of Helgi and bandaids

ah this has definitely been a unique trip to Dhaka. We arrived Monday afternoon by bus and headed out almost immediately to the mall. Unfortunately, there was so much traffic that it took almost two hours to get from Uttara to Bashundhara City Mall. But at only 20tk a piece, Ryan, Elliot and I couldn't resist. The city buses actually aren't too too bad but I like taking autorickshaws better!

When we got to Bashundhara City, we walked around the shops for awhile before hunting down some food on the top floor. Guys, we found Taco Belle! No I didn't spell that wrong... The sign had the big Taco Bell letters with a smaller 'e' at the end lol. I usually get the 7-layer burrito--this time I had to get the 6-layer burrito because it's almost impossible to find guacamole in Bangladesh. Elliot and I also got soft serve ice cream and took some pictures by the signs. The guy behind the counter gave us three clay "Taco Bells", which are actually Hindu Bells but doesn't matter to me! Still so cool! I wish they had "Taco Bell" or Bangladesh stamped into them though.

After filling up on the Bengali version of Taco Bell, we walked by the movie theater and decided to drop in. Narnia and Stardust were both playing (in Bangla) but we decided to get the FULL experience and go to a movie called Jaago all about the comeback of the Bangladesh soccer team. Oh man, you can't get much more cliche than that movie... LOL But it was actually pretty good all things considering. We followed the plot line pretty well most of the time but I'm still not sure who died or how they died (sorry if I just ruined the movie for you lol).

The next day we had to go back to the visa office for Josiah because he had arranged a meeting with the same crook we met with a couple months ago. This guy wasted my time for an hour! I was calm and polite, while assertive and firm with him but he kept dodging the ONE question that I had for him. So frustrating... It was worth it though if Josiah can get another 3months here.

After the visa office, we went down to the University to try to find Mrs.Waid but we never found her. Instead, we had a portrait drawn of the three of us. We call it "Pocahontas, Naughty Boy, and Helgi." Guess which one I am...? lol It was so funny though because we weren't allowed to smile so all of us are drawn with straight faces--which is if you know any of the three of us, you know we are always smiling! The man drawing us with pretty strict about us remaining stone-faced while he drew us and that was torture for Ryan. Elle and I did our best to "help" him keep a straight face lol. We're going to try to copy it but if nothing else, I'll take a picture of it and post it :)

Yesterday, we wandered over to Gulshen to do some shopping on Elliot's last day. We found the only official reseller of Apple in Dhaka and hung out there for awhile. It was actually a really nice, clean store--completely the opposite of most of Bangladesh. We then headed to the main hub and found a version of a mall. Yellow is a trendy store that sells actually really nice clothes. They were also having a Winter Sale: everything in the store 50%! Elliot and I bought really cute and SOFT tanktops for only $2 and I got a cute shirt for $7. I can't wait to wear it back home!

We ate lunch at KFC--the real deal. I got chicken fingers and a veggie burger. Yet the veggie burger patty was three pieces of hashbrown... Weird eh? Anyways, after lunch, we wanted to head to NewMarket and as we were asking for directions, we had an amazing experience. Two older looking men, respectable, asked us if we needed a ride. One of the guys owns one of the largest leather exporting companies in Bangladesh and the other guy owns the 4th largest bottled water company here. Incredible! They drove us almost an hour through traffic in their air-conditioned 4-Runner, keeping up amazing converstaions the whole time. I learned so much about the mindset here, especially the Muslim's perspective on the war in Iraq and the US in general. So interesting!

Last night we ate at Dhansuri one more time before Elle had to leave for the airport. Then we came back here, picked up her things and headed to the airport to make her 8:55pm plane. It was so sad :( After almost five months, our adventure together came to an end. I'm going to miss that girl so much. I don't know how I'm going to stand sitting in our room, staring at her empty bed, and seeing the blank wall where all her pictures used to hang. She's been my best friend here, my support, my confidante.

But I know I've been so blessed to do this trip with her and I am incredibly thankful to God and her for that. She is such an incredible person, fearless and humble, strong and passionate. I know God is going to use Elliot to do such amazing things and I can't wait to lay witness to the woman she becomes. Please keep her in your prayers as she heads back home to family, friends, and the difficult reverse culture shock that awaits her. I know I'll see her in a little over two months, but that seems like forever when you've seen someone every day for so long.

I'm just going to miss amar prio bondue.

We head back to Bangla Hope tomorrow by bus and I can't wait to get back to my bed--away from the noise, dirt, and MOSQUITOS! My feet look like I have chicken pox. And that's WITH a mosquito net every night. My goodness.

By the way, real quickly, has anyone else noticed how well Canada is doing in the Olympics? We have 6 medals! What's more exciting is that we won a gold medal for the first time on our own soil. Go team! I wish I was there to get wrapped up in the excitement of it all... Shucks eh?

ami tomake bhalobashi