Monday 5/15: We left Chitra Resort around noon. It was such a beautiful morning before we left! Went and swung in the hammocks by the river and watched the sand boats go by… had breakfast there at the kitchen. Potato balls, veggie mixture, a sweet rice cake of some sort, tortillas and a fried egg. It was edible😊 Kelly’s went back to Golpaganj and we followed Trevor’s home back to Kulna. We had never been there yet! So fun to see all the sights while driving. It looks like in these villages a person can do about anything if you have bricks and bamboo poles. Drove past a brick kiln… piles and piles and piles of bricks. Layton took a much needed nap on the drive. He has been playing HARD the past few days. Got to Trevor’s around 2:30 and unloaded the cars. Had lunch and then crashed for awhile. Around 7 we decided to go to Kulna for fuska and chotpoti. We all hopped on vans. (Flatbed rickshaws with electric motors). Took three of them to haul all of us!! Trevors convinced their guard to come too. Layton was pretty nervous about the ride but as long as he held my hand he was fine. It was about a 20 minute ride into town. Taking a rickshaw is fun because you go at a slow enough speed that you can enjoy the scenery. Every village house has rows of poo sticks either leaning up against their fence or stacked up in a shack. Sticks with cow manure pressed around them that are then dried and used for the cooking fires. Laundry on the fences or hanging off the porches, naked babies running around, ducks, mama hens and their chicks scratching on the road, goats and their offspring trotting around, cows tied to trees and grazing on the sides of the road. Eventually we pulled up to the restaurant dokan and sat down at a table outside where everyone else was sitting. We hadn’t even been sitting for 5 minutes and all of a sudden a ferocious wind came up out of nowhere and just blew like mad. (Welcome Cyclone Mocha) Stuff started blowing around and people took off running for shelter. A big transformer blew not far from where we were so there was a crash and a loud boom. We all grabbed the children and ran inside the dokan and crammed as many in there as could fit. When they saw Lisa and I with the children they emptied a table for us to sit at. Lisa took Shania so I could take care of Layton. Storms of any kind frighten him considerably so he needed to be close to me for awhile. It soon started pouring like crazy but oh boy the cool breeze after the wind settled was absolutely divine! The rickshaw drivers were going to wait for us to eat and then take us back home but with the rain and uncertain wind, Jared and Trevor rode back to the house and brought the van back. The rest of us stayed in the dokan and ordered our food and some for the men. The chotpoti is a soup made of potatoes, chickpeas, onion and kaj morich. Fuska is a crispy shell filled with potatoes and then topped with chutney and sliced eggs. They served it with a sweet sauce and some sour sauce. It was really good. We asked them for some that wasn’t quite so spicy but it was still pretty stout! But if it didn’t have spice it wouldn’t have half the flavor that it does so one just drinks lots of water or sprite to cool your mouth off!! Got back to Trevor’s and the current was out for awhile. Thankfully I had thought to clothespin my laundry on Lisa’s clothesline on the roof. With that wind I wasn’t sure if our clothes were floating in a nearby river or not but they were mostly all still up on the line. Took us awhile to unwind from the events but eventually we all drifted to bed.
Tuesday 5/16: Jared went with Trevor to his clinic for the morning. They closed at 1230 and then came home for lunch. Us ladies and children just stayed at home. The girls held Shania all morning and Lisa and I talked quite a-bit. It was fun having some lady time with another lady that talks English😂 In the evening we went and walked along the River. It was a beautiful walk. The water was pretty choppy because of the wind. Saw a bunch of big sand boats and barges. We walked along until we came to Shanto and Shottis. They are both members. They have 2 older boys (youth age) and a younger boy. She was collecting her ducks and putting them in for the night when we got there. Lisa and I went with her to get her goats. They are like her babies. In the winter she makes little coats for them to wear. She herded them up into a little shack that’s right beside her kitchen. In her kitchen she has a window that opens up into the goat shack so she can check on them during the night! They all have names… Penny, Tyson, Lulu, the rest where Bangla names that I couldn’t understand. She made us cini cha (hot sweet tea) and then some fried patties out of dal flour and shredded carrots. The other dish was potatoes and dal mixed together and put in something that looked like a wonton wrapper. I enjoyed them both! She also had a mustard sauce to dip them in. They just fell in love with Shania. Shanto always wanted a little girl so he just held and held her. (We found out that “shani” (shu-nigh) is Hindu for flute! So several times when we were out and about at Golpaganj and Kulna people would mention about the flute when they heard her name. Found that interesting!) While we were there the wind picked up and in came the rain just like the previous night! We all stayed in their house and sat on their bed. Shanto wanted to sing so we did for awhile while one of the boys took Trevor back to the house to get the van. (We had taken rickshaws into town) One of his boys had a big plastic tote with the cutest little ducklings he was raising to sell. There are so many ducks all over out here. We haven’t had the pleasure yet of “sampling” duck yet. On the way home we stopped at a gas station for octane for the generator. There were cycles and trucks parked there waiting for the rain to let up. We noticed under one of the trucks about 6 guys were crouched under it taking shelter from the downpour! We came home and sat around and ate and talked for awhile.
Wednesday 5/17: We left Trevor’s around 10 and got back to our Dhaka apartment around 2:30 pm. It was wonderful to go where there was green fields and peace and quiet but coming back to the city to our home was great! The drive went smoothly. Drove through some heavy rain but it was short lived. Layton asked every little bit “are we at the Padma Bridge yet?” Crossing the Padma Bridge is always a highlight. Seeing all the boats, etc. At Eid they opened the bridge up to motorcycles and ever since they continue to let them come across. Before they had trucks waiting at either end that would load the cycles and their drivers up and haul them across and drop them off. Got home and unpacked and started some laundry. Now that it’s getting more humid I have to do laundry almost every day other wise any thing damp or wet in the basket starts to stink. Didn’t have a lot to wash since I had done laundry at Lisa’s. It was cool enough we opened the windows to let some fresh air in! Layton and I went down to the courtyard to ride bike for awhile since it was nice. The new children that moved in the next door apartment were down there as well. They could speak decent English. I had to laugh because I overheard them calling each other “scaredy cat!!” Sounded so strange to hear a Bengali using an American term like that. Both Shania and Layton were ready for bed before 9. All the fun times wore them out. Shania loved all her aunties holding her so much the past week. It appears as though she expects that sort of treatment to continue…
Thursday 5/18: Today was a day of odd jobs. Made granola, did laundry, bought vegetables. The vegetable man seems to keep an eye on who I am buying things from. If he sees me buying from the veggie man outside the gate he makes sure to remind me that his vegetables are good and don’t I need milk and eggs? And he makes sure I know he has the good milk available! If I go to carebox he tells me he has laundry soap and hand soap available too.😂 Went to the pharmacy for more diapers. Last time I went I bought a package of what I thought was small diapers. Didn’t realize they were pull-ups. Never seen such a tiny pull up. The package said it was for 4 kg babies which is Shania’s size so I just assumed it was diapers! In the states you can’t even buy pull-ups until the toddler sizes. I mentioned it to Lanae because I thought it kinda strange and she said a-lot of people here like pull ups on their babies instead of diapers. (If they even wear them in the first place!) so now I have learned to make sure they are diapers and not pull ups! Who know buying diapers could be tricky?! The battery backup guy came and checked out our IPS system since it hasn’t been working. The batteries are old and “damaged.” So we need to get new batteries. Another thing to replace😞 in case your wondering where your CSI money goes!😂 In the evening Shurov came over for cookies and sweet tea. Layton and I worked on some alphabet worksheets and then went and enjoyed the cooler weather outside. Shania always falls asleep anytime we go outside. Probably because I’m holding her. 💗
Friday 5/19: church this morning. Jared’s thoughts were on prayer and finding our secret closet. Josna thought Shania looked bigger! She’s definitely been eating and sleeping more during the day. She’s almost ready for 0-3 month clothes. Jared and I have been talking about what we miss the most. We both decided it was going to Sunday school. Layton says it’s “mornings in Kansas.” I asked him what he meant and he said “the dew on the grass!” Went to Farmhouse for some good burgers and fries. Headed to UniMart. Trevor’s and Kelly’s come into town next week to drop the teachers off at the airport so wanted to get some extra meat in case they all want to come over. If not then I’ll just have extra in my freezer which is never a bad thing.😊 Jared likes to grill chicken for me to freeze on days when it’s cooler. Came home and the children and I took long naps. Spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on laundry, tidying the house etc. Seems like I’m not as organized and efficient as I was at home so trying to learn to give myself grace in this new season of life. I have to tell myself I also didn’t have a new baby at home either.
Saturday 5/20: Lucky came to cook today. That is always a relief to me when she comes. One less meal for me to think about. She made dal, rice, chicken and then a unique vegetable mixture. It has papaya, long beans, carrots and chichinga in some kind of sauce with toasted garlic on the top. It was really good! She had me buy 10 kaj morich so I was wondering if it was going to be something extra spicy or what she was going to cook up. (I let her cook whatever she wants… she’s pretty creative. Plus it’s a good way for us to keep trying different foods here.) Our stomachs have all been upset lately especially Layton’s so that was why I was concerned. But when lunch was served it wasn’t any more spicy than usual so I was glad! It’s fun to see what all she comes up with. She is a cook at her other job too. She was telling us that her village house lost the tin off its roof in the wind from the cyclone. After lunch we all took naps. This hot weather seems to make us all more tired than usual! Hopefully next year we all are better acclimated to it. We are slowly getting used to it though. Now it’s in the low 90s but the humidity has definitely increased! At night it cools off in the 80s which is so nice because then the apartment cools overnight and then in the morning when we get up and leave our bedrooms it’s not so stifling!
Sunday 5/19: Jared and Jon went to the Visa office “first thing” this morning to get the teacher’s exit visas. (First thing in the morning in Bangladesh is 10 AM!) Jon has been there twice last week to get them and he didn’t have much luck. So today they seemed to have more luck and were able to get what they needed. The IPS man came and brought new batteries for the battery backup. So for now all the broken things are fixed.😂 Spent the rest of the day doing mom odd jobs. Made meatballs with cream sauce over mashed potatoes for supper.
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