of Jaeem and Kumayun's Tomb

I've been in Delhi for a full day now and wow is all I can say. I'm sitting in an internet cafe right now because the flat we are staying in doesn't have any wireless. That really doesn't matter to me because, well, just that we are staying in this flat is a blessing. My friend Caylen was an SM to India last year and a couple days before I left Bangla Hope, I messaged him saying that I was going to be in Delhi for a week. He wrote me back right away, sending all kinds of information--most importantly was the number of his friend who he had worked with. Thus, his friend Jaeem picked us up at the airport yesterday morning, took us to his flat, and is letting us stay there for the week. Just incredible. He's also going to take off Wednesday and be our personal tour guide down to the Taj Mahal.

Today Dad and I set out in a taxi we had reserved for the day and hit up three major sites: Qutub Minar, Raj Ghat, and Kumayun's Tomb. Qutub Minar is the tallest structure in all of India and isn't really used for anything. It's in the middle of a bunch of stone mosque ruins and was probably erected in honour of some important person who died.. Not sure. Raj Ghat is the vast gardens (kinda similar to Stanley Park) where Mahatma Gandhi's grave is. Nothing too exciting but something I can say that I've seen--Have you? LOL

Now Kumayun's Tomb... Wow. It's the precursor to the Taj Mahal and was designed by the emperor's wife upon his death. It's breathtakingly beautiful. Just incredible really... I wish I could load pictures, but after loading them onto my laptop, I could quickly see that the picture really doesn't do it justice.

The one thing that has caught me off guard is how I feel stuck between culture shock and reverse culture shock. It's hard not being able to speak the language and many a time I've found myself slipping up and speaking Bangla to a Hindi-speaking person. Sad day... But the converse is worse! India is by no means up to Western standards and I still feel myself in awe of the quietness of the traffic, the lack of rickshaws, and the price of things here. I know how much a bowl of rice SHOULD cost so why are you charging me so much for it? I could get the same thing in Bangladesh for... And that's when I'm caught thinking about how things are in Bangladesh and feeling confused why they aren't the same here. And I'm in INDIA. How is Bangkok going to feel? How is VANCOUVER going to feel? My goodness... This is going to be rough isn't it...?

I've noticed that I've been beginning so many of my sentences with "In Bangladesh, this/I/it..." and so forth. Any time I start to add anything to a conversation it has to do with Bangladesh! I hope I'm not starting to annoy Dad but I really can't help it! I'm pretty sure this trend will continue even when I'm back home, but honestly, suck it up. This place is a part of me now. I'm petrified of forgetting it so even just talking about random adventures, culture norms, and the language helps me to feel just a smidgen closer to the life I left.

Speaking of which, I miss my kids. Even when I saw the kids at Bill's orphanage it made me miss my kids. Any kids I see remind me of how adorable the kids at Bangla Hope are... I can't NOT go back. And even after only four days, I think Dad has the same sentiments. Who wants to come next time? lol Spring break next year sound good...? lol And I'm only HALF kidding...!

Okay. 10rp/hr is about to run out. I don't know if we will be coming back to the cafe again before we leave, but if not, I'll be in Bangkok on Sabbath and I'm sure we'll have internet in our hostel. Well, we'd BETTER have internet lol. So for now, I hope this was able to be a tiny insight into Delhi... Probably not but it was a good effort eh? Maybe when I have more time I'll go back and update these posts--even if it's for my own benefit. Nonetheless, for now, peace.
ami tomake bhalobashi

of last lists and planes, trains, and lots of automobiles

So right now, I'm paying 80rp/hr at the airport for internet. This'll be a fast one! I miss YVR.. free internet!

Anyways, we caught the bus later on Friday after tearful goodbyes at the orphanage. I didn't make a big production out of it; I just let the kids know how much I loved them and that I would be back to see them again sometime. It was so hard to say goodbye to all of them, all the caregivers, all the staff--everyone that has become close as family the past six months. I just know God will be bringing me back eventually.

We got into Kolkata after an overall sleepless night (the bus was extremely bumpy and would stop like every hour--who has to pee that much at NIGHT?!?!) around 6am this morning. Luckily, Litton had given me the address of the Seventh-day Adventist church so we took a taxi there. It was early but we were still given a room to change in and a bathroom to shower in. Glorious. You have no idea how hot it has gotten here. Without a/c you just melt into a pool! And not the good kind of pool either.

The rest of the day was pretty eventful. We spent the morning at the Sabbath school but then Dad got a hold of some missionaries here that he worked with back in NYC when my sister was born. We skipped church at Kolkata SDA and jumped into a taxi heading for Sonarpur. That was when we interrupted Bill's sermon at his orphanage. No problem. He was so happy to see Dad. They said it must have been 24yrs. Needless to say, I've never met Bill.
After church, we headed to Bill's apartment for lunch. He shared with us stories from his orphanage and even shed a tear or two at the thought of a specific child's painful experience. He seems to have a very big heart for these kids. What an amazing ministry.

Back in a taxi and heading for the SDAH train station. We were supposed to catch the 4:50pm train to Delhi but I didn't realize we were actually on the waiting list for the train... Dad found out we were 3rd and 4th on the list. But apparently those people showed up because we weren't let on the train. We were told to go upstairs and talk to the booking agents to see about another train out of a different station.
That one had 59 on its waiting list. By now, we were scorching hot, frustrated, and wanting to be done with all of this. We found out we had a chance of getting on a special foreigner's traincar tomorrow but then we would have had to find the tower downtown that dealt with such things. Thus we decided to cut through all the nonsense and fly to Delhi from Kolkata. Thus I'm in the airport, probably about to have another mildly sleepless night. We leave at 7:05am and get into Delhi a couple hours later. Nothing really turned out the way we thought it would (or planned) but we still had an adventure if nothing else.

By the way, whilst waiting in the airport, I took Janet's advice and wrote out some lists.

Top Five Practical Lessons From Bangladesh:
1. How to make dhal and Bengali potatoes (yum)
2. How to chop on that curved knife (and keep all your fingers intact)
3. How to do laundry in a bucket
4. How to kill cockroaches with less fear lol
5. How to barter down prices! (just ask Dad)

I am:
1. Teacher
2. Sister (didi)
3. Mommy
4. Preacher
5. Missionary
6. Cook
7. Artist
8. Cheerleader
9. World Traveler
10. Christ Follower

My Top Five Hardest Moments in Bangladesh:
1. Christmas by myself
2. Taking Shaelah, Dolly, and Amelia from their mothers down south
3. Saying goodbye and leaving Bangla Hope on Friday
4&5 are kinda personal... You can ask me when I get back if you're interested.

My Top TEN Moments in Bangladesh:
1. Dancing in the rain
2. Cooking with Kakoli in the village
3. SUPERBOWL!
4. Last Village Sabbath school with all my kids crowded around listening to me talk about Jesus
5. Playing badminton with Mr.Waid
6. Playing 5 Crowns with Ryan and Mrs.Waid (and rolling on the couch laughing)
7. Helping the woman at the dental clinic get medicine
8. Rooftop vespers with Elliot
9. NEPAL -- through and through!!
10. Rocking Dolly and Natalie to sleep

Top Ten things God has taught me:
1. He works all things for the good (even if I can't see it at the time)
2. I am a beautiful person and don't need a man to confirm that
3. I have so much to offer someone, whether they are male or female, old or young.
4. I have control over my actions and my tongue.
5. God opens doors no man can close; He also closes doors no man can open.
6. Principle before personality
7. He created me special and longs to be the Romancer of my soul
8. He also gave me a creative mind, one that I have been stifling for far too long
9. Life without purpose is just a rat race
10. Joy is a choice and a gift you choose to give

Random other things I've learned:
1. speak Bangla!!
2. Tie a shari
3. Bonno Fulli Hi dance (so cute with Tisha--yes I have it on video lol)
4. Life is too short to be stubborn for the sake of being stubborn
5. Embroider
6. Drive the Hilux!! lol heck yes! All the way from Bangla Hope to my Sabbath School in the village
7. Reformat a computer
8. French braid hair
... more to come when I think of them...

Anyways, the point of all that was that I have really been on an amazing journey and feel so thankful that God led me to this mission opportunity. The bad has brought me to the good and the good brought me to my heart of hearts.

I finally don't regret going to Bangladesh. In fact, I wouldn't trade this year for anything in the world.

Now it's going to be just as important that I don't forget it!
ami tomake bhalobashi

of Natalie and tomorrow

Allow me to introduce you to my girlie Natalie. It's been just since Christmas that this little one has stolen my heart and now that I'm leaving tomorrow, I can't help but wonder if she could fit in my backpack comfortably. Natalie is the one that was in the sick room a while back as I walked by. Ever since I picked her up and soothed her tears, she has been my girl. And everyone knows it. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing but in the last couple days, she has started to call me "Mommy." Yikes. How do you handle a situation like that? This two-year old child has taken a leap from no trust to assigning you as her adopted mother.

I don't have the case history for Natalie because she's so young. All I know is that she is squishy, adorable, and has a smile that could melt Mr.Freeze's heart. Any time she sees me, she runs at me with her little arms fully extended into the air. But unlike the other children, if I'm on my way to breakfast and only give her a hug and kiss, once I put her down she toddles on her way, perfectly content. Most kids here cling on, throw a fit, etc. but my girl is a trooper. I can't imagine what it's going to be like to say goodbye to her tomorrow.

T-1day. Today was a day of lasts: last time in Hili, last dinner at Bangla Hope, last load of laundry in a bucket, last round of goodnight kisses, last badminton game, last round of 5Crowns. Dad and I actually went to Hili twice today to pay the leaving the country tax at the bank (we didn't have our passports the first time) just in case we want to leave after the banks close tomorrow. We had some fun in Hili, browsing through the stores and market, soaking in the final scenes of life in Bangladesh. I also got to practice my newfound bartering skills and was rewarded quite nicely for it :D

The rest of the afternoon, I was perched high above bunk beds sticking glow in the dark stars to the ceilings of some of the rooms. I have more to finish tomorrow because the power cut out and I was dripping sweat without the fans on in the room. I also took down my red star lights and put them up in the little and big girls' rooms across the windows. Because of the power difference, they won't be able to light up but they are pretty to look at and are just a nice decoration.

Then came the party. I brought out the glow sticks and sparklers and unleashed them into the mass of children. We didn't have enough glow sticks unfortunately so we distracted those without by bringing out the sparklers. The wind was pretty nasty so we had to light one by the stove, then run it outside, lighting each one in turn off a lit one. I burnt my finger pulling the wire out of the ground. Ouch. But the kids LOVED it and wanted more after the ten were done. So that makes it worth it.

After awhile, the kids were ushered into their bedrooms, still swinging their glow sticks back and forth in the darkness. I hadn't decided yet about telling the kids I was leaving so I choked back tears, sang my usual goodnight songs, and took extra time to tell each one how much I loved them. Only Hannah and Marisa caught on to what was happening but they seemed to keep it to themselves as they quietly cried in their beds.

You see, I'm leaving tomorrow around 3pm so I don't want the rest of my time here to be a funeral procession. That's why we had a party. That's why I want to continue to make good memories until the moment that I leave.

But can it really be all over? Six months gone? How is that possible?

My room is slightly torn apart, two bags are already heading back to WallaWalla, and I'm left with a backpack and a purse. Even my pillow was packed into a bag and sent back. Tomorrow will consist of finishing packing, cleaning, and making sure all the stuff that is staying here gets sent to the right people (pencils to teachers, clothes to caregivers, Christmas lights to storeroom, etc.). I'm going to try to get as many pictures as I can, even if it's doubles because I don't want to forget ANYONE here.

Leaving tomorrow.. How can it be? Plus I just had a curveball thrown in in the form of a piece of bad news and all the philosophies and lessons I'm claiming to have learned are being put to the test. I don't know what the outcome will be but I'm doing my best to remain calm, pray about it, and not let it ruin my LAST day at Bangla Hope. Yet all I feel like doing is screaming. Hm. Maybe that's a sign I should read my Bible and then get to bed. It's late but I'm seeking comfort in talking to a dear friend back home who is really doing a good job at consoling my poor heart.

So this ends my last post on Bengali soil. I doubt I'll get a chance to blog in the madness tomorrow afternoon and by tomorrow evening I'll be on a bus in India heading for Kolkata. I guess the address "jehannainbangladesh.blogspot.com" will cease to be entirely true but as often as I can, I will continue to post blogs and pictures from my trip through Asia heading home. Thus if this is the end of the road for you, thank-you for reading, thank-you for your prayers, and thank-you for sharing this experience with me. Let's talk soon,
ami tomake onic onic onic bhalobashi

of Tisha (the real story) and T-2days

Allow me to [finally] introduce you to Tisha. Tisha is in one word: crazy. She is so full of life that it just comes bubbling out of her, yet you should feel so blessed to be around her for even a second. Tisha is in my current grade one class and, when she feels like it, she is so smart! She is the kind of student that will start out colouring sitting down... Then a couple minutes later, she'll be standing up at the corner of her desk colouring... Then a couple minutes after that she's on the other side of the desk, still just colouring away. lol Asking Tisha to sit still is like asking the ocean not to be wet.

Tisha came to Bangla Hope when she was about 8months old and is just about ready to turn six according to her file. One of the teachers at KMMS down south called Mrs.Waid to tell her about a woman who had been caught trying to bury her little baby. The mother was mentally unstable, yet when Mrs.Waid got to the village, she was told the mother had run off with the baby. The husband was busy working as a tradesman and wasn't able to look after Tisha who was the youngest of three. Eventually, both parents came to see that Tisha would be better off at Bangla Hope and gave her away to protect her in hopes of her having a better future.

Tisha has always been the bright spot in my day. Sometimes she is a bit much but I can say that girl knows how to have fun. She knows how to laugh and make the best out of what life gives you. I've learned a lot from her. I was really excited yesterday when Dad caught me and Tisha dancing to Bonno-Fulli Hi (a simple children's dance Elle and I learned) on video. I hope Tisha never loses her spark, her gumption, her passion for life. As long as she learns to control her little diva attitude, she will continue to capture hearts all along the way. She's just... beautiful. T-2days. This morning began the festivities. Most of the medical team left early this morning to head down south to continue the clinics. [Side note: a conservative Muslim woman came by yesterday with a gnarly looking eye that was yellow and so swollen that it actually puckered around the iris. I've never seen anything like it. It was pretty nasty...] Anyways, Banni, Shati, and Papri were all asked to go along to translate for the team. They won't be back up here before I leave on Friday so I had to say goodbye this morning. In some lucky way, it was really early (5am) so we were too tired to fully realize what this meant. I won't see them again for a long time. I know I'll be coming back eventually but... how soon is that really?

We all cried. Banni told me not to forget her, Papri told me not to go, and Shati told me to stop crying and to stay beautiful. I'm going to miss each one of those women so much.

After the last members of the team took off, I headed up to the roof to have some alone time while I watched the sun rise (one of the things on my to-do list). Again, I was really too tired to fully give myself over to the emotions of it all but I sat up there with my thoughts, soaking in the scenery as much as I can before it's gone.

I was cut off for not paying my cell phone bill (they wait like a day and then cut it off, though there is no notice until right before it's cut :P) so Dad, Josiah, and I took a rickshaw van into Jalalpur. You should have seen Dad... He's a natural celebrity. He was waving and saying hi to everyone that we passed. My goodness... LOL. It was roasting hot and by the time we got back we were all just drenched in sweat.

I really can't believe how hot it is here again. Why did I ever complain about the cold weather this last winter?

Speaking of cold weather, I was packing up another bag to send back with WallaWalla people and decided that I didn't need my "South Face" jacket as much as someone here needed it. I gave it to Shoprova because A. I love that woman so much and B. I remember her sweater from this last Christmas was kinda ratty so she deserves something warm. It was worth it to see the look on her face. She was so appreciative. Such a wonderful woman!

So all my pictures are down in my room. All my clothes are either packed away or waiting to be washed in a small pile by my bed. All my toiletries are out of the cabinet. Everything is out from under my bed. My pink lily bag is already gone and heading home. My black bag will depart tomorrow morning with another group and I'll be left with my [aka Auntie Jane's] backpack. It has just a few clothes, toiletries, meds, and misc other things to last me in the last month of my journey.

It's all slowly winding down, coming to an end. Dad and I went to each room tonight and put up glow-in-the-dark letters spelling different messages in each room. "Jehanna Loves You" or "Good Night Girlies" or "Sweet Dreams zzz" or "Grammy Loves You". I don't know how well they worked in the dark but I hope the kids enjoy it. We are going to go in tomorrow afternoon and put up a bunch of glow-in-the-dark stars in each room. Then tomorrow night we are having a party. We are going to crack all the glow sticks that Mom sent along, as well as light the sparklers (with all the kids at a safe distance away) that almost got Dad arrested in Beijing (it's a funny story but you'll have to wait for him to tell it himself).

We also have to make a trip into town tomorrow to pay the "leaving the country tax" at the local bank. Since we are leaving on a Friday, the bank closes at 11am but we don't want to leave until the afternoon. We have booked a bus out of the Indian side of Hili for 6pm Friday evening, then will catch a train in Kolkata on Sabbath afternoon. Dad wrote an old friend of his that is working in Kolkata right now so hopefully we'll be able to meet up.

Other than that, tomorrow is my last FULL day in Bangladesh, my last night at the orphanage. Please continue to pray as I face the hard, heart-wrenching goodbye's ahead of me.
ami tomake bhalobashi

of Tisha and overwhelming emotions

I'll have to introduce you to Tisha tomorrow. She's a hoot.

Right now, it's almost 1am and I've just finished assembling a bag that will go home with the American visitors. I'll have to make a trip down to WW after I get home to pick it up, but it's better than having to lug it around Asia. That's for sure!

I think I have the bulk of everything packed away... Sweatpants that will be too hot for summer, sharis that I won't be able to wear anywhere, and random other souvenirs and memorabilia from my six month adventure. Other than that, it's just some odds and ends, pictures, and small things that I know will amount to a sizable portion of a suitcase once assembled. Nonetheless, with two [full] days to go until this experience becomes nothing more than a blog and a folder of pictures, I need to get ready to leave.

I can't even put into words what I'm feeling right now. I could try but I don't really want to acknowledge my biggest fears right now. Fear, sadness, excitement, anxiety, longing, and love. Those are on the forefront of my mind, battling to come out on top. Makes me wonder what condition I'll be in after this war is done... Please pray for me. I need all the prayers I can get right about now...
ami tomake bhalobashi

of Caleb and new eyes

Allow me to introduce you to Caleb. Caleb caught my attention the first night I came to Bangla Hope and I have been hooked ever since. He further impressed me as I taught him math and English for the first three months I was here. He's such a smart kid, always wanting so badly to make you proud. Every art project would bring forth "Jehanna Teacher, come see!" yelled from across the classroom.
Caleb is about seven years old and according to his file, his birthday is February 2 so you know we were meant to be kindred spirits (my birthday is February 1). Caleb's father rented a small shop to have a tea house but wasn't able to pay back the money he had borrowed in the process. Thus he disappeared and Caleb's mother was left with the debt. She had to sell some of their land to pay the bill. Eventually Caleb's father came back and began to borrow more money, of which he also couldn't pay back. He disappeared again and later news came that he had married another woman in Dhaka. Caleb's mother couldn't work and take care of Caleb and his little sister Tanisha (the little girl Ryan fell in love with) so she begged Bangla Hope to take them.

Caleb is probably my favourite little boy here. He is so full of life and is always so willing to wrap his skinny arms around me and say "Jehanna Teacher, I love you soooooooooooo much!" He is such a sensitive boy and just a stellar kid through and through. I really think he has a chance to make something of his life here in Bangladesh. I think he has what it takes to do something great. I will miss him so much, yet he is tucked into my heart safe and sound forever. Just a fantastic little kid through and through...

I booked our bus to Hili for 7am this morning. So counting backwards, we had to leave the dental clinic around 5:50, so we should eat breakfast at 5:30 and get up around 5am. Dad set his alarm and we both fell fast asleep. The next thing I know, Shilpi is knocking on the door. I looked at my watch in the dim light, snapping into reality when I realized it said 5:45. Oh dear. I scrambled of bed, calling Dad to action and ran into the bathroom to get changed. We threw our stuff haphazardly into our backpacks, wolfed down some yummy food (Shilpi is an amazing cook), and ran to catch an autorickshaw to take us to Kalunpur. Luckily Ashok went with us again so we wouldn't get lost. Usually the trip takes about an hour, give or take 15min. This time, it only took us 35min and we made it with 15min to spare. God is good!

Ashok got us safely on the bus and then our adventure really began. I've ridden the bus and the roads here so much that nothing really phases me. But it made me laugh to watch Dad's face as our bus careened around cars, missing head on collisions with other buses by inches. I told him the joke Josiah and I have about if the Olympics had Chicken as one of the events, a Bengali bus driver would take gold every year. Well, unless there was another Bengali bus driver--then they'd just have to clean up the mess afterwards lol. After that, we started handing out awards to the closest of calls: he deserves the bronze or wow, he definitely secured the gold with that one. If you don't laugh, you might cry :)

Even though we left early this morning, neither of us slept at all the whole way. Dad was soaking in all the strange sights and I was torn between soaking in my last views of Dhaka and watching Dad's face. When I asked him what he was thinking, all he could say was that my blogs don't do any of this justice: the sights, the smells, the atmosphere. Even a webcam wouldn't do this justice. The only way to fully get an idea of what it's like over here is to experience it for yourself. In a way it made me proud what I've accomplished in getting to know the ins and outs of this culture, but on the other hand, it's sad to me that people reading this at home really aren't getting an accurate picture of life over here.

But I still try my best...

Eight hours later (there was some delays near the markets) we pulled into Bangla Hope and were greeted by Mrs.Waid and Josiah. Dad and Josiah hit it off right away and talked all the way to the kitchen where Shati had food waiting. We munched on yummy japatee burritos and then I showed Dad the general layout of the campus and my room. It's so surreal showing him the space where at time this year I felt so alone and far away from home.

The rest of the evening was spent between the dental clinic (where the doctors were seeing patients) and the courtyard where all the kids were. We watched the kids sing songs for worship, then watched them down full plates of rice and dhal for dinner. They were so cute! Dad got to meet so many of the kids that I've blogged about but he really seemed to be drawn to little Sheba. I love that girl... Later tonight, he came around with me and said goodnight to all my special rooms with me. He even sat in the rocking chair in the nursery and rocked little Dolly as she sat with a big smile on her face. It was really precious--I wish I had my camera..

Anyways, it was a good day. It was interesting to see Bangladesh again with new eyes, even if they weren't my own. It's going to be a good week--that I can promise.
ami tomake bhalobashi

of Banni and arrival gates

Allow me to introduce you to Banni. She's been one of my roommates for the past six months (well until this mission group arrived) and is so much fun to be around. Banni's probably about my age but as with most kids here, she doesn't know for sure what her birthday is. Banni works in the office as everyone's secretary, running here and there, laminating, etc. The Waid's took Banni under their wing a long time ago because she doesn't have any other family. They are Mom and Dad to her.

I've had so much fun getting to know Banni. She really is one of the best dancers I've ever seen. She moves so gracefully to the Hindi music, arms splayed out to the side and head tilted ever so slightly as she spins in small circles. We had a dance party one night in our room, blaring Spice Girls "Wannabe" from my poor laptop speakers. We all just bobbed around to the music and when that was done, Banni put in some Hindi tapes and did a little show for us. It was just incredible to watch her move.

Banni has really become like a sister to me. She's been there for some of my hardest experiences in Bangladesh as well as some of the most fun. She keeps saying that when I go home I'm going to forget about her but I don't think I could. Banni, just like so many other people here, is in my soul and has a piece of my heart. I'm going to miss my Bangla sister so very much.

As I'm writing this, Dad is bustling around me getting ready for bed and figuring out our water situation. I left on a 9am bus out of Hili this morning and got into Dhaka just after 4pm. I promptly jumped into an autorickshaw because I didn't want to be late seeing Dad. If only I knew he was flying on Biman, aka an hour late. So I sat in the arrival section, nervously pacing back and forth, anxiously waiting for Dad. Finally I saw that his plane had arrived but there as no sign of him near the immigration desks that I could see from my seat.

With the plane being 35min late, and after another almost 40min of waiting after that, I decided to head down to the opposite end of the terminal where he should have been picking up his bags. That's when I saw him, my dad. Around the same time, he looked over and saw me too. Tears came to my eyes, shocked that this is becoming a reality and not just existing in the phone lines between Bangladesh and Canada. It was a while before the luggage carousel began to turn but I didn't mind waiting on the other side of the glass, incredulous to see someone that I haven't seen in six months.

Tears, hugs, kisses, and pictures. That's how the first two minutes of reconnection were spent. It was a moment to remember.

We scuttled outside into the humid air and I looked for an autorickshaw to take us back to the dental clinic. Since we were at the airport, everyone assumed I knew nothing and tried to rip us off. 350tk for a ride. As if. lol I came not two hours earlier the same way for only 50tk. I know, I'm Bangladeshi. You should have seen Dad's face the first time in that small cage, hurtling down the roads in crazy traffic, horns blaring. All these things that I've become so accustomed to are now being shown for how OUT of the ordinary they are.

As Dad said, " All your pictures and blogs make so much more sense now. I only understood such a small portion of what life was like here before. Wow..."

We dropped his bags off at the dental clinic and ran to the photo place before it closed for the night. Dad needs some more passport pictures in case we need them for Thailand, Laos, or Burma. And even if he doesn't need them, at 8 pictures for less than $4, you can't go wrong. I paid over $20 for only three pictures in Canada--bloody post office people ripped me off. lol

Then I took Dad to the place that just epitomizes Dhaka for me. There's a pedestrian crossing that goes across the road and when you stand in the middle and fully take in what you are seeing, the culture shock starts to set in slowly. You see the lights, hear the horns, notice how no one is capable of staying in their own lane, and wonder why you don't hear more crunching sounds of metal on metal.

After a couple minutes of soaking in Dhaka, we headed to Dhan Suri, my favourite restaurant. Rice, butter dhal, garlic naan, and vegetable masalla. Yum. I handed Dad a fork then proceeded to mash up my food with my fingers, Bengali style. Dad started laughing so hard at the sight of me doing this, yet another thing that is so second nature to me. He promptly put down his fork and I showed him the ins and outs of eating like a Bengali. We had some good laughs :) [Side note: I was kinda proud of the fact that the masalla didn't bother me half as much as it bothered Dad--spicyness wise. His nose was running and he was reaching for water but I was holding my own! It could have been because I diluted mine with dhal, but I like to believe it's because I retrained my taste buds in the last six months!]

We walked back after dinner and started to settle down for the night. Dad's still pretty jetlagged and is currently snoring loudly in the bed next to me. It feels so weird to have him in the room that I've shared with so many other people along the way, playing tour guide in the life that I've been living these past six months. We are leaving on a 7am bus out of Dhaka in the morning, which means we have to leave by 6am, which further means we have to eat breakfast by 5:30. I'm just excited to get back to the orphanage to spend as much time with my kids as I can! I have four days left in Bangladesh before we go to India. Yikes. Time is blowing by!

anyways, I should get to bed too... I'm sure I'll sleep on the bus but I could sure use some sleep right now too! Keep us in your prayers as we start our journey home, slowly but surely one step at a time.
ami tomake bhalobashi

of Hannah and visitors

Allow me to introduce you to Hannah. My Hannah Banana. It's ironic how my feelings for that nickname have turned from animosity to joy. The look on Hannah's face when I called her that for the first time was priceless. She was confused at first but now she loves it. I'm so proud to pass it down to her.
Hannah and little sister Rachel were given to Bangla Hope after their home fell down. Their father was sick and unable to make money for repairs. The mother came to our sponsorship director, desperate for him to take her two girls. She had to go to work in the fields in order pay for the house to get fixed and for medicine for her husband. Thus Hannah and Rachel were brought to the orphanage.

Hannah is such a crazy kid. I love her to death. I feel like half the time I'm yelling at her to behave and the rest of the time I'm smitten by her sweet [yet mischievous] smile. She's in my grade one class right now and is definitely on the smartest... and the biggest troublemaker. Hannah is the one when we first got here that painted lines in snake poison on her arm. Yeah, that's what we are dealing with: a little girl prone to mischief and trouble and adventure and curiosity rolled into one. But man do I love her... I can't wait to see who she grows up to be because I know if she focuses that energy she can do anything!

I realized I missed a day of blog and I'm pretty bummed out about that. But I have to say, it was extremely special circumstances! 27people from America got in last night and thus there are 7 new people in my apartment. I struck up a conversation with a girl my age named and ended up offering my computer for her to check her email on. We ended up talking for a couple hours and by the time we called it night, my computer was near dead. No problem, the generator was turned on so the new arrivals wouldn't fry in the heat so power wasn't a problem. Yet, we made the mistake of trying to turn on our a/c to cut the edge of the humidity in our room. Yeah... a/c plus fan plus four fans throughout our apartment equals a blown fuse. Being the good electrician's daughter, I scampered outside to look at the fuse box but the only broken fuse wouldn't stay switched when I flipped it. So we didn't have power (aka current OR fans) the rest of the night. I about died. I slept half the night on the floor just trying to stay cool instead of melting into a puddle... Thus, I wasn't able to blog because I wasn't even able to cool off.

That being said, there are a ton of people here. We welcomed them at the gate as they arrived on rickshaw vans and the put-puts. Then our little girls welcomed them with a cute dance as some of the caregivers sang a welcome song. It was really cute. I think I should be impressed (if I knew before who he was) but Dan Matthews here. I guess I need to watch 3ABN or LLBN more--but I don't. I guess he's a great speaker though with a great passion for God. I was able to spend some time with him today and he's a really nice man.

Today was my last Sabbath in Bangladesh. So surreal, yet so full of joy. We had Sabbath school outside because the classrooms have been overtaken by beds for guests but it was a beautiful day so I didn't mind. After Sabbath school, I headed to church and sang special music after Dan spoke. I sang of my cousin's Jenny's favourite songs, "Is there any way you could say no to this man", and thought of home. I mostly thought about how I get to see Dad tomorrow. How crazy is that.

Anyways, I also went to my last Branch Sabbath School. I'd been talking to them about parables of Jesus, miracles, and different Bible stories but today, at the last one, I wanted to tell them just how much Jesus loves them in hopes that something would stick. I told them about what Jesus' death on the cross meant and how a life with Jesus is so much better than a life without him. Josiah got up and told a story about a little girl who was persistent about going to church even when she was told not to by her father. While he was talking, I went down and visited with the mothers. They were sad to hear that I was going and I was sad to say that I'm leaving.

The best part of the afternoon came after the colouring when I started to give high fives upon completion. I also brought along all the extra marbles and bouncy balls that were left over from Christmas and that's when things got nuts. I had kids literally pushed all around me trying to get a ball. I know some came back for seconds but there was really no way of telling and well, we had enough. It was an incredible experience. Tim, a videographer from PUC, captured the whole event and I'm curious to see what it looked like from the outside.

Tim made a video for Bangla Hope last year and now is going to follow this med and dent group down south in order to put together a video short for one of the SDA broadcasting channels. Thus, you should all watch nothing but the Hope Channel, 3ABN, and LLBN--for the rest of your lives just in case you can catch a glimpse of me :) lol I'm only half kidding...

As we were leaving the school, the finality of it began to hit me and I started tearing up. I can't imagine how I'm going to feel leaving our kids here if I began tearing up saying goodbye to the village kids I saw once a week. It was rough.

Tim and Dan talked to me afterwards at dinner and asked if I was willing to be interviewed about going south to pick up the kids this last November. I didn't realized I had so much to say about that experience since I haven't really thought about it in such a long time, but the whole experience was actually pretty fun. I sat down with Dan, a camera off in the distance, and basically chatted with him for a good half an hour. I'm not sure how much they will be able to use and such but nonetheless, I hope some of the story gets out there.

Tomorrow is the day. THE DAY. Yes, the day that I get to see Dad. I can't even begin to describe my feelings. There's nervousness, excitement, joy, sadness, and a million other things I can't put a finger on. I'm jumping on a bus at 9am, putting me in Uttara at 4:30-5 which just before Dad gets in. Then we are going to wander around the city, see the "sights", maybe have some dinner, and then hit the hay probably. I'm hoping to catch the 6am bus out of Dhaka the next morning so that we can maximize our time here at the orphanage.

Thus, it's probably time for me to get to bed... I didn't sleep well last night, what with it being 150degrees in our room so I need to catch up a little. Have a wonderful Sabbath...
ami tomake bhalobashi

of Papri and apprehension

Allow me to introduce you to Papri. Papri is the grade one teacher I've been working with since I arrived back in October and is so full of life. I'm glad I've gotten to spend so much time in the classroom with her because it's really given me the chance to get to know her better than most of the other staff.
Papri is probably about 28yrs old and has been teaching for quite some time. While she is Bangladeshi, her tribe is considered different from the mainstream Bengali culture. The tribe, called Garo (not to be confused with go-ru, meaning cow lol), is from the north-east part of Bangladesh, just under China. That's why, in my opinion, Papri looks Chinese :) She's told me before that sometimes when she goes to Dhaka people don't believe that she's Bengali and remain convinced she's a foreigner.

When I say that Papri is full of life, I mean it! She is one of the loudest people on campus and you can really hear her about a mile away! She's always joking, always singing Hindi songs, and dancing. Going for a walk with her through the rice fields on Sabbath afternoon, in fact, is like recreating a Hindi film. I love her to death. Since she's not married, she keeps asking me if I will come back for her marriage sometime in the future--I tell her, I hope so Papri but I don't know... This last week, she's been telling me not to go home and how much she will miss me. I know that to be true because when we first got here, all she could talk about was Ryan and missing him. So, for all future SM's to Bangla Hope, get ready to hear all about me :) lol it comes with the territory!

[Quick side note: last night we had a CRAZY wind storm! I woke up at 3:45am because I had to pee and I couldn't believe how the wind was howling through the vents in our apartment. I had to go outside and pick up the laundry that had been blown off the line, but thankfully not off the balcony, but everything was so pitch black that I couldn't see what the wind was doing to the trees. I even went outside our front door that faces the orphanage and couldn't see anything. It was incredible. It sounded like it was raining too but it wasn't. I guess it was just my deep-rooted BC spirit who's only seen one day of rain in 6months that was hoping for some kind of precipitation.]

So today was technically the last "normal" day here. Tomorrow a bus full of 27 people arrives sometime in the evening. Oh dear. Though they are only here til Sunday (they are heading South to do medical and dental clinics), Dad will be here so that doesn't count as "normal". We now have four beds in our living room, two in our spare bedroom, and Elliot's bed was taken out to be put somewhere else. Everything's changing... :( If you know me at all, you know that doesn't always go over very well.

Hence the apprehension, the anxiety, and the strange feelings of possessiveness I'm having. I don't WANT to share MY kids in the last few days that I have with them :P I want everything to stay the same, though I'm finding frantically clawing at the hands on the clock doesn't help. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm happy these people are coming over to help but I can't help but feel... well possessive.

Peace. Find peace.

I did a major clean sweep today of our room as they were taking Elliot's bed out. I'm trying to downsize starting now so packing for home will be easier. I'm a pack rat--I've kept everything. But not everything will fit in a scrapbook, let alone a suitcase headed for home. By the way Dad, I'm counting on you to be the voice of reason (aka "You don't need that at home") when you get here because I'm going to want to keep everything! In the cleaning process, I was relieved to find the two missing art projects though in a box under the sink. All the projects are neatly set aside, all started and waiting to have the finishing touches placed. I hope they will get used or this is just a big waste of time lol.

On the bright side of life, I now have Mozilla and iTunes!! Yay, I tried to get Mozilla a couple days ago but it was "too big" at 8MB to download. But I kept my computer open most of today downloading both. iTunes alone took 6hrs to chew through the 94MB .exe file. Good times with slow Bangladeshi internet. It actually just finished downloading and guess what I'm listening to? "I Gotta a Feelin'" by BlackEyed Peas... "I gotta feeling that today's going to be a good day..." Yes, yes it will be. Everything's going to be okay. ahhh it's so nice to have music back in my life. Now I just need Skype and my movie player and I'll be content!

Tomorrow Brittni and I are waking up early to go make dhal with Shati so I should get to bed... And then the flood gates open and 27people come and nothing will ever be the same again... awesome. lol
ami tomake bhalobashi

of Mikey and... well... the norm.

Allow me to introduce you to Mikey. I was instantly drawn to him at first as much as Elliot was drawn to little Johnny because they both had the same names as our boyfriends back home. The more I spent with Mikey, the more I could see that he needed special love and attention. AKA extra hugs :) This is what I signed up for. Mikey is a lot more quiet than the other boys so I think he gets passed over a lot. But once I started to show him some extra attention, he started smiling and laughing with me. Man, he has a knockout smile!

Mikey is about five years old and was born on Valentine's Day supposedly--must be why he's so sweet. He's been at Bangla Hope since he was eleven months old because his father passed away. His file says that one sad looking lady brought a very nice looking baby boy to Mrs.Waid. She would not talk but others around explained that eight months before, Mikey's parents had gone to eat lunch with relatives. The father became ill and had extreme diarrhea but refused to go see a doctor. Thus he couldn't get enough liquid down him in order rehydrate and was dead by the end of the week. Mikey's mother was also mentally ill according to these people and wasn't able to take care of him by herself. She cried and cried when they took Mikey away.

It makes me sad that Mikey, like some of the other quiet ones, tend to get overlooked. I'm not casting any blame because, let's be honest, I was just as much to blame by getting sucked in as an audience of the Marisa's and the Danny's. But I hope that can be a lesson to me, even when I get back, to be more observant of the introverted people. Based on what I've seen here, they have just as much, if not more, to offer as the extroverts! I'm glad I took time to cuddle Mikey and give him extra love. He told me he loved me tonight and it made my heart melt. He's such a precious little soul, innocent and untainted by the cruelty of this world. I wish I could protect him from the hardships to come but life isn't like that.

I'm afraid I don't have much to report from today... I taught class in the morning and then Mrs.Waid and I went to Hili to run some errands. We came back and I did laundry (by hand!) because I'm getting low on almost everything and I don't want to take dirty laundry across Asia next week :P I made up the progress reports for Mrs.Waid so that each child can see how they are doing in each subject... I studied some ochem. I talked about living out our faith at the caregiver's worship. We played 5 Crowns after watching an animal show on their satellite TV. I lost both times but you can't be good at everything right? lol

anyways, that was the norm... Nothing new, nothing exciting. I'll tell you what IS exciting though! I get to see Dad in four days. FOUR DAYS. After six months of phone conversations, FB messages, and emails, I get to see my DAD. Whoop Whoop! Yes, I'm THAT excited. Part of me almost wishes I was going all the way home but then that part gets squished out by the part that is ecstatic to travel to Thailand and India. Oh dear... can't... contain... EXCITEMENT!

But I must because I'm going to bed and like to sleep :)
ami tomake bhalobashi

of Dolly and catalogs

Allow me to introduce you to Dolly. I was originally going to talk about Mikey tonight but after saying goodnight to Dolly, I just can't resist! Dolly is Amelia's little sister whom we brought from the south this last November. Mrs.Waid carried her in the van and anytime she caught Amelia's eye she would start crying. Both of them had such bad chest coughs when they first arrived and for some reason, Dolly's has persisted even to now.

The thing that strikes me about Dolly is how SMALL she is... She's got to be almost a year and a half old but when you pick her up, it's like picking up air. She's so light and so tiny. She eats so so so much and hasn't gained any weight since coming here. I think that just points to how badly malnourished she was when we first brought her here.

I've been trying to make it to more than just the boys' room to say goodnight and last night I was so glad I stopped in at the nursery. I sat with some of the mothers as they were finishing off the nightly diapers and putting the kids to bed. I asked one of them to show me how to tie a cloth diaper. It's not too complicated, thought it slightly resembles origami--the only difference is that if you don't fold a paper swan right, nothing happens. In this case, you could be wrist-deep in... You know. lol Anyways, after I learned how (and did an awful demonstration of my new skill) I went around and kissed all the babies goodnight. While most of them were scared of me and started screaming at the sight of me, Dolly held out her hands wide for me to pick her up. I picked her up and gave her a ton of kisses, tickles, and hugs. Her laugh was so quiet, yet so energetic at the same time... Such a cutie pie!

Today my day was consumed by this darn catalog. I have to give Elliot and Ryan mad props for getting the backbone of this monster in place because even the fine-tuning has taken forever it seems. Adding, editing, reformatting... Each time through the printed draft produced new errors to be corrected. And because we were doing this all on Elliot's little netbook, Publisher kept freezing under the enormity of the 44-page file. So frustrating at times. I spent the better part of the day with both netbooks opened in front of me, trying to edit between crashes on one and trying to download Mozilla onto the other. Both in the end were successful thankfully. I can't stand Internet Explorer... And Mr.Waid and Josiah are headed to Dhaka tomorrow morning with a flashdrive containing about three solid weeks of work to print it off in Uttara. I think I want to get a copy just so I can show people the amount of work this 'catalog' took--it's really a piece of art in my books lol.

Hence, the art project planning ONCE again got pushed to the bottom of Jehanna's priority pile. yikes. I need to get on that! Eggs with baskets for Easter, three fish threaded onto a popsicle stick with thick twine, seeds glued onto construction paper to make flowers in a vase, and... face masks. That's what I've got so far. When I say "got" I mean, ideas in place but not portioned out with an example and packed into a Ziplock bag. grrrr. Maybe tomorrow I'll tackle that one. I'm really trying to get all this stuff done THIS week so next week can be devoted to packing and showing Dad around my home away from home. So stop procrastinating... lol

So that was about the extent of the exciting parts of my day. Blogging every day becomes retelling a lot of the same stories over and over... So sorry if you're bored :) I don't blame you if you read about the daily kid then move on to updating your Facebook lol
ami tomake bhalobashi

of Litton and computer experts

Allow me to introduce you to Litton. Litton is not an orphan here but he has had a significant impact on my life and I think you should get to know him. Litton works here as the business manager and is one of THE hardest working people at Bangla Hope, hands down. The amazing thing is that he's only about 26! He went to school in India at Spicer College and earned his undergraduate in business then completed his masters of English. He worked his way through school, tutoring Korean students and fighting to catch a few hours of sleep before morning classes. Right now he could be back at Spicer, earning a nice salary as a professor but instead he is here at Bangla Hope, helping us.

Litton is also one of the most spiritual people I've met in Bangladesh. He has been beaten down, gossiped about, and threatened yet still remains faithful to God and in pursuit of the right. I wish there were more men like him in Bangladesh, even more men like him here at the orphanage! Litton has shown me what it means to truly follow God and His plan for you against all odds. He has inspired me to be active in my spiritual life and not sit down complaining when things don't go your way. I wish I could tell you more of his incredible story but out of respect I'll leave it at what I've written.

I chose to write about Litton tonight because I had to say goodbye to him today. As you know, he and Suborna just got married this last Friday and are now making their way down to his village for some more wedding festivities. After that, he has to go down south with the American group coming in so I won't get to see him before I leave... It was just another goodbye that shocked me into realizing that I only have 10 days left in Bangladesh. That's it. Oh dear.

Today I was on a mission. My poor computer Daphne has been having problems with the pre-release version of Windows 7 that she was loaded up with before coming to Bangladesh. For the past couple days, she has been randomly restarting (sometimes in the middle of a blog grr...) and when I'm sleeping in the middle of the night she will turn back on even with the lid closed. It's so weird. I was going to wait until I got home to do anything about it but today it was too much after she crashed twice.

Josiah said he had the disc for the new Windows 7 but that doesn't help much when you have a netbook (aka no disc drive). Thus I had to steal Shati's external dvd player and reinstall Windows. It didn't take too long but somewhere along the way, especially with the kind of heat we've been having here, I fell asleep for a 30min GLORIOUS nap... Mmm I love naps! So it's installed and she hasn't had any seizures yet, which is a very good sign. The bummer of it all is that the internet is too slow to download any of the programs I lost when I reformatted: Skype, Mozilla, iTunes, K-Lite Media Player... grr... But at least she's not seizing anymore--that's the bright side! I just can't put into words how much I hate Windows Explorer... grrrr...

Josiah says that now that I've reformatted my hard drive, I'm now certified as a computer expert here in Bangladesh! lol That's their answer to everything here, and the reason why Josiah is missing 80gb in pictures and music. He was having troubles connecting to the internet so the computer tech came and, unbeknownst to Josiah, wiped his hard drive. Yeah, that will solve the problem... lol So if anyone needs me to look at their computer when I get home, I can! I may not fix the problem but I'll give you a lot more hard drive space to figure it all out! lol

anyways, tomorrow is Day 10 in my little countdown so I need to get the catalog finished, pump out some more art projects, and help Mrs.Waid hand out the spring dresses to the little girls. Long day ahead means Jehanna needs sleep!
ami tomake bhalobashi

of Amelia and another one down

Allow me to introduce you to Amelia. She has grown so much in her four months here and now runs around with a big smile on her face where once sadness held firm. Amelia has mastered the tight leg grip and whenever you pick her up, she holds on for good. It's like prying mussels of rock to get her off sometimes :) But she's definitely a cutie pie and is more than willing to give you kisses any time you ask for them!

Amelia is about two years old and is in the same room as Gabriella and Natalie. She is one of the five that we picked up down south early last November and Elliot got the privilege of naming her. Amelia's father had two wives (I know I've told this story but for those who are just joining the blog and haven't read the earlier ones I'm repeating), one with a son and the other with two daughters. The father refused to feed or clothe Amelia's mother, Amelia, or little Dolly and instead gave everything to the mother with a son. Thus Amelia's mother had to go work in the field to make enough to survive but she couldn't do it with two small girls. Watching her give up her two daughters was one of the most heartbreaking experiences I've ever laid witness to.

For awhile she was reclusive, always looking for her sister Dolly and screaming when they weren't together. Amelia really has come a long way and is now becoming a energetic, yet extremely mischevious, little girl. lol We are working on hitting right now... She's prone to slapping your face and laughing afterwards... Like I said, we're working on that right now. lol

Today... What did I do today...? Sunday right? I slept in as much as I possibly could and then ran downstairs for breakfast. I convinced Josiah to share some of his bounty with me so I ate baby food for breakfast. lol Not kidding! Josiah found this incredibly delicious gruel in Dhaka and has been making some every day since. I stole a bite once and now I'm hooked. It's sooo yummy. Baby food: apple and corn flavoured.

After that I ran to class and reviewed the joys of words from Dick and Jane. For an hour. I really shouldn't be a teacher. It's settled. I've learned a lot of patience from the whole experience but teaching "go, go, go" really doesn't fuel my engines...

After class I decided it was time to clean. The bugs have been extra bad lately and have found ways to walk through our walls and settle by the the lights. Hence, we have clouds and clouds of bugs everywhere. Well, had! lol It would have been much simpler to just vacuum everything in one swipe but such amenities are not available to me here. Nonetheless, I did a thorough clean sweep of all bodies and cob webs around my window and even swept all the dust bunnies from beneath my bed. It was extremely satisfying...

Later in the afternoon, I geared up for my last art day with the kids. I can't believe it. Instead of having a ton of firsts, I'm starting to check of my list of lasts. I pulled out one of the more difficult projects, water colours, and had the kids decorate paper to later be used at bookmarks for their textbooks. I say difficult because trying to manage 25kids with containers of dirty water and sloppy paint containers.. It's tough. But we made it through in fine fashion and had many of beautiful pieces of art to show for it.

Wow, my last day of art with the kids. You know why? Because in EXACTLY one week, I'm going to be in Dhaka, showing my dad a slice of the craziness I've lived in the past [almost] six months. One week. I know I know I know I keep repeating but it hasn't hit me yet.

Ryan left today for Dhaka. He doesn't fly out until Wednesday but he had some business to get to before leaving. It's so surreal. First Elliot left, then Roger, then Jim (both American board members for Bangla Hope), and now Ryan. Then me. Another one down, just a couple left... I can't believe my SM year is going to be done in 12days. Yeah, that's IT. Then it's back to the grind, back to biochem, Rosario, and the dorm. Whoop whoop... I know it's awful to say, but I feel like everything will pale in comparison to my life these last five months.

Stop thinking about it Jehanna... You've still got 12 wonderful days here. Make the most of them!
ami tomake bhalobashi

of Danny and lazy Sabbaths

Allow me to introduce you to Danny. Mind you, if you were here in person, Danny would be one of the first to run up and introduce himself to you. He is always trying to practice his English and whenever we need something translated he is always one of the first that we ask. I taught Danny grade one last year and, while he was a pill sometimes, he's a really smart kid.

Danny is almost 8yrs old and has been at Bangla Hope since he was about three and a half. Danny was brought to Bangla Hope by his father after his mother died of liver cancer in the hospital. Danny's older brother was sent to boarding school but since Danny's father had to return to the fields to work, he couldn't take care of little Danny. Thus Danny has been with us since. Mrs.Waid has told me that Danny has memories of being with his mother which is unusual for most of our kids. I think it just makes it all the harder too though...

I feel like I've said this before, but even though Danny is a trouble maker, he is one of my favourites. I don't know why I seem to be drawn to the kids that push their limits, but I am. Danny is one like that. One moment he will be translating for us as we explain why we are punishing another kid for hitting and the next moment we will be punishing HIM for hitting. You can tell though that he knows when he's messed up... He just gets a stubborn look on his face and shuts down, like that night he stole Luke's slice of lime. Danny's different though in that the next morning he will usually say sorry and tell you how much he loves you. He's a really really really good kid--just needs some direction and discipline.

Today in Sabbath school we covered the 5th commandment: Honour your father and your mother. How do you explain this one to orphans...? I mean, the underlying concept of honouring your elders is easy enough but the literal text is hard to explain especially since most of these kids DO have parents. It's just that the parents aren't able to provide for them and thus had to give them up. Anyways, I kinda glazed over that since I know Mrs.Waid has been talking to the grade one and two kids about that stuff at worship and moved onto respecting teachers and caregivers.

After church we buzzed out to the Gohara school for village Sabbath school. I told the story of Jesus feeding the 5000people with 5loaves and 2fishes. Afterwards, Josiah got up and told a story about not having food and praying that his gift card would work in order to buy him a bagel. It sounds simple but to these kids, hope means the world. I want to avoid giving them the picture of a Santa Claus Jesus and instead showing them that Jesus loves them so much and wants to provide for those who believe in him. The kids were so excited to colour a picture of Jesus breaking the bread. I think next week at our last village Sabbath school I'm going to tell them about Jesus dying on the cross for them in hopes that something will really jump up inside of them.

This afternoon after dinner I lugged a quilt, pillow, and a couple books up to the roof to soak in some much needed rays. My poor skin has been so sheltered in this conservative country that I feel the need to slowly introduce sunlight in before I get to Thailand and lay on the sandy beaches... Mmm... I ended up taking a little nap in the sun and woke up feeling so refreshed. I journaled for a little bit as the sun went down and sang praise songs as the last few rays of sunlight disappeared into the haze over the horizon. It was a great way to end the day.

Ryan is leaving tomorrow for Dhaka. He's the first to leave. Then the big American group is coming next Friday to do a medical mission trip. Then I pick up my dad on Sunday (ONE WEEK). Then the Waid's and Brittni leave to fly to Hong Kong around the 25th. Then Dad and I leave for India on the 26th. Then it will just be Josiah here for a couple weeks. Crazy. That's the only word that will adequately describe how the next two weeks are going to go down. Well that and maybe BUSY!

I'm hoping to get a lot of cleaning done tomorrow though, get some stuff ready to go home and such. Really it's the grey fuzz of dead bugs swirling around our floor that is annoying me. That will be gone tomorrow if it's the last thing I do! We are in the final countdown!
ami tomake bhalobashi

of Gabrielle and turmeric

Allow me to introduce you to little Gabriella. When we first got here, she would run into her room and hide behind the cribs any time she saw us coming. If we ever tried to pick her up, she would start screaming--I'm telling you, fear of white peopl

e is a legitimate phase in these kids' developments! But now, oh man, if you don't pick her up and give her lots of kisses she will pull at your clothes until you do! When you set her down after, she breaks into a HUGE grin and runs away with her little arms pumping.


I don't have the case history for Gabriella but I would assume she is about 2... ish? She is in the little toddler room where the girls go that have graduated from the nursery. Instead of just going to the boys' room to say goodnight, I've been trying to hit up some more rooms along the way, getting slobbery kisses from all the little sweethearts. Gabriella will run in circles around you, quite literally, until you pick her up and PUT her in bed! lol I can see that she's going to be a little heartbreaker with those big eyes and long eyelashes. She's pretty much adorable.

So today was the day. THE day. The day my friend Litton got married to my friend Suborna. Weddings over here in Bangladesh are so different just because of the different culture and different religions. Even though they are Christian, there is still a Hindu feel to some of the wedding ceremony. Like this morning, I woke up at 5:45 to get to the turmeric party. I got downstairs by 6:30 and there were already women grinding up the turmeric root (you can't run to Safeway and get the pre-ground stuff lol) on big stone slabs in front of the bright yellow stage.

I was wearing my cheap purple seloar kamees in case I got any staining-yellow paste on it. When Rosemary saw me, she dragged me back upstairs and dressed me in a bright yellow shari with a cherry red blouse. I kinda felt like a mixture of a mustard and ketchup bottle lol. When I got downstairs, the women were fetching water in their ceremonious way, singing as they carried big pitchers of water. They met Litton at the entrance to the apartment building and walked behind as Litton's male relatives carried him to the turmeric stage. Apparently before you get married in Bangladesh, you are not allowed to anywhere. People just carry you. lol

Suborna was already sitting on the stage with her flower girls around her. Then one by one, people walk up, smear turmeric on the bride and groom's faces and splash water for good luck. Then with the leftover turmeric on their fingers, they smear it on the other guest's faces. If you can avoid it turning into a food fight it's actually pretty fun. I had some old pastors come up and gently dab turmeric on each of my cheeks. But then I also had the rambunctious ones run up and smear it ALL over my face. My poor eye.. My poor hair... But we all had a great time, spreading luck and turmeric to friends and family.

After a ton of pictures, I rushed upstairs to scrub the stuff off my face. There is a reason why we don't do turmeric parties in North America. I am white. Turmeric is yellow and stains. You do the math. I scrubbed the big pieces off with a loofa, washed the skin with my face wash, and then tried to scrub it off again with a Clean&Clear makeup remover cloth. It took the bulk of the yellow off but, after looking back on my pictures from the wedding, I think I still had a yellow tinge to my skin.

Wedding time. I quickly wrote out the words to "The Rose" and ran downstairs to coordinate the wedding music. It was supposed to start at 11am but since it's a wedding, a BENGALI wedding at that, it didn't start until almost 11:30. Thus, I played "I will be here" by Steven Curtis Chapman about ten times, all the while imaging my own wedding day and remembering my mom sing this song.

The wedding ran smoothly, slightly formal by Bengali opinion but still really nice. I belted out some Bette Midler and thought back to my Auntie Mel singing it at her wedding reception. I like weddings. I could choose to see them as depressing, but I see hope in them. These people found real, long-lasting and unfailing love--so can I. When God shows me it's right, I'll be wearing that white dress and listening to my family sing me many a song!

There was a sermon, vows were exchanged (all in Bangla of course), lighting of the unity candle, and kneeling on white satin pillows for prayer. The whole thing took about an hour but then, as it was winding down, it came time for the kiss-the-bride part. In Bengali culture, couples barely hold hands, let alone kiss in public, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. It was sweet though--Litton reached in and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek :)

After the wedding, we took more pictures and I wrote out the words to the other two songs I was asked to sing. The receptions are soooo different than Western receptions. People sat, ate, left. Litton and Suborna sat on a platform at the front and when people brought forward gifts, they had to take a sip of a milky liquid and eat a concentrated sugary crystal. While the Bengali's feasted on chicken curry and rice, Shati made us rice palau (sooo good), fried pumpkin and potatoe curry. I ate too much, more than my tight shari would allow and I'm pretty sure I still have a line in my side where my petticoat dug in. (Just checked and it's not there... but nonetheless, it was still REALLY tight).

I was asked to sing while everyone was eating and I did... But people were still talking loudly and no one was really paying attention to me--another difference from Western receptions. There were no clinking of glasses, no funny jokes or stories, no dancing. Eat and leave. Granted it was so hot outside, which was amplified by the four meters of thick cotton wrapped around me, but still. I want my wedding party to go late into the night, celebrating and laughing with friends and family. It's going to be pretty fun I'm hoping.

anyways, so that was my day. Bengali wedding. I can check that off my bucket list. It's Ryan's last full day tomorrow at Bangla Hope so we are going to have some fun, play some badminton, and hopefully finish at least ONE of the projects that we set out to do lol. It should be fun. I'm exhausted from all the sleep I HAVEN'T been getting so I'm off to bed to soak in some wonderful Sabbath rest. Have a wonderful Friday,
ami tomake bhalobashi

of Shaelah and Bette Midler

Allow me to introduce you to my namesake Shaelah. About a month after we had been in Bangladesh, we all headed south to Gopalganj in a van to see the village schools and bring back some more kids to the orphanage. I met little Shaelah, her mother and grandmother on the way to the pick up point. For some reason, I just felt drawn to this family. I sat with the them, helped the mother wash and change her little girl into the clothes we had brought, and used as much of my little Bangla (really little at the time) to try to give comfort. I blogged all about this in November but it's the only case history I know of for Shaelah.

She's just over a year old now, born on February 11. That was the other thing that drew me to her, close to my birthday, Valentine's Day, and (at the time) my one year anniversary. I considered naming her Michelle decided on Shaelah because, well, she just looked like a Shaelah to me. I hope naming my kids will be that easy!

Shaelah's been doing well at the orphanage. Honestly, I don't see her much because she's in the nursery and I'm prone to play with the older kids. I've gone to see her a couple times but she's at that "scared of white people" phase and starts to cry when I pick her up. Maybe in a couple years when I come back she'll be better... But then I doubt she'd remember me, holding her for 10hours as steadily as I could so she wouldn't wake up and cry. Kids these days eh? They ain't got no gratitude... lol jk :)

Today was a tad bit crazy. I taught English and English Math this morning (adding three numbers and a story about Sally and Spot being scared by scary looking boxes that really only had Dick and Jane under them.. good times) and then headed down to hopefully work with Ryan on FINISHING that blasted catalog. Don't get me wrong, this catalog looks incredible thanks to the hard work of Elliot and Ryan, but I just want it to be done already! Not yet, not yet...

It was Thanksgiving today. lol I got a craving for stuffing and decided to make it a new Thanksgiving on March 11. I grabbed my 97cent Walmart instant stuffing, instant mashed potatoes, and a can of Fri-Chik and headed down to the kitchen with my treasures. I had brought over the instant mixes for Canadian and American Thanksgivings because, at the time, I didn't know that we were going to be eating such good food here! But Shati made dinners for both occasions so I've been saving them, along with the Fri-Chik Mom sent me for Christmas, for a special occasion. But somehow, special occasions never really come. Days pass and before you know it, you're leaving Bangladesh in TWO WEEKS and you have a container full of specialty foods that you've been stocking up on. Yikes.

Thanksgiving on March 11. I think it could become a tradition. Ryan and I celebrated (there was to much food for just one person so I was nice and shared lol) in Litton's back office as we debated the formats of the brochure and catalog. We made a pact to celebrate next year too and we'll be sure to invite YOU if you want to participate in our new holiday. Bring food and gifts lol.

After Thanksgiving lunch, I was excused from classes and ordered to the cafeteria to help Mrs.Waid decorate for the wedding tomorrow. 50 yards of pink tule, flowers, and ribbons. Simple, but beautiful. We have Walla Walla, Brianna Myers, and Tracy to thank too though: they supplied the LIGHTS lol. I took down the red star lights in our room from Tracy to decorate two of the windows. Brianna sent over some really cool battery powered Christmas lights that are now being used to decorate the unity candle, and WallaWalla's Christmas lights are being used at the front of the chapel. Go team go!

The rest of the day was more decorating, with lots of time spent between the cafe and the huge tent set up across the badminton courts for the reception. Don't worry, there are tons of pictures to come :)

But the REAL fun starts at 6:30am tomorrow with a turmeric party. You wear something that you really don't mind ruining and spend a couple hours smearing turmeric on everyone else's face and arms for good luck. lol Now how would that go over in America...? Not well I'm guessing so I'm excited for this opportunity. I'm hoping no chicken's heads will get cut off and I'm fairly certain the odds are low of that happening--that event is contained to young Hindu marriages.

The ceremony starts at 11am and I am in charge of sound. I spent a couple minutes working out how to fade in and out of songs in order to not have such a harsh ending. I'm not stellar at it, but it will do. I was asked to sing for the ceremony and reception, both songs a tribute to the great Bette Midler. "The Rose" for the ceremony and "Wind Beneath My Wings" for the reception. It's a good thing that nobody speaks very much English because I really don't remember the words to "Wind Beneath My Wings" as well as I should.. [Note to self: print out lyrics in the morning...] Papri is adamant about me singing "My Heart Will Go On" at some point and I'm afraid she might shout "Encore, encore" at the reception. [Note to self: print out Titanic lyrics too...]

so there's an early start to the morning ahead and I'm still up at midnight:04 lol. It's going to be a long day... Best wishes to Litton and Suborna on their last night as single people :)
ami tomake bhalobashi