November 1, 2009

I spoke with Rakib this morning. He asked what the scouts were doing. Rakib enjoys hearing about the Troop 1776 activities. I informed him that I was working with Brian W. planning a high adventure trek to Grand Teton and Yellowstone Ntnl. Parks. He asked how far it was from NJ. I told him about 3200 KM. He asked if we would travel by bus or train. I told him we would fly. He asked if it was a non stop trip. I informed him that we would probably change planes in Salt Lake City.
Rakib reminded me that he would take the admission exam for medical college on 20 November. He reminded me that if he is admitted to medical college he would need 10 luc taka, ($15,000 US) within a few weeks. I told him we would do our best to raise tuition money for him.
I asked if he got the results from the admission test he took in the state of Khulna. He said NO and the results will most likely not be published due to new government rules pertaining to medical college admission exams. The trip to Khulna was most likely a wasted trip. The new government has standardized medical college admission exams and that exam will have to be excepted by medical colleges in Bangladesh. It will be administered on the campus of the Bangladesh Medical College.
I told Rakib his voice did not sound good. He told me that he had not been feeling well. The weather has been hot and cold, and many people in Bangladesh do not feel well at this time of year. I assume it is flue season.
We talked a bit about the estimated cost of medical college. Rakib said he might be able to keep transportation cost down by using a bike to get around if admitted to a college in Dhaka. He also informed me that he typically spends 12 to 14 hours a day studying. Sometimes the other students at the hostel help each other study. He also told me that he had not seen any recent updates about him on the Troop 1776 website. He enjoys reading them and also reviews them for accuracy. Not all bangle words translate to English well. To date he has not asked me to make any corrections.
He ended the call with “Give my love to the Scouts and their families”