Time In Dhaka

We've been in Dhaka for over a week now and have been kept busy, which is why you've not heard from me in such a long time! We spent a week at Austin's parents' place. The boys and I had a Bangla class. Five mornings I took them to a friend's house for VBS, which they enjoyed immensely! It has been so good for them to have other children to interact with. The week has flown by! We have also been enjoying the conveniences of Dhaka - a library, bakery with yummy chocolate donuts and real coffee, large air conditioned grocery stores complete with shopping carts (though they would seem rather small to most of you), going to church two Friday mornings in a row, talking with other moms, having Grandparents around and lots of good eating options. Last night we decided to go to a nearby shopping mall and eat in the food court. We squeezed our way up the escalators with hundreds of other people. The boys had never seen so many people in one place that they could remember. Pruitt thought it was like being at the airport. It was a bit over whelming, though I think Austin enjoyed it pretty much. We decided to take the elevator down and barely got in. People kept coming and coming, squeezing tighter and tighter till the overload button buzzed, then a couple of people got off and one got back on and down we went. It was a relief to walk out and breath fresh air again. Outside there were people milling around and sitting on most of the steps (all in all there must have 40,000 people or more in and around the building). We had a hard time finding transportation to go home. We were trying to stay out of the way of moving vehicles and find one that would take us and not loose each other. This little beggar girl kept grabbing my arm and asking for money. I kept saying "maph koro" which is a polite way of asking to be excused from giving. Finally I yelled at her and instantly felt horrible, but she still wouldn't let me alone. We soon managed to get a CNG, a green little 3 wheeled taxi of sorts, and headed away from it all. I told Austin I was glad I did it once but it was enough to last me a life-time.


Despite the fact that I am an introvert and have spent the week pretty much surrounded by people, it has been a good week and I am looking forward to another one. Hopefully it will not be so long till you hear from me again.