I am in Bangladesh (#1)

... not because this has been one of those places on my lengthy list of "must visit" countries.  It's because my daughter, Lisa, son-in-law, Abu, and four-year old granddaughter, Sara, moved to Abu's homeland October 1, 2012.  My new grandson, Samiul Taher, joined them March 12th.  The plan was for me to be here upon Sam's arrival, but babies (and adult children) have their own calendar of events which often surprise us all.

This blog is an inside-outlook at my journey.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

I left MN 22 hours ago.  I have 11 hours ahead of me before I arrive in Dhaka.  It's noon in Minnesota and 9pm in Dubai.  I'm in the Dubai airport with a voucher from Emirates airline for dinner at a seafood, fast-food restaurant.  I've been in a fuzzy state of mind since getting off the plane.  I feel dizzy and like I'm moving in slow motion.  It reminds me of how I felt getting off the boat after sailing in the sun all day and longing for a shower.      

During this 6 hour layover I am walking the B terminal end to end and looking into the many shops.  The gold jewelry is so beautiful!  I passed those and instead bought candy as gifts for Abu's family.  When checking out, the clerk sympathetically said, "You look tired."  And that was after freshening up and applying make-up!

The bathrooms here are the cleanest I've seen!  After each use, a woman goes into the stall and mops the floor and does any other necessary cleaning.  The sink area is dry and the sinks are washed regularly.  You don't see that often in a public restroom!

Companions on the Journey

On my trip from MN to Seattle I was seated between two women on vacation together.  It seemed odd to sit between friends who would likely be talking with one another along the way, but even before take off we all struck up conversation that never quit for the entire flight. We told stories of our travels and adventures as we got to know one another.  One of them, Janice, had lived in Alaska and worked with a fly and fish outfitter.  Talk about living in the wild!  I told her that in Bangladesh everyone sleeps under mosquito netting.  She said that on many of her trips they would need to wear a suit of netting!  The black flies and mosquitoes were thick as they landed on them.  I cannot imagine!  That's one adventure I hope to never experience.

On the flight to Dubai, I was seated next to Daniel, a cool skateboard dude (26 yrs old) who was on his way to Australia.  He, not unlike my own daughter, sold all his belongings and car,  quit his job and left his family (and girlfriend) in order to follow his desire for more in life than the American Dream had to offer.  I admired his openness with me as he talked about his feelings of discontent with going through the motions in life and knowing that for him, there had to be more than accumulating stuff.  Daniel admitted to feeling nervous going it alone, giving up so much and moving to a place he knows little about.  He explained that his motivation comes from the desire to live life another more relevant way.  Daniel is blogging as he goes.  You can follow him at this link www.severedecay.com

Shortly into our flight to Dubai, Daniel helped me with the only problem I'd had through the whole trip.  Before leaving home, I cut my bangs and a piece of hair flew into my right eye.  I could not see it, but felt the irritation.  My eye became red and increasingly painful over 10 hours!  I asked Daniel to help me by holding my mirror and a flashlight while I went searching for the problem.  We both saw it at the same time.  There it was, lodged half-in and half-out of my tear duct!  How weird is that?!   Thank goodness for fingernails (since I didn't have a tweezers).  I was able to extract it - finally!  Daniel was impressed and told me, "Wow! You've got skills!"