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! 

Girls Basketball

The girls basketball season is typically in the fall.  Although Brian was not here to coach the girls during their regular season, he had the opportunity to hold practices for the team in the spring in preparation for some games against the nearby university (future post about the game!).  The girls themselves were very excited to have practices again.  Like I mentioned before, the girls in this society do not have many opportunities to play sports so when something like this is offered the response is usually overwhelming. 

Practices were held at the same location as the boys practices.  Although the weather was getting hotter, BJ and I attended more girls' practices than we did the boys!  BJ felt more comfortable around the girls and I don't know if it is because we went so often or that the girls just loved him to pieces and lit up when they saw him coming :)  It's always nice to be loved! 

BJ stretching with the team before practice.

There was a female teacher who would come to help with practice.

Brian made the girls practice hard.  Despite the heat, there were very few complaints.

All of the girls worked very hard. 

When the girls had to run, BJ was always clapping and cheering them on.  Sometimes you just need a little encouragement...

Our Trip to Malumghat - The Hospital

Sunday morning we were given a tour of the hospital on the compound.  This hospital has many full-time American doctors and nurses. They also run a nursing school on the compound.  If we ever needed medical attention that required a hospital visit, this is where we would go.  (There is an American doctor in our city that cares for us for anything minor.) 

The outdoor emergency waiting room.

A woman's health room (aka typical birthing room).

The men and women are kept in separate wings at the hospital.  There are no private rooms so everyone shares the same space.  Here is a rare glimpse into the men's ward.

This little guy was born at 30 weeks.  His mother did not survive the birth so he is going to live with an aunt (boys are held in high regard and the aunt has only daughters...she was more than happy to raise him).  The staff at the hospital named him "Sweet Potato" because he comes from a family of potato farmers.  This was a happy day because he was given a clean bill of health and would go home the next day.

The highlight of the tour (and my weekend!) came when we were asked if we wanted to observe a c-section.  Um...Yes!!!  There would never be an opportunity to see one in the States (without actually participating in one...) so I jumped at the chance.  Brian and BJ happily bowed out of the tour at this time. 

All suited up for the surgery!  The doctor is behind us scrubbing up.  I am the one on the left. 

I was super-excited about this opportunity!  I am all about anything involving babies :)  One of the nurses saw me standing on my tiptoes to see what was going on. He politely gave me a step stool to use!  I took many graphic photos but am not going to post them.  It was amazing!

After the brief surgery, this little sweetheart was born!  Welcome to the world!

I was the first non-hospital staff to hold her.  She was a little over 5 lbs and absolutely adorable.  The only other minute-old newborn I've held is BJ :)  

And this is the baby girl in the incubator.  So sweet!

Well, that concludes our wonderful long weekend in Malumghat!

Our Trip to Malumghat - Safari Park

To continue our LONG Saturday at Malumghat...

When we got home from Cox's Bazar we decided to go to the Safari Park.  We really didn't feel like going (what I really wanted to do was take a shower and then a nap!) but since this was the only day that we had available to sight-see we needed to bite the bullet and go.  So, around 4 pm we boarded a baby taxi (5 adults, 1 child...very interesting ride) for a short 10 minute drive down the road.  This zoo was A LOT larger and better maintained than the zoo in the city.  BJ was very excited to see all the animals (which mostly had natural habitats to live in!). 

BJ liked the snake (or "ssss" as BJ says).

Some cages needed a little repair...

but this monkey was enjoying the view!

It's not everyday that you see wildlife roaming feely at the zoo (is a cow considered wildlife?)

You could literally reach out and touch this cat if you wanted.  No thank you.

BJ is trying to feed this heron(?).  The bird was a little scary.  It just sat there and stared at us.  We quickly moved on.

One of BJ's favorite animals is the crocodile.  There is one in the water at the center of this picture. 

The elephants were just standing around, chained to large tree trunks.  The elephant rides were closed for the day :(

Family picture with an elephant!

We do not have a stroller here so I was very happy that BJ decided to walk the majority of the time in the park!

This sign made me giggle.  This was the entrance to the lion and tiger house.  I guess they eat veggies here :)

On day ended on an exciting note...an elephant (and trainer?) were taking a stroll around the park.  The group of ladies to the right of the elephant is part of our party.  We would have been right there with them but decided to hang back and let the elephant pass without us getting too close.  Couldn't chance a crazy elephant with BJ.