Getting into a Groove

** will come back and add photos, but unable to upload currently**

A bit of a routine is a good thing when moving to a new country. We had a nice long holiday weekend, but were happy to start a routine on Monday which helped get us into a better sleep regiment. Ceiba had been waking up over the weekend at 2-3AM and getting up shortly thereafter. That led to crazy naps, usually ending in us having to wake her… which led to one unhappy kiddo. With Chris starting work Monday, and Ceiba and I being home to have a play, lunch, nap routine - we ended up with our first good night's sleep and her not waking up until near dawn. She got the "do not get out of bed until you see the sunshine" talk, so she just laid in bed and called for us. At least she is following instructions, even if sometimes it is 0300.

Chris is really enjoying his work! We accompanied him into the Embassy Monday to see our way around and to get my ID badge (a necessity to get into the med unit, commissary, embassy, etc). We joined him on some meetings and hung out in the CLO (Community Liaison Office) playing legos while he went to other meetings. There is a snack/tea/coffee cart that goes around several times a day, which Chris says he will strive to avoid. Our sponsor picked out a strawberry cupcake for Ceiba to enjoy while waiting for Papa; she loved it! We visited the mail room where packages awaited, the bank (to get Bangladesh taka) and had a nice tour by our great sponsor, who is also part of the CLO team.

Cash is king here in Bangladesh; credit cards get little use. And since we had a voicemail from our credit card company about suspicious activity, ours would get no activity until I could get to a phone, which is all settled now. I called their office weeks ago to advise of our move overseas and to be prepared for multiple country activity and to please note our account. So when we got the voicemail, I instantly thought it was due to the charges in Qatar. Low and behold, they thought a rental car in Virginia was suspicious. Crazy.

Speaking of Qatar, here are a few pics from our quick stay. What we saw of Doha was nice. Stretching out in a cool room and having a dip in the pool was absolutely rejuvenating. The haze (of sand and dust?) covering the city in the heat of the day is odd. And most of the day the sun has no figure, just a large glow in the sky. The heat would definitely take some time to get used to!

And here are some shots around our neighborhood, most are taken from a shuttle van. It will probably be a while before I'm out shooting on foot with my better camera. Dhaka is a sensory city! From the colors of clothing/rickshaws/people, to the smells of the markets and working men, to the new tastes of foods and spices, it is a lot to take in. Chris said yesterday I should be glad a had a stuffed head and couldn't smell everything around us! We are really enjoying getting comfortable and learning new things everyday, though we realize the honeymoon stage will wear off.

And on the topic of learning - Ceiba started 1/2 day preschool today!! We all visited her classroom and teachers yesterday. Love them!! It will be great for Ceiba to be back around children, and her class is a very diverse small group. She swam this morning and is now on a beautiful playground. She'll spend lots of time doing art projects and playing with new friends. We've heard her social calendar will be much fuller than ours!

Still no internet, but at least we are on their list now. So hope to be updating more soon!