Recent things...

Mail

First things first, I recently received two cards. Both of them were Valentine's Day cards. One from my parents and one from my Aunt (Ms. Susan Dahlkamp? Did you get rid of Uncle John?). While it was really nice to get them, I figure now is a good time to explain the speed of mail here. Letters generally get to Bangladesh in about 10 days. Now that I'm in Bogra I might also not get them for another week after that. That said, please allow about 2 weeks for letters. Package mail takes a little longer. All that mentioned, Ladies, it isn't too late to send me Valentine's Day cards! You may send them to my address here:

Phillip Birkey
Mennonite Central Committee Bangladesh
GPO 785
Dhaka 1000
Bangladesh

I'm even willing to guarantee a response letter.



Lizard

I went to Dhaka this past weekend and upon my return I noticed a small lizard under my clothing rack. I was tired so I just paid him no attention and went to bed. The next morning I was doing my push-ups (I'll talk about those in a minute.)and he was still under the rack starring back at me. I continued to ignore him thinking his presence was a warm and welcome one. He is a pale colored version of the ones you see around houses in Florida all the time. He actually lead me to reminisce about times spent at my Grandma's house in Bradenton, Florida. That's really not what this story is about though. Later on in the day I was sitting on my bed working on my computer when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. It was the lizard and he was crawling across my floor over by the other bed. I turned to look at him. He saw me and stopped. I looked at him as he looked at me looking at him. I went back to my work on my computer but he was sitting there right in the corner of my view. He was aware that I was aware that he was there and as a result refused to move. This very fact combined with his placement in the corner of my peripheral began to annoy me. I hope you can feel the tension that was present in the situation! So I turned and looked at him. I waved wondering if that would spook him. After this failed I was left to ponder what I should do next. I mean, I wished him no ill will and loved him for what he represented but at the same time I couldn't help but obsess with knowing he was there and wasn't moving because he was aware that I was aware of him. I've often had this struggle with Rabbits and Squirrels as I meander along sidewalks but never a lizard. If I was a better man I would have just let enough be enough, but I'm not and I didn't. I reached for a pile of Taka (coins...they're worth about 1.5 cents each) and proceeded to toss them at him. Unfortunately for me, he was good at this game of chicken. I could land them within a few inches of him and he wouldn't even twitch. I soon ran out of Taka. Forced to make a decision and really truly wishing him no harm, I decided upon my next action. I got up and ran at him! Unfortunately/fortunately for me, he had been prepared for this all along. He quickly scurried under the other bed in the room. Since this time, I often find myself looking at the spot where he stood on the floor longing for his return or wondering what I would have done if he hadn't scurried away. Part of me wonders if I would have just admitted defeat and left the room. Sadly, I feel like I probably would have just picked him up.



A Lament

Yesterday I went to the store and bought Ice Cream. Normally this is a joyous story to share but the events surrounding it leave me baffled at the whole scenario in retrospect. The adventure begins where all great adventures begin, with me. I was born on May 24, 1985 in a hospital in Kokomo, IN. Through a long complex process I ended up where I am today but, more relevant to this story, it also previously ended with me in a grocery store in Dhaka. While I was there I had an opportunity to purchase some Oreo cookies. They were made in Indonesia and were about $3 for what was was probably 2/3 of the normal amount you get in the states. I, of course, having no will power whatsoever, bought them. Having more will power than I had previously suspected, I managed not to open them until I got back to Bogra. The other day I opened them and took a bite. Much to my dismay they don't taste that much like the Oreos I've previously had. They have a very processed, chemical taste to them. In my panic I came up with a solution. Ice cream! I have always been a big fan of adding cookies to ice cream anyway, especially Oreo-like cookies. I do think the Twist-and-Shout brand tastes better in ice cream but I'm not sure if that brand exists anymore and beggars can't be choosers. Which brings me back to yesterday. I went and bought some ice cream only to immediately realize afterward that I have neither spoons nor bowls. Upset at myself and holding a quickly thawing plastic tub of ice cream I returned home knowing that this would mean another trip to town before I could enjoy my triumph. Upon getting back to the guest house in the office, I went to go put the ice cream in the freezer and it slipped out of my hand due to the sweat on the outside. Inches short of of reaching the freezer, I was forced to watch in agony as it went crashing to the concrete floor. The corner it landed on burst open and a volley of ice cream came firing out before it finally came to rest in a better than expected but thoroughly disheartening state. I picked it up and observed the situation. There was dirt all over it from the floor and it was open to the air on one side, but there was a little light at the end of the tunnel because most of it was good enough to eat by my standards. So I shoved it in the freezer upside-down. I found out later that my luck seemed to be beginning to turn, Nate said he had a spoon and bowl I could use. So, in a free moment I went to the task last night. I opened up to the freezer and grabbed the ice cream, turned it over, and opened it up. To my dismay I soon discovered that the freezer wasn't set cold enough and it was the consistency of whip cream. Undeterred from my greater mission I scooped some out anyway, turned the freezer up, and replaced the rest in the freezer. I grabbed a few Oreos and crumbled them into the soupy mess, all the while my mouth was watering the possibility. After a little bit of mixing I scooped up my concoction and took a bite. It tasted like crappy whipped cream/ice cream with chemically tasting chunks in it. What else did you expect? I'm in Bangladesh and this is a lament.



Push-ups

I started doing my old push-up routine again a couple of weeks ago. Essentially this is my ploy to get some exercise in a day without actually doing something that takes up much of my day. A few of my colleagues have joined in are doing it too. I started with 100 a day 2 & 1/2 weeks ago. This week we're up to 150 a day. You spread them out over the entire day so they don't require much time at any given moment which makes it easy to keep up. At the same time, it's still 150 push-ups and I know I'm often tired as well as sore when I finish. The eventual maximizing point is at 300 a day. I figure at that point I can focus entirely on doing more in each set instead of doing more in a day. I think after that point I'll add in some sit-ups too. It isn't much to write home about but it is what it is and you might hear me mention it upon occasion.



Shesh (bangla for finished)

Phil