Adam Kaswiner
Volunteer: Adam Kaswiner
Bio:
I was a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in the town of Jhalakati, Bangladesh. It was, needless to say, an amazing experience, but certainly in ways I could not have anticipated. Though my "primary project" was teaching English at the Department of Youth Development, I also started the "Jhalakati Social Action Organization" - a community development team which organized and carried out projects such as an anti-smoking campaign, trash collection service, and winter clothing drive. It was truly rewarding and fulfilling, and the experience as a whole was life changing. I look back at these pictures with many fond and diverse memories.
Contributions from Adam Kaswiner
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Momentum
I go back in time, to a surreal memory. The Peace Corps experience was nearly 6 years ago, but the experience still feels close. When I receive e-mails from friends and colleagues, I feel like I’m no longer the Adam they once knew. After returning to the States – returning to the chaotic hum of other people’s lives -- I never fully reflected on my time in Bangladesh. I can do that now. Walking down the street in Bangladesh workers yelled from behind, pushing large carts down unpave...
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Recreation
Creativity is a must for those in a country with so little to distract, and everywhere there is enjoyment - if one only looks for it...
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Cooling off
Water buffalo wade in green waters getting some relief from the sweltering Bengali sun.
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Auto Shop
Little gets thrown out in Bangladesh, little is too old. Things are in a constant process of renewal and reuse, and certainly automobiles are one of the things most likely to see multiple lives.
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The bus stop
Getting around required the bus, and getting on the bus required dealing with this...
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On The Bus
Bideshis, or foreigners, were few and far between in B-desh. Being one, was like being a celebrity, or a freak, depending on how you looked at it, or felt. The bus was a microcosm of that. When you got on the bus, you were trapped, locked in by the incessant stares. If a picture can capture what it felt like, this was it.
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Infrastructure
There isn't much planning or structure in this chaotic country, and things are often taken care of in the simplest, shoestring manner possible. If it works, it works, and it will stay that way until it no longer does.
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By water
Transportation in Bangladesh was never easy, and often seemingly set back 100 years (or more). The seasons and endless water did not make it any easier. There were boats, sure, but as in this picture, it shows that was not necessarily a better solution.
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Life
No matter how hard things were in Bangladesh, the kids were always a source of joy. Their unending happiness and laughter were always a way of creating perspective.
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Ox Pulled Cart
Things need to be moved, and in Bangladesh there isn't always a truck available, and though a bit slower, an ox can do the job.
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Getting there
A rickshawalla pulls his customer to thier destination in the sweltering Bengali heat, a common sight in daily Bangladesh living...
