
72
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Do you know any volunteers who...?
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13 February 2005
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Within the space of 1 week we turned our back on winter and welcomed spring. Or maybe it's autumn...
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Week
71
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Habib stands up as I stand down
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6 February 2005
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I thought it was about time you saw a picture of Habib with his broken leg, so here it is...
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Week
70
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Solitary happiness at a pitfall
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30 January 2005
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In the mob-ruled world of Bangladeshi politics these are not funny times...
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Week
69
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Great Dhaka week
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23 January 2005
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With Habib in hospital in Dhaka all week I stayed in town too...
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Week
68
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Schmoozing in Dhaka
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16 January 2005
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Well, seeing as Habib was going to be in hospital in Dhaka for a few weeks I thought I might as well go down too...
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Week
67.1
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Ann's impressions of Bangladesh
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16 January 2005
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Keri asked me to write a few thoughts to you all about our trip to Bangladesh and India...
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Week
64-67
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Family Bengali Christmas
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9 January 2005
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Well it's been quite a wee while since my last entry, so rather than try doing several weekly ones I've plumped for doing
1 big update...
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Week
63
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My love-hate relationship with weddings
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12 December 2004
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I'm having a good time at work these days, so this week I'll have a chat about local gatherings...
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Week
62
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Pushing on in the office
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5 December 2004
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I finally got properly back to the grindstone this week, and my word what a lot I've got to do before the Smith family descends
on Dhaka for Christmas...
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Week
61
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33 not out
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29 November 2004
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This week saw me reach a third of a century, and yes I realise that's not a real milestone as far as birthdays go...
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Week
59-60
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Lazing in Thailand
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22 November 2004
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These last 2 weeks have mostly been about taking a holiday and slightly about work...
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Week
58
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Chinese day out in Dinajpur
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7 November 2004
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It was Anne's birthday on Saturday, so we needed to buy some things for a meal and other bits and bobs...
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Week
57
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The longest meeting in the world
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31 October 2004
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OK so it wasn't really the same meeting, but it just felt like I spent the entire week in "meeting" mode...
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Week
56
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Strategic planning and expats singing
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24 October 2004
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Ohhhh am I struggling to fill a page this week! I'll try waffling about 3 things and see where it takes us.
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Week
55
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Relaxing in Dhaka, kicking off Ramadan
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17 October 2004
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I've just returned from a really enjoyable weekend in Dhaka, so I'm going to tell you about that this week. Before doing so
though, let me introduce...
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Week
54
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Cyclonic training
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10 October 2004
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Most of my pet hates about life here, the little everyday things that just make it all that much more difficult, have a common
them - water
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Week
53
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1st Fruits of my labour
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3 October 2004
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Saturday of this week saw the 1 year anniversary of my arrival in Bangladesh...
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Week
52
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Schools of Corruption
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26 September 2004
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This week saw the launch of VSO Bangladesh's Country Strategic Plan, a document 2 years in the making...
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Week
51
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Troughing at a wedding
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19 September 2004
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If there is one thing I am known for around here it is my love of eating meat
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Week
50
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Being David Beckham (well, just a little bit)
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12 September 2004
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It was truly a bizarre experience, and yet it all started out as a normal trip out to
play football with the lads at Pakerhat...
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Week
49
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VSO Diversity
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5 September 2004
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Maybe it's because I've never really worked in the UK, but I have never been on a
diversity training course...
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Week
48
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The freedom to hartal is alive and well
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29 August 2004
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Every culture or country has a few great institutions, like the great British cup of
tea or the French attitude to driving
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Week
47
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My 6 month placement review
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22 August 2004
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This week I had my 6 month placement review...
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Week
46
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Football Bangladeshi style
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15 August 2004
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I've been doing a lot of field visits this week to better understand project
operations and get a different perspective on how the organisation is managed
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Week
45
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Sooooo, what next then?
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8 August 2004
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I very recently got an e-mail from friend in London asking what I'll do after I
finish my placement at BRIF
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Week
44
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High and dry but knuckling down
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1 August 2004
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Yes I know, I know, Bangladesh is flooded. Well, 40 out of 64 districts and last I
heard 60 per cent of Dhaka...
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Week
43
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Volunteers they come, and volunteers they go
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25 July 2004
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Remember I told you last week that a new British volunteer called Anne had started
working at BRIF? Well, we've now also got a Korean!
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Week
42
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Back in the Bangladeshi saddle
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18 July 2004
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Would you believe my flight back from the UK arrived 20 minutes early?
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Week
39-41
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My thoughts after 3 weeks in Europe
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11 July 2004
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I would describe what I got up to during my 3 weeks in Europe but
basically you should all really already know...
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Week
38
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Hanging on until the great get-away
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20 June 2004
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It feels just a tad weird writing about a week in Bangladesh when I'm sitting in my
parent's house in deepest middle class Hertfordshire.
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Week
37
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Itchiness, and the quiet after the storm
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13 June 2004
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I know it's called the rainy season but bloody hell can it rain!
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Week
36
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Volunteers here, volunteers there...
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6 June 2004
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As surprising as some of you find it that I'm still out here, there are other
officially sane people who also volunteer to come to Bangladesh
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Week
35
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Mud speed bumps to a key decision
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30 May 2004
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It's been a good week, with lots of good work and some critical events in the life of
my placement
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Week
34
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Room with a view
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23 May 2004
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As I think I mentioned last week I finally changed rooms on Saturday...
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Week
33
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Ear ache and losing my underwear
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16 May 2004
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Thursday May 13th I woke up still with my ear ache (3-4 days already) and decided
there and then that it was time to get some medical help
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Week
32
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So where am I up to work-wise?
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9 May 2004
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While I actually spent this week in Dhaka too (3 public holidays in 4 days - too good
to miss) now is actually a good time to talk about what's happening at work
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Week
31
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Dhaka Diary
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2 May 2004
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I spent all of this week in Dhaka, mostly for pleasure but there was also some
business
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Week
30
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PAPing in Barisal
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25 April 2004
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In a recent e-mail my mother commented that I don't say very much about my work...
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Week
29
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Shovo Noboboshar, or Happy New Year!
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18 April 2004
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I celebrated Bangla New Year this week...
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Week
28
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Taxibarmy
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11 April 2004
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For those that have to go through it, this must be one of their least favourite times
of year - tax return season.
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Week
27
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Bangladesh assortment
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4 April 2004
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When I write these diary entries I try to find a theme that sort of ties together
whatever I'm gibbering about.
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Week
26
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How tall is your mango tree ariel then?
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28 March 2004
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In the series "Things out here aren't quite like back home" I've 2 more
examples for you this week.
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Week
25
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My 3 month review
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21 March 2004
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The VSO placement monitoring process includes several key dates to review progress...
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Week
24
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French tax authorities and other blood-suckers
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14 March 2004
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Having got back from 2 weeks away of conference and holiday I actually thought I'd
struggle to find something to write about this week.
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Week
23
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Sharing in Srimongal
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7 March 2004
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As I'm sure some of you know from experience, organising an event like a conference
can be quite a stressfull experience...
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Week
22
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Isolation in numbers
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29 February 2004
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Every year VSO Bangladesh, and I assume every other VSO country programme, holds a
conference...
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Week
21
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Women's rights anyone?
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22 February 2004
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It is fair to say that before coming to Bangladesh I'd never given women's rights
any real thought...
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Week
20
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Educationally retentive
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15 February 2004
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I met our new Education project Team Leader this week...
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Week
19
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R and R in Bloody Dhaka
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8 February 2004
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Remember the picture of the cow I put up last week?
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Week
18
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The riddle of belief and security
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1 February 2004
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I was visited by the local Police this week...
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Week
17
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Just another week at the office
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25 January 2004
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It's probably fair to say that this week was probably the closest I've got yet to
finding a fairly mundane routine
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Week
16
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In with the old, remember the new
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18 January 2004
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This week's photo is dedicated to Peter who left BRIF on Wednesday
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Week
15
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The difficulties of new relationships
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11 January 2004
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After the relaxation of Darjeeling I spent this week gently easing myself back into
work
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Week
14
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New Year in Darjeeling
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4 January 2004
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Let me start by saying that I contributed absolutely nothing to the organisation of
this trip
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Week
13
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Christmas in Dhaka
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28 December 2003
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After the previous week's VSO Christmas party I only had a few days back at BRIF...
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Week
12
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Staring and stars
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21 December 2003
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It's nearly Christmas, and VSO had its Christmas party this week...
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Week
11
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Where cliches comes from
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14 December 2003
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Cliches and stereotypes have been of interest this week...
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Week
10
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My 1st week at work...
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7 December 2003
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I made it! I finally moved up to my placement and my home for the next 2 years...
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Week
9
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A birthday in Ramadan
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30 November 2003
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As some of you kindly remembered, I celebrated my 32nd year this week...
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Week
8
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The Other Side of Life
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23 November 2003
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I have seen my life for the next 2 years, and it is unbelievable.
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Week
7
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Cricket and missiles in Dhaka
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16 November 2003
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This has been a surprisingly good week socially speaking, with dinner invitations...
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Week
6
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Living with the Bangladeshis
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10 November 2003
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It feels like nothing really happened this week compared to recent events...
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Week
5.2
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The link between utilities and those you love
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30 October 2003
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Obviously I've not had a totally normal week, but something interesting happened on
Wednesday...
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Week
5.1
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The perils of public transport in developing countries
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27 October 2003
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This week I'd like to introduce you to an amazing man. His name is Mr. Nayeem Rana
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Week
4
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Allison leaving and BSD team-building
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26 October 2003
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Another mixed bag of events this week (surprise, surprise), what with a volunteer
dropping out at one end of the spectrum and a weekend away with fellow management advisors to
discuss professional issues at the other...
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Week
3
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Sonargaen and Nakedness in Islam
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19 October 2003
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This week has been a mixture of realising more about myself and some of the
assumptions I have about life, and meeting some unexpected people...
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Week
2
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Bangla and the BAGHA
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12 October 2003
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This has been our first full week in Dhaka and the beginning of our induction training...
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Week
1
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Arriving in Dhaka and settling in
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5 October 2003
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Day 1 - I'm here, unpacked and fed, so here are a few first impressions...
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