There's no PT to speak of here (though the Bangladeshi officers do have to take a PT test), but twice a week, Josh stays late to participate in "games." Over the course of the year, they'll rotate through lots of different organized sports including basketball, football (soccer), volleyball, tennis, etc. Of course, they don't start games right after class gets out at 2:00 - instead they head home, eat lunch and then take a mid-day nap. Seriously. So games don't start until 5:00 which means Josh rarely sees the kids those days. Sometimes he makes it home just in time to tuck them in to bed.
Today, after two or three weeks of preliminary matches, they held the finals for basketball. While the game was interesting and fun to watch, I'm more of a people watcher. I'm not sure if I've shared this before or not (maybe I need to start keeping track of what I blog about...), but the spouses here are required to attend social functions (of which a basketball game is one) and they are also "required" to wear saris to these functions. There are a few exceptions listed in the instruction manual we got. Sporting events are supposedly okay for wearing salwar kameez (the less formal long tunic top with baggy pants and dupatta/scarf). So halfway through the day, Josh sent me a text to find out and approve of what I was wearing (and when does that EVER happen when we're stateside??). I went in my nicest casual salwar kameez. It is very lightweight cotton, and let's face it, it's hot here. It's 8:00 pm as I write this, and my weather station tells me that it's 89 degrees outside. Nice. So, if I have to sit around somewhere and sweat (did I mention the game was outside), I'd rather do it in cotton. Anyway, I got there and everyone else is wearing ridiculously nice saris full of beading and bedazzles. I think what really put me over the top was the woman wearing twisted strands of pearls. To a basketball game. <sigh> Oh well. I don't pay their dry cleaning bills, so if they want to wear silky saris and sweat in them, they can feel free. I will note by the way that they WERE all sweating. Sometimes I go to these things, and I just feel like I'm not accustomed to the weather. Today, they were all sweating. So I felt a bit better. Maybe I'm not such a wuss after all.
I returned home tonight to find the table set for dinner (minus food) and the kids' beds turned down with nightlights on. So really, how bad can things be? ;)
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Driving, Television, and a New Visitor
I know, not a very sophisticated title today. Sorry folks. I'm all out. This past week has been a bit busy - punctuated mostly by the absence of my other half who has decided to take up temporary residence at the Staff College. He found out - much to his surprise - that they are having an "exercise" this week. While most of us left the world of all-nighters behind with our undergraduate degrees, apparently it's par for the course to hang out pretending to work until all hours of the night. In a large group. Like that ever works. Anyway, it's been a while since we've seen him, but supposedly he's coming home for clean clothes today (much to the combined relief of everyone, I'm sure), so we might get a quick visit.
With his absence, I'm pleased to report that we have had a new visitor for the past few days - a FAO IRTer from India. She came bearing gifts from Nepal (her previous stop) and had the kids wrapped around her finger immediately. So really, who needs dad??!
We started the with a non-visit to the Liberation War Museum. What I mean by this is that after getting my driver to sit in traffic for over an hour and a half, I got an SMS from the person who was supposed to be meeting us to give us the tour that he had forgotten the museum was closed on Sunday. SO... instead we turned around, stopped for lunch at Captain's World (ridiculously good and I'm already plotting a return visit) and then headed home. We made mention of the fact that we would likely try to tour Old Dhaka the following day (my driver's not-favorite locale), and Josh mysteriously got a message from my driver within the hour that he would like the day off to take his wife to a doctor's appointment. She's legitimately pregnant, but the timing was suspect. Not one to be deterred by the lack of a driver, we ventured out on our own and headed to Savar to see the National Martyr's Memorial. I'd been there before if you recall during the Overseas Officer Orientation offered by the school, so I at least had a vague idea where I was headed. Armed with a Google map (conveniently in km instead of miles), peanut butter sandwiches, apples, fruit snacks, cheese crackers, several gallons of water, and 2 traveling companions (K stayed home for this one), we headed out into the great beyond - also known as the suburbs of Dhaka. Google claimed the drive would take 52 minutes, so I planned on it really taking us about 2 hours. Guess who was right? That's right - I'm the master planner :)
Driving here is definitely an art - one I have by no means mastered. We traveled mostly on what would normally be termed a 2 lane road. Here, however, a two lane road is really much more. Both sides of the two lane road will be crowded with people walking 3 or 4 deep being passed by bicycle rickshaws (in the lanes of traffic). Keep in mind as well that no one likes to sit behind a slow vehicle, so there is always someone passing someone else. Generally in your lane. So it's kind of like a 2 hour game of Frogger where you're not the frog. In fact, you're trying desperately NOT to kill the frog. We never really got much faster than 40 kph - roughly 25 mph - the entire trip, but it was harrowing all the same. Throw in driving on the left side of the road and an aging manual transmission and it's no wonder that I was ready to call it a day by the time we got home.
That's enough on that one though. I've also spent the past several days trying to get our television connected here. This one kind of came at us out of the blue although I'm sure somewhere I read something about it. Cable television in the US is NTSC, while televisions here and in India (and other assorted places) operate on the PAL system. So it's not really as easy as just hooking up your TV. In fact, we've been at this for 3 days now with a paid professional and we're not really any closer to having our TV working than we were when it was sitting in a box in the warehouse. But we now have a satellite installed on our roof, a hole drilled through the wall of our home, and lots of new cords. Today, the guy is supposedly coming back with a PAL to NTSC converter box which might or might not fix our problem. We are using Tata Sky service (which I think is actually pirated from India, so maybe I shouldn't be saying that too loudly), and while there is an HDMI output on the set top box (STB), it is not compatible with NTSC televisions (even though the installer said it would be). So, today, he will be making his third attempt to get this thing to work. The only real downside is that I need to be in the house whenever he's working, and thus far, even when he's told me when he's going to show up, he's been both early and late by several hours. Today, he gave me no time, so I will just wait. So - word to the wise on this one - if you're bringing your TV overseas, check into buying a PAL/NTSC converter prior to moving. They're tough to come by over here. The cable provider explained to me that the only one he could find locally was about 4-5 hours drive away. Keep in mind, it's probably still in the city of Dhaka, but he'll have to sit in traffic that long to get there and back. Ah the joy! But at least it's him and not me.
Hope to report soon that we have a cable connection. And if not, we'll stick to our pre-recorded television shows that we brought from the states. The kids haven't seemed to notice (or care) yet that they're watching the same shows over again.
With his absence, I'm pleased to report that we have had a new visitor for the past few days - a FAO IRTer from India. She came bearing gifts from Nepal (her previous stop) and had the kids wrapped around her finger immediately. So really, who needs dad??!
We started the with a non-visit to the Liberation War Museum. What I mean by this is that after getting my driver to sit in traffic for over an hour and a half, I got an SMS from the person who was supposed to be meeting us to give us the tour that he had forgotten the museum was closed on Sunday. SO... instead we turned around, stopped for lunch at Captain's World (ridiculously good and I'm already plotting a return visit) and then headed home. We made mention of the fact that we would likely try to tour Old Dhaka the following day (my driver's not-favorite locale), and Josh mysteriously got a message from my driver within the hour that he would like the day off to take his wife to a doctor's appointment. She's legitimately pregnant, but the timing was suspect. Not one to be deterred by the lack of a driver, we ventured out on our own and headed to Savar to see the National Martyr's Memorial. I'd been there before if you recall during the Overseas Officer Orientation offered by the school, so I at least had a vague idea where I was headed. Armed with a Google map (conveniently in km instead of miles), peanut butter sandwiches, apples, fruit snacks, cheese crackers, several gallons of water, and 2 traveling companions (K stayed home for this one), we headed out into the great beyond - also known as the suburbs of Dhaka. Google claimed the drive would take 52 minutes, so I planned on it really taking us about 2 hours. Guess who was right? That's right - I'm the master planner :)
Driving here is definitely an art - one I have by no means mastered. We traveled mostly on what would normally be termed a 2 lane road. Here, however, a two lane road is really much more. Both sides of the two lane road will be crowded with people walking 3 or 4 deep being passed by bicycle rickshaws (in the lanes of traffic). Keep in mind as well that no one likes to sit behind a slow vehicle, so there is always someone passing someone else. Generally in your lane. So it's kind of like a 2 hour game of Frogger where you're not the frog. In fact, you're trying desperately NOT to kill the frog. We never really got much faster than 40 kph - roughly 25 mph - the entire trip, but it was harrowing all the same. Throw in driving on the left side of the road and an aging manual transmission and it's no wonder that I was ready to call it a day by the time we got home.
That's enough on that one though. I've also spent the past several days trying to get our television connected here. This one kind of came at us out of the blue although I'm sure somewhere I read something about it. Cable television in the US is NTSC, while televisions here and in India (and other assorted places) operate on the PAL system. So it's not really as easy as just hooking up your TV. In fact, we've been at this for 3 days now with a paid professional and we're not really any closer to having our TV working than we were when it was sitting in a box in the warehouse. But we now have a satellite installed on our roof, a hole drilled through the wall of our home, and lots of new cords. Today, the guy is supposedly coming back with a PAL to NTSC converter box which might or might not fix our problem. We are using Tata Sky service (which I think is actually pirated from India, so maybe I shouldn't be saying that too loudly), and while there is an HDMI output on the set top box (STB), it is not compatible with NTSC televisions (even though the installer said it would be). So, today, he will be making his third attempt to get this thing to work. The only real downside is that I need to be in the house whenever he's working, and thus far, even when he's told me when he's going to show up, he's been both early and late by several hours. Today, he gave me no time, so I will just wait. So - word to the wise on this one - if you're bringing your TV overseas, check into buying a PAL/NTSC converter prior to moving. They're tough to come by over here. The cable provider explained to me that the only one he could find locally was about 4-5 hours drive away. Keep in mind, it's probably still in the city of Dhaka, but he'll have to sit in traffic that long to get there and back. Ah the joy! But at least it's him and not me.
Hope to report soon that we have a cable connection. And if not, we'll stick to our pre-recorded television shows that we brought from the states. The kids haven't seemed to notice (or care) yet that they're watching the same shows over again.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
The Move
Well, it was one week ago that we actually moved into the new house - and what a week it's been. The movers showed up early in the morning to bring in all of our boxes. The kids stayed at the old house with Suchona so they wouldn't get in the way. Most of my movers spoke "some" English, so most of the boxes ended up close to where I wanted them. They were a bit disappointed that I didn't want them to unpack everything into my cabinets, but who has time to sit around and watch someone else unpack everything?? Well, maybe some people do, but I had kiddos waiting to come over and another appointment in the afternoon for GSO to come and help me move the items from my temporary apartment to the house. So, there was no time to waste. I had them assemble the crib (which required a bit of intervention to explain how exactly it was supposed to go together) and the piano. They tried to put together K's high chair, but I stopped them as they had most of the pieces on backwards. I thought about taking a photo, but they were working so hard, I didn't want them to think I was making fun of them ;)
After getting all the boxes in the house, I went back to the old house and once the kids woke up from their naps, we loaded up the car with suitcases and boxes and made our first trip of stuff over here. While unpacking from that trip, GSO showed up with their truck, so I went back and cleaned out the apartment. They also hung our bed nets so we'd be mosquito free (or at least we couldn't use bed nets as our excuse for the bites that always seem to crop up). For those who want to know, out of everything we shipped, we lost only a single wineglass to breakage. And honestly, I think we lose at least one wineglass every time we move, so that's not too big a deal.
There are of course a growing list of issues we'll need GSO to come take a look at, but on the whole, we have no major complaints. The rooms are clearly spacious, so plenty of room to spread out. The kids could really use some outdoor space. The gardener took B up to the roof to play tennis yesterday. Can anyone else guess how that game ended?? Right, so we're minus a few tennis balls right now (and my neighbor will probably make a profit selling them to someone). The lot directly behind our house is empty (awaiting funding for a high rise I'm sure), so we get quite a bit of street noise. With the A/C, fans, and air purifier going though, we've got quite a bit of ambient noise in the house that really drowns all that out. A few times a day (5 for those of my friends who have hung out in Muslim countries before) we hear what K affectionately refers to as the "singing man" from the nearby mosque. She routinely tells me to turn him off. Like it's that easy...
My new bedroom is much brighter than the old one. I generally slept late at the apartment because we were on the ground floor and light never came into my room. Here, I'm up most mornings slightly after 6 because it's as bright as midday in my bedroom. I kind of like it though. At least I'm not waking up tired (which is what always happens when it's dark in my room).
No pictures up on the wall yet (maybe next week??) and still a few boxes to unpack, but we've made pretty good progress. Josh is now wearing a brace on his arm from irritating a tendon (who knew moving boxes was considered a repetitive movement), but should heal soon enough - probably after all the boxes are gone.
I'm looking forward to settling back into my old routine. I baked my first loaf of bread today in the new house and sent my ayah out searching for some local spices so I can start cooking really yummy stuff :) Recipes courtesy of Madhur Jaffrey's cookbook.
Khuda hafiz!
After getting all the boxes in the house, I went back to the old house and once the kids woke up from their naps, we loaded up the car with suitcases and boxes and made our first trip of stuff over here. While unpacking from that trip, GSO showed up with their truck, so I went back and cleaned out the apartment. They also hung our bed nets so we'd be mosquito free (or at least we couldn't use bed nets as our excuse for the bites that always seem to crop up). For those who want to know, out of everything we shipped, we lost only a single wineglass to breakage. And honestly, I think we lose at least one wineglass every time we move, so that's not too big a deal.
There are of course a growing list of issues we'll need GSO to come take a look at, but on the whole, we have no major complaints. The rooms are clearly spacious, so plenty of room to spread out. The kids could really use some outdoor space. The gardener took B up to the roof to play tennis yesterday. Can anyone else guess how that game ended?? Right, so we're minus a few tennis balls right now (and my neighbor will probably make a profit selling them to someone). The lot directly behind our house is empty (awaiting funding for a high rise I'm sure), so we get quite a bit of street noise. With the A/C, fans, and air purifier going though, we've got quite a bit of ambient noise in the house that really drowns all that out. A few times a day (5 for those of my friends who have hung out in Muslim countries before) we hear what K affectionately refers to as the "singing man" from the nearby mosque. She routinely tells me to turn him off. Like it's that easy...
My new bedroom is much brighter than the old one. I generally slept late at the apartment because we were on the ground floor and light never came into my room. Here, I'm up most mornings slightly after 6 because it's as bright as midday in my bedroom. I kind of like it though. At least I'm not waking up tired (which is what always happens when it's dark in my room).
No pictures up on the wall yet (maybe next week??) and still a few boxes to unpack, but we've made pretty good progress. Josh is now wearing a brace on his arm from irritating a tendon (who knew moving boxes was considered a repetitive movement), but should heal soon enough - probably after all the boxes are gone.
I'm looking forward to settling back into my old routine. I baked my first loaf of bread today in the new house and sent my ayah out searching for some local spices so I can start cooking really yummy stuff :) Recipes courtesy of Madhur Jaffrey's cookbook.
Khuda hafiz!
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Drumroll please...
Presenting our house:
I don't have any photos of the third floor yet, but up there, we have an office, a guest bedroom, and a bathroom. Additionally, there is walk-out roof access to an area with concrete picnic tables and potted plants.
Sorry for the total lack of substance here - we've had a busy couple days.
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| K having snack with Josh in the sitting room downstairs |
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| View of the living and dining room from the entryway |
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| Living Room |
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| Front staircase as viewed from the living room. The sitting room is straight ahead, front door is to the left, and entry to the kitchen is on the right. |
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| Dining room |
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| Kitchen. It's strangely proportioned. The ceilings are about 18 feet high and you'll notice that the cabinets go all the way to the top. Like anyone can reach that??!! Actually, the bottom of the upper cabinets is at my eye-level. It's annoying right now, but something I'm sure I'll get used to. |
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| B's room - and yes, every toy is on the floor. This was shortly after all of the toy boxes got opened and he was on a bit of a high after not seeing his toys for 5 months. |
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| View of the 2nd floor living room from B's doorway. The door on the very far left leads to the back stairway (the only access to the third floor). The door in the middle leads to the upstairs kitchen (which is more of a glorified laundry room, but is called a kitchen). |
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| 2nd floor living room viewed from the master doorway. The door on the right leads to K's bedroom. |
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| K's bedroom. Slightly out of focus... |
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| The upstairs kitchen/laundry room |
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| Master bedroom sleeping area |
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| Master bedroom closet and sitting area (also box storage area) |
Sorry for the total lack of substance here - we've had a busy couple days.
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