It seems that I am usually starting these posts with..."I'm so sorry I haven't posted in ages!"
I am hopelessly slack at updating this and really have no real excuse except for laziness!
I figured that now I have hit the 'one year' mark I should really write a post looking back at the 1st year I've spent in Bangladesh. I think I'll put it into top ten form, the highlights/major events from my year here...
Starting at 10
#10: Arrival. Arriving in Bangladesh was terrifying, it hit home to me this enormous thing that I had done, this thing that I had committed myself to. It took me ages to settle in and I spent the first few months homesick and scared of failure! Not the most fun time in my life but definitely a time where I learnt a lot about myself. I think I had to go through that to get to where I am now...
#9: Friends. I would never have survived here if I hadn't had some pretty awesome new friends. So many people were so willing to help and take me places, speak/translate for me. I love them all. Sometimes, when I am grumpy with Bangladesh, I remember all these great Bengali friends that I have, and how fantastic they are. It makes me less grumpy...most of the time!
#8: Adopted family. As well as great Bengali friends, there is a wonderful group of foreigners that I work with, both at school and outside of school. They have become my family here and without them I would have packed my bags and come home a long time ago. Ice cream and cakes on birthdays, oranges when sick, cups of coffee, dinners, holidays, dressing up fancy and going to weddings of people we don't even know. Good times :)
#7: The original Class 3. This was the class I took over when their teacher left the school unexpectedly. They were (still are actually) a noisy, rambunctious and gorgeous class. I have a big lot of love for this class, they helped me find my place in the school and gave me a lot of fun memories.
#6: Holidays at the beach. In the July holidays, I went with some friends to Cox's Bazar down on the coast of Bangladesh. Despite the hideous bus journey it was a lovely trip full of food and relaxation. It was fabulous to see the ocean and swim as well as spend some time with great people. I still think of that trip fondly despite the fact that the bus journey home took 14 hours!
#5: Chandpur. This place has given me rest and serenity and plants and swimming. It is only a few hours down the river and has become my place to go when I need a break from the indescribable chaos that is Dhaka. There is always a welcome for me there, and in the hot season there is swimming in the pond and eating guava and mango, plus hours sitting on the porch reading a good book. Nice.
#4: Visitors. There have been many visitors this year, lots from Churches that support Ross and Cindy as well as some others. It has often fallen to Caro and I to look after the ones that come to school and it has been lovely being a guide. I enjoy showing people where I live and it helps make me feel like I really live here. Having Kristy here was awesome just before Christmas, any other friends would be welcome...hint hint! :)
#3: The current Class 3. These guys are my babies, I love them to pieces, even the naughty ones, and really really enjoy teaching them. It will be very sad to say goodbye to them in June. They have made me tear my hair out at times and are loud and full of energy but such fun to teach. Their enthusiasm is infectious.
#2: The noise. It's funny, I hated the noise when I first got here, and I still hate it sometimes now. But it has just become a part of life and it seems odd when there is no noise. As I type I can hear a loudspeaker from the mosque, wailing in arabic I think, the noise from about 20 different cricket games from the field below my apartment, car horns, the bells on rickshaws and some banging which I think is from the construction site down the road. And that's normal, and not really very loud. The chaos that is Dhaka is very hard to explain, pretty much you just have to experience it for yourself! New Zealand is going to seem very quiet when I go home.
#1: School. GEM School is the coolest place, it is like a little island of fun in the middle of crazy town! Every time I pass through the gates I feel at home, I am welcomed by gorgeous smiling faces of students that I know and love. Inside school I am not a 'bideshi' (foreigner) I am Carley Madam, the crazy teacher who likes to paint on the walls, and sing songs. The absolute best part of my year has been spending my time in this school, becoming a part of the furniture, building relationships with the students and teachers and generally just having fun. It is my home in Dhaka.
PS. I was going to add photos to this post but my internet is having a spazzy fit so they won't upload. Also, I shall write a separate post soon about my recent trip to Cambodia and Vietnam :)
