A Bit too Close for Comfort

As young Americans in Bangladesh, the other interns and I often find ourselves awkwardly refusing the friendly advances of strangers. Many people here expect you to be willing and excited to make their acquaintance, and will often request our phone numbers and e-mail addresses after only a brief and confused conversation. Although we never thought of actually giving our cell phone numbers, at first we were not smart enough to simply claim phonelessness. Trying to be as cordial as possible, "I have one, but I don't know my number" usually fumbled from our lips. Once a Bangladeshi has your phone number, there seems to be about a 70-30 chance that you will get five calls in a row from him a couple times a week.

Jimmy paid the price for this politeness in September of last year while shopping for a Punjabi at a local store. A man who works in the shop got a hold of Jimmy's phone number despite Jimmy not knowing the digits by replying "O that's ok, just call my phone then I'll get your number." It was the last time Jimmy made that error, but it came back to haunt him just last week.

Needing a new Punjabi for a holud we went to last Friday, Jimmy returned to the scene of his naive blunder. At six foot four, Jimmy stands out about as much as possible here and the clerk had no trouble recognizing him even after five months. After going through his phone he found Jimmy's number and called. When Jimmy's phone buzzed in his pocket, the clerk knew he had his man. "Jimmy!" he cried, and thus Jimmy was pulled into a conversation full of invasive questions.

A couple days later, Jimmy received this stunning text message. I'm pretty sure it was translated into English because it turns its subject, friendship, into quite the uninviting proposition... the puberty bit is a hint as well. Without any further adieu:

"FRIENDSHIP is exuberant with happiness and misery. FRIENDSHIP is beautiful having an ambiguous nature. FRIENDSHIP is full of sound.fury,pain and power. FRIENDSHIP is something that sometime oscillating & rupture. FRIENDSHIP is full of ambivalent & mysteries. FRIENDSHIP is a part of inveigle & dramatic stage.By attaining puberty with billows. FRIENDSHIP becomes perspcacious & blooming. FRIENDSHIP is soft sunrise handsome & lovely.will u be my friend...?"

Although I encouraged Jimmy to write "lol, totally!" Jimmy declined to reply. We can't figure out what inveigle was meant to be, or exactly how one attains puberty with billows. What I hope you do understand is how forward and odd some of the Bangladeshi men we meet can be.