Fri May 30 1st Sun. School

 Starting time 9:00 

Bro. Kobid does the translating.

S.S. here ended when Trevor’s left last Aug. So we didn’t know what to expect!?… a large group? nobody?or just a few? It turned out to be the latter. 10 children to be exact. Just Chaigharia S.S. to get us introduced to the event. 

Nobody was there at 9:00 so Kobid went searching and I decided to go on a walk with Annslie. We didn’t get very far at all because Annslie is Very attracted to all animals and wants to pet or hold them depending on the animal. So, we met a woman herding her cows thru the village and Annslie was sure she needed to pet those cows! But the mama cow with calf, in the lead, shook her head at her. So, the woman herding, picked Annslie up (Annslie is still very shy, sometimes scared, of most of these Bengalis) but this woman had her in her arms before she had time to think, and let her pet the cow. Wasn’t long before there was a baby kitty at one of the dokans. And Annslie was ready to go catch it! She was So Happy to hold it and those at the dokan said to take it. Back to the church building where eventually the daddy snuck the kitty out the door and let it go! Pretty sure it wouldn’t last long at our house. 

  Two 13 yr old girls did show up (1 of the girl’s name was Miriam) and we got out the David The Shepherd Boy pictures and the crayons. Our 3 girls and these 2 sat down on mats on the floor and started coloring. Then a 14 yr old and 3 preschool? age arrived and joined in the coloring. We sang 3 songs out of the little S.S. songbooks and Lonnie pulled out the picture card and story. Later a couple more pairs of children joined us at intervals and got their picture and colors and found places on the mats.

Walked home and made bbq meatballs, mashed potatoes, and pulled out frozen green peas for lunch.

Church service at 4:00

Shomid was in Dhaka, Liton was late… So Annslie and I hung out with one of the boys that came to church last Fri., a boy that was in S.S. this morning, and another of their friends. Their names are so hard to get and pronounce often😏 They were sitting on the low tiled wall that encircles an old, holy tree.. that looks like it would be perfect for climbing, but is forbidden. This spot is a popular spot, old men take naps here, as was the case today. And this is where the rickshaw “vans”(3-wheeled bikes with a flat bed for transporting people and goods) wait for passengers. Anyways, the attraction for us today was this 8-9? yr old boy was sitting there with his pretty pigeon so of course Annslie wanted to pet it!… beautiful purple and green feathers around its neck.. After awhile Jaira came over also and we decided to go play on the slide on the school grounds there.. it’s an old metal slide, quite tall and steep! But Annslie seems to have no fear… so I took up post at the bottom to catch her so she wouldn’t land in the mud at the bottom. And always, others gather… an old lady that wondered about eye camp, after a bit some school age boys slowly got closer…playing on a brick wall.. then monkeying around on the slide steps…and then a couple of them went down the slide… not nearly as confidently as the little white 2 yr old😅, an upper 20s man wondering what country I came from and where I took Bangla classes, how old the ”choto meye“ (little girl), and would’ve kept up a steady stream but Lonnie whistled to come. 

Just sat in a circle with Kobid, Liton, and our older, sickly regular attendee (I wish I could get his name, but so far, it’s just sounds that I can’t nail down letters to🤔) Kobid had an opening, Lonnie shared some thoughts and we sang and prayed. Maddie commented that she preferred this service over the regular ones🤷🏼‍♀️

We walked up the way a bit to a dokan for mangos and kacha morich peppers. At one point, a 50-60? yr old lady stopped and sang us a little song 🎶 about some lady that had 3 girls, that needed to get married,..?😅 And always, this village is like a petting zoo, and Annslie an opportunist… goats..surely she’ll be able to catch a chicken this time!

Back home we had popcorn, hot dogs, and mangos.

Thurs May 29

 We got rain and power outages from the cyclone coming off the Bay of Bengal. But here in Khulna it has been very mild. We are on the western edge of it, mostly in the eye.

Dipti came to wash breakfast dishes, make lunch, and sweep the floors a bit.

Laundry between power outages

Wed. May 28 🏥 🚙 💨 🏡🌴

 Started the sheets and towels laundry in preparation for leaving the guesthouse.

 To the hosp. by 9:00 to do the glucose test after fasting. Then I was s’pose to eat breakfast and do another lab draw in 2 hrs.

So, back for labs at 11:00. Btw, it’s a 20 min drive/3.5 miles to the hosp. from the guesthouse. Then were told they’d give us a call when the results were in.

Back to the house to finish laundry and packing.

2:30 found us back at the hosp. to see Dr Nargis with the lab results.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/xDVM8izaTAAmz2359?g_st=ic

Back at the guesthouse we got the ice chest and cold bags packed with the Dhaka groceries and were on the road to Khulna home by 4:00.

Takes about an hour to get out of Dhaka, with no hang ups. We had a 15 min detour around a road obstruction.

The Padma Bridge is always a welcome sight. An almost 4 mile bridge across the Padma River .

https://maps.app.goo.gl/BKvQHwhDe2TtgRvRA?g_st=ic

Travels went well, but the last couple hours were in the dark and that is stressful driving.. dark people walking along side the road, bikes, rickshaws, (not always with lights), and then always the usual dump trucks, cars, and buses careening down the highway. Lonnie found that sticking right behind a bus seemed to be easiest.. letting the bus driver pave the way mostly. These buses probably drive the fastest of the transport on these roads and because of their size and aggressive driving, everybody else does their level best to make room when they lay on their horn😳

Made it back to our Khulna home by 8:20. 

The groceries put away again!😅

Tues. May 27 It’s a BOY!🤎

 Dropped the girls off with Brianna, Layton, and Shania after breakfast. When Annslie heard she was going to Nia’s, she was ready to go now! 

On to our appt at Evercare.

And the super exciting news, that a baby BOY will be joining our family in Oct!! We had hardly dared hope for a boy🤎

Back home, made Cajun Chicken Pasta and cucumber salad for lunch.

Left again at 2:00 to do a little shopping before singing at the clinic… German Butcher shop, where missionaries in the past have been able to get pork, but not available anymore, due to the current political party in government😣 so we continue to make beef sausage, which isn’t too bad and definitely better than nothing!

Herfy’s with Jared’s after singing.🍟🌯🍗🥤

Mon May 26 our 1st trip back to Dhaka

Really too quick for a trip back!…It still feels like home .. But a follow up visit at the Drs office was on the schedule, so here we go! + I ran out of “Dhaka” groceries Way faster than I thought I would! I didn’t take into consideration the amount of times we eat out in Dhaka!…

Left at 6:20, after breakfast. The 1st half of the journey was peaceful with the girls mostly sleeping and the roads not too busy yet.. 

once we got into Dhaka we stopped at UniMart for groceries and a bite to eat at the “Indulge” deli.. chicken sausage link “mummy dogs” and blended coffee… both were delicious 😋 . Then on to the next UniMart for more groceries. 🐒 Somewhere en route, we suddenly saw a whole tribe of monkeys! climbing and playing around on a city wall right next to the busy street where we were driving!

And finally, back to Pink City😊 It’s only been a week and a half since we moved… feels like at least a month tho…

Got groceries taken care of and a late lunch put on, hotdogs Mac n cheese fruit salad and cookies. Annslie down for a nap, made the beds, and the girls cleaned up the kitchen.

Mixed up 13 lbs(cleaned UniMart out)beef sausage(still haven’t been able to get a hold of ground pork) and in the freezer for easier transport back to Khulna.

Lonnie went for tea with Sayd ali and then later met up with Habib.

Sun. May 25 🌦️

French toast breakfast

Dipdi washed dishes, mopped floors, and played Playdoh with Jaira and Annslie 

Tulshi washed the van

Lonnie cleaned the rooftop and read

Several loads of laundry

Mixed up a batch of bagels

Maddie made a double batch of choc. Chip Cookies

Sat. May 24

Lonnie went for dim and ruti for breakfast

Have been wanting to get back to Boro Bazar (big market) so decided today was the day! But we’d only been there once and did not save important places(.. where to park, where the fabric is located,etc..) in Google maps!😖 So, we really didn’t have a very good idea exactly where we were headed but decided we didn’t know when we’d figure it out if we didn’t try.

So on we drove….

Was so good to get away from the house again

On the way in to Khulna city… I was impressed again with the literal holy cow(we’re in Hindu country)over here there is a herd that scavenges in the trash piles on the roadside😱 and later they were shortening the grass in the median…

Our adventure into Boro Bazar https://maps.app.goo.gl/n9MK42r1bdsUqha26?g_st=icwas definitely an adventure! We never did get out of the van and Lonnie was maxed out with the driving🤯 we found ourselves in the depths of the market where we normally would be walking, no way to turn around! Just keep inching forward, in and around people, small transport, etc.

We did Finally find our way out! Lonnie giving me no hope of ever returning🫣 He says, his past experience with tipping a motorcycle over probably didn’t help him cope😏 But I did get some places put into Google maps just in case he ever gets brave enough to try again📍

Enroute we did stop at Miniso 🛍️ https://maps.app.goo.gl/MrSoLQ71cBg7UYkG7?g_st=ic and Artisanhttps://maps.app.goo.gl/u5mCPy51bXy3YjoX9?g_st=ic checked out Bengal Meats and came home. It did feel like a successful trip even if we didn’t get to shop Boro Bazar..

Grilled hamburgers and baked beans supper

At 7:00 we went to Shanto’s for the evening

Hot tea (cha), spicy crunch mix, and biscuits (little boughten cookies) and a lively conversation. The boys can speak enough English to have a good conversation and they translate for their folks. Yes, we really do need to learn this language because the mom, Sotti busied herself somewhere else for most the evening cause she said it is boring to sit in a conversation she mostly doesn’t understand😏 how well we know…

The youngest, 13 yr old Espondant, knows English the best and did the most talking and interpreting… he dreams of becoming an astronaut and joining NASA! His dad just shakes his head…”big dreams“ 

They told us all their name meanings..

Shanto-quiet

Sotti-best friend/life companion

Rhidoy-heart 

Antoor-heart also

Espondant-heartbeat or pulse 

Pinky, Rhidoy’s wife, is very creative. She showed us some of her creations. And then her online site where she sells her bangles, necklaces, earrings, saris and shoes(high top canvas with thick sole) she’s painted. Rhidoy says she likes school and loves math and he is planning to let her do more schooling. 

We sang a few songs and had a prayer. We made our leave, and they were going to sit down to supper (9:30) rice and lentils (bhat and dhal). We were invited to stay but we had supper before we came. These Bengalis have such late suppers! Rhidoy told us, his wife Pinky’s family, often had supper at midnight or 1:00!!

Fri. May 23 Worship Day

 Maybe we’ll be able to start morning Sunday School with the village children next week..

Made a waffle breakfast 

Then I worked on organizing and cleaning in the kitchen to make it work better for me.

Service at 4:00

Shomir, Kobid, Liton, a regular attendee, Bayan (Lonnie’s Australian acquaintance that married a Bengali lady), 3 boys that are waiting for Sunday School to start again (only 1 boy lasted the whole service), and 2 men, that were from the free medical camp last week, joined bout halfway thru.

 Going back to the house with us were Shomid, Kobid, Liton, and Bayan… we invited them in for sweet tea. The Australian asked if we had a microwave for his and then he wanted his cup of water warmed also🙃

Made tortilla pinwheels after they left

And the girls washed up the dishes

Thurs May 22

 My “happy”:  the pair of palm trees just across the road that we can see as we sit at the dining room table:)

Made a grocery run

Tonight, at the supper table, Annslie was happily dipping her apple slices in white bbq sauce. Btw none of the rest of us do strange food and dip combos, she’s not taking cues from us 🤔 maybe something’s up with her taste buds💭🤷🏼‍♀️

Wed. May 21

 We figured out yesterday afternoon that the hot electrical smell was coming from the living room A.C. After inspecting, there was no obvious culprit. So Lonnie called the recommended technician and he would be able to be there the next morning. 

They didn’t find anything right off, but upon a more thorough exam, unplugging the machine, revealed a blackened and melted plug and receptacle😳

Lonnie put the charcoal grill to use. And we had some delicious white bbq chicken for lunch. It had been way too long since I’d had the likes! I’m plumb tickled about the grill🤗

🐜 Annslie had another experience with finding out what little insects are capable of.. she was holding one of those big black ants and then screaming! I had never seen the likes… her finger was bleeding from an ant bite! There on the end of her finger it looks like a paper cut! It hasn’t deterred her much yet😏 but she does use the fly swatter some now… 🦎 tonight she was carrying around a baby gecko, and was heartbroken when I wouldn’t hold it for a bit! … I just Really could not bear to hold it😣 btw she didn’t get her love of creeping crawling things from me!!

Lonnie went on a 45 min walk (one way) this afternoon. 7.5 miles..

We made a double batch of tortillas.

Chicken tacos for supper.

Tues. May 20

 💭Miss Shana and Khira make their journey back across the ocean to the other side of the world and their homes in Scenic Ridge,OH… to their mams n dats, brothers and sisters and the plush life of America… a youth group to be surrounded by and a church house full of English speaking people, voluminous and harmonious singing, and worship days full to the brim with shared inspiration.

This morning at the breakfast table… Annslie asked for the smoked Chipotle Tabasco sauce (that we were putting on our eggs) and she happily dipped her pancake in it😊… who ever said it can’t pair well with pancakes!??! This little gal Loves dips and sauces and we never can guess what combination it will be next!😂

Today was a day in the kitchen for me…

Breakfast, lunch, chicken in marinade, loaf bread, cookies

Lonnie met up with Bro. Shamir at the cafe, in the hospital where he works, for coffee and and snacks which turned into lunch. 

We had a nice little rain storm come thru which resulted in running on the generator for several hours.

Couple loads of laundry

Just before dark Lonnie took us down a different direction of the village than the rest of us had been before. Where the road suddenly opens up and there is a large area that floods in the rainy season, but now is a pasture, soccer field,.. it was an absolutely lovely evening out there in the open, there was a constant gentle breeze blowing, it was peaceful with a background of bustling village and happy sounds of children playing, cows being herded home, on the cobblestone/brick path past us,…. 

💭 I love hills and trees and creeks!… But there’s also something about wide open spaces, big sky, and the breeze on your face, I would’ve like to just sit and soak it in for a few hours….

But darkness was falling, especially as we made our way back thru the tree shrouded path thru the village. We stopped at a dokan and bought a pair of flip flops( bout $1.50)for the daughter that’s been having a real time of it these last couple months keeping track of her footwear🤔 

Mon. 19

 Today consisted of:

Maddie and Jaira- reading, spending time in the pool, doing a few household chores. Jaira announced the other day again that she’s ready to go back to America.. and then the next time she tells us she’s half Bengali.. can’t remember what determined that one💭🤔

Annslie- her all time favorite distraction… catching any little bug(ant, millipede, spider, etc.), gecko, frog,… there’s at least one of the above around at any given time🙃. Any onlooker has fits and conniptions and it’s possible it could be vital that we train her away from it. Amazingly, she hasn’t had too ill of effects. But even the rare occasion of getting bit/stung (yesterday it was some type of flying ant) doesn’t seem to deter her😏

If you ask her “how many? (e.g. “How many blankets does your doll need, anyway!?!”) her standard answer is “10”😅

The natives get a kick out of it when she uses Bangla words like “dhonnobad” (Thankyou) or “dhEka hObe” see ya (later/again) 

Lonnie- took 3 long walks, got another buzz cut from our barber, Bro Liton,… Lonnie hasn’t managed to get him to just give him a trim job yet, like he’s tried to ask for.. 🤔

I- enjoyed a break from cooking🤗 Dipti spent from 10- noon making chicken curry, rice, shaved!?! carrots and okra fry, and dhal.

Worked in the room on the main floor next to ours that I’d like to get fixed up for Annslie…

Watched and visited a bit with Dipti in the kitchen. It’s with much effort to get what she’s saying/asking and then just as much effort to give a reply that makes sense🤦🏼‍♀️

Load of laundry

power went out a couple times. Hopefully we’ll get the battery back up working again, in the meantime, it’s go out to the shed and pull start the generator at any given time throughout the day or night. And then go turn off all the A.C.s and water heaters so it doesn’t trip a breaker. 

Sun. May 18

 There is a “Meals to the Fields and more“ cookbook here at the Khulna house that I’m having so much fun with🤗

And the 6ft? round Kiddie pool here is put to use most everyday! Annslie wakes up begging to go ‘wimmin’ before breakfast even🏊‍♀️

Lonnie went out walking thru the village a couple times today. Met a professional driver. He invited him to his house so they walked a good little pc and stooped to enter his one room abode with a lean-to on one side.

I worked on finding places for more things/emptying totes, load of laundry, getting meals on the table, reading the cookbook when I got a chance/sitting outside while Annslie played..

Some observations from life back in Dhaka:

•these Bengalis like to dress up! Long sleeved button down shirts for the men are Very common, Everyday! Just as many or more than T-shirts or the long Muslim shirt. Dress pants of some sort are very common also. 

•But then, it’s not strange to see them wearing rubber slides with their nice clothes either😅 even the police men standing by the road directing traffic in their uniforms sometimes just wearing rubber slides! On the footwear tho, I’ve taken note that it’s about 50/50 those that wear shoes and those that wear some type of sandals/flip flops/slides/crocs. The school children, in their uniforms, mostly wear a white Velcro shoe😎

Guess we’ll see if that’s a lot different down here in Khulna.. but it was not strange for Lonnie and I to feel a bit casual in how we were dressed, with our short sleeves and flip flops. The ladies, as a majority, wear long sleeves also, and of course, skirts down to the ground or a loose cotton long pant. And so much of the time, head wear that comes down over their shoulders, and those that are completely covered except a strip for their eyes. And the mind boggling, is how they do this in the hot sticky climate with real feel temps often rising above 100*. Most, without an A.C. to cool down with, ever! 💭 And the things we Americans can complain about and simply refuse to do because of discomfort….

•The other day, in the UniMart parking garage, we saw a Tesla for the 1st time here✨ it was getting a bath 🧽🫧

• another impressive observation, is the respect for the white person.. every time we left or entered the Pink City gates, the guards saluted us

 taking a rickshaw down the highway… I observed a young man sitting on a bridge banister, as we passed, his face broke into this ear to ear grin😀… it looked like it made him HaPpY just to see that rickshaw full of white people!?!

 And always… young and old alike want to hold that white toddler or ask to have a picture with.

Sat. May 17

 Lonnie took Tulshi (our guard) with him to go find dim & ruti (scrambled eggs and torts) for breakfast. While them and Annslie were gone, Dipti showed up to clean.

She washed dishes, swept all the floors (both levels) and mopped the main floors.

I put in a load of laundry.

We went in to Khulna to Safe n Save in search of some groceries and fresh produce. A successful run and then spent a good half hour or so washing all the fruits n veggies.

The girls got the wash load hung out to dry on the roof.

Lonnie went up to the roof and picked mangoes. 

And I worked on getting potatoes and sausage in the oven and cutting up a fruit salad.

After supper we took a short walk in the village in the waning light of day. The village was bustling tho… cows being herded home, circle of men sitting cross legged on a dirt dokan floor playing cards, boys riding bike, etc.

Friday, May 16 Day of Worship

 Getting around this morning was slow going!..

Trying to find things, figure out what I had to make breakfast with and then locate the needed utensils, baking dishes, etc. We sat down to breakfast by noon, I believe🤔… biscuits and gravy.

4:00 was the church service. Lewis parked his CNG in side our gate and walked with us. Bros Samir and Kobid showed up on their motorcycles. Unlocked the metal building on a bamboo framework, propped the windows open with sticks, swept the concrete floor, set the plastic chairs up, put the songbooks out. There are 3 ceiling fans that have been installed since we were here last, a lovely improvement!!🤗 one of them was having issues so it was left it off.

Bro Liton showed up and also a regular attendee. Partway thru the service 3 children joined us..

The 10 yr old girl that sat down beside me, it sounded like she said her name was Oompa, and her brother and another boy found chairs on the men’s side. After church their mothers showed up in the entry.

The 2 Brothers conduct the service here, opening songs, message where he interpreted for us, but still difficult to follow. Lonnie did share a few thoughts. But it was so different from the Dhaka service where Jared led all the songs and him and Lonnie took turns with opening and message and was easy to follow…. 

Another great improvement since our last visit here: Annslie sat in church with me thru the entire service!!

On the way home we decided to check out the gathering behind the school or more specifically, to the right and behind of the mosque. It was a ”free medical camp” put on by a European Christian group. They were doing diabetes checks, there was a scale out there, blood pressure cuff,etc and they had just given a wheelchair to a man who was missing both legs just below the knee. There were speeches and clapping and the man in the wheelchair gave an emotional Thankyou speech. They wanted to give the white American a chance to talk in front of the 🎤 also but about that time it wouldn’t work, so Lonnie didn’t have to share any words after all!😎 we soon continued on our way home.

The toddler was overdue a nap but the church goers were all still hanging out at our gate. I don’t know what they were waiting for, but we headed inside to put Annslie down for a nap and recuperate…

Getting food on the table today has been a real challenge! Finally sat up to rice n beans, vinaigrette, and cabbage salad by 9:00! 

Here is the Google maps link to our house here in Khulna

https://maps.app.goo.gl/s1E7BiMHHVWYoHz7A?g_st=iw

Thurs. May 15 Moving Day

 Also our 3 months, in BD, mark.

We ran several loads thru the washer, had breakfast, and loaded everything up. The crew from Jared’s walked over to say “Bye” and see us off. The things that didn’t fit in our van were loaded into Jared’s and he drove halfway. We left shortly after 9:00. Doyle drove up from Gopalgonj to bring it the rest of the way. Jaira jumped in with him and Amaryllis (7 yrs old, but the oldest in her fam., not shy, chatty 😉). Stopped in Gopalgonj for lunch at a street side cafe. Arrived at feda palace, our new home in Khulna, at 2:30.

After unloading, Doyle and Amaryllis headed home. We rested just a bit, made some sweet tea, and then worked on unpacking our totes and finding a place for everything. It will be so wonderful to not live out of totes anymore!

“Are we excited to start this next chapter?”, the questioned is asked of us. The girls have been really excited!🤩  But for myself, it feels like starting all over again with making a house our home, getting familiar with the shopping available here, making new friends, learning/figuring out a new routine, etc. This kind of upheaval so soon again is… not easy! You can say a prayer for us, if you think of it, as we try to settle into a new groove here.

We’ve found ourselves perking up to the familiar sound of the “beep, beep” of a (small transport) horn, we even went to the window the 1st couple times to check! But no Sayd Ali waiting in his rickshaw to take Lonnie and sometimes Annslie too out for cha!.. Just strangers passing by… hopefully it won’t have to be this way too long!

Wed. May 14

Last day as Dhaka residents.

 We went to another Aarongs this morning to shop for a teacher Thankyou/farewell gift. This is such a fun store to shop! We will take you there when you come to visit😊

On to the clinic for lunch. Miss Shana had requested beef curry for her last lunch there😋 rice, French fries, hot vegetables, and dhal. Shana gave the ladies each a fun bag of lotion, chapstick, face mask, .. and an orna for a farewell gift. 

We made good progress with our packing this afternoon while Annslie napped. 

Miss Shana and Khira spent awhile cleaning out the classroom. 

Maddie, Jaira, n I  heated up leftovers for supper while Annslie and Lonnie went for cha with Sayd Ali.

As a last minute thing Shana and Khira’s fellow Scenic Ridge friend Sarah Shelter, who’s teaching in Nepal, got a plane ticket and flew in late tonight to spend these last days with the girls before Shana and Khira fly back to America.

 Let’s just say Scenic Ridge is really doing their part with sending girls out to the foreign field! It’s so phenomenal that they all get to spend a few days together here on the other side of the world! I do believe they are living it up😉

 side note: they are 21 and 22 yr olds.. I think that’s about the perfect age to enjoy what they are doing,  before they settle in to married life.. can’t wait to find out who the lucky guys are😂

Tuesday May 13

 Miss Shana’s friend, Khira Shultz (Weldon & Julie’s, Scenic Ridge,OH) who’s on her way home from teaching a term in Awassa, Ethiopia for Ezra & Monica Slabaugh arrived today!

We met her in the evening, when we gathered at the clinic for singing. And Herfy’s for supper.

Monday, May 12

 Lunch in Dumni-

parked the van out by the road 

Sayd ali guided us to Hiron & Elena’s place…down a foot path with “homes” on each side of the path, Right next to the path! A rope tacked to the outside of a concrete wall of a home with clothes over it, drying. Winding our way back in, with Sayd ali proudly carrying Annslie, we came to the ground level entrance of a 2-story concrete abode, shed our flip flops before going up a shiny ✨ tile staircase and entering the 2nd level of a spotless home! We were taken to a bedroom where the sliding glass doors were quickly closed and the A.C. was turned on! 

We were instructed to sit on the bed.

 Fresh squeezed orange juice was brought to us in goblets and then miSti(sweet) balls, cakes of light crispy noodle snacks, and then the Best Bangla noodles I’ve had yet😋.. the perfect flavor and amount of spice 👌🏼 served on porcelain dishes… goblets and porcelain dishes in the hands of a 2 yr old are a bit nerve racking but we managed the occasion without shattering anything!!…marvelous things do still transpire 🤦🏼‍♀️

This couple has a beautiful 15 yr old daughter named Tisha  

We did a lot of sitting and waiting and trying to make a few stabs at conversation. This place has quite a nice view- looking straight down is dense vegetation and their previous small home/shack with a rusty metal roof and then beyond a body of water was the highway. We watched birds for awhile.. there were a couple of kites- they look like bald eagles with their white heads and big bodies..

 Eventually the Pink City pharmacist “doctor” that could speak some English showed up and another man. Now it was time for lunch!

After inquiring we were told they have only been in this house a month! It’s Brand new✨

In the evening went down the road 15 min./6.5 km to the massive mall here. I just had to marvel again what we arrived at after our short drive!

We shopped Aarongs and came away with some treasures☺️

Mother’s Day 💐

 Happy Mother’s Day to my Moms and Mom friends💕

Maddie went to some effort for the day for me💝

Came downstairs in the morning to her at the kitchen sink making good progress on the dishes from the night before, the table was set for breakfast, and a burlap UniMart bag with a note “for momma”.

Her gift was a pretty craft stick creation complete with faux flowers and a sweet note💞

Just as we were finishing breakfast, the familiar sound of our rickshawala friend Sayd ali’s horn beeping and Lonnie and Annslie left for cha in Dumni. When they got back Annslie let Sayd ali bring her into the house (much to his delight) and he sat in the living room a bit in the wonderful cool of air conditioning😌

Lonnie and the girls started on packing their suitcases for our Dhaka departure. Then Lonnie got side tracked with sharpening the kitchen knives.

I made good progress with the alterations on my tailor made dress. Was on the final seam when the machine needle broke😏

After lunch Sayd ali was back by for Lonnie.

In the evening was Layton’s 8th birthday party at Jared’s. Brianna had decorated a cake with a farming theme.. a big dirt 8 made out of crushed Oreos? Toy John Deere tractor and implement, fence with cows and a Lego hay bale, .. she’d made some yummy pinwheels, crackers/meat/cheese plate, mixed nuts, popcorn, I’d brought a fruit platter, and Shana had made mint tea and mint garden tea.

Sat. May 10 Field Trip/Yr End Play Day

8:30 we loaded up with Jared’s and headed to the Dhaka Zoo. 

Definitely not American style, but exhibits none the less! 

Started off with Spotted Deer… looked like full grown Bambi’s.

Monkeys, with all the cute antics that they specialize in.

Emus that made a most unique sound, white pea fowl, the most beautiful tigers, Asian black bears, lots of bird exhibits- a L a r g e pen of shore type birds and other pens of kites, humongous vultures, more pea fowl, lots of snakes but every sign was labeled India Rock Python(those must be the easiest to come by🤷🏼‍♀️), the most visible hippo- we nearly missed because he looked like a large pile of mud-the others were just bits of a hump out in the water or a snout coming up for air occasionally, a rhino, at a very noisy cage of gibbons we took a break and snacks and drinks, the vervet monkeys were right next, many pens of horses often with one donkey, beautiful zebras, Asian elephants(no rides going on today😏), and the last exhibit was otters…. While we stood there, they all sudden made a beeline to one end, up a “ladder” and stood in a line on the concrete wall against the fence chattering away, a zoo attendant came out of a little shed with a bucket of fish and they followed him along the wall till he started tossing the fish in and they all slipped into the pool of water catching the fish😊.

On the way out we got hung up with Bengali children trying to sell their wares… Annslie on her trike received a big balloon on a stick, then a package with a bubble blower and solution.. of course the daddy was expected to pay for the treats😉 on our way back to the van where the rest already were we met a young girl running with her big bunch of balloons and she was full of smiles (she had just made a successful sell with the rest of our crew🤗) 

And we survived the day!! 102* F. with a real feel of 112* 🥵 the zoo trails were mostly shaded and we brought plenty of drink along. And guess what, we were not the only crazy visitors there that day either!!?!

We cooled off on the drive to Herfy’s and enjoyed crispy chicken wraps, hamburgers, crispy fried chicken, nuggets, fries, strawberry and mango milkshakes and blueberry fizzes😁.

Naton said he was gonna come around 4:00 or 4:30.. he did eventually show up around 6:30 or later, just when the cookies were coming out of the oven, then stayed till 11:00! S e v e r a l rounds of Blokus were played. Maddie took my place while I mixed up a batch of summer sausage. Then we pulled out the questions for discovering your fashion style and also “if you were a flavor, what flavor would you be?” Naton was intrigued and took pictures of the questions saying it would be fun to ask his friends!😅

BTW, these pages of questions are in a kid’s activity book that Lydia Bender sent along for the girls, but I think the parents have had just as much fun with it🤩

Friday May 9 Day of Worship

 Last worship service at the clinic as Pink City residents. Naton, our interpreter, wasn’t feeling well so we didn’t leave till 10:30. We sang a few extra songs, Jared brought his prepared thoughts that he had taken the time to interpret, then Miss Shana got up with the school children and they gave their little End of yr school program. 

Jared’s and us were invited to our language teacher’s house for lunch,  John and Paninna’s. We walked over there since they live close to the clinic. Their abode is on the 5th floor of an apartment building. No A.C. Paninna’s sister was there also. We sat in the living room and visited till John and her daughter came around. It was so special to finally meet her children! Laura is 22 and has 2 more years of medical school, studying to be a doctor. Songlap is 17 and is also deep into his studies. Laura’s bedroom has a large wooden table(larger than their dining room table!)in it for her studies! Songlap was quieter and more reserved but Laura is a bubbly, friendly, sweet younger version of her mom🥰

Paninna served us rice, pork curry, fried fish steaks,(boiled) egg curry, and then for dessert, flan! And then pulled out icecream bars yet too! Oh, and can’t forget! She’d made us cold sweet tea also!🤗 We really enjoy that paired with Bangla food! And then Paninna took it as a real compliment when Brianna asked her if I’d brought it! Cause she was not feeling real confident about the outcome, but it was perfect! And by the way, us Americans can get in such a rut about “things we gotta have”! Paninna proved to us you can make sweet tea in a large rectangle plastic box with a lid and serve it up to your “Sunday dinner” guests out of 2 liter coke bottles! I asked her where she’d learned to make flan, she said one of her Japanese students had taught her that one! 

We opted to not shop right after lunch since it was a little later and the littles were needing a nap. And decided we’d each take our own rides then.

After we got home, our family decided to go for groceries right away, after all, to hopefully beat the evening traffic and an easy way to get Annslie  asleep for her nap. We ended up going to 2 UniMarts when the 1st one didn’t have some imperative items. It was pretty hilarious, we were just pulling out of our parking spot at the 1st UniMart when Jared’s were pulling in and they were able to use our convenient spot and then just as we were turning into the last upstream stretch of the expressway we discovered we were right behind Jared’s following them into Pink City!

Thurs. May 8 Last Day Of School!

 Hmm.. guess nothing else got recorded for this day..

Fri. May 2 - Tues. May 6

 I got behind in my journaling here… so these days run together…

But Annslie had another medical issue that came up and we decided to go get it checked out. So after a supper of Jamaican Jerk Chicken over rice, we dropped the big girls off at Jared’s and took Annslie to the hospital… that’s where we go for anything of medical concern whereas at home we would just go to our local clinic. And then the only thing available at this hour was ER , of course. So, we got to experience the Dhaka Evercare ER without a real a emergency altho we wanted to check it out and make sure we weren’t dealing with a UTI. We did not have to wait a long time, they sent us home with sample cups and a bill of $35? Now, the trick of getting a urine sample from a toddler that is not potty trained and only a very small sample cup 🧐 we managed tho 🤪

And the next day after language class found us back at Evercare to see a pediatrician. At the end of the visit he wrote up a prescription. So we went to the pharmacy there and picked it up. Only cost around a $1 each for the 3 prescriptions. And they all were for her runny nose that he had noticed she had😂 a nasal saline, an antihistamine, and zinc!

Sometime Lonnie got the samples delivered to the proper place with instructions to come back at noon the next day to get the results.

The next day we took the whole family after school hours to pick up the results. We needed to see the pediatrician to have him explain the results. So back up to the pediatrician and wait till he got back from lunch break. And nothing really was detected in the samples and her symptoms disappeared the next day after the ER visit… it was an experience and we got familiar with the hospital, parking, and Annslie even let the Dr listen to her heart and look in her mouth the last visit… otherwise she mostly just covered her face with her hands🙈

One day the school children had a party for an incentive goal reached- water balloon fight on our roof and then walked to the dokan for treats- icecream, chips, and a drink🤗

One evening Sayd ali took our family in his rickshaw to Neela Market. Past the fair ground with all the rides and I don’t know where in America there would be as many places to eat, in the same amount of area, as this place!!?!! It would be interesting to know the count in this square mile or 2! We ended up getting some supper at a place called The Pink City Hotel ( not a hotel, just a restaurant) the whole evening we were never sure what Sayd Ali’s actual intent of this outing was!?! With our language barrier we could never get to the bottom of if we were just out for a ride or if we were s’pose to say if we wanted to stop somewhere? 😏

One day, we also decided that we would shoot for May 15th as a move to Khulna date..

We have throughly enjoyed our 3 months here in Dhaka and will miss it and the lifestyle and friends we’ve made! Beyond Jared and Brianna’s family and Miss Shana, there’s 3 times a week with the ladies at the clinic, Naton (interpreter), 

and then our Pink City friends… Saydali the rickshaw wala that comes by at least once a day in his signature blue plaid pajama style pants and T-shirt, red stained mouth from a chewing habit, a middle aged belly, and zero English. 

Then there’s Habib.. a younger man with a shy wife and 7 yr old autistic son.. he left his village because things were not good.. not enough jobs.. too much idleness. He works for Pink City as an electrician living in an abandoned house here a couple streets up that Pink City said he could live in while he’s working for them. It’s a concrete,2-story, house with no glass in the windows or doors- they’ve put pcs of metal and boards and hung up curtains for privacy. But Habib seems to be a very respectable young man, dresses nicely, good manners, has learned English, can’t get himself to charge us for the work he does for us… he says “ I just like to come here!” The other day he met Lonnie headed out to go for cha and he asked Lonnie if they could come to our house for tea instead! He likes our iced sweet tea😊 and, I imagine… the A.C. and the friendship😌 We’re definitely gonna miss him! He’s a fine fellow and I’m hoping life will prosper for him and his little family💙

There’s the Dumni pharmacy dokander “doctor” that likes to associate with us also. He wants us to come some evening between 6-9 before we leave yet. He speaks some English and says, “It doesn’t matter what the religion, a man’s a man.”

Oh yes, and the neighbor children Alishbah and Arab that you hardly ever see without the little sister Aleena on big sister’s hip or being pushed in the stroller.

Wed. May 7 Last Day of Language Class

 Today was also our language teacher’s birthday 🎂 when we asked her which birthday this was for her.. she would just say… I’m O l d! Twice your age!! But, in the end, we found out she is only 14 yrs older than Lonnie, 54 yrs.

Thursday May 1

 In the evening we tried out the Bamboo Story restaurant just outside the Pink City gates https://maps.app.goo.gl/AZxTExwUhkdP7yLLA?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy

We decided Annslie was making up for lost time (and she was eating her favorite foods 🙃) ate French fries till the pizza came out and then ate 2 pieces of pizza!!

Wed. April 30

 Maddie was feeling much better and able to go to school today😊

The antibiotics that most of us are on seem to be turning the tide for us!👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🥳🥳🥳🥳

Truly feels like a miracle.. Annslie was definitely hit the hardest, but is pulling thru☺️

After Paninna checked our tests she grilled each of us with 35 Bangla question sentences that we had to reply to in Bangla.🤯

Our homework was writing sentences with the question words. 

Left a little early (12:15) and went by the jute store 🛍️ ☺️

 Lunch at the clinic today was The Best!✨ Beef curry (tender chunks of beef) rice, potato-carrot stir fry, French fries,  and the dhal was especially good this time also- a wee bit thicker with a nice amount of cilantro, fresh squeezed lime juice over it.. fit for a king😉 I’d brought a pitcher of iced sweet tea along to go with it.

We finished our homework sentences.

Went for a walk around the canal circle again.

Picking up bananas on our way home. Didn’t have a small enough bill so he told us to catch it next time!

Lonnie went to Jared’s for some bookkeeping lessons.

The girls and I played Golf(card game)