Saturday, June 30, 2007

Diary: Week Thirteen

Parting with the Fellows definitely did not a bring a good feeling for me. This is the lone occasion, since my coming to the U.S., when I felt: "How fast time does fly!" I deliberately tried to shove the thought of beginning my works again.
I had several ideas for reporting for the health section. I had discussed, before I went to the Midterm Seminar, with my editor about two ideas. And I had thought I would not waste a single moment after I come back. But I just felt the opposite.

I don't why I started feeling that I am falling behind my colleagues in my home newsroom and others in Bangladesh. And I went to the website of different Bangladeshi newspaper and started reading their stories, both new and old. I know my root is there and I sometimes wonder how I can stay outside my country for such a long time. Now I feel how many days make six months. It's too long.
I was so homesick that I was truly not feeling very well. It's funny but I felt I would go home if Susan and Katie ask me by any chance. And for the first time, I saw my two youngest brothers in my dream. Poor little kids, I miss you. I miss my beloved wife, my family, my friends there.

It's ridiculous, but it comes from my heart.
My mentor Greg Victor saved me on Sunday. He called me in the morning to say whether I am interested to go rowing in Allegheny river. I immediately agreed.
Greg, his sons Nik and Peter picked me up from my apartment. And it was a very nice experience. It's totally different from rowing in my river, Karatoa, which passes half a kilometer off my village home in Bangladesh, which always carry my childhood with her. Karatoa is small river but beautiful, passes through our villages to meet our one of the biggest river Jamuna.
You'll have a great view when you row in Allegheny river. The city looks far more beautiful from the river. I was especially amazed when I neared the fountain at the Golden Triangle where the Allegheny and Monongahela meet to create Ohio river. And the fountain was 'live' after a long time that day. I've never seen it trying to throw water to the sky
before.
Happy moments always vanish quickly. When they left, I felt lonely and sad.
However, I started writing my analysis on Bangladesh the next day. It's for Greg's page Forum, which comes out every Sunday. I worked Monday and Tuesday to finish it.
On Thursday, I started working for my story on Brother's Brother Foundation, a charity organization that collects medicine, medical supplies, surgical instruments, books and seeds from donors in the U.S. and distribute those among people of 121 countries in the world who are truly in need of those. An anesthesia specialist Dr. Robert Hingson founded it in 1958 with some of like-minded doctors and his students.
The volunteer surgeons of the Foundation could not give me time before Friday. I visited their office Friday afternoon, interviewed them and took photographs. They have a big , 25,000 square feet, warehouse in North Side of Pittsburgh.
I've started taking photographs at the events I cover. Although my editor asked me to take photos, I'll show these to the photo section chief to know his comments and suggestion.
Let me see whether I can find the job of a photographer when I am back to my country.

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