March 14, 2010

Rakib informed me that there in now an thirteen hour time difference between Bangladesh and the US, they no longer use daylight savings time in Bangladesh. The government finally decided to change the time back to standard time. There is no plan to go back to daylight savings time in the future. It caused too much confusion for the people due to poor communication about it and not having a plan in place to go back to standard time in the fall of the year.
Rakib said that he had read my updates on the troop 1776 website. He said that he was proud of me for sharing our conversations with the scouts. He also said he was pleased with how accurate my reports were. He said I was smart and understood what he was telling me about his education, country, people and politics.
I asked Rakib “how often do you go to the internet café’. He said several times a week. The teachers post instruction and notes on the college bulletin board which he must retrieve. He also said each book has a website that he can access for updates and additional information.
Rakib told me a bit about how the grading and exam system works. In each area of study there are item exams each week. At the end of subject an area of study there is a card exam. The card exam is both written and oral. At the end of March Rakib will have three card exams in the subjects he is studying at this time. Those subjects are anatomy, biochemistry, physiology and cardiology. At the end of one and a half years the first professional exam will be held. At that time he will be tested on all of the subjects he studied in the last eighteen months. Rakib stated that he was very proud of his college and his teachers.
Rakib asked if we had any success in obtaining a laptop computer or a digital camera for him. Several people in the troop said they might be able to obtain one of these items for Rakib. I told him we had not secured them at this time but we were still pursuing it. Rakib said he was very grateful for the efforts.
Rakib spoke a bit more about the student recreation tours he went on. He said they also listened to a concert and observed a football match. He said the students really enjoyed it and that it was a reward for all of the hard study they had done. Rakib said a friend had a camera and took some pictures on the trip. He will put them on a pen drive and give them to Rakib so he can email them to us.
I asked Rakib if he had talked to Dr. Mohsin recently. He replied “I talked to him last week. Dr. Moshin told me Mr. Bob really likes you very much. He told me this over and over. He also told me you will be a good Doctor Rakib”.
Dr. Mohsin told Rakib that he believes his personality had a great deal to do with him getting admitted to medical college. One of the Doctors on the college medical board who interviewed Rakib told Dr. Mohsin that he told the other Doctors on the board, “you should admit Rakib, and he is very respectful and has a good attitude”. Dr. Mohsin thinks the college medical board was impressed with Rakib as a person, and his personality was the reason they created an additional seat for a child of a freedom fighter.
Rakib told me, “I respect all of my teachers and the other students, and in return I get their respect”.
Having the respect of this group of people is a great honor, accomplishment and source of pride for Rakib. In Bangladeshi culture there is a separation of classes due to the cast system that still exists there.
I asked Rakib if the people in his home village of Rayenda knew he was attending medical college. He said many of them know and have told his parents that they are proud of Rakib. Rakib reminded me how his Mother cried out with joy when she heard the news that Rakib was admitted to Med. school. Rakib’s mother told him “after cyclone Sidr we lost everything, God watched out over our son and made our dream come true”.
Rakib told me a bit about what he is studying. He has been studying the bones of the arm, hand and back. He told me he knows them very well. He also studied the structure of the breast, just the structure for now. He will learn about diseases including breast cancer in his third year of med school. Studying the breast reminded him about Dr. Ahmed’s desire to start a program in Bangladesh for breast cancer screening and treatment.
Rakib told me that due to Bangladeshi culture many women are shy about showing their breast to a doctor even if they know something is wrong. He also stated that not many doctors go into gynecology because women won’t go to one. Rakib is smart and perceptive, he is also open and honest in our conversations, and I learn a lot about the culture and customs of Bangladesh from Rakib.
Rakib asked how my children were doing. He mentioned that he enjoyed talking to my daughter Dawn when I spent time with her over the Christmas holiday. He said to tell her he was proud of her for the medical research she does with animals. He also said to thank her and her coworkers for the money they donated to buy his new cloths for medical college and new scout uniform. He asked me to give his love to all of my children.
Rakib asked if we had located a laptop computer of digital camera for him. He said he feels bad asking, we have been so generous to him already. Many students have laptops and access the internet from the hostel. Rakib travels to the internet café’ several times a week to access the notes his teachers post and to do additional research on the internet. He reminded me to look for some photos he sent to me. He told me that it takes about four minutes to download each of the photos I send to him.
It was about midnight in Bangladesh. Rakib said he had to go back to his studying. We ended the call by wishing each other well.