Monday 11/28… We left Golapganj around 11. We meant to leave sooner but the men all went to Kelly’s eye clinic to see it. It’s a little dokhane on the side of the road. The trip home was uneventful. Jared drove most of the way home. Did very well. I had to tell myself not to be a backseat driver. It’s unnerving to me to have these huge buses come sailing around you while you are ripping around a rickshaw or dodging someone on the side of the road. All the while all parties involved are laying on their horns. The buses seem to think the road is theirs! So I’m trying to relax and enjoy the drive. I asked Jared if he felt stressed about driving and he said “It wasn’t that bad!” I think my brother Phillip would enjoy driving here, he would find it to be a great sport.😂 In Dhaka it’s best to either leave or arrive around 6 AM or around 1 PM. We didn’t hit any traffic jams once we got into the city. After we got home we all took naps… We were wore out from all the fun and festivities. We just enjoyed the weekend so so much!!! The other missionaries ages are all within 5-6 years of us. In the afternoon, I did laundry, made supper all the usual… Jared went to the dokhane and got veggies and fruit for the week. Later in the day Jared and Layton went to the clinic to check on some work the carpenter is doing there. They have two huge metal cabinets in there right now that hold all the powdered milk, diapers and meds. The cabinets are really deep so there’s a lot of wasted space. Daniel hired a carpenter to make some that aren’t so deep and that are taller and then they will put all the meds and milk in one cabinet to better utilize the space. The room the cabinets are in is the same room where we have church, eat lunch on Wednesday’s, sing on Tuesdays and where the dr sees all the patients on clinic days. So it’s a multi purpose room so space and functionality is of essence! It’s maybe 10x15. Our housekeeper came this evening and when she saw that we were home she said “I am happy!” Layton followed her around and talked a blue streak to her in English and she just laughed with him. She is such a sweet lady! We studied for abit in the evening and then went to bed. Coming back to our apartment after the weekend away felt just like coming home. It is our home now and we are so grateful. Dhaka feels cultured and sophisticated compared to the village!
Tuesday 11/29: Language class… Learned how to ask a question if something was available or a possibility and switching the verbs to verbal nouns, names of vegetables and numbers 15-20. Made granola for the freezer. Studied most of the evening… Jared went to Daniels for awhile in the afternoon to learn some more about what paperwork is needed for the police, what we will need to get from the embassy for our visas etc. We usually go sing with the sisters Tuesday evening, but the carpenter was still building the medicine cabinets there so decided to cancel singing. Was glad to be at home for the day. Thanks to those of you that sent us conference reports! They where all very inspiring😀
Wednesday 11/30: How is it the end of November already?? Language class… how to say sentences and questions with must/have/has/had/ will have, am/is/are/was/were/ will be. You get the idea. Then if you want to say “no I don’t have” sometimes you say “na” and sometimes “ney” then of course you have to change the ending of the verb based on which pronoun you use. And then sometimes you change the ending of the pronoun and sometimes you dont😂 seems like Bangla is all about adding letters. The fun thing we learned today was how to write from 1-10 in Bangla. Quite the interesting squiggles. They have their own set of hieroglyphics for their alphabet and numbers. Now we will be able to read the prices on things. They usually have it wrote in American numbers but not always. (100 Taka is $1 US) Our language studies are using American script so we can understand it. Per our usual Wednesday routine we went to the clinic for lunch. The sisters made shrimp curry, boiled eggs in curry sauce, rice, the usual vegetable mixture and dal. The shrimp definitely is different than at home but it is still very good! It’s more meaty. We loved the boiled eggs. They are yellow from the curry. They where the same kind that we had at Tim and Sherilyns a few years ago! We were trying to decide on the way home what kind of meat/curry was our favorite. So far Jared’s is the shrimp or chicken and I think mine is chicken or fish. Layton’s is chicken because he likes spitting out the bones like he’s seen the Bangladeshis do. He always says “mom can you put my meat in small pieces but don’t worry if there’s a bone I’ll spit it out!”😂 The carpenter is making great progress on the med cabinets at the clinic. We came home and took naps. Layton was up multiple times during the night… crying, raiding the fridge, coughing, being restless, etc. He seems to have some sort of allergies ever since we came. Spent the rest of the day at home studying and catching up on memorizing words. Jared and Layton both felt under the weather. Some of the children and adults have gotten the stomach flu and/or colds after all being together last weekend.
Thursday 12/1… Language class… learned how to say conditional sentences (If you….. then I/he/she/we will…) and how to change verbs to conditional participles . Had an early lunch so we could nap. I don’t know why we are so tired the past few days! In the afternoon, Daniels and us walked to Farmgate in search of a few things that we needed. You know your in Bangladesh when the store has a pungent sewer odor! Felt good to stretch our legs and walk. Came home and worked on our homework much to Layton’s dismay. We have plans with Daniels Friday and Saturday so knew we better get our 10 sentences wrote, sentences unscrambled, flash cards made and fill in the blanks done this evening. So it felt good to get that done so it’s not hanging over our heads the rest of the weekend. I had no idea all the details and knitty gritty you have to learn when you learn a new language! It’s good for stretching the brain😁 shouldn’t have to worry about getting Alzheimers anytime soon.
Friday 12/2: Church this morning. Was able to converse with the sisters abit. They know a decent amount of English but they think it’s neat when we try our Bangla on them. When Jared was talking to them Layton said, “why is daddy making such funny noises?” 😂 Seeing the sisters get so enthused when we say a few words or ask a simple question keeps me motivated to keep on studying. I so want to just sit and talk with them! They had some family stop by so as soon as church was over they started preparing their meal. It’s so intriguing to watch them. We stopped for hamburgers and then went to Uni-Mart. Found some gluten free tortillas and crackers so was quite pleased. Finding gluten free food here in stores is a real challenge. After supper we went to the clinic. The children played for quite awhile with a little girl that was staying there. Bedesi (foreign) children are definitely more rough and tough in their play. The carpenter was ready to move the cabinets in. They look so nice! Made from melamine. Hard to believe the only power tool he used was an electric drill to drill the screw holes. Used a screwdriver for the screws. Tomorrow he is going to bring the glass doors for the shelving then we can move all the medicine over. One of the sisters was displeased because one of the doors had a quarter inch gap at the top on one side. “The cockroaches can get in.” Valid point. They keep that clinic and their living quarters absolutely spotless so cockroaches would be alarming. On the way home I had a pleasant encounter with a massive rat in the gutter. Jared and Layton wondered what I was being noisy about. The Bangladeshi man that was walking behind me laughed and laughed. He probably thought this white Bidesi woman was a real wimp. I straightened my crown and kept on walking.
Saturday 12/3: A busy day! In the morning Daniels and us took CNGs to New Market. It’s about 30 minutes from our flat. CNGs make me acutely aware of how claustrophobic I am! Layton LOVED the ride. He wanted to leave the market so we could ride on one again! New Market is absolutely humongous. There were stores for days. Hardly knew where to go first. Jared and I bought a painting for people to sign, so now we are true Bangladeshi missionaries! Haha! After going to several other stores the daddies took the “cat and dog” (What we call Layton and Nicolee since they love to fight.) and went to the store that is making the glass doors for the med cabinets at the clinic. Us Mamas went and bought 3 piece kamis for the ladies that work for CSI. It’s their traditional Christmas gifts. We wanted to get them all matching ones but ended up getting several different colors of the same print. They have so many that are just gorgeous!! I’m not allowing myself to get anymore until after the baby is born. When we got home our housekeeper had made us Bangla food. It felt so good to sit and eat after traipsing through millions of people in a busy market! Sometimes I wonder how Jared and I will ever know how to get to all these places after Daniels leave!! They traverse this massive city with such ease. I think we are going to feel kinda lost without them for awhile until we familiarize ourselves more with the city. We know how to get to places like UniMart, the restaurants we go to after church and Farmgate @ least so we will be good to go! Jared’s been pinning all these places on google maps so when we are here by ourselves we know how to get to them. Later in the afternoon Jared and Layton went to the clinic and helped Daniel move all the meds and milk powder over into the new cabinets. Took it easy the rest of the day…
Sunday 12/4: Language class… learned present continuous tense. Was a concept that was a bit easier to comprehend. Spent the afternoon studying… took Layton outside to ride his trike awhile to burn off some energy. I love this apartment but I will be glad to move into Daniels apartment. Their courtyard is much much bigger and roomier for children to run and play. It’s surrounded on all 3 sides with apartment buildings. They have a badminton court there too that people play in the evenings. Badminton seems to be a favorite here! So once we are there then Layton will have a large place to ride bike and plus there is the roof yet too to go play on. But he seems happy here so I’m thankful! 🥰 Spent the rest of the day at home. Felt good to have a day at home after a busy weekend.
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