Back in Dhaka.

We had a wonderful mini-vacation in Chittagong this week. Tanya, Isaac and I came back to Dhaka this morning on a domestic flight. It took forty minutes as opposed to the dreadful seven hours by train, and it was worth the $100 for all three of us. I came home and slept all day. I'm sure I'll be up all night now!

I’ve decided that Chittagong weddings are definitely way more cool that their Dhaka counterparts. The decorations were more colorful and elaborate, and the traditions more fully observed. I had to leave early every night because Isaac needed to sleep (ok I admit it was me that needed to sleep), but I heard about all the fun they had. There was jamai (groom) teasing and force feeding galore, and the bou (bride) did a great job being melodramatic and weeping as she ceremonially left her parents house and moved into her “sosur bari” (in-law’s house). Our host, Saif bhai, went out of his way to make sure there was vegetarian food available and that we were comfortable. It worked out every night except one, when Tanya and I were stuck eating salad (see photo). It’s traditional here to have meat in everything – biriyani, chicken roast, kebab – feeding meat to your guests is the ultimate in hospitality. But I appreciated the veggie dish they had specially made for us. And the polau was excellent! Isaac even ate it.

I also got a chance to spend time with Maya again. She is so busy – doing her residency as the Assistant Registrar in the Gynae Dept of Chittagong Medical. She also is getting over typhoid, which she contracted from unclean drinking water. I got to see her do a few c-sections (she’s a pro now that she does at least 15 per day), and watched her perform her rounds. Isaac was happy to see her and his Momota-Apu, who is also in Chittagong. She’s going to a new school and likes it, although I think she misses Dhaka. It was sad leaving because I don’t think I’ll see them until it’s time for me to go.

I’m trying to finish my data analysis before Page comes (in exactly one month!) so that I can spend more time with her. I’m getting a little worried about how she’ll handle the flight here. It’s long and there are lots of connections. And the Dhaka airport is a zoo. Deep breath. She’s 17 and she can handle it!
Time to get back to work – tomorrow it’s back to the grindstone.