I'm back

I'm back from my one week hiatus. I didn't mean to take it really, I just didn't have anything to write and was so busy I couldn't be bothered to make something up for you all. Sorry. I heard plenty about it from my mother but other than that you all seemed pretty relaxed about it (a good indication that she is the only one who reads these).

I just got back to Bogra from a 3 day weekend in Dhaka for Easter. Spent some time with Esther which was wonderful as always and led to a new experience. We got on a rickshaw to go back to Esther's from a friend's place and didn't think much of the fact that the rickshaw driver seemed to know Esther since she has red hair which stands out here. We quickly realized though once we got going that all was not normal. This guy was slow. Horribly horribly slow! It turns out he only had one leg!!! He would pedal a down stroke with his remaining left leg and then pull the pedal up so he could take another. Being the patient person I am, I eventually slid down and started pedaling the right one for him. We made a pretty good team once we got our rhythm down. Eventually though he stopped and said he was tired. Unfortunately we were not home yet. We paid the man and decided to walk the rest of the way on a nice lazy Easter afternoon.

Later that night we were recounting the story and our friends informed us that he is actually a bit of a scammer. He does work for money unlike most handicapped people in Bangladesh but he purposely picks up expats in that part of town and says he'll take them places despite knowing that he won't be able to go all the way. He goes really slow so you get there really late and often people give him big tips for even trying. I've got to hand it to him though. It's ingenious for a 1 legged man in Bangladesh.