The Heat… it deserves capital letters… it is something to be respected. I had hoped it wouldn’t be as hot as everyone claimed it to be. Kept hoping since we were from Kansas it would feel “normal.” But I’m afraid it is most certainly very hot. Very humid… like curl your hair humid. The car mechanic told Jared April was the hottest it’s been in 60 years. 99-105* lately… with an occasional brisk breeze of 10 mph wind if you’re lucky. According to the newspaper there is a front sitting in the Bay of Bengal that’s preventing the rain and cooler weather from coming. “After Eid” it said “things will cool and the rain will come.” I had to laugh, every thing hinges on Eid in this country seems like! Apparently even the weather.😂 In the afternoons we don’t do a whole lot…. things that don’t require a lot of walking outside or high levels of physical exertion is about the limit. With the fans running though it’s livable, so don’t think we are living in total misery! Thankful for all the big trees in our courtyard that keep about half of it shaded. Being in the shade makes such a difference when your outside. After it’s dark it cools some and then we go down to the courtyard so Layton can play. One morning he said “mom I have no energy to do anything!” So we’ve been making sure to drink lots of ice water, consume copious amounts of popsicles, smoothies and ice cream. After supper we turn on the AC in our bedroom and hang out in there until bedtime. Some former missionaries told us to not have our AC set on total frigid cold. Just enough to cool us. That way when we get up in the morning the heat doesn’t seem quite so much. Sage advice! Layton insists on sleeping with his fuzzy blanket. During the night I find him wrapped up like a burrito in it. We’ve finally decided that heat must not bother children as much as adults. One day he pulled out his favorite winter sweater. I said “Child, are you crazy? Take that off!” He said “but mom it’s my favorite!” I decided not to fight that battle. Needless to say he woke up from his nap completely wet with sweat. He’s been having fun making slip n slides on the veranda with soapy water. He runs and slides on his knees from one end of the veranda to the other. Sumita is certain he will get hurt. She watches and says “aste aste!” (Slow down or be careful!) It’s interesting how when the temp drops even a few degrees or there is a slight breeze how it feels cooler. I can now understand why Bengalis are putting on coats when it’s 60*. They seem to notice and comment on the weather about as much as a Kansas farmer. (They even lament on the need for rain as well!) I’ve been staying pretty close to home with Shania. Jared says she will probably handle the heat the best of all of us since this is all she knows! So far I just wrap her up in a thin muslin blanket, no clothes on. We unwrap her frequently just to make sure she isn’t getting too warm. The people here always comment on her long arms and legs and especially her long delicate fingers and toes. “Onek lomba.” (Very long!) For a while I did put onesies on her but she started getting heat rash. I gave both Jared and Layton a very short buzz cut and getting that thick mop of hair off their heads has helped them stay cool and not sweat quite so much. This next week the temp is supposed to drop into the 90s and hopefully more rain will follow.
UPDATE: Friday we had a rain come through. It came with the most beautiful breeze. Jared quick opened up the veranda doors and it cooled things off. When we were out on the veranda watching the “squally winds” and enjoying the rain, the guard hollered up at us that now it was “thanda” (cold) outside! When it starts to thunder the ladies rush out and grabbed the laundry off their lines. People come out on their verandas and watch the storm. It was a blessed relief to feel that cool breeze! This next week it’s only supposed to be in the 90s so looking forward to that.
One day Layton and I were out riding bike. A gentleman came by yelling out what he had to sell. He was carrying a basket on his head like usual. When he passed Layton said “why do they have to holler when they have something to sell? Why can’t they just be quiet?” I said “maybe they think they will sell more if they yell that way more people will hear them.” He said “back in Kansas the Walmarts are quiet. People don’t do that.”
Miriam noticed that I buzzed my boys hair off. She wondered if I was going to cut Shania’s hair? She was serious. I said “not now, she’s just a baby.” (Shania has longish dark brown hair that seems to be getting lighter.) She wondered in America how many times we cut our children’s hair and by what age. Here they say to cut it twice before they are two. (At least I think that’s the age… 1 or 2.) “It grows back thicker that way.” I said I didn’t think there was any set time or amount that we cut our children’s hair other than if it was a boy we would cut it short and let the girls hair grow longer. So I told her we would wait and see how long her hair will be by next summer and then decide if it needs to be cut to keep her cool. Kelly’s gave Sally a buzz and lopped off her beautiful golden curls. I can easy see why after seeing Layton’s head all wet from sweat. Every night at bath time it’s “mom puleese can I skip washing my hair?”🫣
It is Eid time in this land. Saturday marked the end of the month long time of fasting. They go by the moon as to what day Eid will fall on. So the calendar has red letter days for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Many dokans and stores have closed for several days so we made sure to stock up on fruits and veggies, eggs and milk. Shurov says UniMart has been packed with people buying groceries and meat for the celebration. He said his family went at 2 am one morning and had to wait in line 1 1/2 hours to check out. He told us to avoid UniMart until after the celebrations are over. Just for interests sake we went to the new UniMart in Gulsane 1 after church on Friday. It wasn’t crowded at all so went ahead and went in and got what we needed. Wondered if people were all home cooking? It looks like Eid is like our Christmas. Jared gave all the guards Eid bonuses instead of Christmas bonuses. From what we have heard the Muslims will buy a lot of meat for their Eid celebrations. Today when we were out driving Jared saw a rickshaw walla hauling a whole beef leg. Some markets charge more for meat and other goods this time of year than usual. A lot of dokan owners and shops at the markets hope to make a lot of money at Eid. There’s been several large fires recently at some of the bigger markets and the newspapers shows pictures of the owners crying as their booths get consumed with fire as they hoped to make a substantial amount of income over this time. People buy new clothes and lots of gifts as well. People have been leaving Dhaka in droves, flocks and herds to go back home to their villages for the holiday. The buses have been packed and the trains are crawling with people inside and out. Apparently you can even ride in the goods compartment if you are determined and desperate enough to see your family. Safety doesn’t seem to be an issue. The pictures we’ve seen show people hanging off of train cars, riding on the tops, etc. Friday when we were out there was noticeably less traffic on the streets. The morning of Eid we were down in the courtyard. The moyla ladies were eating ice cream! I wonder if that’s the first thing they ate that day since they were done fasting?😂 I think I would go for a double patty cheeseburger, all the toppings, easy on the pickle with fries and Freddy’s sauce. Just saying… Noticed a lot of the men from our apartment had on their dressy Muslim clothes. Many cooking smells wafted into our apartment. I would have loved to know what all the ladies were cooking!
Jared has been busy getting Doyle’s visa application ready. That is exciting! Not sure when their arrival time is estimated to be, sometime this summer.
The rest of us are doing well! Layton dotes on Shania and loves to hold her. Although the minute she starts crying he is ready to head for the woods. Shania is still working on getting her days and nights straightened out. She’s done pretty well. Starting to go 3-4 hours between feedings during the day and every 2-3 hours at night. She is really starting to fill out. I’m feeling pretty much back to normal. Still have to be careful how much I lift for the next few weeks. About have my stash of food in the freezer used up so need to start my menu planning back up. Jared wants to do some grilling this week while it’s “cooler.”
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