Shubho Nobo Borsho -- Happy Bengali New Year

This is part of an ongoing series on the life of Ohio University graduate student Tapash Deb, and other legal aliens in the USA.

It is the middle of spring in the Gregorian calendar but for Bengali people in India and Bangladesh the new year just began yesterday. April 14th is a national holiday in Bangladesh, celebrated by about 300 million people.

In the small college town of Athens, Ohio where Bangladeshi PhD student Tapash Deb lives, only a handful of people celebrated. Listen to an interview with Tapash's friend Mashur Rahman from Dhaka, Bangladesh who is earning his Bachelor's degree in marketing at Ohio University. He explains the meaning of April 14th, how it is traditionally celebrated, and how they started the new year far away from home. (All picture in the slide show were taken by Tapash Deb.)




How did you come to the USA? With which red tape did you have to deal as a legal alien? Are you on the path to U.S. citizenship? What do you miss about your own culture living in the USA? Please share your stories, questions, and comments!

Almost a U.S. Citizen -- But Bumps in the Road to Become a Nurse

Luiza -- Severing Ties with Romania Forever

This is part of an ongoing series of the life of Detroit resident Luiza Grigorescu and other legal aliens in the USA.

She is not a US citizen -- yet. But the day when she is entitled to apply is coming closer: July 9, 2009. That is five years sharp after Luiza came to the United States for good as she writes in an e-mail interview. She says she already has an application, the questions [for the naturalization test], and has started studying. "Hopefully I will pass the test in July."

In her opinion citizenship is important for everyone who wants to have legitimacy in a foreign country that is also her/his adoptive one. "A [green] card that has an expiration date does not give me the feeling that I belong to USA forever." She says for her it is also important to vote and she thinks she might gain other right, which she doesn't know yet.

Luiza is still working on her dream to become registered nurse. Unfortunately, she says, she didn't pass the Nurse Entrance Test twice. "I said [in our last interview] that if I do not pass the entrance test I will become a truck driver, but I did not mean it, or let say I have changed my mind." Luiza says she is determined to finish what she thought is a "huge" endeavor.

"After I learned the second failure, I gave myself 30 days down-time to psychologically recover my non-success, and to be able to get up and start in another way almost from scratch."

Bangladesh – A Woman in Power and Powerless Women?

By Stine Eckert

As Americans missed their chance to elect a woman for president for the first time in 2008, Bangladeshis elected a female prime minister past December for the fourth time. Sheik Hasina is currently one of 11 female heads of state worldwide according to the Council of Women World Leaders (Aspen Institute). Many of the 76 million women in Bangladesh are still facing discrimination, oppression and violence every day.

What is keeping Bangladeshi women from emancipation when their country is ruled by one of their own? How is their situation now? What are their most urgent needs; which rights are they fighting for?

“Women of Bangladesh are guaranteed equal rights in the constitution and other national and international laws. But in practice women in Bangladesh generally remain far from enjoying equal rights for various reasons,” writes Qumrunnessa Nazly in an e-mail interview. She is working for Ain O Salish Kendro, an organization in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, which provides legal aid to women, advocates women rights, and works with the United Nations (UN).

In sum, she says, women face discrimination in education, employment, and access to resources and services, in particular healthcare. Violence in public and private, she says, remains an everyday experience for many Bangladeshi women.

Ms. Nazly was involved in the first Universal Periodic Review of Bangladesh conducted by the United Nations Human Rights Council. On February 3, 2009 the forum met for a three-hour dialogue with Bangladeshi Secretary of State Dipu Moni, who gave a statement, responded to questions, and heard recommendations.

The legal position of women, she explains, is still ruled by religious laws when it comes to inheritance, marriage, divorce, and child custody. Religious laws are privileged over constitutional guarantees, she says, work against the interest of women. As of 1998 Muslims made up 83% of the Bangladeshi population, Hindus 16% according to the CIA World Fact Book. A Bangladeshi student in the United States, who wants to remain anonymous, says in a phone interview that the number of Hindus is currently much lower because many fled the country because of discrimination by the Muslim majority.

And when it comes to secular state law, Ms. Nazly says, “language and substance … is highly patriarchal in tone and intent and is discriminatory.” Some haven’t changed since they were introduced during colonial rule.

“Women are part of the patriarchy and they are trained by men,” writes Ayesha Banu, Chair of the Department for Women & Gender Studies at Dhaka University. “Elections don’t really follow the democratic process, inheritance plays a role,” she says. “Just because you are a woman doesn’t make you into a good woman leader.”

Ms. Nazly explains that attitudes in Bangladeshi society still stand against gender equality. What supports this situation, she says, is that very often women are not aware of their right. “Even when they are, women who depend on male protection are convinced that it’s not in their best interests to claim those rights.”

The UN Human Rights Council urged the Government of Bangladesh to reform discriminatory laws and to take a comprehensive approach to addressing violence against women. Ain o Salish Kendro raised other concerns such as the continued failure to ensure equal and effective participation of women in politics, the failure to advance the National Women’s Development Policy 2008, and to enact existing laws for preventing and punishing domestic violence effectively. The 2007 Human Rights Report on Bangladesh states that up to 50 percent of Bangladeshi women have experienced domestic violence at least once that year.

Similarly, Dr. Gitiara Nasreen, a journalism professor at Dhaka University, writes in an e-mail interview that despite the creation of a separate Ministry of Women in 1979 and formulation a National Women’s Development Policy in 1997 no specific action has followed. The Women’s Development Policy, she says, was changed again in 2004 and 2008 but “has been talked about more than it was acted upon.”

Part of the problem is the low visibility of women in media. In her 2005 report on Women and the Media for the UN Commission on the Status of Women, Dr. Nasreen writes that only 6% of Bangladeshi journalists are women. Especially in decision-making positions the relation to men were “severely unbalanced.” In Bangladeshi media, Dr. Nasreen writes, women barely appear in the news unless they are victims. Women shown in media were usually “young, decorative, and over-emotional,” mostly appeared in entertainment shows, and were seriously underrepresented as experts according to the report. Bangladeshi movies especially portrayed women as sexual objects with “submissive acceptance of physical violence.” Cruelty, Dr. Nasreen writes, was often presented as a natural expression of ‘angry’ man.

An exception might be “Sisimpur”, the Bangladeshi version of Sesame Street, which is funded by USAID, the U.S. government agency for development aid as Harvey Sernovitz of the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka writes in an e-mail interview. “Sisimpur shows women as role models and successful women in non-traditional professions for Bangladesh.”

Since 1971 the U.S. government has provided more than $5 billion to Bangladesh. “Gender equity has always been a key goal,” says Mr. Sernovitz. Currently USAID runs several programs to help women in Bangladesh including Trafficking in Person, which concentrates on raising awareness, building knowledge, and increasing prevention of human trafficking. Another one called Political Party Strengthening trains local level female leaders in campaigning, decision-making, advocacy for resources, constituency outreach, and public speaking. Another basic education program by USAID trains 1,850 preschool female teachers, Mr. Sernovitz says, women are taught language, math, and critical thinking skills to run Community Learning Circles, which educate 36,000 children each year with more than half of them girls.

Since she wrote her report on media and women four years ago, nothing has changed, Dr. Nasreen says. Women are still not entering journalism because of “dismal” law, she explains, which permits corruption, criminalization of politics and politicization of criminality, extremist militancy, and arbitrary law enforcement.

Ms. Banu and the Department for Women and Gender Studies at Dhaka University just recently celebrated International Women’s Day. She says her department is the only one of its kind in the country with 300 undergraduate and graduate students participating in 60 classes. For International Women’s Day, Ms. Banu says, they had a big rally with open-air music and a performance called “pot”. In it people create their own movie by showing pictures and describing them with dance and songs. She adds that since two years the government also has staged big programs for International Women’s Day.

“[International Women’s Day] is very, very important in Bangladesh,” writes Sazzad Hussain, Program Coordinator at Odhikar in an e-mail interview. Odhikar is one of the most well-known and leading NGOs in Bangladesh. He says March 8 is not only a universal day to stop violence against women but also a day for people to show solidarity.

Just recently, on February 12, U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh James Moriarty visited Odhikar to congratulate the organization on its selection as a runner-up for the 2008 Freedom Defenders Award of the U.S. State Department. The organization publishes monthly reports on human rights issues. For International Women’s Day it prepared a special report on violence against women. They state that between January 2008 and February 2009 over 496 women and girls were raped and 80 women and 26 children became victims of acid attacks, which are often connected to refusing marriage or sexual relations. Another 297 women became victims of dowry related violence. Odhikar suggests actual numbers are even higher because only incidents that were reported could be counted.

Laws against these crimes exist but are poorly enforced. In 2002 the Acid Control Act was passed, which forbids handling acid without license. But in the Odhikar report an acid seller of Goalnagar is cited: “You only have to pay 30 Taka [44 cents] for a pound of sulphuric acid and 40 Taka [58 cents] for a pound of nitric acid. As you have not brought any bottle, you can take this jar for 200 Taka [$2.90],” said an acid seller of Goalnagar in Tantibazar showing the Odhikar fact finders a little jar capable of containing five pounds of sulphuric acid.

Already almost 30 years ago, in 1980, the Dowry Prohibition Act made taking or giving of dowry illegal. But a Bangladeshi student in the United States says giving dowries is still a common tradition in Bangladesh. In a phone interview the student says that although dowry crimes are more common in matched marriage; it even happened in a love marriage of an acquaintance from a higher social class. The parents of the groom asked the bride’s parents for about 100,000 Taka ($1,450) as dowry. About half of the money usually gets paid before the wedding or on the wedding day, the Bangladeshi explains, the other half after the wedding; sometimes the husband of the young couple gets part of it. Asked why dowry is a tradition even in families who are not in financial need, the student answers with a Bangladeshi proverb: “Ey jogote shey tsai jar atche bhuri bhuri” – In this world the person who wants the most, is the person who already has a lot.

Ms Banu says without research she cannot say if current head of state Sheik Hasina serves as a positive role model for Bangladeshi girls. But Ms Banu says Sheik Hasina has been a leader before.

The 61-year old Sheik Hasina is the daughter of Sheik Mujibur Rahman, who led Bangladesh to independence from Pakistan in 1971, according to a biography of the Council of Women World Leaders. The biography says she is married to a scientist and studied herself at Dhaka University in the late 1960s where she was also politically active, especially when Pakistani rulers imprisoned her father. In 1975 Bangladeshi military officers assassinated her father, mother, and three brothers; Sheik Hasina went into exile for six years during which she became the leader of the Awami League, the largest political party in Bangladesh, continues the biography. In 1981 she returned to Bangladesh. Ten years later Bangladeshis held their first general election giving power to Sheik Hasina’s opponent Khaleda Zia, leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). After Ms. Zia’s term was over in 1996, Bangladeshis voted for Sheikh Hasina as prime minister. After a military backed interim government ruled Bangladesh between January 2006 and December 2008, a majority of Bangladeshis voted for the Awami League of Sheik Hasina.

When sitting the parliament has 345 members of which 300 are directly elected. The rest of 45 seats are reserved for women who got nominated by political parties. In the past general election 55 women ran for seats with 19 women winning unreserved seats.

An article of the Dhaka-based daily newspaper Daily Star of February 11, 2009 reported about a vow of women members in parliament “towards ensuring women's empowerment and to be vocal on women's rights issues in parliament.” One of the women MPs, Meher Afroz Chumki, says she would work to promote female education, raise awareness about women's rights, and implement the Women Development Policy, the newspaper reports.

Ms. Banu says one of the pressing issues for the new government should be the implementation of the National Women Development Policy. Dr. Nasreen says: “At this point, I can only hope that the present government would put this issue in its priority.” After 12 years it still needs to be passed by the parliament.

***

Photo Top of the Page: Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
(Source: Image is a work of a U.S. military or Department of Defense employee, taken or made during the course of an employee's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain. http://www.defenselink.mil/photos/newsphoto.aspx?newsphotoid=3106)

Photo Middle of Article: Dance performed by Bangladeshi artists in honor of former US President Bill Clinton during his Bangladesh tour of March 2000.
(Source: This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code. http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/New/SouthAsia/photo_gallery/day_1/photo20.htm)

Need to Change

-- Bangladesh’s Election and the Hope and Concerns of Its People

by Stine Eckert

Change. That was not only the buzzword for the recent U.S. election and President Barack Obama, but also for Sheik Hasina, the president of the Awami League (AL) party in Bangladesh. Just as in the United States, the promise of change brought an overwhelming victory in Bangledesh’s general election on December 29, 2008. The AL party-led alliance won an absolute majority by taking 258 of 294 parliamentary seats against its main opponent, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Before, a quasi-military government ran the country during a state of emergency. During these 23 months, citizens' fundamental rights were suspended. For Bangladeshis the first general election in seven years was a breakthrough in returning to democracy; 70% participated.

What hopes and concerns harbor Bangladeshis for the promised changes of the new government? – An unemployed biologist, environmental analyst, high school student, human rights activist, journalist, and university administrator answer.

No proper democracy yet
“It is true that Bangladesh is yet to get the proper democracy, but we are in the process,” writes Muhammad Aminul Islam, senior staff correspondent at the Dhaka-based daily newspaper New Age in an e-mail interview. But he warns that it is yet too early to judge the new government. “Absolute power means absolute corruption,” he says. “I am concerned whether this government can control its members.” He is bruised by the past. Mr. Islam says that between 2001 and 2006 the BNP-led alliance enjoyed a similar majority but crushed the people’s hopes with “unabated irregularities by the ruling party men.” Violence after the recent election by AL rulers and its student wing, he says, have brought back the fear that this government might be a déjà-vu of the BNP rule. His hopes lie with the young and fresh but inexperienced ministers, he says, with whose help the AL administration wants to tackle corruption, reduce inflation, and create a hunger-free society. “Only time can say.”

Despair and a Digital Bangladesh
28-year old Dhaka resident Rukshana Sultana, who recently earned a Master’s degree in biology but is unemployed, writes in an e-mail interview that the election means a lot to her. She says as much as the country is approaching the AL-led administration positively, the people will carefully watch its every step. With the number of unemployed young people peaking, she writes, job creation, a strong economy, and lower food-prices must be a priority for the new government.

Nabila Naomi, an 18-year old high school senior in Dhaka also writes in an e-mail that the new government must lower the price of rice and invest in road repair in smaller areas. She appears despondent as she writes that she “hates politicians.”

In contrast, 26-year old Sayed Mohammad Mosharof, who holds a Master’s degree in soil and environmental science and works as an environmental analyst in Dhaka, says in an e-mail interview that he had awaited the election with the “hope of an unlimited horizon.” His wish list for the government includes among concerns about corruption, accountability, and high food prices a more technologically advanced, a “digital Bangladesh.”

Self-Censorship, Torture, and Freer Expression
Dr. Kazi Anis Ahmed, Director of Academic Affairs at the University of Liberal Arts in Dhaka, similarly banks on the government’s promise for increased investment in information technology to benefit higher education. Equally important for academia he writes in an e-mail interview that the people will be freer to express themselves. Under the rule of the quasi-military interim government, Dr. Ahmed says, “a great deal of self-censorship” was going on among citizens but also writers, intellectuals, and journalists. After some riots had started at a university campus “on very flimsy ground” but spread countrywide, he writes, thousands of people including students and a few prominent professors were arrested and allegedly handled quite roughly.

One of them was human rights activist and independent journalist Tasneem Khalil. A Human Rights Watch report published in February 2008 details the “The Torture of Tasneem Khalil”. At the time of his arrest Mr. Khalil reported for the respected English language newspaper The Daily Star in Dhaka, CNN, and Human Rights Watch. Among other issues, he covered extrajudicial killings and minority rights. In the report he says that on May 11, 2007 men of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence, the military intelligence agency of Bangladesh, arrested him. Khalil writes that during the 22 hours in captivity he was repeatedly verbally abused and beaten. A photo in the report shows a dinner-plate sized purple-red bruise on his left lower back. Mr. Khalil now lives in Sweden.

In an e-mail interview Mr. Khalil writes he would “love to see” the free press as the main weapon to fight hunger and poverty this time. The overwhelming victory of AL was no surprise to him, he says, since he predicted such a victory already two years ago if back then free and fair elections would have been held. “People power has once again won the battle for democracy, something to be excited about.” In his opinion, the new government appears to be “very serious” about fulfilling promises such as quickly fixing the steeply rising food prices – an issue he says will make or break it. He says AL president Sheik Hasina has selected “some of the brightest and honest faces” in Bangladeshi politics. This, Mr. Khalil hopes, signals a pro-people, left-of-center government for the next five years. But he also says he’s worried about the “fascist tendencies” AL has shown in the past. “[I’m] keeping my fingers crossed, so that we don't have to watch the orgy of political violence anymore or see yet another sham parliament in Bangladesh.”

Everything possible, even reelection
Dr. Ahmed warns, “a certain tendency of partisan administration in public academic institutions will persist but needs to be kept within limits.” He hopes the urgent help needed for the economy is really coming as the AL-led alliance seems to be more “economically aware” than previous administrations. If the government keeps it own members in check and insures that the opposition does not leave the parliamentary process, he suggests, “it may become the first to get re-elected in five years.”

But Bangladesh needs to take one step at a time. “Only the struggle for a democratically elected government,” writes Mr. Islam, “can ensure that the people will get the proper democracy one day.” Whereas Mr. Mosharof is enthusiastic that “everything is possible in Bangladesh;” Ms Naomi remains pessimistic: “Neither this government nor [its opponent] BNP can do anything for our country.”

Food from Peru 101: Quinua con Pollo (Quinua with Chicken)

This is part of an ongoing series on the life of Ohio University graduate student (and soon alumnus) Carlos E., and other legal aliens in the USA.

Carlos' sister-in-law Ledy is also an Ohio University student and shared her recipe of Quinua, a Peruvian staple food: tasty little yellowish seeds that turn soft when boiled and are great with chicken. (Read more about Carlos' new life in the USA or watch him talk about the difficulties of acquiring a H1-B visa.)

She brought a bag of Quinua from Peru as the tiny red symbol in the lower left hand corner on the bag indicates. For three people she uses about a cup of the raw seeds.

Before boiling them, it is necessary to wash them several times, which can best be done with a colandor or sieve (unlike in the picture where a hand and later bowl had to suffice).

After that the washed Quinua needs another cup of water to boil the seeds for about twenty minutes until they have grown about twice their size and have become more yellow and softer.

Meanwhile the seeds boil, she chopped a medium-sized onion into tiny cubes and fried them in a separate pan with a little bit of oil golden brown. Add the fried onions to the Quinua pot after the seeds have cooked for about ten minutes.

Toward the end of the Quinua's cooking time add some black pepper, salt, fresh garlic (or garlic powder), and Maggi spice (either as boullion or liquid). Y esta es!

Quinua (upper half of the plate) similar to rice tastes great with chicken and veggies!

Que aproveche!

In a nutshell, for 3 servings of Quinua you need:

• 1 cup Quinua seeds
• 1 cup of water
• 1 medium-sized onion
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 pinch of black pepper
• 1 pinch of garlic powder
• 1 maggi boullion or a dash of liquid maggi spice

How did you come to the USA? With which red tape did you have to deal as a legal alien? Are you on the path to U.S. citizenship? What do you miss about your own culture living in the USA? Please share your stories, questions, and comments!

Tapash's First Year at Ohio University: No Suprises but Some Worries

Tapash -- All the Way From Bangladesh

This is part of an ongoing series on the life of Ohio University graduate student Tapash Deb, and other legal aliens in the USA.

Tapash is a PhD student in chemistry who started at OU last August after finishing his BS in chemistry and computer science in Indiana. On September 16, 2008 I met him in Clippinger Hall where he spends lots of time as a student and graduate assistant and talked to him about his first in Athens. (Read more about Tapash's adventurous journey from Bangladesh to the USA or watch him tell it on video.)

Stine Eckert: You’ve been studying at OU [Ohio University, Athens, Ohio) for a year now. How do you reflect upon the last twelve months in Athens?
Tapash Deb: Past twelve months in Athens… It was a pretty good experience; it had some good sides, some bad sides. Overall it was a good experience. I had some good friends but at the same times there can be complaints that there are not enough friends.

S.E.: What was your best experience?
T.D.: The best experience I would say was working with my advisor. Things are going very well with him. I would say he is a pretty good advisor so I am happy working for him.

S.E.: And outside OU?
T.D.: Outside OU I have good friends, which is very good and I get to do a lot of outdoor activities.

S.E.: Which ones?
T.D.: Going out, hiking, biking. I haven’t had a chance to go swimming yet, but some day I’ll make myself jump into this chlorinated water.

S.E: In how far have you had any bad experiences?
T.D.: There are a couple of bad experiences I want to mention. I want to mention the friendship side; there is a lot of segregation going on. If I look at any program that is organized by a particular group, an international group, there are some Caucasians but not many of other groups such as Hispanics or African-American groups; they never show up to those programs. Vice versa. I don’t see a lot of many of other people from other races to go their programs such as African-American or Multicultural programs, which are organized by OU. There are not many other people other than the intended audience for this program.

Then when I talk about making friends, most grad students in my department … making friends in my apartment is kind of hard … except for a couple of students. Most of the students there are from a Chinese background. I have two lab mates and to tell the truth I haven’t been to program they’ve been because every time I asked them what is going on, they would tell me what is going on but then later on they say: ‘Oh, you won’t like it because it’s all going to be in Chinese and you’re not going to be enjoying it and you’re going to feel left out.’ I mean that’s a good point but on the other hand I can go there and learn something and make new friends but instead of doing that they’re thinking that they would leave me out. It’s a good consideration from their part but at the same time I believe what they’re doing to themselves is that they’re keeping to themselves to their own little circle and don’t get acquainted to other people of other cultures.

Then I want to talk about OU because it is an important part of Athens. At OU I think things are generally good except for a couple of things, for example the health insurance part. If I look into health insurance then I can see Blue Shield or Blue Cross is one of the best health insurance providers. They have very good coverage and they actually cost less than the OU insurance and I don’t know why they do not let us [international students] go for one of these insurances. They force us to take the OU insurance and I am not happy with their experiences.

When I talk in general about Athens for example apartments what happens we have to pay our own utility. The utility companies bill only one person and sometimes one of the persons in the apartment has to be responsible for the bill when it comes in; they have to collect the money. What happens is, as the landlord is not taking care of this utility part sometimes it’s hard for that person to collect the money from everybody. Sometimes a person moves in and another person moves out and once the person moves out then you can’t get the money from them because the electric bill comes one month later. Whoever used the electricity move out; that’s it and the money has to come out of my pocket.

Another thing about Hudson, our health care provider at OU, they’re charging us this well-being fee of $40 and they’re supposed to increase their hours but the problem is, it doesn’t help us as international students that much. Because most of us live off-campus and we get sick on the weekends then we have to actually find somebody who is with us to make the phone call or drive us to the hospital. Hudson is closed so there is no way to call them to ask for information. In the insurance brochure it says we need to call them to let them know if we need to go to the hospital beforehand, which is really a ridiculous thing because when somebody is sick, the person needs immediate care. The person doesn’t have the time to think about: ‘Oh, I have to make this phone call.’ That just doesn’t make sense. These kinds of things are there; there is room for improvement. They can probably do better than this.

S.E.: Was there any surprise in Athens; something you didn’t expect?
T.D.: Mmh…not really.

S.E.: What do you expect or hope for during your second year in Athens and at Ohio University?
T.D.: The second year is a pretty tough one because I have to write my thesis proposal and that will take most of my time. I also have to finish up with all of my classes before I can start with my proposal. Once I’m done with my proposal I will focus more on the research and currently the research sometimes works really good and sometimes it doesn’t work and it’s frustrating. But I’m expecting that things should be going well hopefully. [Laughs]

S.E.: Thank you for the interview.
T.D.: Thank you very much.

How did you come to the USA? With which red tape do you have to deal as a legal alien? Are you on the path to U.S. citizenship? What is special about your home country? Please share your stories, questions, and comments!

Luiza's Mamaliga Cu Brinza -- Polenta With Sheep Cheese

Luiza -- Severing Ties with Romania Forever

This is part of an ongoing series of the life of Detroit resident Luiza Grigorescu and other legal aliens in the USA.

Luiza tells me Romanians eat polenta every day, especially for lunch, which is the main meal of the day. They cook their stable food afresh daily from cornmeal, salt, and water. She says that people who eat lots of polenta will have healthy children. Here is her recipe: 

We need for 4 servings:

• about 1 cup of cornmeal
  
• about 3 cups of water
  
• about 200g sheep feta cheese
  
• some Kashkaval pure sheep cheese (a Bulgarian cheese found in a East European food store)
  
• 4 eggs
  
• some herb or garlic butter
  

And this is what we do with the ingredients:

1. Fill a medium-sized pot half with cold water. Then add a few big spoonfuls of cornmeal, stirring it into the water until it dissolves. Add a little bit of salt if you want (but be careful, the sheep cheese will add plenty of salt to the whole dish). Heat the mixture. Constant stirring is very important so that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the pot and burn.

2. Put the heat on high. Add more cornmeal if the mixture is too watery. As it heats the cornmeal particles take in the water and swell. You can make the mixture as thick as you want.

3. Stir a lot until it becomes a thick mass and the mass starts bubbling but be careful it might jump out of the pot. Stir very fast. 

4. After the mass is very thick but sticks together very well as one, almost so that you could cut it with a threat, Luiza says. Them dump the mass onto a plate and distribute on as four plates.

By the way, Luiza recommends putting milk into the empty polenta pot with the remainder of the dough to boil the milk with the corn mass and drink it.

5. Add a lump of feta sheep cheese into the polenta on each plate and cover the cheese with the polenta as much as possible so that the warmth of the mass can melt the cheese wrapped in it. Add a little bit of garlic or herb butter  on top of the polenta. Luiza says it will go down the polenta mountain like lava.

6. Grate some of the firm kashkaval sheep cheese over each polenta mountain.

7. Poach an egg for every person. This means to drop a raw egg into a pot of boiling water. Let the egg cook until the egg white and yolk are firm. Then carefully take out the naked boiled egg with a big spoon and arrange it aside the polenta pile. Grate some kashkaval on each egg.

Enjoy your "mamaliga cu brinza"!

PS: “Listen to me,” says Luiza, “I tell you a secret. Take a little bit of cornmeal in the shower and rub your face with it two times a week. It will make your skin like velvet.” 

How did you come to the USA? With which red tape do you have to deal as a legal alien? Are you on the path to U.S. citizenship? What is special about your home country? Please share your stories, questions, and comments!