It's now 10 weeks since I left the UK for Bangladesh.
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| Drinking some coconut juice this morning after water aerobics |
Highlights include finding friends and a faith community, feeling more comfortable when I'm out and about, lovely colleagues and - of course - meeting midwives. I've joined an international choir and an aquarobics class so my weekends and evenings have become much less lonely.
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| Church |
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| 'My' keyboard! |
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| Coffee with midwife Sangita last week |
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| With my friend Sharmin from Bangladesh Midwifery Society |
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| I've discovered the library at the BAGHA club - plenty of books to keep me happy :) |
It's also been a joy to have visits from some of our international partners from Swedish Universities and the International Confederation of Midwives and to know that we are journeying together. I recently took a work-related trip to Barisal in Southern Bangladesh - known as the Venice of Bengal as there is water all-around. We took a boat trip exploring some of the canals and fruit gardens (where they grow guavas and other wonderful tropical fruit) and it was so beautiful and peaceful on the water - a welcome break from the traffic, pollution and concrete jungle in Dhaka.
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| On our boat trip near Barisal |
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| Guavas we bought from a passing boat at the floating market |
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| My colleagues preparing the fruit with the boatman's knife |
Tomorrow I leave for a week in Cox's Bazar, a popular tourist destination in the south east of Bangladesh, boasting the longest uninterrupted beach in the world. I'm not going for the tourism but for orientation to our humanitarian programmes and the midwifery team based there, for which I have oversight.
Some things have been challenging too. Time is needed to settle into a new job, especially in a different culture and in a multi-cultural team. Dengue fever (a mosquito-borne virus that can have serious complications) is all around, with many colleagues and their family members being infected and hospitalised. The prevalent strain here is the dangerous one that causes bleeding and haemorrhagic shock, so I'm being extremely careful not to get mosquito bites - having already had dengue three times in the past (whilst living in Thailand and Cambodia) I certainly don't want to get it again.
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| Visiting my Korean colleague Hayoung who was hospitalised with Dengue Fever |
There is also the on-going stress of being far away from my home and family, though video calls every few days help enormously. My Mum seems to be thriving and is getting fabulous support from my sisters and wider family and friends.
I'm having regular language lessons though am, as yet, far from fluent! Grammar is different from that of English, with words placed in a different order in a sentence; for example 'yesterday Tuesday was', 'yes, my one person girl have' (I have one daughter) and 'all things good were'. Did you know that cuturally, Bengalis don't eat female goats, only male ones? Apparently some people can sniff goat meat and tell instantly whether it comes from a male or female :)
I had a wonderful time in India earlier this month, visiting my family (Uncle, Aunt, Cousins) who live in Dehradun. My Uncle is recovering well after his bilateral knee replacement and I hope to return in the new year for another mini-break. I'm trying to persuade my Mum to join me! It's only three weeks now until I meet Stephen in Istanbul and I can't wait.
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| With my Aunt Catherine in India |
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| With my cousin Jonny in India |
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| With my cousin Sarena in India - foothills of the Himalayas behind |
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| With my cousins and their families |
