So here we are breathing the air of Dahka, Bangladesh, hearing the car horns tooting and the call to prayer (which happens to be directly outside our bedroom window.) DC and I woke up on our first morning to the call of prayer and gave each other a happy, contented, 'we are here' kind of acknowledgement. Everything feels so familiar even though we are in a different country from India, the smells and sounds are the same and there is something comforting in that.
In our first 12 hours of being here we have been served a special Bangladeshi breakfast followed by a business meeting where we were all invited. We were taken to a very flash cafe that had opened a week ago by the Aunty of the lady conducting the meeting. I was not expecting our first outing to be to such a flash place and for us to be served quite such outstanding western food. The lady we met with was a beautiful muslim lady. She wants to serve God by showing love to those less fortunate, just as we do, by helping in education. It was really interesting talking about our different faiths and how it is our faith that makes us want to do what we are doing.
After the meeting we arrived home very full and found a special lunch had been prepared for us. This meant we had to find more space in our stomachs. To be honest though, the lunch was such delicious Bangladeshi food that it was not hard to squeeze in a bit more.
DC has now gone to the school here in Dhaka with our eldest boy to do an audit of their ICT setup. I think He is thriving on being able to help in his area of expertise.
Back tracking now.... We left NZ a couple of days ago to some sad farewells but also great excitement. We went to Sydney first where we spent some time with our eldest daughter and showed the boys some sites of Sydney.
We then had a night and day in Singapore which was wonderful and has helped us slowly get our body clocks closer to Bangladesh time. There was a water park attached to our hotel which was a real treat for us all.
Now we are staying with the couple that we will be living with in Chandpur. They have been wonderful to us and all my fears of wondering if we will get along with them have been vanishing. Here's a few shots of the apartment.
Last but not least, I have talked to my parents and one of our daughters today and it makes us feel so much closer to hear each others voices. Our daughter was really enjoying hearing the sounds in the background and the call to prayer. She's going to love coming here for a visit. I hope to talk to more family tomorrow.
In our first 12 hours of being here we have been served a special Bangladeshi breakfast followed by a business meeting where we were all invited. We were taken to a very flash cafe that had opened a week ago by the Aunty of the lady conducting the meeting. I was not expecting our first outing to be to such a flash place and for us to be served quite such outstanding western food. The lady we met with was a beautiful muslim lady. She wants to serve God by showing love to those less fortunate, just as we do, by helping in education. It was really interesting talking about our different faiths and how it is our faith that makes us want to do what we are doing.
After the meeting we arrived home very full and found a special lunch had been prepared for us. This meant we had to find more space in our stomachs. To be honest though, the lunch was such delicious Bangladeshi food that it was not hard to squeeze in a bit more.
DC has now gone to the school here in Dhaka with our eldest boy to do an audit of their ICT setup. I think He is thriving on being able to help in his area of expertise.
Back tracking now.... We left NZ a couple of days ago to some sad farewells but also great excitement. We went to Sydney first where we spent some time with our eldest daughter and showed the boys some sites of Sydney.
We then had a night and day in Singapore which was wonderful and has helped us slowly get our body clocks closer to Bangladesh time. There was a water park attached to our hotel which was a real treat for us all.
Now we are staying with the couple that we will be living with in Chandpur. They have been wonderful to us and all my fears of wondering if we will get along with them have been vanishing. Here's a few shots of the apartment.
Last but not least, I have talked to my parents and one of our daughters today and it makes us feel so much closer to hear each others voices. Our daughter was really enjoying hearing the sounds in the background and the call to prayer. She's going to love coming here for a visit. I hope to talk to more family tomorrow.
So good to hear your update - love being able to see photos of where you are. Sounds like yum food, and lovely people. Great that DC is already being able to help! :-) Joce
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