Saturday, June 19, 2010

Mud, rashes, and English

This past week has been an interesting one from my perspective.

I finally settled back down into my normal work in my normal office and slept in my own bed. Unfortunately, it seems that my own bed is causing me some sort of allergic reaction. It started with itchy arms. Then my legs and body joined in. Finally, I woke up yesterday morning and the right side of my mouth was puffy (fun fact for you, I almost always sleep facing my left). I wasn't too concerned until the lips started puffing up. Today it was the same problem. We are pretty sure it is a reaction to something in our house because many people who have stayed at our place recently have gotten itchy. The most recent suspicion is that maybe some sort of chemical in our roof or ceiling is floating down in dust and slowly builds up over time. All I know is that if it gets any worse, this guy will be refusing to stay in my own home because puffy lips is a really freaky feeling.

I've also been editing a project proposal. This has led me to an insight. When you don't grow up with English as a first language, the simple words are sometimes the hardest to understand the complexities of. For instance, how do decide whether to use "in" or "on"? For example, we would say that you use pesticides on vegetables but also say that you use pesticides in vegetable cultivation. It is a little thing but it applies to a lot of different words and different situations. I've also noticed that filler words like "the" and "a" are difficult as well. Just an observation.

Finally, it rained a bunch here the past couple of days. That means that our dirt road has turned into a mud one. This is especially true near our house where it is very difficult to keep my bicycle upright in several inches of mud. So far I have managed to navigate it successfully but keep posted, if I do fall I'm sure I'll have a nice muddy picture of me to share!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Prayer Requests

This is a new thing for my blog and I hope to make it something you'll find regularly. My goal is to be a little more connected to those who would like to know what things could use prayer in the lives of those I interact with here. This comes out of being reminded while I was at home that each of us has different gifts and unless we open ourselves up to allowing others to use their gifts, we won't see them.

One thing that could be prayed for is the upcoming Vision and Values Training that a couple of co-workers are partnering with an organization called Food for the Hungry to give to our staff.

I'd also ask for prayers for both MCC's ex-pat workers and many of our ex-pat friends. Many of our workers are finishing up the final month or so of their term with MCC and that means a big transition is coming for them. I also add our friends to that list because it seems like all of them are traveling a lot lately and one in particular is back in the USA right now having hip replacement surgery.

As always, prayers for the people of Bangladesh are appreciated. There are not a lot of crops in the fields right now as harvest just happened this past month but this is storm season and natural disasters that result in a loss of life are a real possibility.

I think I should probably end this with a prayer of thanksgiving. It sounds like all of the MCC staff in Bangladesh fared well while I was gone. One co-worker even celebrated the wedding of his daughter!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

High Definition

Ever since returning to Bangladesh a week ago, one thing has really stood out to me. It feels like when I left Bangladesh in April, everything was in analog TV mode but since returning it is like everything is in high definition. Maybe that is just the difference the rains make in cleaning up all the dust and dirt. Maybe it is just the result of having returned from the States where colors are very bland compared to Bengali tastes. Regardless, I find myself in just pure awe of it at times.

I also noticed that my Bangla pronunciations where terrible when I returned. A week later I'm starting to gain some of my confidence back again and finding that I'm able to start adding a bit more complexity to my sentences. It's all a good reminder that I need to practice and study Bangla more.

I've spent a grand total of about 15 minutes at my house since coming back. I spent most of the last week doing work in Dhaka and saying farewell to the Miller family. It is saddening to see them go but like I previously noted, I'm not one for being too caught up in such things. I trust God has a purpose for them and this move in their lives. I finally returned to Bogra last Thursday which is the end of the work week. I got back to the office in time to have a late lunch. After that I had an hour long talk with my boss. He then invited me to come with him to his parent's house for the weekend. Having vowed to do more of those types of things, I took him up on it. So I went home, threw my dirty clothes in the laundry, grabbed some clean clothes, and took off with him right after work.

He is from a part of Bangladesh that is famous for its mangoes and it happens to be mango harvest season. I had a great time hanging out with him and his family. The mangoes were everything they were billed to be (I didn't like mango last year but love them this year, funny how tastes change huh?). The only thing that didn't go so well was that they found out that a bunch of their mangoes got stolen. Having crops stolen is a real issue in Bangladesh which is why most people hire help to watch the crop as harvest nears. Fortunately, my boss, while sad and frustrated at this news, isn't some poor Bengali who will starve as a result of losing $15 worth of mangoes. I also had a new kind of flat bread while I was there. It was made from a brown rice flour, very delicious. His mother even made the best tasting beef dish I've had in Bangladesh. Overall, I think that part of Bangladesh is one of my favorites so far. We traveled through the 4th largest city in Bangladesh there and it felt more like a giant village than a city. That appeals to me.

I got back from this trip last night about 7 but since his wife and child were off visiting family and my roommates are both out of town right now, he invited me to his place to watch World Cup games for the night. I was hesitant to accept since I was out of clean clothes at this point but the draw of watching the England vs. USA game trumped those hesitations. In retrospect, it was very much worth losing sleep and wearing dirty clothes to work today. Seriously everyone, watch the World Cup games. They're amazing and kind of a big deal. I'll try to post later about how the Bengali people celebrate it all.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

The Return

I could probably write about 30 posts right now. I won't, but I could. :-)

I guess the place to start then is to talk about my return and highlight where I'm at.

I returned to Bangladesh yesterday morning. The airport was a friendly reminder that I was "home" as 5 flights came in around the same time and apparently only 1 of 3 baggage cart unloaders was in working condition. Seeing the familiar face of the driver as I walked out of the airport was pleasant. Then I on the drive back to the apartment I started feeling real excitement. I think for some reason most people expected me to feel some sort of sense of dread or sadness that I have returned but this isn't the case. I'm not really sure why this is. Perhaps it is because I am very aware of what I'm getting myself into. I get the impression that this is why people normally dread coming back to Bangladesh. For me, it actually is more comforting than scary though because there is direction and understand this time around. I know what 1.5 years in Bangladesh is like. I know approximately what I'll be doing. I know what things are going to bother me. I know what things I need to work on. I know that this will help me grow as a person.

Another perspective some might throw out is that one would expect that I'd be sad to leave my family and friends behind again. The biggest reason this isn't such an issue for me is that I know for sure at this point that distance is no match for a foundation of love. I have that foundation with many people back in America and, while being in Bangladesh definitely changes the buildings that are on those foundations, I know I can trust in those foundations to remain strong or even be stronger as a result of my being here. On top of that, I have a real sense that this is where I'm supposed to be. I don't talk about that too much, but it is something I have a lot of faith in. I feel like God placed this path in front of me for a reason and trusting in that is more comforting than I could have ever imagined.

That said, here I am starting up again. I know that in the coming days and months it will be easier for me to be excited about new challenges than to actually accomplish them. I think that is the real test I am facing at this point in my life. Can I be a detail oriented finisher at even an acceptable level? I must admit, I'm somewhat apprehensive to learn the answer to that question. Other than that, I view life as beautiful at this point.

To those of you in the States, thank you. Thank you for being wonderful.