LIFE AS IT IS

I felt I needed a break, a break from my routine life. I called up a childhood friend who lives in New York City and arranged a weekend trip to her place. However, my plan raised some eyebrows among friends and relatives, who thought that leaving a 2-year-old for two nights alone with her father was not the best idea.  My husband, however, did not object to my wish. He purchased my Amtrak tickets, helped me pack my bag, stood on the railway platform with our toddler, and waved at me for as long as I was visible. Like me, he also believed that a weekend away with an old friend would refresh me!  Since 2015 one my closest friends and I have been enjoying our "girls' weekend out" every year. On those Saturday and Sunday of the year, we eat, walk, laugh, talk non-stop, sing, dance, shop, pamper ourselves in spa, take photos, try out new eateries and do something that we have never done before. For instance, on our first girls' weekend out, we bought tick...

Do not confuse the title with Jamaica, the island country in the Caribbean. This Jamaica is a neighbourhood in Queens, the New York City borough, which often claims to be one of the most ethnically diverse places on earth.  Jamaica is a neighbourhood where you spot 'deshi' men and women speaking Bangla on the streets, women wearing shalwar kameez buying grocery from Bangladeshi-owned stores, and where Bangladeshi restaurants sell everything from shingara-samosa to  naan-paratha, halua, kebab, and biryani. Also available are traditional sweets, 'bhorta-bhaji' and an incredibly wide variety of spicy and aromatic fish and meat preparations that are bound to satisfy the taste buds of any Bengali.  I first explored Jamaica in 2013 on a New York City trip with my husband and then nine-month old daughter. As I strolled along Jamaica's Hillside Avenue, I turned my head to see anyone who spoke my mother tongue. It felt like I was at home except that in Dhaka you do not...