What do you think of when you look back upon your summer break? Most would say visiting the beach, late night bonfires, spending time with friends and family, or even firework showings. Other’s might even get as vague as to say a break from school. Tasnia Chowdhury ‘18 might have said these things when looking back upon previous summer’s, but not this past one. She had the privilege to go on a month-long vacation with her family to her home country of Bangladesh for the first time in a long while.
“It had been a long time since I’ve seen my cousins and relatives that live there. It’s my birthplace, it’s where my parents met, and where they spent their childhood,” Tasnia says.
Although she was very excited to arrive in Bangladesh, the trip there was long and grueling. “It took me about two days to reach Bangladesh from America.” This meant going to many different airports and flying in many different airplanes non-stop. Once she neared the end of her final plane ride however, she couldn’t contain her excitement.
“I couldn’t stop myself from looking outside. The view from my seat was breathtaking. The landscape of the country was so different from Michigan, instead of seeing white oak and pine trees, I saw coconut and palm trees. I touched the window and it was warmer than the interior of the aircraft I was in. Bangladesh happens to looks a lot like Florida except it’s even more swampy.”
Tasnia was now more than eager for her vacation to begin. “We went to a hotel in the capital of the country, Dhaka,” she shares. It would take a long time for her to adjust to Bangladesh’s time, however. “Bangladesh time is ten hours ahead Eastern time. I was sleepy during the day and was awake during the night.”
After her stay in the hotel, Tasnia and her family would now live as normal for the remainder of her vacation in Bangladesh with extended family. “We varied from staying over at either my grandma’s house or my uncle’s house. Overall I stayed with my entire family over the entire trip.”
Tasnia also did a lot of amazing things during her stay in Bangladesh. “I went shopping, ate at a bunch of interesting restaurants, visited new places like the iconic bridges which the British had built in “West Pakistan” when Bangladesh was under British rule, and I visited my relatives houses. My cousins from Belgium also came to visit so we would do something new together everyday. One time we went to a water park and that was probably the best day of my vacation. It was a blast.”
She also had the privilege to get her senior pictures done in her home country. “It was unforgettable. I went on a wooden canoe on a lake for my first shots, which was a new experience for me, and I loved it,” Tasnia says. “The view that day was stunning. The lake was glimmering under the vanishing sunlight. A variety of tropical trees decorated the landscape and the water was calm. You could see dragonflies around the plants near the edge of the brook.”
After living in America for so long, Tasnia was also able to detect many differences between Bangladesh and America. “Almost every house including mine had servants that worked for you day and night. They clean your car for you, mop the house every night, cook food, and even babysit your kids for you. This is something that is oddly common in wealthy, even higher middle class Bangladesh households. No wonder my cousins are lazy! They don’t even get a glass of water for themselves. In America, we obviously don’t typically have servants working in our houses all the time or even at all.”
As any summer break seems to go, Tasnia’s vacation dwindled down so quickly. “Before I knew it there was only two days left until I had to leave. I still had to finish shopping, like buying ethnic jewelry and traditional outfits. I put it off until the end. Almost because the fact that I was leaving my extended family and relatives who treated me like a princess made me very sad.”
Tasnia returned to America near the end of summer break, but will never forget the amazing experiences she had while in Bangladesh. “It felt good to come back home although I missed being on vacation. It was such a great experience that I’ll never forget. I visited many places, lakes, many relatives, went shopping, and so much more. I hope to return to my home country in a few years now that my siblings and I are grown up,” she shares.
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