Turtle Pond

Before we came here we did some research on what sites to see around the city.  One place of interest we came across was a sacred turtle pond.  Legend has it that in the 13th century a saint turned a group of sinners into turtles to live eternally in this pond instead of in hell (my very loose interpretation of the story).  An interesting note on these turtles is that they were thought to be totally extinct but then 150-300 turtles were discovered in this pond.  The black softshell turtles are classified now as extinct in the wild.  The manmade pond is part of a shrine in the city.  We had the opportunity on the Saturday of Easter weekend to take a ride out to this shrine to see the turtles.  We only visited for an hour but there were many sites to behold. 

The Hazrat Sultan Bayazid Bastami shrine.

You can feed the turtles bananas by hand.  We did not for fear of falling in!

The crowd of people coming to see the turtles.

A picture by the turtle pond.

We were allowed to go up the stairs to the temple but we had to take our shoes off first.

This is the women's side.

A candle vigil.  While we were standing here a man came and blew out all the candles and incense that was burning.  Don't know what that was all about...

This is a tree with ribbons wrapped around it.

There are many poor people who come to the temple. 

Nearby is a very poor community.

Beggar children walked with us as we visited the grounds.

Many of the beggars have physical ailments. 

The shrine was under construction at the time of our visit.

The head can be used to carry many things.

A rare site...a female construction worker.

Concerts, Recitals, and Talent Shows, Oh My!

Over the past few weeks, WCA has been having concerts and recitals showcasing their students and their talents.  All of the students did a fantastic job.  I marvel at their talent and am extremely thankful for WCA and the opportunities that are given to these students.

Elementary Choir

Junior High Choir

High School Choir

Elementary and Middle School Concert Band

We also went to the Middle School Talent Show!  It was so wonderful!  We saw native dancing, bands that composed their own music, skits, and so much more!  BJ loved the talent show and clapped enthusiastically after every performance :)

St. Placid Orphanage - A Family Trip

This past Sunday we visited the orpanage again.  We scheduled it at a time so Brian could come as well.  The children do not interact much with men so I was interested to see how they would respond.  The older children took to Brian quickly and began to call him "uncle".  Brian brought a tennis ball with him and he encouraged the children to play a game.  My heart always goes out towards the littlest of the orphans so I spent most of the time cuddling, holding, and playing ring around the rosie.  BJ took a little bit of time to get comfortable with the children, but by the end, he was singing and dancing with them :)

Gathered around for some singing in Bangla. 

It took several times through the songs until the children could sing them too!

When I visited back in March, this little sweetheart had just been dropped off at the orphanage.  Look how big she has gotten!

This little buddy is the newest addition.

The children participated in action songs.

Enjoying tiffin (snack time).

More tiffin!

The little boy sitting on the steps was often alone.  We learned that from birth he has suffered from a digestive illness.  Although he is improving with age he still struggles daily. 

Brian playing a game with the children.

This little girl was so sweet.  She and BJ had a lot of fun twirling, singing, and giggling.  (BJ really is smiling in this picture...honest.)

Saying goodbye to the children is always so hard. 

Lady Eagles vs. AUW

As I mentioned previously, Brian had the opportunity to hold several practices for the girls basketball team despite their regular season being in the fall.  Brian was also able to schedule a few basketball games with the local university's basketball team.  Unfortunately, because of the recent hartals (government strikes), several of the games had to be cancelled and could not be rescheduled due to the final exams at the university.  We did get to play one game though!  Our Lady Eagles did fabulous and held the university team to only a 3 pt lead!  Our two seniors were away for a leadership conference and I can only imagine the added excitement the game would've brought if they had been able to attend!!

Pre-game huddle.

We had onlookers from the apartment buildings surrounding the court.

BJ was very involved with the huddles.  His favorite part was putting his hands in the middle and yelling "Go Eagles!"

Let the game begin!

Both teams and their coaches.

Good job, Lady Eagles!

10 years

Ten years!  I cannot believe that Brian and I have been married ten years already!  Last year, we started thinking about just what to do for such a special occasion.  Who would have thought that we would be spending it here?!!  I will ALWAYS remember what we did to celebrate just because of where we are!  Since we came here in January Brian has joked that for our anniversary he was giving 6 months of no cleaning and no cooking.  It is the BEST anniversary present EVER!!  Our big day of celebration ended up falling on Good Friday.  There was a fellowship with some local friends that we attended and a friend of ours offered to watch BJ at night so we could go out to dinner. It really was a great day!

Our anniversary family photo.

For our first anniversary we received a FANTASTIC present from Brian's dad and stepmom.  It was an anniversary book.  A page is dedicated to every year of marriage.  There is a place for a photo and a spot to write memories from the past year.  Every year, as part of our anniversary celebration, we take a photo of us (and BJ too once he came along) and we write about what has happened.  We left the book back in the States (on purpose) but I can't wait to add all the exciting adventures we've had this past year! 

The boat club.

For our dinner date we went to the boat club.  It is a restaurant that recently opened right on the water.  Our friends who were watching BJ gave us their car and driver to use for our night out. 

Our meal.

Like most fancy restaurants in this area, the food options included Indian, Chinese, and Thai foods.  We selected a variety of foods, not really knowing what they were since there was no description in the menu!  The food was good but just a little spicy (like most foods here!). 

I had wanted to post a picture of Brian and I on our wedding day but apparently I do not have one available on this computer to post!  Mental note to scan our pictures when we get home!

Our House

A while back I posted pictures of what the outside of our home looks like.  It is high time that you see where we have been living since January.  We have put a lot of time and effort into furnishing our home and making it, well, homey.   

Below are pictures of our living spaces.  We are blessed to live in a home with SO many rooms.  I have spared you the photos of the foyer, storage closet, laundry room/guest bathroom, spare bedroom/clothes drying/deep freezer room, kitchen, and other 2 bathrooms because  1) we hardly spend any time in those rooms  and 2) they really aren't that exciting!

Our formal living room. 

 In the mornings, while our cleaner is cleaning the bedrooms and family room, we spend our time out here playing.  We entertain guests out here if it is not too hot (there is no A/C in this section of the house).   

Our dining room. 

 There is a sink by the window which is very convenient.  Most dining rooms here will have sinks because the people here do not use silver ware.  We use it to wash our hands before and after eating (and sometimes during, depending on how dirty BJ gets!)  Although BJ knows how to use utensils, he still prefers his hands!  The open door to the left leads to the foyer, spare room, laundry area, and front door.  You can see our cook in the kitchen (back right).  I am standing in the formal dining room taking this picture.  On the other side of the wall on the right that juts out is the door into our "personal" space.  This door is kept closed most of the time, which allows privacy for our family from our house help and keeps the cool air-conditioned air in!

Our family room.

This is where you will find us most of the time.  The theme is "blue".  We purchased our beautiful cane furniture from a store in town.  We have an abundance of floor pillows that are used in many ways (BJ loves to run and jump into them!).  Usually this room is cluttered with BJ's toys but I took this picture during nap time :)

One of BJ's toy shelves.

The other half of our family room.

The door to the left leads back to the dining room.  The doorway in front leads to BJ's room.  Just outside of this photo on the right is the doorway into our room. 

BJ's bedroom.

This is what BJ's bedroom used to look like when he slept in here.  It became so hot at the end of April that our one A/C unit in our bedroom failed to cool BJ's room (we left all the doors open).  On the second night of a temperature reading of 90 degrees in his room with the A/C BLASTING we decided to move him into our room.  It was about 11 pm and Brian and I picked up the crib, with BJ sleeping soundly inside, and brought him into our room!  Now this room is used for sports. We've rolled up the carpet, set up the basketball hoop and soccer goals, and have a bucket full of all types of balls!  

Our bedroom.

Yes...we found a KING SIZE bed here!  It has been absolutely heaven!  BJ's crib is now located just to the right of this picture.  We have moved our dresser to create some personal space for him.  Now our room gets nice and cool at night and we all are sleeping better!