Still in Dhaka....

I found cheetoes in Dhaka. There is a god. So yes Miss Maya is still in Dhaka. I go back to my site tomorrow morning and my host family here in Dhaka is driving me to the bus stand. Yay no hassles with corrupt CNG drivers! My host family here are David and Jean Sack of the ICDDR'B (http://www.icddrb.org) which is the cholera clinic here. They do a lot of work in Bangladesh but one of the big things they are responsible for is oral rehydration solution. Which I've had to drink myself and which has saved many lives of people suffering from diherral diseases. Anyway, they have an awsome apartment here in Dhaka and I have been enjoying things like cheese, chocolate, hot bubble baths, television, a microwave, and this here computer. I turned in the last of my samples and finished up the last of my tests for the Peace Corps medical unit and things are coming back negative. Miss Maya does not have horrible intestinal parasites or a nasty disease. Nope folks just major stress. Which the chocolate, bubble baths and tv have helped with emensly. So has being around a western and American community. I can relax here. No one is observing my every move. No one is questioning me or trying to scam me or what ever. I can just lay on the couch and watch tv and be ignored. Its great.

In another week I will be meeting with all of my fellow volunteers for our big in service training. I am really looking foreward to that. It will be interesting to see what everyone is doing and how people's Bangla skills have improved. And yes Zeke giving you a hug. I did not know you had "ninja" packing skills by the way. Anyhow, I just want to get back to work. I am getting my new apartment fixed up and need to bring my students back up to speed in my class. The only thing I feel bad about is missing a week of my own classes!! Bad Teacher Maya!! Ah well it happens. I just have to modle to my students professional and mature behavior and have high expectations.... well that is what the books say....

But it has been good to be in Dhaka and relax a bit. I think I tend not to give myself permission to relax and that is not a good thing. I have done a lot here too. A few days ago I went to the Indian High Commission (the Indian Embassy) for a party that my host fam was invited to. I got to meet the Indian Ambassador and meet all these grand high muckty mucks and eat chicken tikka massalla. Mmmmmmm! Indian curry is so much better than Bangladeshi curry (er mabey I shouldn't publish that to the world...). I met artists and the head Buddhist Monk of a temple here in Dhaka and Bangladeshi politicians and doctors and buisnessmen. And everyone I met was like... "Your in Peace Corps?! Wow that is amazing!" It was like there was this awe in what we do and a curiosity for us. See we are out in the boonies in all the districts of this country living with the people of this country, and there is a serious disconnect between classes here. There is a caste system and we are an anomily working out in the field as we do. People are very curious about us from the poor and exploited we work with to the super rich who do the exploiting. Why are these mostly white American middle class kids here? I don't think I can answer this question at the moment but I will keep thinking about it.

So yeah I've done a lot and I also changed over some of my American cash to buy a refridgerator. Yep its a necessity. I got some pictures developed and did a little bit of shopping. I am really into Bangladeshi folk art and the pop art here its great. A lot of the rickshaws have the pop art on the back of them and later I will come back to Dhaka and buy some of it. The folk art is great too and there is a chain of stores called Arrong which buys folk art from local villages and artists and then sells it to rich Bangladeshis and tourists. This creates a specialist niche market for these artists and a way for the poor to earn money. Its really cool. Grandma H you would love the folk art here it is right up your alley! I've been really careful here in Dhaka though because I am still not sure what I can get at my site and things are expensive here. But you can get most of what you want and need here. Mostly.... I know some of you are sending me packages and that is great too. Yay for presents!

Anyway, I am doing better today after my week of R&R here in Dhaka and I am looking foreward to getting to work again. I love teaching.

M

My Favorite Things...

Alrighty.... this is to address peoples' questions about what to pack me in a box. I have gotten several e-mails and comments about what I would like or want. Remember to keep the packages small because big ones take longer in customs here in Dhaka. A few smaller ones especially in padded envelopes make it to me faster than one big one. Also remember to put in bribes for the post people (cigarettes, candy, ect.). Speaking of the Post Office it is better to send me stuff through them because customs charges to me are about 20 taka. Fed Ex and UPS customs charges are like 400taka. Uggh. So even though the post office is slower and more corrupt its better for Peace Corps volunteers.

So my favorite things.......

Snacks!
Cheetos
Fritos
Luna bars
Odwalla bars
pistacheo nuts
cream savers
velveeta (i know i know but you can't get cheese here and velveeta dosen't need refridgeration until opening)

MUSIC!
I love music and will listen to what ever you send. You can always burn CD's too.

Books! (generas anyway)
Science fiction and Fantasy
Classics/Literature (I can donate these books to the English department at my college after I leave)
Biographies
Fiction

*** really I will read just about anything at this point. Go to the discount tables of Borders & Barnes and Noble and just think of me and look at books that remind you of me. All the classical stuff and literature is usually pretty cheap to buy.***

Games!
I have no games in my house so a few packs of cards would be nice....
travel sized games are great to fit in small packages
Think of stuff that could be used as teaching tools too....

Office Supplies!
Office supplies here are of a "dubious" quality. I can always use spiral notebooks especially if they have a hard cover.
Red pens for grading papers
nice pens in general
pencils
stickers to put on kids homework
35 mm 400 speed film!!!!!! ALWAYS SEND THIS!!! Can never have too many pics of the desh!

Hobbies!
I found an embroidery shop at site and I will be doing some embroydery. However, the thread here is not so nice. So embroydery threat in lots and lots of colors would be nice.
Embroydery needles
Art supplies: colored pencils, markers, watercolor paints, watercolor brushes, nice paper, sketchbooks, pen and ink, glitter, confettii, puffy paint, anything!!!


Luxury Items!
These are things that are just there for asthetic. Things you don't need but make a home more beautiful. I have to make my home into my sanctuary here in this place. So yes I could make a small flower vase out of a tomato paste can but a real tiny little vase would be much more beautiful. Anything to make my home more comfortable... posters for my walls, picture frames (small for snapshots), just look around in Target and imagine if all of that did not exsist. What would you miss the most? What silly little thing?

Remember you take so much for granted in the West. Things like highlighter pens, pot holders, and shower curtains. Things to remind me of home are nice too. Like postcards which I can also use in my classes to show my students life outside of M'bazar. Or a windchime so I can hear the wind from time to time. Or perhaps some magazines which I can read, then cut up and make a collage or use in the classroom. I have become really good at finding all sorts of uses for things that were not intended for them. All that is around you in the West may or may not be found here. If it is than it is really expensive. People make do, they re-use and recycle EVERYTHING and so do I. I also think that it is the little things in life that create those beautiful little spaces we need.

Hope this helps... really anything from home is a nice supprise at the end of the day.

M

in Dhaka

So Medical called me into Dhaka for various reasons. They are quite concerned that I have lost 22 pounds in two months. I am sure there are various reasons for this but naturaly being the sadists that they are I have to do various "tests" (let your imagination wander) and then get flu shots. Ugh. I am quite happy to have lost 22 pounds and if it is a tapeworm will gladly introduce this diet method to the project cases I worked with in the entertainment industry. So Dhaka... yeah... well getting here is always interesting. I got a bit of a late start and my counterpart Malik who is ever worried for me lectured the bus conductor about getting me a cab once we arrived in Dhaka. I can tell you to that the bus stops in Dhaka are some of the most dangerous places in the city. I of course arrived at dusk. The bus conductor being a good Bangladeshi and taking his job of finding a cab for me quite seriously went in search. This of course left me on the street alone. I timed it too... 14 seconds before the crowd formed. Some teenage boy was trying to get me to let him "carry" my back pack. "Ami shahijjo dorkar nai..lagbe na... jao." (I don't need help, no need. Go away) Yay for Bangla skills. Of course my bus conductor could not find me a taxi and there were only CNG's (they are these green three wheeled micro car thingies). But none of them wanted to take me all the way across Dhaka to the diplomatic area so my conductor ran and found a cop. That cop found another cop who found a tea guy and then I had all these guys looking for a ride for me. Woo hoo. So I found a CNG and then of course his meter was broken (funny how every CNG I have ever ridden in has a broken meter....must be the will of Allah.) So I had to barter a price which was way too much .... but it was getting dark.

Driving along is ok except when you are stuck in traffic and the beggars come and bother you. But off we went and then his tire popped. "Ai Allah! Banani Kothay? Beshi shamoy achhe?" (Oh God! Where's Banani? Do we have a lot of time?) No thankfully we were almost to Banani but we came in a different way so he stopped on road that my hotel was on but I did not recognize where we were. However, a rickshaw wallah came by and I asked him and this was his turf so he knew. It was of course pitch black and I have to say I was a bit nervous.

I met up with some other B8's (that is Bangladesh year 8 volunteers like me. I am a B8) and we went to the American club and had food and wine and were going to play pool but the B7's were hogging the table. I also met some other guys there and thought they were marines from the embassy because they were definately military. They were like all shifty eyed when I asked them and were like "were... cough ... cough... special forces... cough cough.... " "Did I hear you correctly did you say Special Forces?" "Shhhhhhh!!!" ER yeah... so it was interesting to talk to them. They were all quite insane. I mean who in their right mind would come to a junglous 3rd world country.... er moving on... Then I made it to my hotel and then I watched tv until 2am. Hey it was Oprah and some strange British serial. Anyway it was a nice evening.

Today I was at Peace Corps all day doing office stuff and surfing the web (a luxury one such as myself took for granted back in the States). After I was finished at the office I went to my new host family in Dhaka (the American family who adopted me) which is where I am now as I type this to you all. I just finished having a hot luxurious bubble bath and I shaved my legs, which I had not done in 5 months. And I never knew this before but I really am not that hairy. Must be the native american blood. So gonna go eat now.... yay baked salmon... potatoes... salad.... mmmmmmm........

M

My Space

Now that I have my own space and my own home I am finding that I am really.... really... bored. Yep 4 concrete walls and no furniture. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee.....!!!!!!! I have read all of my books and then some and can only try to memorize so much Bangla. So I have had to come up with various strategies to keep sane. These include but are not limited to: Banging my head on the wall, talking to myself, counting mosquitios, and inventing things. One thing I invented was belly dance jump rope. Its really dumb. Another thing I invented was sticky oat cakes. They are tasty with peanut butter and jelly.

So I have been slowly furnishing my home as well. I had a local carpenter build me a big ass desk, a kitchen table and a clothing rack. I am finally out of my suitcase 100%. I have the bed already too which is nice. Also I was adopted by an ex-pat family in Dhaka the head scientist for the ICCDR'B (which is program here to fight cholera) and his wife. They sent me a huge box of house hold stuff: mugs, towles, plastic spatulas, spices, teas, various kitchen gadgets, English books , a calender and other things you take for granted in the US that make your life simple and easy. I could definately not of afforded the stuff on my volunteer living allowance of 100 dollars a month. Yikes!

The Americans in Dhaka take pity on us volunteers and buy us things like real food and alcohol and books. So thats nice. There are also a lot of British and Japanese ex-pat families that take us under their wings too. They are fascinated by us infact since we live beyond the diplomatic enclave in Dhaka with its private security force and bomb walls. Mabey we are just crazy loco. But we have great stories from the field.

So yes settling in.... probably will be settling in for a long time. I have been getting more and more into teaching and my class is progressing nicely. My students are so dedicated and I feel refreshed and alive and envigorated after I finish each class. I truly do love to teach and am finding that I am good at it too. Two days ago I just sat idle in class while the students worked cooperatively in groups. It was awesome! The model is that students should do the work in class not the teacher. The teacher does most of the work outside of class. This is experiential learning. Hands on. Practical application and communicative approach. And for a pretty green teacher such as myself it seems to be working out rather well. It will be a shock to come home to American kids who don't give a crap. ITs all perspective though isn't it.

Oh yeah I have also developed a taste for fish. Its really good here and the meat... well frankly the meat terrifies me so I eat fish and eggs. I am going to experament with some chickpeas tonight .... there is a Bangla dish called "kitchuri" which is like a bunch of veggies and chickpeas and boiled eggs and onion and spices mixed together and it is oh so yummy.

On the topic of cooking well it is a pain in the ass. EVERYTHING has to be made from scratch including grinding of the very spices you need. Speaking of griniding my local house hold shop keeper said he was gonna get me a mortar and pestle but if I go to get it he will make me drink tea with his whole family and I am SO not in the mood for that today. Tomorrow perhaps.... Yeah so cooking.. it takes forever. Its really dumb and it annoys me, bit if I don't do it I will die. So I have no choice. And I don't know what half of the food and spices are in the market. Some of the stuff is local only to South East Asia and rarely available in the West. But I have discovered that by adding onions and garlic you can make most things tasty. I know I have to smell so terrible but I really dont care.

I also found a shop that sells embroydery supplies and I have decided to work on embroydery projects and make a quilt. Yep. Domestic I know but its either that or the other aforementioned distraction devices and my head hurts! I also want to see what kind of art supplies one can get here because I am interested in holding some art classes.

Also many of you know but many do not. I am planning my first holiday sometime in the Spring to Thailand. There I shall do really bad things like lay in public on the beach in a bikini and drink alcoholic beverages. Bwaahahahahaha! Also because of stress I have lost 21 pounds. Mabey its worms but I think not I just have hardly any appetite and I walk between 1 and 3 miles a day. Thats in addition to running around in circles in my apartment for an hour while making barking noises.

I am still accepting donations to ease my mental boredom. If you would like to send me a package please always send some of the following:

books
400 speed 35 mm film
nice pens in various colors (preferably pilot brand)
spiral note books
music
granola bars
magazines
teaching supplies... crayons, markers, pictures... whatever.....


Hope you are well I am alright... just plodding along and taking things as they come.

M

Bloody Eid

A few days ago Bangladesh celebrated the Muslim holiday of Eid ul Azha otherwise known as "Bloody Eid". My day started at 8:30 as I walked the back roads to my host families house. Its been foggy here and the jungle looks like some kind of mystical place full of danger and possibilities. I passed by men walking home to their breakfasts after the morning prayer and everyone seemed more somber than usual.
Soon I was at my host families house and given tea and pita (yummy steamed rice cakes full of coconut and sugar). I was made to finish quickly though as Nazia and Samia jumped around me in excitement for the festivities to begin. So I slammed my tea and headed down to the family field. Two goats were already being butchered but the real prize were the two cows that stood tied to a post.

The whole family and extended family were there and Nazia and Samia jumped around me excitedly "Soon Auntie soon!!!". And soon enough the Imam came into the field large knife in hand and already speckled with blood from earlier sacrifices. They took the bull first and pushed it down and tied its legs. "Allah Ouakbar!!!" (God is great) cried the Imam as sawed through the bulls' throat. The bull thrashed and oddly enough for such a gratuitous gaping wound there was little blood. Death, however; I learned that day does not come quickly. It took the bull about 10 minutes to die (yes I timed it) as it tried to breathe through the new red hole in its throat. Its eyes rolled back into its head from lack of oxygen and its body thrashed againsted the bonds around its legs. It made horrible rasping and choaking noises and then was silent.
The Imam then grabbed the cow but the sight of death and the coppery smell of hot blood her into a panic. Instinct. Flee. Get Away. Too late.... her legs were tied and she could no longer move. "Maya," my host father yelled, "Get photos get photos!!!!" I'll try but I think I am going to throw up and then faint. I did not wait to see her die. I had seen enough.
I headed back to the house my knees weak and my head swimming in gore. Why couldn't they just get steaks in styrofoam and plastic wrap?

Soon enough pieces of cow started to arrive and the women of the house got to work cutting the meat up. It was brought in bloody baskets and it was steaming and twitching. Yeah... veggies anyone? I tried to help cut the meat but its harder than it looks and it stank. My host sisters laughed and teased me... yep yet another useful thing the American can't do... like butcher a cow. The meat was then divided into various piles and tea was served. I noticed that I was the only person who washed my hands before I enjoyed my tea and snacks. Suddenly I heard a lot of noise coming from outside the front gate. So I went to see what the ruckus was all about. There stood my host brothers Bulbul and Shumun holding baskets of meat and surrounded by dozens of frantic children. According to Muslim custom the meat must be divided up into 3 parts. One for neighbors, one for family, and one for the poor. My brothers were now distributing to the poor. These were the children of beggars and rickshaw wallas and the like and it was like a shark feeding frenzy as they screamed and pushed eachother to get the best pieces of meat. I watched in facination as the children recieved one chunk of meat each that they put into bags. Then they left and walked to the next house to recieve another chunk of meat. Up and down the children went with their bags of bloody meat. It reminded me of Halloween in the West where kids go from house to house getting candy. Trick or Treat! Well actually, Trick or Meat!

Actually it was really disturbing and I had to practice various breathing techniques as I sat down to a lunch of goat meat, cow meat, chicken meat and fish meat. Later that day I played badmitton and ate more meat.

Two days later John, Leif and I went to a Hindu village with our friend Bimol. He invited us to his home to celebrate a festival to Krishna. Basically, they call down the god and bless offerings and say prayers. It starts off as the men of the village play drums and various other insturments to "wake" the god up and call to him. One man told me "if I call your name do you not respond? Well it is the same for the Gods." Made sense to me. So off we went in this procession of people singing and dancing and circling the village and each family compound. The women had drawn these elaborate mandalas on the ground out of rice paint. They were stunningly beautiful and we danced on the mandalas and walked in clockwise circles.

There were alters set up at various homes with incense burning and offerings of sweets and fruit. The Bhramin blessed the offerings and then threw the sweets and fruit into the crowd. Young men and children scrambled for the treats and seemed like they were having lots of fun. We became the guests of honor and were allowed to throw the fruit and treats and even the little old toothless grannies got into the action. Hey its not everyday that 3 white people show up in your village and throw oranges at you. We also got to play the drums and sing and everyone was laughing and having a great time. Later we went from house to house and were offered snacks and tea. After about 10 cups of tea and 10 plates of snacks we had lunch. It was a feat of willpower and a miracle that our tummies did not burst. We were invited back and basically made to be welcome into the village at any time. Also Bimol's cow just had a baby and the little cowlet was quite possibly the cutest creature on the face of the planet. It ran away from me as I went to pet it.... Yeah ... so Hindus are cool.

My question for you gentle readers is.... where would you rather party?

So just settling in more and more. I pick up my furniture this week and start teaching again. I haven't worked for over a week. Blehhhh.... Want to be teaching!

Peace
M

Finally!

Its been a LONG 5 months but as of two days ago I have been sleeping in my own apartment. It is so wonderful. I wear normal jammies to bed and can do what ever I want and listen to what ever music I want and no one randomly comes into my room and stares at me. Its Great! I had the total Peace Corps experience moving in too. The big stuff got driven over to my new place by John's host families driver (I told you they were rich) but I had to carry the smaller stuff myself. Picture this: Strange white woman in local dress with huge back pack and carrying large box of stuff walks over a mile across rice paddy dikes to new home. Why won't she take a rickshaw all the locals wonder? Well she is a foreigner after all and they have strange behaviors. Heh heh heh... Leif and John helped too and now I am fully moved in. I actually was sick while I was in the process of moving too. Its the first time I've been real sick here and I think that it is due to all the stress. But I am fine today and have spent two wonderous nights in my new home.

My new apartment has two bedrooms and two bathrooms a drawing room, large dining living area, kitchen and servents quarters and a large veranda. It rules. I have never lived anywhere with servants quarters. I am on the third floor and that means less cockroaches and mosquitos and less peeping toms (which is the entire country). I only have one piece of furniture which is a bed I had a local carpenter make me. Unfortunately seeing as how I am a cheap ass Taurus I told him not to varnish it. Well the wood was wet and now the top looks like Brie Cheese. It molded my matresses too so they are on the roof of my apartment drying out as I write this. Tomorrow I am going to get some paint and seal my bed. Anyway, I am in the process of setting up house which will take a while since Peace Corps is so pinche. I am also having the carpenter make me a desk a kitchen table and a clothing rack. It strange because ready made factory furniture is more expensive here than hand made stuff by a local carpenter.

My new home is only a 6 minute walk to my college and a 4 minute walk to a small local market. Yay. Last night Leif and John came over and we all made dinner. Well we tried. We made fried potatoes with onion, garlic and cilantro and those turned out pretty tasty. The eggplant concoction did not. It looked and tasted like pond sludge but we ate it anyway because that was all the food we had. We also listened to Tu Pac and wished we had beer. It was a great night though just to be eating with Americans in privacy and to relax without dealing with people.

I've been under a microscope for 5 months. Every aspect of my life has been scrutinized, commented on and judged. It has been completely exhausting. I know this is not America and I cannot live the way I did back home. If that was a problem for me I would have stayed home where I could be comfortable. But not having any privacy has been one of the toughest things I 've ever had to deal with. Now I have my own space. Its an American apartment and I make the rules.

Also I have started my spoken English class. I LOVE it. The girls are really excited and dedicated and I hope we will really get some great work done. I won't bore you with the mechanics of teaching a foreign language but I am really interested in how people aquire language and I am in a unique situation as I myself am aquiring a foreign language. In Bangladesh the students arrive to the class before the teacher and when the teacher enters the room they all stand and wait to be told to be seated. This annoys me. So I told my students that in America the teacher is in the class before the students and has the classroom ready for instruction as soon as the students arrive. So the next day the students waited for me to get there and let me go in first. They said "From now on Madame we will start class American Style!" heh heh heh.... Yes my little minions viva la revolution.......

Life is good I guess, things are quiet in the country. Just moving along here.... I am gonna need to get another hobby or something cause man I have so much time on my hands.

Oh to add to my funny list, my town has a midget traffic cop. It is the most bizarre sight I have ever seen. He has a whistle and a stick and is the meanest SOB you ever met. Guess he has to be seeing he is like 3 feet tall. He runs real fast too and yells at people and has buggy eyes. Its almost William Gibson strange.....

M

Things that make me laugh

There are many things to complain about in the "Desh". Part of it is that this is a really tough and gritty country to serve in. Part of it is that I find great release venting in prose. I am certainly not the same person I was 5 months ago. I put up with a lot less crap from people. My philosophy in the States was that everyone diserved a chance. Everyone deserved the benefit of the doubt. Its the opposite here. I assume you are a jerk unless you prove otherwise. You are guilty until proven innocent. I realize gentle readers that this new philosophy is quite anti-American, however; as the only white girl in my town its all about survival. That being said I don't want to be too negative. Yes I could complain all day about how things are just not right! But though my personal philosophy has changes my sense of opptimisim and humor have not. And sometimes when you are ready to kill someone because you have had one too many cat calls, one too many dumb ass questions and one too many random acts of stupidity you just have to laugh. And believe me when I say that I laugh REALLY loudly. Here are a few things that really make me laugh:

1. The kid who's bike has that extra "flair". Its hot pink with a glittery finish and has glittery disco tassles on the handle bars. The bike seat (which is gold) has a logo that says something like " SUPER GOLD STAR FIGHTER POWER". The kid also managed to glue CD's to the front to give it that extra flash! And just to make sure EVERYONE knows he is coming he has a little battery operated music box that plays this really annoying mechanical techno ditty, over and over and over...... I laugh every time I see him. He always rides by me really slow so I can take in his hot pink super gold star fighter power magnificence. I am sure that if he rode that bike in America even the nerdiest kids would band together to beat him up for such an afront to manhood.

2. Fashion: Um where do I even begin. Well lets start with the young male gender of this country. I am going to pick on them because they pick on me. First of all every one is stuck in the 80's and not the cool 80's no we are talking "new wave" fashion nightmare 80's. And believe me when I tell you that the young men LOVE to strut their stuff. For who they are strutting is anyone's guess as the women are all under lock and key and the male, female ratio on the streets is like 8 to 1. Super tight jeans stone washed with patches are a favorite, as are glittery disco shirts (slightly unbuttoned to accentuate the manly chest hair of course). Purple cargo pants, shirts with ruffles and sweaters with random useless zippers also add to the fashon disaster. If you are new to the desh such outlandish outfits and the blatent hand holding and arm linking would leave a Westerner to believe that the "Desh's" big secret is that all men are gay. But no my narrow minded friends but your homophobia aside because that is even more taboo here than back home. Nope its just fashion gone horribly wrong.

3. Traffic accidents caused by me:
Yes I can say that I have caused various traffic accedents by my mere presence. Rickshaws running into eachother as they stare at me is nothing new and I am finding that it is starting to lose its humour. Though, the other day a mom and her kid were walking and when they saw me they turned to stare but kept walking. Since they were watching me and not where they were going they smacked right into the back side of a rather large cow. Suffice to say the cow had just finished going to the toilet and well they found it a bit slippery. (heh heh heh... I love moments like those). I have also had cars wreck because they were checking me out in their rear view mirror.

4. My host niece Nazia's sketchbook.
Nazia is by far my favorite person in Bangladesh. She is a total rebel and always getting in trouble. I of course am always rewarding her for her insolence and she makes me laugh all the time. Nazia likes to draw and sometimes we draw together. One day I asked to see her sketch book and upon flipping through its pages I noticed that there were drawing after drawing of goats with little goat pellets coming out of their rear ends. Our conversation went something like this:

"Uhh Nazia?"
"Yes Maya Auntie?"
"Why do you have all these drawings of goats going to the toilet?"
"Because that is what they DO all the time Auntie! Don't you know anything?!"
"Aparently not."
"Nazia you still did not answer the question. Why do you have goats going to the toilet?"
"Auntie do not ask these questions to me"
"Umm ok........"

She also likes to draw princesses and they thanks be to Allah are not using the toilet.


So what else is new in the Desh? Well for one I am starting my spoken English class today and I am really excited to get to work and dive into teaching. I am also in the process of moving into my apartment and getting everything that I need. I payed the rent and now am just buying what I need and furnishing it which is not easy AT ALL. There is no one stop shop like Wal-Mart and there is no such thing as a "fixed price". Its gonna take some time but its fine. Lief and John also are in their own places too and they are LOVING it. Space.... must... have.... privacy..... blehhhh.... I will write more later.

M