Eid ul Azha

Eid ul Azha, a 3 day muslim celebration known as the festival of sacrifice is today into its final day. Yesterday we joined in the family celebrations with our colleague, Rois.

We decided to again don the local dress for the momentous occasion. Sarah enlisted the help of the security guard to get the sari right.

The rickshaw and various other forms of local transport were no mean feat in a sari. Respect for the locals' ability to manage increases by the day.

Vicky, a UK OT student joined us for the day. (Pictured above with Rois, our host). We began to feel like celebrities as several different family combinations were photographed with us. (There could be about 8 more similar pictures inserted here.)The family sacrificed a cow - just before we arrived (we weren't upset not to witness such an event). We'd certainly seen our share of sacrifices in the streets on the way out. The sacrifice is then divided into various portions - some for family members some to be given to the poor.

Then the day of eating began. This is one example of the numerous bowls of sweet, noodle desserts we were offered. This was followed by rice and chicken (times 2) then more noodles, then rice and beef, cha, more sweet dishes, more drinks etc.
We then lugged our swollen bellys through the village to visit numerous family members, friends of family and 'friends of friends' of family of our host.

On the way we saw the local village sights including the school (above). And some home-made bridges which become particularly necessary during the rainy season.

After much force-feeding and amazing hospitality by our host and his family, we returned to CRP and attempted to participate in a basketball match with some Hindu friends who did not have the same family commitments during this public holiday period.

Changing Lifestyle

There has been a sudden change to the weather which has forced us to seek out alternatives to the cold shower. Pictured below is our water heating, ready to be tansferred to a bucket and mixed with some cold water for a home made hot 'shower'.

We have also had to add blankets to our bed.

And since discovering this on our curtain, and not being able to catch it, we tend to keep the mosquito net down during the day.

At times we also alter our outfit slightly for warmth.

I am pretty sure the lunghi doesn't add warmth... but once discovered, doesn't seem to be parted with easily!

We are also very excited with some recent kitchen modifications.
Check out what was once our 'squat' sink!!!! Our life becomes more luxurious by the minute!

Wheel-chair sports

On weekdays at 4pm, wheel-chair sports are played. Some people choose to play boule, which is well suited to those with pressure sores who are on trolleys.However by far the most popular is wheel-chair basketball.
This is fine for therapists who rock climb... but for those with soft, office hands, rusty rims and a fiercely competitive nature can cause a bit of harm.
During the recovery phase, we decided to introduce wheel-chair aussie-rules footy.
This involved much hilarity.

But as yet has not been repeated due to the continued popularity of basketball.

Our eating patterns in Bangladesh!

The day can start with a variety of breakfast options. Puffed rice is the closest, cheap thing we have found to cereal! This is enjoyed with yoghurt, milk, honey and stewed apple.
The nicest bread we have found is Tandoor which we tend to buy in bulk, freeze then toast for breakfast. (pictured below with our kettle). This is a good back up when we are out of puffed rice that can only be bought packaged in Dhaka (about 3 hours bus ride away).

Alternately, we can have a more social breakfast in the cafeteria which consists of roti, curry and cha (sweet, milky tea)

Tiffin around 10am includes cha and banana plus or minus samosa-type goods or noodles. This is brought around by a 'pabi' with a tea trolley.

Lunch is at 1.30pm. The foreigners all meet in the guest house and are served a variety of local curry-based delicacies by Mary and Tahmina (our ayahs).

At dinner-time we generally arrange our own meals in our flat. Alternatively, we join together for group meals.

On this occasion, we each brought a dish to share. Feeling patriotic, we 'wowed' the crowd with vegemite on naan bread (alongside a bean salad).

Day Out in Savar

Today we headed out to see the local sights in Savar. The National Martyr's Monument (a short bus ride away from CRP) commemorates the millions of people who lost their lives during the Liberation War. The war ended with Bangladesh (or East Pakistan as it was before the war) gaining independence from Pakistan.

Many of the people are buried in pristinely manicured mass graves which surround the monument.

It appears that some of the other visitors to the monument prefer their photographs to include foreigners.

After stopping for a refreshing drink we headed back to Savar Bazar, where we picked up some Tundoor (naan bread), for breakfast tomorrow.

Village Home Visits

Sarah headed out for a series of home visits in rural Bangladesh with a van full of multi-diciplinary team members. The traffic on arrival was significantly less hectic than leaving Savar.

The local shops, though sparse, all still seemed to have a TV showing the cricket.

Departing from visit 3

Patient number 5 lived in a beautiful setting and was coping well.

Parting wishes for our good health were received from his uncle.