side trip to bangladesh -- a german-us-bangladeshi tale

as some of you might know i had the chance to travel to bangladesh this july to research and report on the situation of women in the country.

while flying i thought it was quite weird to cross over meine Heimat, my home country germany, without stopping. but there is was, slowly -- very slowly -- the tiny plane on the monitor in front of my seat moved over the familiar shape of the german border.

in bangladesh it was neat that not only i was a foreigner but my favorite u.s. american as well. after people found out where we came from, they usually concentrated on my favorite u.s. american: didn't he think it was sad that michael jackson had died? can he help to get access to a u.s. university? what does he think of bangladesh? i was a bit out of the line of fire for the most part, partially also because some people prefer to talk to men.

bangladeshis value education and a lot desire to go to a university in a western country. since english is a second language to most educated bangladeshis, the united states is a quick pick next to great britain.

besides, the united states are trading partner number one for bangladesh and its textile industry. check the "made by tags" on clothing and you´ll notice sooner or later. i will never be able to buy a shirt at one of my favorite stores again without thinking about fatima, a girl in dhaka who i met during an interview, didn´t know if she was 13 or 14 years old, but told me that she works eleven-hour shifts for six days a week to sew pants.

the same tag you might find in a geman store. surprisingly to me, germany turned out to be the second most important export partner for bangladesh. we take in garments, silk, leather, and jute. in turn, germany has given technical equipment. but it has been an important development partner as well. between 1972 and 2006 germany invested €4.4 billion or $6.3 billion in the country, either directly or channeled through contributions to the united nations, the world bank, and the asian development bank.

long story short. i´ve been pretty infatuated by my bangladesh project and could talk and write on for quite a while. although it has little to do with me as a german living in the united states -- other than that the pulitzer center as a u.s. institution gave me financial support to travel there -- i want to present a link collection on this blog for everyone interested.

and i guess only because i moved to the united states and became friends with a bangladeshi, who happened to have german room mates, i got into this trilateral adventure.

the (un)power of women in bangladesh: pulitzer website with my reporting
features stand-ups, slide shows, videos, blog posts, and a narrated video audio clip about the ngos nari jibon, karmojibi nari, odhikar, and the institute of journalism and the institute of women and gender studies at dhaka university, july to september 2009

the (un)power of women in bangladesh: main website of the pulitzer center on my project
gives some background on my project, july to september 2009

hit or miss: bangladesh´s migrant workers seek financial security abroad
an article by me published on the website of the women`s international perspective, september 21, 2009

my orna and me -- walking around as a woman in dhaka, bangladesh
a reflective piece on my personal experience with clothing in bangladesh, published on the blog of the institute for international journals at the e.w. scripps school of journalism at ohio university, july 2009

bangladesh: a woman in power and powerless women?
an earlier piece on the situation of women in bangladesh research by painstakingly organized e-mail interviews with relevant bangladeshi voices, published on my other blog about how to become a u.s. citizen, which also covers legal bangladeshi immigrant, march 2009

need to change -- bangladesh´s election and the hopes and concerns of its people
a report on the national bangladeshi election in december 2008 and the opinion of bangladeshi on the new government and what they want from it, published on my other blog about how to become a u.s. citizen, which also covers legal bangladeshi immigrant, february 2009

eckert discusses experience in bangladesh
video interview by dr. robert stewart with me about working journalistically in bangladesh, published on the website of the e.w. scripps school of journalism at ohio university, august 2009

background on my pulitzer project
article written by dr. yusuf kalyango, professor of journalism at the e.w. scripps school of journalism, about my project, published on the blog of the institute for international journals at the e.w. scripps school of journalism at ohio university, june 2009

living without holidays

today is labor day (first monday in september) here, which means in the united states. just like with most holidays nothing really happens. people hang out at home or catch up with friends and work that needs to be done. children are happy to be out of school.

i have been a student in the united states during all my time in the country. being a student comes with its own events, days off, and celebrations in the united states more so than in germany: ohio university celebrates homecoming, graduation, journalism day, spring break, parents weekend, mom's weekend, dad's weekend, sib's -- short for siblings -- weekend, reading day, president's day, and probably some other days that i forgot. let alone the holidays celebrated by the great number of international students: holi by indians, chinese new year, ramadan by the muslims to name just a few.

point being: it`s been hard for me to keep track of all other special days such as regular holidays, birthdays of (german) friends, and vacation cycles of german universities and schools to know when family members and friends are off.

i had to get essays researched, papers written, and presentations prepared when they needed to be done. as a student work never stops, there´s no 9am to 5pm routine, and weekends are often used to read yet another study.

except for occasional peripheral reminders by my calendar, conversations, or surprisingly closed stores (why the heck is the post office closed when the deadline to send this paper is today?) i have come to live without holidays.

only christmas can`t be ignored thanks to common custom and commercialization.
(the low price chain big lots and seasonal sections of supermarkets deliver clues to find out which holidays is next. the kroger supermarket in athens even drew some attention to jewish holidays, displaying unleavened bread right at the entrance for pesach or passover).

this goes for u.s. american and german holidays. so everytime a holiday comes up i´m surprised.

even about the big u.s. holidays thanksgiving, also called turkey day, (fourth thursday in november), independence day, who could theoretically forget that one, (july 4), and the quasi holiday halloween (october 31), that we all learnt about in english class at school. but these are not all.

there's more: martin luther king day (january 19), memorial day (last monday of may), columbus day (second monday in october), and veteran`s day (november 11 except if it falls on a sunday, then the day-off is the following monday), to name the ones i remember having heard of one time or another in my periphery.

but they have not been bred in my bone since childhood.

the german holidays, which have been bred in my bone, alas, are slowly fading away. e-mails from home remind me, wait a minute, there´s a second day off for christmas, germany got reunited (october 3), and the holy three kings (january 6) as well as martin luther and his reformation (october 31) get you a day off in at least sachsen-anhalt (one of the sixteen german states - Bundesländer).

despite socialization i find that for me these culturally constructed rituals need reinforcement via social networks and media attention to remember them let alone their meaning.

except christmas. bound by common western christian heritage, it`s hard to forget the many, many customs that go along with Weihnachten, as it is called in german, in both countries. it´s the holiday anchor point for me every year.

i have celebrated three Weihnachten in the united states. they are pretty similar to german custom. okay, people in the united states are much more liberal about when to exchange gifts compared to the german Bescherung, which is the holy highlight for atheists and children. some u.s. americans are more church-bound around christmas, subdivisions turn more often into mini las vegas displays, and food is different. (but that´s not special to christmas. how many debates have i had with my favorite u.s. american about how to properly prepare a pancake or eat soft-boiled eggs? but that needs to be left for a different post).

but overall, german Weihnachten and u.s. christmas share common features: green and red colors everywhere, panicking to find the right gift, having and decorating a tree, doing secret santa games, called wichteln in german, seeing family and friends, and baking and devouring cookies.

other national days are quite different, memorial and labor day in the united states mark the beginning and end the barbeque season. officially both were created to remember fallen soldiers. socially they tell you when summer is over. one u.s. american woman told me that after labor day it was just not right to wear white summery pants anymore. there is no equivalent in my mind to these two in germany.

u.s. independence day comes with parades and fireworks whereas in germany fire crackers, sparklers, and all sorts of lights in the sky are reserved for Silvester, as germans call new year's eve. our national day to celebrate the reunification of germany is mostly solemn with speeches by politicians, sometimes demonstrations, and documentations on television about the past and the peaceful revolution.

father´s day in the united states (third sunday in june) comes with gifts from sons and daughters. the german version (39 days after easter sunday) is highlighted by a jolly, hard-to-describe ritual of men dressed up in funny clothing who ride bicycles pulling self-constructed carts to carry beer and other booze. praying (not literally although german father´s day is always celebrated on ascension day, called Christi Himmelfahrt in german) for good weather they hike, ride, and stumble along in the country side for a day out without Weiber, a german slightly derogative term for women. in the evening you might find one or the other in the ditch to face a hang-over the next day. if they can still walk they might stop your car on the road for a friendly chat.

or take carnival, in german Karneval. it´s not a national holiday, but a strong german tradition, especially in the south and west, which i never got into. it can be compared to mardi gras in the united states to a certain degree. but nobody in germany wears beads, Plastikperlenketten in german, around her or his neck to exchange them for a look at flashed breasts (entblößte Brüste durch T-Shirt hochheben). no, Karneval offers papier maché figures mounted on floats and carnival jester´s speeches, in german called Büttenrede, to proclaim popular political jokes everyone can understand and laugh at. alaaf! helau!

talking about floats, or Festwagen in german, they a specialty for independence day again in the united states and homecoming, the strange ritual in high schools and colleges to celebrate alumni. these floats usually feature local stores -- the kroger supermarket chain rattled and danced down the cobble stones of court street in athens with shopping carts --, the fire fighters, local parties, university groups etc.

most german students in whatever educational level are happy to leave their Penne, as the german Gymnasium/grammar school is often called, or Uni, short for university in german, behind. especially after fighting a master's thesis.

having been raised without religious teachings all christian inspired holidays except for easter and Weihnachten, haven't been strong in my awareness. as goes for easter: when the time to find chocolate and hard-boiled painted eggs hidden in the bushes was bygone, a simple family lunch to eat Klöße (potato dumplings), Rotkraut (red cabbage), and Kaninchen (broiled rabbit) was the only left-over.

other than another day off to slouch about at home and catch up with homework and friends.

happy labor day!

p.s.: labor day in germany is on may 1. in the german democratic republic (DDR or communist germany as many u.s. americans call it) people wore red carnations to celebrate.

do you have tales of u.s. american or german holidays celebrated at home or in the other country? go ahead and post them!

list of public federal holidays in the united states (english)
liste mit staatlichen feiertagen in den usa (deutsch)

list of public federal holidays in germany (english)
liste mit staatlichen feiertagen in deutschland (deutsch)

eating like a yooper: s'mores (part 3 of 3)

this is a three-part series on u.s. food i found on the upper peninsula of michigan, also called u-p, which is pronounced yoo-pee. the people there are called accordingly yoopers. to anticipate any objection on the title, yes, i know that fudge & s`mores are not only a culinary delight of the u-p. but for me they are linked to every trip "up north", as the upper peninsula of michigan is often called by the people "down state" , the other mitten-shaped part of michigan. so try my personal u-p menu, today: s´mores.

a summer camp classic in the united states, for me, s'mores have come to be one of my culinary highlights whenever visiting the upper peninsula of michigan.

a s´more is a rather small sandwich made of a soft yet crunchy cracker, half-melted chocolate, and a sugar cloud commercially known as marshmallow, which is roasted into a caramelized goo over a campfire.

"up north", long empty stretches of forests provide enough fallen branches to build the one or other smaller or bigger bonfire to produce this sweet treat, that for me is truly u.s. american.

contrary to my preferred location of s´more production, the facts on file encyclopedia on words and phrases by robert hendrickson defines it as a southern u.s. tradition. it was named so because "they are so delicious you want s'more" -- short for "some more". i can easily eat two or three but many people quit after one.

to build a s'more is actually trickier than you might think. what is a common activity for kids in camp, i found again and again to be more like a chemical science task. but see for yourself:



















first find your trusted grocery store that surely stocks the simple, but set-in-stone trinity of s`more ingredients: graham crackers, kraft brand jet puff marshmallows, and hershey`s chocolate. during bbq season you can usually find them grouped together on one shelf as this small supermarket did.

now forget about set in stone and consider the alternatives:

graham crackers are the leading brand but are rather expensive. any other neutral to sweet tasting cracker will do. in germany i would use an ordinary Butterkeks, a butter cookie, since crackers are not prevalent in german grocery stores. (which my favorite american considers a profound and incomprehensible shame when he eyeballs the multitudes of more affordable cheeses from france, switzerland, the netherlands, denmark etc. on german chiller shelves and the easiness to buy wine to your gusto of an equal number of european fermented grape juice producers. how could we germans have cheese and wine without making the common u.s. snack triplet complete with some crackers???).

as for the sugar clouds, any marshmallow will do. but i´ve been told kraft brand is the real deal and to better stick with the cheerful orange, blue, and green jet puff logo for that part of the gooey sandwich. i´ve seen marshmellows in the german supermarket chain Kaufland but you´ll probably also find them elsewhere.

the chocolate: hershey´s is why lots of people think u.s. chocolate is made of wax rather than cocoa beans. absolutely digress from the set in stone recipe on this part. giradelli squares work conveniently as they obediently break into said squares fitting on a piece of cracker without making too much of a mess by smaller tidbits of other kinds of chocolate. plus, giradelli tastes like chocolate and comes in milk and dark varieties. i prefer milk chocolate but am usually surrounded by dark believers, i mean, believers in dark chocolate, meaning at least 60% of cocoa content. i also tried cadbury chocolate. tasty, but more chaotic to chisel a right-sized piece. germans should try eszett brand Schokoladenschnitten. i don`t remember their taste -- let´s trust the stereotype of good german chocolate -- but they are thin and thus more susceptible to melt when they merge with the hot caramelized sugar cloud. they also come in the right shape and size.

now that we have the ingredients...













...we need to build a fire. let it burn until its initial rage is over and it becomes a tamed collection of flames and hot coal ready to serve our delicate cuisine. (other than this photo suggests, you absolutely don´t need heavy technical equipment for a bit of heat. some people obviously like to play with big fires, a hobby that, by the way, transcends national borders.)
















make sure you brought the trinity of the sacred s´more.




















before you start to roast your sugar cloud make sure you line up its other two companions. once the sugar cloud is transformed into a caramel cloud you need to act fast. therefore, put down the base, build the chocolate layer -- a good example on the left, a bad one on the right -- and place another two empty crackers next to them.




















poke the innocent looking calorie bomb with a sturdy stick until it sticks. while chopping wood for the fire you should find your weapon of choice easily.




















approach the flames and let the games begin.




















the trick is to let the flames warm your soft sweetie without consuming it...
















...as happened here, clearly detectable by a fine black crust of carcinogenic caramel...




















...or in this case, in which the outer most fragile shell of the mushy marshmallow broke open after burning.




















after a few burns, i tried a gentler approach leaving me with a half-raw slightly puffed pillow not wholly fit for a brief life in a s´more.




















that one was going well until the heat of the fire soften my sugar sweetie so much that it gave into its structural weakness to rest on a smooth bed of ashes.




















this one gave up before reaching the ground. obviously another case of burn-out syndrome and structural weakness.




















finally, a perfect evenly caramelized marshmallow, golden yellow blistery brown around all sides, slightly puffed but firm enough to remain on the stick to transport this beauty back to the bench to build a s´more. unfortunately, i didn´t author this delicious diabetes invitation, my favorite u.s. american did. maybe one needs to be born to master this u.s. skill?




















obviously this is not the same perfect caramel cloud. nevertheless, once you find yourself satisfied with your white sugar ball, or tired of breathing smoke, or ready to retreat afer burning your jacket and yourself while searching for the best hot spot, or simply hungry after dozens of failed attempts, just dump whatever you produced on the cracker-chocolate-duo.
















top it with the other cracker. in some cases the stick doesn´t want to leave its warm soft cave. so hold the cracker framework tightly you can pull your weapon out. then squeeze the puffed pillow until it bursts and releases its gluing force to bond the trinity of ingredients into your well-deserved self-made s´more. indulge!

















still hungry?

eating like a yooper: pasties (part 1 of 3)
eating like a yooper: fudge (part 2 of 3)
eating like a yooper: addendum on marshmallows

eating like a yooper: fudge (part 2 of 3)

this is a three-part series on u.s. food i found on the upper peninsula of michigan, also called u-p, which is pronounced yoo-pee. the people there are called accordingly yoopers. to anticipate any objection on the title, yes, i know that fudge & s`mores are not only a culinary delight of the u-p. but for me they are linked to every trip "up north", as the upper peninsula of michigan is often called by the people "down state" , the other mitten-shaped part of michigan. so try my personal u-p menu, today: fudge.
















sweeter than sweet, these smooth yet brittle chunks of sugar can easily rival the diabetes-charming treats i´ve recently tasted in bangladesh or tidbits of indian and turkish desserts given by friends.

fudge looks like chocolate but it softer, stickier, and blood-level rising sickly-sweet. it´s sold in the size of bread slices, conveniently with plastic knifes to shave off pieces. it melts like Traubenzucker, or dextrose/grape-sugar, but has the consistency and greasiness of butter.

toffee, fondant, and caramel are relatives to fudge but not quite the same















no wonder, the first ingredient in terms of quantity is sugar, followed by fat in form of butter and milk. add peanuts, walnuts, cookie pieces, chocolate et al. and you get one of the fudge varieties called rocky road, cookie & cream, or turtle (which has something to do with nuts).















fudge is actually a pretty touristy thing. it springs up wherever something in the landscape can be commercialized. for michigan this starts at the mackinaw bridge, which holds "down state" and "u-p" together like a staple. mackinaw island fudge is advertised along the road. but i´ve been told that fudge is also sold along the east coast, especially the island martha´s vineyard, and other spots where kids might need a sugar injection.

our fudge dealer of choice has been a store called "fudge du locke". du locke refers to the soo locks -- eine Wasserschleuße -- in the city of sault st. marie on the u.s. border with canada, which connects lake superior with lake huron. so while waiting to watch ships go through the locks, we followed my sweet tooth to the store.



















where i learnt about the fudge process. on the two occasions when we´ve visited the store, they always seemed stuck in steps number 6 and 7.















that´s the loaf sitting and setting. from time to time a sturdy lady fusses with a spatula along the edges of the mass, shaving of the sides to add them to the end. the store claims to use marble tops for their fudge production because the marble draws the heat out of the candy so that it cools evenly.



















step number 8a, i suppose: after cutting, the half-moons are stored in the backgroud.















clearly step number 9, dressing up a slice in a pretty box with an enticing label for sale.

that´s the one we tried -- i´m still hunting and trying everything remotely german far from home. and there´s a chance that in addition to this particular recipe claiming to replicate the taste of "german choc" the name "fudge" has a connection to german language.

the entry "fudge" in the facts on file encyclopedia of word and phrase origin by robert hendrickson suggests that the german word "futsch" or "pfutsch", meaning away, kaputt, gone, ruined, over, played a role in creating fudge. not the food, but the word "fudge" in the sense of nonsense. it´s an old-fashioned expression in the united states for people to say "oh, fudge" like germans would say "Das ist doch Quark!".

the tale involves a frolic captain. hendrickson cites writer isaac d`israeli, also the father of a british prime minister, and his 1791 book curiosities of literature. allegedly, in the 17th century, a captain fudge roamed the sea coming home with "a good cargo of lies". soon any big lie was greeted with the commentary: "you fudge it".

where the word for the candy came from no one knows but it could date back as far as the 19th century, hendrickson suggests. in the book oh fudge: a celebration of america´s favorite candy lee edwards benning writes that the food fudge arose from a cooking accident in the united states involving caramel. fudge then was brought to europe possibly in care packages to u.s. soldiers.

benning writes in the united states fudge was first documented in a letter by emelyn battersby hartridge, a student at vassar college in poughkeepsie, ny. hartridge wrote that her schoolmate's cousin made fudge in baltimore, md in 1886 and sold it for 40 cents a pound. hartridge got hold of the fudge recipe and two years later produced 30 lb (14 kg) for the senior auction of her college. other women women's colleges such as wellesley and smith jumped on the fudge wagon to spread the sweetmeat in their own versions.

back to fudge today. outside the window of fudge du locke two important announcements try to counter health concerns arising with fudge consumption:


















you surely need the water to rinse the deluge of sticky sugar dough from your teeth. this was even too much for my milk-chocolate, gummy bear, s´more trained sweet tooth. how fudge without sugar works, i don´t know, but it sounds like treason to the original. (remember ingredient number one).

if you want to give fudge a try on your very own marbled home kitchen counter, here´s a base recipe and oodles of varieties featured in the book oh fudge: a celebration of america´s favorite candy by lee edwards benning.

still hungry?

eating like a yooper: pasties (part 1 of 3)
eating like a yooper: s´mores (part 3 of 3)
eating like a yooper: addendum on marshmallows

eating like a yooper: pasties (part 1 of 3)

this is a three-part series on u.s. food i found on the upper peninsula of michigan, also called u-p, which is pronounced yoo-pee. the people there are called accordingly yoopers. to anticipate any objection on the title, yes, i know that fudge & s`mores are not only a culinary delight of the u-p. but for me they are linked to every trip "up north", as the upper peninsula of michigan is often called by the people "down state" , the other mitten-shaped part of michigan. so try my personal u-p menu, today: pasties.

mmmhhh! doesn´t this look delicious? it´s a...


and it´s prevalent on the u-p. starting westbound from the mackinaw bridge along the southern coast of lake michigan, i saw at least three signs announcing pasties within the first half hour. (my camera was just too slow to click at the right moment).

pasties, so goes the u-p story, are the food of miners. the u-p has a strong tradition of especially iron ore mining and for lunch said miners would heat a pasty over their lamps. pasties were convenient, containing meat, vegetables, and carbohydrates in the wheat dough, easily to transport, and to warm up once prepared.

of course, i had to try this almost mythical food. but it was harder to find the further we got away from mackinaw bridge. there are signs...

... like on this tiny supermarket-restaurant-post-office building in seney but during our visit last summer the restaurant was not running... (but as i've heard it was open again as of summer 2009)

...or the closed bakery in munising...

...or the shut-down pasties shop in grand marais.

other times and places where pasties did exist not only as name plates on stores...

...they are sold as commercialized items in supermarket chest freezer, which should be like the attempt to eat a true italian pizza from a cheap u.s. chain.


were hard to find. the only store in the area that was open, not a supermarket, and had pasties not only outside but also inside was...

...at the edge of munising.


pasties here come in old-fashioned meat and modern veggie varieties, even as sweet ones.

little dough balls are lined up to satisfy tourist stomachs.



we didn´t have to wait long for our meat pasty (left) and veggie pasty (right) with matching gravies. little baggies of ketchup, napkins, plastic cutlery, paper plates and wrapping came along -- not much different than in a fast-food restaurant.


notice the neatly folded edge to bond the dough pocket together? it´s easier than you think.


do you recognize the ingredients: potato, carrot, onion, and rutabaga in my veggie pasty? by the way, rutabaga means Steckrübe or Kohlrübe in german, a vegetable i never ate before back home.

but they reminded me of runzas, a food commercially sold by a fast-food chain in nebraska and neighboring of the same name. runza sells dough pockets filled with beef, onions, and cabbage.

i remember this especially because when i lived in nebraska i was stubbornly and repeatedly told that runzas were german; how could i not know and acknowledge this? a very dear friend insisted on her story that once she had a school assignment to bring something german. her mother gave her a runza as this was german food. therefore, the german connection was established. nowhere in germany i had ever seen a runza.

just googling runza i´ve found reference to them as ethnic cuisine by the volga germans -- Wolgadeutsche -- who maintained german culture in parts of russia until they emigrated to the midwestern united states and other countries. besides links to the fast-food place and recipes it´s hard to find a reliable source.

as the home-made runza has been commercialized especially in nebraska, pasties paraphernalia can be found in michigan.

want to advertise the store with a shirt...

...a cap...

...or spread the pasty culture by pinning a plastic dough pocked on your chest?

historically pasties are supposed to come from england, where they date back to the 13th century; now they are mostly associated with cornwell, according to the official cornwell guide. allegedly, jane seymore, the third wife of king henry viii, liked a pasty now and then, says the guide, as pasties were food for nobility. not until the end of the 18th century it became the convenient food of cornish miners in the industrial revolution.

Back in those days each member of the family had their own pasty baked for them and marked with their initial. The correct way to eat the pasty is to start at the opposite end to the initial, so that should any of it be uneaten, it could be consumed later by its rightful owner - and woe betide anyone who takes another person's "corner"!

emigrating to the united states, cornish miners took the recipe and tradition with them. remember the photo with the golden yellow brown baked pasties from the beginning. in lieu of a home-made pasty from scratch, this seemed to be the best option for pasties in the middle of the u-p. alas, too impatient to wait for another hour for a fresh original, i passed my chance.

but next time on the u-p, i try one of these, served in a little diner in grand marais made-to-order.

still hungry?

eating like a yooper: fudge (part 2 of 3)
eating like a yooper: s´mores (part 3 of 3)
eating like a yooper: addendum on marshmallows