5, 6, 7

Following up on the earlier list of the Top 10 (really only 4) ways you know you've adjusted to living in Dhaka, here are a few more:

5. You stop referring to the weekend as Saturday and Sunday (because the weekend here is Friday and Saturday);

6. Driving (or rather riding) on the left-hand side of the road feels normal, and you even remember to walk around to the correct side of the vehicle to get in the passenger seat;

7. The only place you expect to see a spray nozzle indoors is next to the toilet seat, not the kitchen sink. Kaya in particular is going to miss his daily sprayings when we are away this summer.




I think the fact that we are only up to No.7 suggests that we all still have some adjustment to do...

Writer's Block?

I guess you can’t really call it writer’s block since I do not consider myself a writer, but bloody hell (as my British counterparts would say), this is ridiculous. I have so much to say, but I can’t find a starting point. There is so much that goes on and there are so many surreal things about Dhaka and Bangladeshis that I am feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. Hmm, kind of like when we try and go to a local market.

Well, let me ramble on and see if we can construct anything interesting. Only twenty-one more days until we fly back! We are very excited to see family and friends and to go to Starbucks. Did I just say that, I mean and go to… Okay fine, I am not ashamed to admit that I for one, am excited to sit down at a proper coffee shop and suck down some sugar, milk and coffee. Dhaka is great, but it doesn’t have any of the “cookie cutter” restaurants or stores that we have back home. Sometimes you just need to get out of Dhaka and those places would be great to have here! Actually, we do have a Pizza hut, seriously, a Pizza Hut. Lovely. I did see a Chili’s sign a few months back, but as it turns out the sign, like many things in Bangladesh, wasn't real. The restaurant had Bangladeshi food and that was it. No awesome blossom, bummer. Somehow the owner got an exact replica of the Chili’s sign!!! I also saw a Best Buy sign in rickshaw alley. Doubt I will be able to get the latest season of Entourage there. Actually, on second thought, I may be able to find it there! A friend of mine told me she purchased the Wolverine movie on DVD before it came out in the States. Piracy is alive and well on this side of the world. Arrrrr, matey.

Bangladesh, what the hell am I doing here!? Why am I enjoying it so much? I guess it’s that untamed, insatiable wanderlust in me that seems to…... Whoa, that last line sounded a little too Kerouac for me. I best be on my way, on the road and into the wild of Dhaka. From what I understand you all enjoy the Kaya quotes much more anyhow. He’s so funny.

Quote unquote

:: Drawing of our family (Mama is in pink, Daddy is in orange, and Kaya is the big purple one, upside-down) and letters made with a stencil ::

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Daddy: I am coming right now, Kaya. One minute. Hold on.

Kaya: Daddy, there is no "hold on" in "I am coming!"

He did have a point...

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Kaya: Mama, ice cream has calcium in it.

M: Yes, that's correct.

Kaya: So I need some!

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Mama: Kaya, look at the baby. Isn't she cute?

Kaya: Yes! Can we borrow her for the weekend?

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Kaya: [feeling a scab on his elbow] Mama, feel how rough and prickly this is!

Mama: Wow, prickly.

Kaya: Yeah, just like your legs when you wear shorts!

Ouch.

An adventure :: by mama

I have recently had a couple of opportunities through work to travel to Barisal, which is directly south of Dhaka, about 6 hours by car or 40 minutes by air. Going by car is interesting because you get to see a lot of the countryside and people going about their lives, but it is a long and occasionally nerve-wracking trip, given the state of the roads (and the drivers). Going by plane, on the other hand, is easy and convenient, albeit somewhat lacking in the charms of the Bangladeshi landscape. However, if you travel on the MAF flight, it does have the added bonus of the excitement of a water landing.

I think I was the only one in our group who had never been on a pontoon plane or experienced a water landing, so I felt like a little bit of a novice, but I went ahead and giddily took a zillion pictures anyway. It was a crazy feeling to be in a plane, in the middle of a river, and not be running for the emergency exit. And of course, this is Bangladesh, one of the most densely populated countries in the world, so even the rivers are crowded with fishermen in canoes, ferries, boats carrying cargo, and all manner of people and debris. We created quite a spectacle and attracted crowds on both banks of the river. Of course, it takes absolutely nothing of interest whatsoever to attract a crowd of staring onlookers in Bangladesh, but for once I could actually understand and share in the people's excitement. A plane just landed in the river! It was pretty darn awesome.

Aside from that, it was nice to get out of Dhaka, to see some greenery and check out the villages. It's really beautiful and so refreshing.

Bangladesh is lucky to have MAF operating here. They deliver medical and other supplies to remote areas and conduct rescue and relief operations following floods and natural disasters. They also allow aid workers, medical personnel, and others to reach communities that would otherwise be nearly inaccessible. Thank you, MAF!

Motherly wisdom :: by mama

I recently read the book Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys. It's not a new book; I've had it since Kaya was born and have only just now gotten around to reading it. (Oops.) I got a lot out of the book and would strongly recommend it to parents and teachers of boys -- in fact, I think I'm going to buy one for Kaya's pre-K teacher next year. Does that make me the kind of parent teachers dread??

In any case, in honor of Mother's Day, I wanted to share the passage that has stuck with me the most from the book, the one that I find myself thinking about at some point in every day. Here it is:

"When we see a mother and son in a synchronous relationship, we see a mother willing to look upon child rearing as a practice -- like meditation or yoga -- and willing to try to view the world through her son's eyes in order to understand his needs. That willingness to learn from a child is the single strongest trait in a parent, and it is so important for the mother of a boy because she has so much to learn about a boy's experience of himself and his world."

I like the idea of coming to parenting as a practice: coming to it fresh each day and trying to improve in whatever ways we can. I can relate to this idea from yoga, where we might do the same poses over and over again, but in some ways they are new every time, and there is always some way of improving, adjusting, stretching a little more. I can't say that I always approach parenting with such a Zen-like attitude, but it is a good mantra for me.

Happy mother's day to all the moms out there, most especially to our own fantastic mothers, who have done so much to guide and encourage us. They have put up with a lot from us over the years, as we throw ourselves into situations that most "normal" children would avoid, but they have taken it all in stride and supported us in so many ways. We continue to learn from their examples of generosity and unconditional love. We love you!!