The Zoo

BJ loves animals. Before we came here I found out that the city had a zoo. It was one place that we HAD to see. One Tuesday, for our play date with Jinwoo, we all went to the zoo. BJ and Jinwoo had a fabulous time. We went in the morning before it was too hot and before the crowds came. Tickets cost 15 taka (equivalent to 20 cents!). I'm glad that BJ doesn't really remember all the other zoos that we have visited in the past. This zoo hardly measured up to any USA zoo. But, there were animals and that's all BJ and Jinwoo cared about!

The entrance to the zoo. Ironically, there were no giraffes or elephants.

The boys were able to walk around the zoo without being carried or holding our hands. Freedom!

I wanna hold your hand.

These look like natural environments, right?!

BJ liked the turkeys.

Juice break!

Drinking juice and looking at animals. (Look at how close we can get to the cages!!)

Hello Emu!

You're not supposed to feed the animals. There was nothing said about giving the animals a drink.

Lunch time for the turtles!

A cow and a "zookeeper"?

More zookeepers? Can't tell...they're not wearing a name tag.

This is an Indian python. Geniuses that they were, the zookeepers were poking the snake with a stick to make it unravel. The gate is wide open and if that snake wanted to, it could have made a quick escape. We didn't stay to see what happened.

The lion.

The boys had a blast.

And so did I!

Creativity Counts

BJ is a sporty kid. He loves any type of ball and has been able to throw since before he could crawl. Up to our move here we didn't really dabble in anything artsy. He colored every once in a while but mostly we just stuck with physical activities. Since we moved here (and the weather is terribly hot and there's not much room to run around outside) we've had to get a little creative with our day. BJ now loves to paint, color, play with play-doh, etc. Although he usually won't spend more than 10 minutes on any one task, he has become quite the artist. His paintings and drawings are hung all over our house :)

BJ wearing his smock (daddy's old "white" tshirt) and painting.

Play-doh hats on the animals.

Veggie Tales!

Coloring a lantern (Grandma gave BJ a WONDERFUL devotional for boys ages 2-5. There are craft ideas that correspond to each devotional.)

Owls made from toilet paper rolls (idea compliments of the one Parents magazine I brought with me!)

BJ's Friends

One thing that has become a constant in our life has been BJ's weekly playdates. There are 2 little boys that BJ sees on a regular basis : Shubho and Jinwoo. Although their is a language barrier with both children (Shubho speaks Bengali, Jinwoo speaks Korean) BJ doesn't seem to mind! He talks with them anyway, just assuming they can understand him:)

Shubho:

Shubho is the 3-year-old grandson of our cook and bearer. The first time he came over it was quite a surprise. We knew that they had a grandson (we've even met him once) but one day we came home and saw a small pair of sandals that didn't belong to BJ. They needed to bring Shubho to our house (a childcare issue) and BJ was SO THRILLED to have a friend! We were thrilled also since it was near the beginning of our time here and BJ needed a friend. Now, Shubho comes over at least twice a week. Sometimes he's here at breakfast, sometimes he comes over late morning, and sometimes he is here around at dinner time. BJ now always checks the kitchen to see if Shubho has come to play (he likes to spend time with his grandma!).

BJ and Shubho playing the drums.

Just having fun (you can see that BJ is still in his jammies. Too excited to even get dressed!)

The boys.

Jinwoo:

Jinwoo is BJ's other close friend. He is only 1 month older than BJ, which means they are on the same page developmentally. We met his family through friends at church and his older sister attends the school. Tuesday is our set play day with Jinwoo. Sometimes they come to our house, sometimes we go to his, and sometimes we go out on a field trip (his family has a car and driver!). Most times also include lunch as well. It is adorable when these two first see each other. Both get super excited and just start jabbering away. I love it!

Hold on Jinwoo!

Playing in Jinwoo's play house.

Anybody hungry? (BJ LOVES playing in the kitchen)

Showing off their Korean snacks.

Dad and BJ

Today we are celebrating Brian's birthday. Many times you think back on your past birthdays and really can't remember what you did on that day. I'm sure Brian will never forget this birthday just because of where we are :)

To honor what a great father Brian is, below are some pictures of Dad and BJ.

Playing with Mega Blocks.

Butterfly stretch.

Playing basketball.

Using the elastic band.

Piggy back ride!

St. Placid Orphanage

I love staying home with BJ. Being a stay at home mom in another country adds a certain dynamic to our relationship. There are so many life lessons presented to us daily. We have such a great opportunity to reach out to others and to experience a different culture. One of my favorite places that BJ and I have visited is the St. Placid Orphanage.

This particular orphanage has about 40 young children ages birth through 10(?). Most of these children still have one parent (or two) but the families just cannot afford to raise the children. When the child gets to a certain age they either go back home to help with income or they go to another orphanage for older children.

BJ and I went with a small group of ladies to the orphanage. We went in the late afternoon, just in time for tiffin (snack). We were there for about an hour and a half. The entire time we spent outdoors in the little cement playground area. BJ was a little overwhelmed at first since there were SO many children who wanted to see him. I did spend the majority of my time just making sure BJ was okay so I was not able to spend as much time with the children as I hoped. But I loved every minute of it!

Tiffin time!

The children LOVE when the "Aunties" come.

One of my favorite moments was when BJ was playing with the children. They would mimic every move and sound BJ made. They were all laughing and having fun!

We told stories to the children.

This little fella took hold of my heart. He was crawling around in a shirt and cloth diaper. So little and tiny. He let me hold him for a little bit too! Heaven!

BJ wanted to hold him too (hence the crossed arms...cuz that's how you hold a baby). The little guy wanted nothing to do with that!

The children also colored pictures. BJ was showing the younger children how to color!

I had to get my picture taken with these little ones.

Every once in a while BJ would need a break from the activity. This play house was his hiding place. He would shut the door and just stand there for a minute or two. I'm so glad that he recognized that he needed a "moment" instead of breaking out into a tantrum!

Most of the children have their heads shaved, both boys and girls.

Everyone wanted to show off their drawings!

This girl was so sweet. She kept covering her face with her drawing. I had to trick her so I could get a photo of her face :)

This precious sweetheart is only a month or two old. She was just dropped off at the orphanage that morning. Her father had run off and her mother could not take care of her anymore. The poor darling looked so scared. I held her for about 5 minutes but had to give her back because she was VERY frightened. Oh, my heart.

Picnic

The staff at the school have a picnic every year before the hot(ter) weather arrives. The school rented two buses and we drove about an hour to the Marine Academy (as in water, not like US Marines). The day started off cloudy and gloomy but it ended up being a blessing because the temperature was cooler! We all had a fabulous time!

I can't remember the last time I was on a bus! The Bengali staff members were SO fun...singing songs and laughing. It was quite refreshing and contagious!

We passed over a river and got to see all types of boats.

Our bus started to overheat so the driver used water from a small pond to pour into the engine.

Once we got to our destination BJ had a blast running around!

Many families attended.

BJ participated in his first competition...a race! His fellow competitors were children age 1 -5.

Getting a pep talk from daddy before the big race.

On your mark...get set...GO!!

Run, BJ, Run!!

Look at all the people who encouraged the little ones to run!!

There were also games for the adults to play.

The women mostly relaxed and chatted but did participate in a few games amongst themselves.

At this point my camera started acting up and I couldn't take any more pictures!! Fortunately, it was just the batteries but I did not have any extra on hand. Overall, we had a wonderful time getting to know the other staff members at the school.