After much consideration and the thoughtful advice from those who have experienced what I am experiencing. I decided to move to a new location for rest and rejouvenation. I have moved to our co-op and Spa. It's sounds so glamourous I even hate to say it. But the truth is, that for Bangladesh it is.
After being here for just under 2 weeks I came down with a fever that lasted 3 days followed by one day of a bad stomach and all that goes with that. I am fine now and don't know if it was something bad I ate, the infamous Denghe (spelling?) that inflicts some through what I believe is a mosquito bite or just a simple fever that everyone here seems to get. It was going to happen with 150 kids and me. However, I was not getting enough sleep and I got sick, so my friends in Canada and here in Dhaka suggested a quieter location.
I travel here in the evening by rickshaw but take an older boy with me for security. I am happy to pay the 10 taka extra for him to get a ride back home to the orphanage. Not only is it security but it gives me a chance to chat with one more youth one on one.
In the mornings I am content to go downstairs in my new Bangla dress call for a 'Cali!' (empty Rickshaw) tell them....Sector 9, Mascot Plaza, ask how much 'koto taka?' negotiate for 10 only and then take the ride to the orphanage/school. It makes me feel pretty good to negotiate this myself. It is safe, especially during the day and although everyone stares at me, I am v
ery comfortable. The streets are lined with furniture for sale, right beside the pineapples which is right beside the man selling shoes laid out on a piece of canvas. Amazing place Dhaka is.
The Spa is a co-op built by FFC and in particular Kristen Petri, my predecessor. She received a grant from the government to set this up. It will be used for a long time to train our girls to work in Beauty Parlours. There are many in Bangladesh, probably because of the climate.
Those who really know me will be surprised to learn that I had a facial (my first every) and a manicure (again, a first). I never in a million years thought that I would come to Dhaka to become 'girly'.
At night I hear dogs barking, and police whistles. It is illegal for children to be out after dark
alone. I worry a little about them as I hear the whistles but know that for them all of this is NORMAL, it is only ME that finds this strange. My bed is covered in a mosquito net and I pretend to be a princess. I sleep in a silk sleeping bag liner, which is great for keeping out the bedbugs. I have not seen any but who needs to take a chance. When it rains, and it rains a lot, the rain pours onto the roof, down the stairwell and into the place. Quite the system. But again, it's just the way it is, in Bangladesh.(Sumi sitting on my bed)
My kitchen is stocked with peanut butter and jam, tea and coffee and a few chocolate chips for when I get a craving. Everything must go in the fridge though, I think this place was built on an ant hill the way they infest the place. No worries though, more food for the cockroaches. We play a stomping game and the kids think it's funny that I am not afraid of them.
Every day I feel like I am getting closer to the kids. I touch, hug, stroke, and tell them I love them as often as I can. I tell them that they are important, that I came here for them and that if they want to and work hard enough, that they can go and be and do anything that they want. My only fear is that I am creating unrealistic dreams. But then again, who is to say? I actually believe it and so I will say it. Nothing that I would not say to you, each one of you who read this.
All my love,Tamara
1 comment:
Thanksgiving there is likely different than here, but the gratitude the children must feel when you spend time with them must be amazing. Keep it up and maybe we need to be a little patient with their culture. The smiles of the children stand out in the pics.
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