This acted as a timely reminder that we are now back in the real world :-) We are now job hunting, car hunting and enjoying catching up with everyone.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Welcome Home
We arrived home on July 4th to a very well kept house. Only one small problem, a tree root had found it's way through to some tasty fertiliser in our drains. This led to a vain attempt to unblock it on our first day back...
This acted as a timely reminder that we are now back in the real world :-) We are now job hunting, car hunting and enjoying catching up with everyone.
This acted as a timely reminder that we are now back in the real world :-) We are now job hunting, car hunting and enjoying catching up with everyone.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Our last days at CRP... or so we thought
In the week before we were due to leave Bangladesh we had a number of "events" lined up. The first of which was the Bengali New Year (1417). The New Year is not commonly celebrated at midnight, rather the tradition is to get up before sunrise and see the new day in. We didn't quite manage to get up that early, but we did rise in time to be served with the local breakfast delicacies.
The breafast feast includes water rice (as delicious as it sounds!) which has an aroma that Sarah felt was somewhat like a wet dog! Along with the bland rice we had some very tasty fish and some excessively hot mushy things...
As usual on this sort of occasion we coaxed each other into wearing our sunday best.
A crowd of foreign volunteers and a few of the local kids posed for photographs.
A few days later we prepared our leaving gesture, a pile of sweet and sticky goodies for morning tea. These seemed to go down well with someone even suggesting that they hoped we got stuck in the 'Desh due to the volcanic ash so that we could make them again!
We also introduced some local friends to the wonders of pancakes... they were well received but it was suggested that perhaps they are not sufficient for a Bangladeshi lunch (usually a couple of kilos of rice and curry :-) The sugar and lemon topping combo was the clear favourite, with bananas and syrup getting the booby prize. Later Reshma reported back that she had made them for her family and they were very well received there too!
After a series of leaving "parties" however, we found out that our flight was in fact cancelled due to the volcanic ash. So we dug out Sarah's salwar kameezes and returned to work! (After a very pleasant night in the Radisson, celebrating our wedding anniversary).
The breafast feast includes water rice (as delicious as it sounds!) which has an aroma that Sarah felt was somewhat like a wet dog! Along with the bland rice we had some very tasty fish and some excessively hot mushy things...
As usual on this sort of occasion we coaxed each other into wearing our sunday best.
A crowd of foreign volunteers and a few of the local kids posed for photographs.
A few days later we prepared our leaving gesture, a pile of sweet and sticky goodies for morning tea. These seemed to go down well with someone even suggesting that they hoped we got stuck in the 'Desh due to the volcanic ash so that we could make them again!
We also introduced some local friends to the wonders of pancakes... they were well received but it was suggested that perhaps they are not sufficient for a Bangladeshi lunch (usually a couple of kilos of rice and curry :-) The sugar and lemon topping combo was the clear favourite, with bananas and syrup getting the booby prize. Later Reshma reported back that she had made them for her family and they were very well received there too!
After a series of leaving "parties" however, we found out that our flight was in fact cancelled due to the volcanic ash. So we dug out Sarah's salwar kameezes and returned to work! (After a very pleasant night in the Radisson, celebrating our wedding anniversary).
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Bangladeshi Hospitality
On Independence Day we were invited to visit a collegue's home village with 3 other foreign friends; Axel, Malin and Helen. Waking early we started off on a complicated journey of public buses and rickshaws.
which brought us to this beautiful, serene village.
It appears though that things become a little different when word gets out that foreigners are in town. A cricket match, village versus CRP commenced.... although some of the CRP crew hadn't held a cricket bat before.... so a few extra village members were brought onto our team to provide support.
The match drew a crowd... at least the foreign members of the team waiting to bat did.
Some members of the batting team got a little confused about which sport they were involved in.
But all earnt their celebratory lunch and photo shoot. Even if this member was eyed a little cautiously by the youngest member of the crowd.
which brought us to this beautiful, serene village.
It appears though that things become a little different when word gets out that foreigners are in town. A cricket match, village versus CRP commenced.... although some of the CRP crew hadn't held a cricket bat before.... so a few extra village members were brought onto our team to provide support.
The match drew a crowd... at least the foreign members of the team waiting to bat did.
Some members of the batting team got a little confused about which sport they were involved in.
But all earnt their celebratory lunch and photo shoot. Even if this member was eyed a little cautiously by the youngest member of the crowd.
Friday, March 12, 2010
A quiet stroll around Savar
We set out on a mission to find a good route for Sarah's morning walks that didn't involve falling in muddy rice paddies and preferably looped nicely back to CRP. After a yummy Bangladeshi breaky we went wandering up the lanes on the outskirts of Savar.
We went out past some paddy fields which have been growing steadily throughout our time here and are now showing off their vivid green colour.
The road then continues on winding out through quiet rural areas, and for the most part we got to stroll casually and uninterrupted...
That is until one of the local brightly coloured trucks turned up and offered us a ride towards somewhere that was roughly in the direction that we were walking. We decided to accept the offer, particularly as we were not doing a very good job of finding the loop back to CRP. With intermittent Banglish we explained that we were aiming to get back to Savar but were happy to ride with them for a while.
They offered to drop us in Ashulia where we could get a bus back to Savar, but in the end we got out at a junction between the two towns and, after bidding our new friends goodbye, we continued walking back in the general direction of Savar.
Eventually we recognised where we were and walked out to the highway past some particularly well stacked rickshaw wagons. When we got out to the highway we were offered a ride back to CRP on an empty one of these contraptions and willingly accepted.
To round off our morning of adventure we indulged in the local version of an iced lolly... a carton of frozen fruit cocktail juice.
We went out past some paddy fields which have been growing steadily throughout our time here and are now showing off their vivid green colour.
The road then continues on winding out through quiet rural areas, and for the most part we got to stroll casually and uninterrupted...
That is until one of the local brightly coloured trucks turned up and offered us a ride towards somewhere that was roughly in the direction that we were walking. We decided to accept the offer, particularly as we were not doing a very good job of finding the loop back to CRP. With intermittent Banglish we explained that we were aiming to get back to Savar but were happy to ride with them for a while.
They offered to drop us in Ashulia where we could get a bus back to Savar, but in the end we got out at a junction between the two towns and, after bidding our new friends goodbye, we continued walking back in the general direction of Savar.
Eventually we recognised where we were and walked out to the highway past some particularly well stacked rickshaw wagons. When we got out to the highway we were offered a ride back to CRP on an empty one of these contraptions and willingly accepted.
To round off our morning of adventure we indulged in the local version of an iced lolly... a carton of frozen fruit cocktail juice.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Nepal Getaway
Another visa-run saw us heading off to Nepal, what a shame :-) This time it was all a bit less stressful, having obtained the official nod from the NGO Bureau in Dhaka to get a work permit, thanks to a lot of work by the team at CRP. After scoring a free cab ride into the centre of Kathmandu with a girl who charged it to her company, we quickly set about gorging ourselves again on treats not so easily available in the 'Desh. The 'Du was a bit chillier than the 'Desh, but we soon found ourselves a fire to cosy up to and some nice warm mulled wine.
We decided to take advantage of the opportunity of being in Nepal and headed into the mountains for a short trek. We hopped on the bus to Pokhara and after a mad last minute dash to get trekking permits set off for the hills. The dash for the permit included a 4KM round trip to an ATM for cash... we were later to find one about 100 metres away from the permit office and our hotel! Following a bumpy ride on the local bus to the start of our trek and swatting away the tout-flies offering us porters etc. we were rewarded with our first clear view of snow-capped peaks (Machhapuchhre - approx 7000m).
The first couple of days we shared the path with the donkeys/mules who assist with carrying supplies up to the teahouses. Their lack of awareness of their additional width when loaded up can be unsettling at the best of times.... but when their load is barbed wire, things become even more exciting. Sarah found out about her own loaded pack-width too when she got hooked to said wire by the washing she was drying on the side of her pack.
Not sure if it was because we were up before dawn, if Poon Hill is quite steep, or if the 4 and a half months of samosas and limited exercise have caught up with us, but we certainly got our heart rates going during the ascent. It was a bit chilly too.
The reward of panaromic views of the sun rising over snow capped peaks was well worth it.
And, as always, we found time for some sillyness.
Then we braved the slippery descent where Si executed an award winning telemarking manoeuvre to narrowly avoid slipping off a steep rocky ledge.
Day 4 of the trek was also the Hindu Holi Festival which celebrates the beginning of spring with people colouring each others faces. After 2 days of excited face painting, Sarah had to utilise her recently acquired kung fu skills to ward off a small boy wielding yet more coloured dust. (No children were harmed in the making of this story).
And on our last day a guide finally succeeded in adopting us... He was quite good company for the final stage of the trek but eventually wandered off to find his lady friend.
On our return to Kathmandu, we fronted up to the visa office... and with a small amount of wheeling and dealing, we got our official permission to work in the 'Desh until our planned departure. Then after a bit of shopping and more fine food/drink, we secured a flight back to Dhaka.
We decided to take advantage of the opportunity of being in Nepal and headed into the mountains for a short trek. We hopped on the bus to Pokhara and after a mad last minute dash to get trekking permits set off for the hills. The dash for the permit included a 4KM round trip to an ATM for cash... we were later to find one about 100 metres away from the permit office and our hotel! Following a bumpy ride on the local bus to the start of our trek and swatting away the tout-flies offering us porters etc. we were rewarded with our first clear view of snow-capped peaks (Machhapuchhre - approx 7000m).
The first couple of days we shared the path with the donkeys/mules who assist with carrying supplies up to the teahouses. Their lack of awareness of their additional width when loaded up can be unsettling at the best of times.... but when their load is barbed wire, things become even more exciting. Sarah found out about her own loaded pack-width too when she got hooked to said wire by the washing she was drying on the side of her pack.
Not sure if it was because we were up before dawn, if Poon Hill is quite steep, or if the 4 and a half months of samosas and limited exercise have caught up with us, but we certainly got our heart rates going during the ascent. It was a bit chilly too.
The reward of panaromic views of the sun rising over snow capped peaks was well worth it.
And, as always, we found time for some sillyness.
Then we braved the slippery descent where Si executed an award winning telemarking manoeuvre to narrowly avoid slipping off a steep rocky ledge.
Day 4 of the trek was also the Hindu Holi Festival which celebrates the beginning of spring with people colouring each others faces. After 2 days of excited face painting, Sarah had to utilise her recently acquired kung fu skills to ward off a small boy wielding yet more coloured dust. (No children were harmed in the making of this story).
And on our last day a guide finally succeeded in adopting us... He was quite good company for the final stage of the trek but eventually wandered off to find his lady friend.
On our return to Kathmandu, we fronted up to the visa office... and with a small amount of wheeling and dealing, we got our official permission to work in the 'Desh until our planned departure. Then after a bit of shopping and more fine food/drink, we secured a flight back to Dhaka.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Libby's Visit
We were lucky enough to have Libby Proud come and visit us and CRP recently. This enabled us to put her to work in a few key areas of her expertise as well as spurring us on to see many sights that we had not got around to visiting before now. Here you can see Libby being introduced by Reshma at the Evidence-Based Practice seminar.
The madness of Old Dhaka is enough to unsettle even the most hardy of travellers… but Libby seemed to be in her element – side stepping over unsavoury areas where the concrete didn’t quite cover what it was meant to, and braving rickshaws and other faster, horn blaring modes of transport in order to get some great photos.
On our Friday (official day off) we headed to Gonokbari which is the women’s vocational training centre of CRP. This is the halfway hostel where women practice independent living before being discharged home with their new-found skills.
After the EBP seminar, we headed out to visit some OT students who were doing a rural placement and joined them on a few home visits. We also visited a school where the students had organised an inclusive sports competition (ie games were designed that could include a young wheelchair user). The foreigners became the chief prize-givers.
Everywhere in Bangladesh, foreigners draw a crowd. Here we stopped for cha in a small village not used to visitors and were quickly surrounded. It is probably time we started counting the crowds we attract and identifying when new records are established.
On Libby’s last full day in the ‘Desh we hired a car to take us to Comilla, a town near the Indian border which is renowned for some Buddhist ruins. With traffic congestion and some difficult roads, we spent much more time in the car than out exploring but managed to have a nice day and see some interesting sights nevertheless.
The madness of Old Dhaka is enough to unsettle even the most hardy of travellers… but Libby seemed to be in her element – side stepping over unsavoury areas where the concrete didn’t quite cover what it was meant to, and braving rickshaws and other faster, horn blaring modes of transport in order to get some great photos.
On our Friday (official day off) we headed to Gonokbari which is the women’s vocational training centre of CRP. This is the halfway hostel where women practice independent living before being discharged home with their new-found skills.
After the EBP seminar, we headed out to visit some OT students who were doing a rural placement and joined them on a few home visits. We also visited a school where the students had organised an inclusive sports competition (ie games were designed that could include a young wheelchair user). The foreigners became the chief prize-givers.
Everywhere in Bangladesh, foreigners draw a crowd. Here we stopped for cha in a small village not used to visitors and were quickly surrounded. It is probably time we started counting the crowds we attract and identifying when new records are established.
On Libby’s last full day in the ‘Desh we hired a car to take us to Comilla, a town near the Indian border which is renowned for some Buddhist ruins. With traffic congestion and some difficult roads, we spent much more time in the car than out exploring but managed to have a nice day and see some interesting sights nevertheless.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Annual Sponsored Walk
A couple of days after returning from Kolkata it was time for CRP's Annual Sponsored Walk. Patients, staff, volunteers and students from a number of schools around Bangladesh all joined in for 6 laps around Gulshan Lake Park.
The procession was initially led by the children from CRP's Inclusive School and their carers.
Our efforts were rewarded with the standard brunch of chappati and curried veg, which was prepared in a slightly alternative fashion on the back of a truck. We were also given a tasty coconut bun, to which we have become slightly addicted (particularly as we can get them from Savar Bazar for TK5).
The procession was initially led by the children from CRP's Inclusive School and their carers.
Our efforts were rewarded with the standard brunch of chappati and curried veg, which was prepared in a slightly alternative fashion on the back of a truck. We were also given a tasty coconut bun, to which we have become slightly addicted (particularly as we can get them from Savar Bazar for TK5).
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