Author CAPI Communications
My QES-AS scholarship term started amidst the pandemic when Canada and some parts of Asia were experiencing a “new normal” during which teleconference emerged as an effective way for scholars to implement their research with colleagues. The COVID-19 pandemic brought… Continue Reading →
Introduction After spending two years as a Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship – Advanced Scholar (QES-AS Scholar) at the Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives (CAPI) and a doctoral researcher in the Law and Society Program in the Faculty of… Continue Reading →
Arrival in Canada On September 6, 2018, my family from Thailand (my wife, my two daughters— 4 and 7 years old— and I) landed in Vancouver International Airport, British Columbia, Canada with full excitement. It is the first time that… Continue Reading →
Academics will dread what I am about to say, that, superficial observations too have some value as I am going to offer my “first glimpse” of Hanoi gained in the first 24 hours of my arrival to this charming city… Continue Reading →
Texts, documents, and the written word have featured prominently in my conversations in Bhutan over the last three weeks. A comprehensive text on the laws of property would, for example, make the teaching and learning of property law easier in… Continue Reading →
When I was leaving for Victoria, a friend told me “nowhere have I seen Nature and urban life come together as beautifully as in British Columbia.” I was also told to “carry a bell if you walk in the woods”… Continue Reading →
We live in time – it holds us and molds us – but I never felt I understood it very well. And I’m not referring to theories about how it bends and doubles back, or may exist elsewhere in parallel… Continue Reading →
The Indian-Canadian stand-up comedian Russell Peters once suggested to his North American audience that unless they visit India each of their five senses would never have been fully utilized. Although he did not mean this sermon as praise, once I… Continue Reading →
“Languages are jealous sovereigns, and passports are rarely allowed for travellers to cross their strictly guarded borders” said Rabindranath Tagore, the Bengal poet and Nobel laureate. Difference in language is one of the most fundamental – a divide which remains unabridged by technology and good intentions. Language is perhaps the greatest obstacle facing a CAPI intern during their placement abroad, posing both practical and existential challenges. As visitors to Bangladesh, these differences affect our daily routines, as well as how we understand, view, and interact with the Bangladeshis who are our hosts, and vice versa. The following podcast and document are an introduction to Bangla – the basics for day to day – as well as some of the language’s history and what it means for the country of Bangladesh.
