Some censuring Readers will scornfully say, why hath this Lady writ her own life? Since none cares to know whose daughter she was or whose wife she is, or how she was bred, or what fortunes she had, or how she lived, or what humor or disposition she was of? I answer that is true, that 'tis to no purpose to the Readers, but it is to the Authoress, because I write it for my own sake, not theirs. ~Margaret Cavendish in 1655

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

to the sticks and back

Well, I survived my trip to the field and can tell the tale about it. Nasirnagar is a small village in the middle of floodplain, which stays flooded longer than any part of Bangladesh. From my home to the resthouse (where we stayed, since there are no hotels nearby) it took 6 hours of travel, with half of it being by boat. We drove the office car until the road literally ended in the middle of a big lake, which won't be a lake by January, and then got onto a speed boat. The speed boat didn't quite meet up with my expectations, but it was faster than paddling and it had a motor. Gift Horse. We took the boat and meandered through channels between another road they are building and paddy fields. Then we came into another big lake (which will be dry land by January), crossed it and pulled up to what looked like ghats/stairs just going into the water. We hopped off and grabbed a couple of rickshaws and 5 taka later were at the resthouse. It was so quiet and peaceful, especially after the hustle and bustle of Dhaka. The staff members/caretakers were very nice and the in-house cook had a good hand with the spices. Very tasty eating was done the entire time I was there.

The next day, we met with all of the field people working with the community. They were very nice and there was even a guy from Rajshahi! He grew up next to the Collegiate School where I was posted while a PCV. Small world. I got some paperwork done and just enjoyed the scenery. Same thing happened the next day, but with dinner being had at a colleague's house. His wife went nuts that day and cooked beyond belief! She made 2 chicken, 1 veggie, 1 goat, 1 egg, 1 chop (kinda like a fried meat pattie) and 1 fish dish with pullou rice(really expensive rice with spices and raisins in it). Then she made a pudding for dessert. She won't have to cook for the next two days with all of the leftovers!!!

The next day we left at about 4:30 and I made it home by 11:00. I stayed up and chatted with Carrie and finally had to call it a night at midnight. It's so sad when a grown woman has to have a bedtime and can't stay up late without consequences. Oh, well, what can I do?

I will try to finish my roll of film and get the pictures posted. Cross your fingers on that one. Maybe a digital camera wouldn't be a bad thing.... Food for thought.

2 comments:

Andrew said...

Sounds like quite the adventure! Hurray for good food- that makes all adventures more bearable. You should go digital on the camera- it is the best investment I ever made! I have also started to use an online service at www.snapfish.com - great service!
Take care.

allie said...

WOW! How unadventurous does my world feel right now! Keep having those adventures they will keep you young. :)