Winter Bangladeshi style

It has been an exciting week an a half.  Our good friend stayed with us for a week on a business trip during which she looked for an apartment to prepare for her upcoming return move to Dhaka.  We had a great time chatting late into the night while we all were comfortably sitting on our new couch and eating delicious food as we took a culinary tour of all of her favorite restaurants here. As an added bonus, she and Henry had a great time playing.




On another note, my colleages from the US are in town for a short while keeping me busy.  As part of their visit we, of course, had to take a trip up to Gaibandha this time for about a week. As you can see, the car ride was entertaining.  Although it took 9.5 hours (at least 2 longer than normal) we were able to keep ourselves comfortable sardined in the van.  Multiple iPads and computers full of videos, and singing to Henry, helped to pass the time.  Henry did fabulously during the whole ride! He didn't cry at all and actually took two naps despite the talking, music, ipad app sounds, etc. I think he takes after his mom and dad with his appreciation for car trips.

It is FREEZING in Gaibandha. Without all the big city pavement and pollution to warm the air, the winter chill really sets in.  Oh my oh my.  It was 55 degrees in our conference room during the afternoon yesterday. At one point we had to take a 5 minute break just to stand in the sun to absorb as much heat as we could.  Today was about the same but it took us until this afternoon to realize that our office has a stash of rain coats which some folks used as a third or fourth layer (and the three below are also wearing ear muffs).  Keep in mind that there is no heating system here and we're lucky if we get 1 minute of warm water for a shower - for those who brave the shower.

Henry has a stylish fleece hat (thank you Aunt Nancy!) that keeps him toasty and that, amazingly, he doesn't mind wearing 24 / 7.  Only a few more days up here and then it back to the warmth of Dhaka!