Ballet

We heard through the grapevine about after school dance lessons at another area school. But heard a little too late, as by the time I expressed interest to the instructor, the class was full. Last week a friend called and said her daughter was a little young to be interested in the class, so nicely offered Ceiba her spot.

The first 10 minutes of week 1 were rocky, but soon after they called me in to sit with her, she warmed up and joined in. This week, she was excited before we even arrived.

 Pics aren't too good, but didn't want to disrupt the class (... unlike other European visiting grandparents, who I almost gave my 2 cents to shoosh).

Not much cuter than a room full of 3 year olds in tutus!

Dahlias

Wow, they sure can grow 'em here!

Uptown

There are days in Dhaka that seem to wear you down. The endless begging, the power outages, the pollution. And then there are days like today, when I smile as wide as my mouth will allow, laugh with people and feel terrific. I finally walked in the open market today with my camera for about 30 minutes. I wanted to take photos, but not offend or be intrusive. At first I stood by a pillar, trying to catch shots from the shadows. But seconds after the camera went up, people started to pose or ask for their photo to be taken. They were amazing and having so much fun with the moment. I showed them all their photos and thanked them with my words. We exchanged the most genuine of smiles and laughs.

My nostrils couldn't brave the butcher section so late in the morning, but below you can see our local grocery store, hardware store, restaurants, tailors and misc. It's been cool here, so you'll see everyone bundled up to face the 60ish degree day. There's even one squinty picture of me, when a young boy who works carrying people's groceries asked me to pose with him.

Though there are smiles, most people actually paused to try to make themselves look serious. You should see resume photos, they are especially grim most of the time.

I could do this everyday.

Bump

The bump is beginning, now that we're 18 weeks. I've been able to feel it for a long time, especially when laying on my belly trying to sleep. Feels like I ate a rock :)

Had our monthly check-up with the RMO (Regional Medical Officer) today. It was the first time I've gained weight (sad face). Guess it's inevitable, but with the first 2 yuck months I was enjoying watching the scale go down for once. C'est la vie! He also got a heartbeat right away; Chris smiled wide to hear it for the first time. Sweet. She seems to rest always way on the right side of my belly, so it's the first place I let the doctors know to try. Bingo.

Every time we Skype family and friends now, they ask to see the belly bump. So here she is:

Indoor Camping

The month or two of winter that we have here in Dhaka is nice, with temps dipping into the 60s at night and 80s during the day. The main drawback of winter ~ the mosquitos. They are everywhere, large and aggressive. Though there isn't much malaria around the city, Dengue fever is fairly common. A friend of ours contracted it, luckily a semi-mild case and not a fun illness to have.

So bedtime is kind of like camping for us. The embassy's GSO (General Services Office) supplies mosquito nets to everyone at the mission. When we get ready for bed, we sweep the room with our mosquito racquets, cover the bed with the net and hurry to jump under the net before any mosquitos have a chance to get in. Inevitably, one gets in the net and attempts to eat me (never Chris) around 3-4 AM each morning. I usually lay there trying to not wake Chris, nearly going out of my mind. Though you don't always see them flying around, at dark they sneak out to find you. If we sit on the couch late into the evening, we'll see them get active. So the recreation begins by whacking them and hearing them sizzle. We're all for being kind to animals... just ask the ladies at my old work who used to laugh when I carried spiders (and even a mouse) outside to be freed! But mosquitos out to drain us in our slumber, well it's a free for all on them, in my opinion.

We can get the racquets uptown for less than $8, and they plug into the wall for charging. Now we keep one in every bedroom, the kitchen, the living room and even keep one in the car. They work on fruit flies too.  I must admit, it is quite gratifying to swat them.

Ceiba also get doused with repellant before school each morning. She knows the drill and stands with the mosquito stance (arms out to the sides and legs apart, turning once) every day before the bus arrives. It's inevitable we'll be bitten, but try our hardest to avoid it.

As a kid, we camped every summer when we'd travel to area lakes for bluegill fishing. I love camping... in the woods... not in our bedroom. We'll be glad when the mosquitos are gone, but then that means terribly hot weather and monsoons. I feel like I'm waiting for the locusts to come or for it to rain frogs or something. 

Up on the Rooftop

As in "reindeer pause, down comes good ole' Santa Claus"? Well, a little. More like "the nearest thing we have to a yard". We've been spending more and more time up on the roof lately since the weather is nice and cool (60s) in the evenings. Ceiba can ride her tricycle, while we sit in lawn roof chairs in the breeze. The gardener keeps a nice vegetable garden in pots in between the papaya trees. It just feels "normal" to watch Chris with a beer & a pair of BBQ tongs.

Before we baked cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve, we grilled bratwursts and watched the sunset over the various construction sites around our neighborhood up on the rooftop. Dhaka is a city constantly under construction. There are SO many (14 million+) people just in Dhaka. Not to mention in the country, which is about the size of the state of Wisconsin and is inhabited by over 50 million people. Land is at a premium, especially when you consider how little of it is above water year round. Much of the land is submerged in the rainy season and not suitable for building upon, though the locals still try in vain. Many landlords are knocking down single houses in order to build highrises and make more money. Banging and bricks breaking is a never ending sound around town.

 Our area had been quiet, but when we arrived home from Thailand last month, the house next to us was gone... leveled in the week we were away. I asked the gardener, our housekeeper and driver if they would leave the trees. "Oh yes."

Well, while Ceiba and I had breakfast on Thursday, I noticed the trees outside the livingroom start to sway. I was sickened to see the workers next door sawing away and axing off limbs. I walked down stairs with no hope really, but an effort to change their minds. "Sorry madam" was the reply to my sad faced, desperate attempt at pleading for our parrot neighbors' home. Every night and morning, we enjoyed the green parrots flying into the mango and pomelo trees outside our windows. We'll miss them and the greenery. Already, we notice a big difference in the view, which is now the sun reflecting off the giant, white building across the way. The sunshine is nice, but not nearly as nice as the trees. It is the north side, so hopefully won't affect us as much as had it been the south or east. The noise, however, for the duration of our time in Dhaka will not be welcomed. Especially in a few months when we are rocking a baby to sleep. Maybe it'll rain a lot? ... I should watch what I wish for.