Rice Paddies

When I think of hard-core missionaries out in the “mission field,” one thing I picture them doing is working with the locals in the fields for their mere survival.  I sometimes imagine myself as that hard-core missionary, and I absolutely love the experiences that make me feel anywhere close to it! So when I heard the day was actually coming when we would get to help harvest the rice, I was stoked!

It is morning and we all gather around and pick out a sickle for the job. Even the older kids gather to help carry out the rice we will cut. Then single file we carefully wander around a maze of rice fields until we get to our own. I have no idea how they know which field is whose-they all look the same to me! We tie our ornas (scarves) in a more practical, working style and begin watching and learning. Grab the rice paddy about 8 inches from the ground and cut it somewhere below your hand. Each person takes about 4 rows of paddies and works across the field, leaving the cut rice in neat piles to be bundled and carried back to the orphanage. Looking around at the 30+ other laborers in the fields with us, I cannot believe what I am doing. I am cutting rice, out in a field with the locals, in Bangladesh, harvesting their staple food for the year, just like in bible times! Though the sun makes the sweat drip, I am absolutely loving it. They probably think I’m crazy having so much fun with their work! We continue to cut field after field until I am called to breakfast. I don’t want to leave! In a culture where it’s rude to refuse food though, I must go. Before we leave one girl shows us how to tie a bundle of rice together and carry it on our heads.

             It was only a small taste of the harvesting life, but it was something I had dreamed of doing for years so I am just ecstatic I had the opportunity to experience it! And for those of you that have seen my klutzy side….I did NOT cut any fingers with my sickel J  

Panchbibi on Mr. Puffin

Putt putt putt. We’re going shopping with Grammy again! It’s about an hour on the motor van to Panchbibi, and by motor van I mean a motorized bike sort of thing with a flat bed on the back we all sit on. Lisa and I jump on the back, our feet dangling just inches from the ground. Did you ever have one of those old school station wagons you could sit in the back facing the car behind you? I loved that seat! And that’s the “seat” Lisa and I were in the whole trip. First thing Grammy wanted to do was name the putt-putt, and we eventually agreed on Mr. Puffin Toot! Lisa and I had quite an entertaining view on Mr. Puffin of what people do AFTER we pass. Some try to hide their curiosity but can’t help looking back 3 or 4 times, others hold a captivated stare until we are out of sight, and still others just point and laugh hysterically! Bikes, motorcycles and buses coming up behind us to pass seem to speed up right next to us, then take their sweet time with their close-up view before finally passing. And goodness do they like cutting things close! I’m still getting used to it, but they come up and pass so close you can easily reach out your hand and touch the bus!

On our quest for a big container in Panchbibi we discover a number of  “naughty” salesmen as Grammy likes to call them. One salesman even changed the price when we came back after looking in other shops! The others gave us such high prices some local girls just laughed at him and later told us it should only cost about half that much! Silly man! We may be white, but we’re not completely clueless about Bengali prices J Luckily, the Waids have connections there, and we found their nice Muslim friend who helped build their orphanage. He agrees to help us and goes ahead to try and get the big container Grammy needs from the naughty salesman who changed the price on us. Maybe a Bengali can get us a good deal if we stay out of sight? We wait in the shade under some hay atop bamboo poles….a Bengali gazebo? Almost instantaneously it seems a crowd gathers…they seem friendly but just stare and stare with such intense curiosity! Our friend tells them to go, asking them how they would feel if they went to a foreign country and everybody just gathered around and stared at them…..2 men left(we weren’t really bothered by it, our friend was just trying to be polite I think). Then a woman pipes up saying she’s a woman, so it’s ok for her to stare at other women (us). Then another man speaks up and wants our friend to translate to us that they have never seen foreigners before, so they are just very happy today because they get to see us! We laugh, it was innocent enough! They see we are happy too and feel no need to leave. Then they bring us chairs! Grammy compared us to monkeys at the circus….they just loved to watch us! I found it rather entertaining myself….a win-win situation J

The Waids’ friend was able to get Grammy her huge container for a better price, and after a bit more shopping we load it up on Mr. Puffin and squish ourselves around it. As we putt-putt out of Panchbibi the crowd follows us…it looks like a parade as we turn the corner and this mass of people just follows us! A little later we have to stop and wait for a train and are once again surrounded, people getting out their phones to take pictures of the wondrous sight passing through their village! It makes me curious as well…what will they say when they go home and show their friends and families the pics?

On our way again, I can’t help but laugh at the bikers we pass that, after seeing us, pedal faster to catch up for a better look. The ones that are able to catch up often fall back, catch up, fall back, and catch up again before they have the courage to practice an English phrase they know…..“Sister, what eez jour country?” or “What eeez jour name?” After a beautiful bright orange sunset over the rice fields, it begins to get dark, which means we now get flashlights in our faces from the curious people we pass. One group of boys gets so excited they start dancing as we pass and point, “How are yoooooooouuuuu!” A few other kids break into song as we pass…it just makes me smile J

So that’s my experience with Panchbibi. Naughty salesmen and many curious but very friendly people. Thanks Mr. Puffin for the good times! 

Dhaka

WARNING: This is a super long, not uber exciting blog. You may get bored, fall alseep....may want to grab a pillow before you start :)

5:15 a.m. I am mysteriously awoken….why are we getting up so early??? As my cold shower awakens me, the realization sets in. OH YEAH! WE’RE GOING TO DHAKA! A total of 11 people(including 3 kids) are going on the trip to the capital for a few days and I’m excited! Lisa, Grammy and I each take a kid on our lap and putt-putt out to the bus station. By 7 a.m. I am on my first Bengali bus with Danny on my lap, beginning the 7-hour ride to the capital. It is such a treat for any of the kids to get outside the orphanage, these 3 kids were just enthralled at everything they saw out the window!  Danny is about 8 years old, speaks very good English, and was very faithful in giving us a narration of everything we passed. “Sugar cane! Truck! Boat! Fishing! Airplane! Train track!” And every time he saw a train he would stand up with his face intently pressed against the window yelling, “Train! Stop! I want to ride you! Train! Stop!....” It was adorable, and I was absolutely loving travelling with these kids J

After a stop to taste our first nann, we arrive in Dhaka. While the kids get their dental work done, we go with Grammy to experience our first Bengali market.  A few hours later we are still wandering around a maze of small shops squished so close together I could barely stretch my arms out to each side while walking down the aisles separating the rows of shops. After dark we meet up with the kids who, now that they had their teeth pulled, just get to enjoy the rest of the trip! A group splits off to see a doctor and we go with Grammy to a “mall”, 5 stories of enclosed, air-conditioned shops. A few pairs of shoes later we finally take the kids back to the dental clinic where we will be staying. Thankfully the Waids are staying with another friend so there are only 9 of us to share 3 beds J But that also means we get to give the kids bucket baths and get them to bed! I had fun with that J

Next morning we have the kids up, ready, and fed by 7:30 a.m. because we are going to another market, the BongoBazar! Getting stuck in traffic on the way is only the first of many experiences that day. Cars are so close together you can stick just your finger out the window and touch the car next to you. In that traffic we discovered how small 5-year old Tiesha’s bladder is and how easily Bengali’s get carsick! Tiesha had to pee, but the cars were too close to open our door so she peed her pants on the seat beside me. Then Deborah (also about 5 years old), without any warning, just upchucked all over the van floor. It was a surprise to all of us! We have nothing to clean it up with….oh wait! Buy a newspaper from the paper man wandering through the traffic! We spread the leftover sheets on the floor as a precautionary. Then Tiesha had to pee again. Somehow our driver managed to get over to the outer lane this time where I could hop out of the car with her and let her go on the side of the road. We get back in the car, and a few mins later Tiesha upchucks, missing the newspaper we had down for Deboarh. Then Deborah pukes on the paper again…the poor girls looked so miserable I felt so bad for them, but also just a little grossed out at what they were giving us to clean up J

We make it to BongoBazar which turns out to be a huge, dirty, super super squished collection of shops—2 people shoulder to shoulder could not even fit in the dirt paths between these shops! It is here that I am blown away with Grammy’s shopping stamina. She spent ALL DAY LONG in that market bartering for shirts, pants, leggings, sweaters, shoes, and belts for all the kids at the orphanage. Just trying to keep up with Grammy and keep track of the kids made for a crazy day! Such small spaces packed with so many people touching and talking to the kids became a little nerveracking after some guy started walking off with one of the girls! Luckily Grammy noticed, grabbed her back, “Oh no you don’t take our little Deboarh!” Aiish! Markets can also be quite entertaining. In the shoe market a transvestite walks by and waves, “Hello!” we reply, “Hi!”, then he/she continues, “I am half ladies!” and keeps walking. Bahahaha everyone around that understood that English was laughing for quite awhile J

I could go on and on about experiences there, but I must wrap this up soon. We split up for the journey home the next day, Grammy, the 3 kids, 3 other girls and I left at 5:30 a.m. in the van packed with all the blankets, sweaters, shoes, and other clothes for the kids we had bought. Squished on a bench seat with the 3 kids, I was thankful only one of them got carsick on the way back! We were expecting it this time, so we had what we thought were some waterproof bags…we soon found we were mistaken when Tiesha puked and it all came out the bottom of the bag onto the floor anyways! Poor girl’s tummy hurt so bad she couldn’t keep still in the car, but that talented little girl did manage to miss the bag and puke on my hand instead. Haha! Is this what mothers have to deal with? I sure felt like one cleaning up after them, bathing them, and getting them in bed that trip…and I’m loving them like my own kids more and more everyday. J Well, I hope this gives you a taste of Dhaka life! It was exciting, but it sure felt good to come back home…BanglaHope feels like home now J