Its been a while since I posted, so here it is….

The power goes out a lot here. I don’t mean once or twice a day. I mean four or five times a day. One would think that the power going out would bring life to a halt, but that’s not the case! No, here’s the sequence: 1) Nabil is working on his paper on his laptop 2) All of a sudden the entire house goes dark, with the exception of Nabil’s laptop b/c he has a battery (looks very eeery and I scared Neela one day that way) 3) Nabil doesn’t panic because 4) what sounds like a HUGE Sherman tank but is an enormous diesel generator starts moments later. Most apartment buildings and houses around here have these generators, which roar into action every time the power goes out. They keep chugging along until 5) the power returns anywhere from an hour or two later.

Here is a pic of Happy. Neela’s granddaughter. I have been working with Happy on her English homework. She is currently in high-school (sophomore) and hopes to get into Dhaka University. She is doing great and is on track! Her Enlgish is slowly getting better. She mixes up her G's and Z's. So instead of "zero" the word becomes "g-roo". And instead of "college" it becomes "colleze". We're working on it!

Here’s a pic of Jabbar, our driver with a toy monkey. We were at a store called Aarong. Its a store started by BRAC, which sells good made by workers paid by BRAC. Almost like a fair trade and fair pay concept. It was packed to the brim the day I was there. Nothing more to be said about that. He’s a cool guy and was laughing pretty hard after I took the picture and wanted me to post it, so this one is for you Jabbar. Although they have seen a digital camera before, everyone loves it because you can see the pics right away.

So often when I take pictures, I end up taking more than one of the same thing for people's entertainment....thank goodness for long life batteries.

A typical street-side stall selling food, furniture repair services, and bananas.

These are some of my Fulbright buddies. We went out to a tea stall on the street corner and then to a restaurant where we ordered four different types of fish all prepared differently. Neela contends that she can outdo the restaurant and I don’t doubt it!

Other than that, can’t complain much. Of course one has to acclimate to a very different life here, but I think I am doing ok. I do miss home and Shannon and for some reason cheesecake a lot! The city streets are still packed and the heat is still here, but its not something that is not manageable. Getting the research off the ground has been a little tough but that was to be expected. Talk soon!