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.