Rickshaw ahoy!

Kids love the rickshaws. We didn't expect there would be so many everywhere. The seats are definitely made for little Bengali tushies, not big round American tushies! So we had to hold on tight so not to be catapulted off.

Courtney wants to stay here forever, because it seems less complicated. She desperately wants to purchase some local attire to "fit in" (hee). Every woman dresses beautifully no matter which cast (social) system they are in. In the city it is difficult to see who is and isn't impoverished at face value. This will change once we visit projects and villages.

The fact that we have friends here is an enormous comfort, far beyond our expectations. We said goodnight to them around 3pm so we could settle into our apt. and get some groceries. Instantly, we felt as though our security blanket was ripped away. It was all we could do not to cling onto them.

We did it though! We hopped on 2 rickshaws to the market and then home to prepare a rice dinner and instantly go to sleep. The kids practically slept through the meal.

Dhaka arrival...2am!

After an uneventful flight (we are so blessed) we arrived in Dhaka at 2:15 am and breezed through immigration and customs. Our first night was in the St. Vivant hotel, which was extravagant for this area...our last taste of Western. I'm so grateful and shaking everyone's hand forgetting that that's not the tradition here...head nods are more appropriate.

We're now with our friends, Tricia and Zach and their 5 children enjoying company and moving into our little apartment for a few days (Rusty and Zach just left to get the key).

The kids are overjoyed to be with their old friends.

We are overwhelmed, but thrilled and happy to be here. Z&T are taking us to our first lunch outing to try Bangla food!

Bhalo thaken (stay well in Bangla)

Made it to London!

After a lovely send off from our dear friend Janet we hopped the bus to DIA and boarded our flight to London. British Airways is a lovely airline with fun treats for the kids in the form of a goodie bag with cards, games, colors. We all got miniature toothbrushes and itty bitty toothpastes, which the kids adore. The eye mask was very handy for sleeping and will be handy on the trip as well, perhaps.
Well we made our flight to London and arrived yesterday at 9am (2am Colorado). We managed to stay awake and drop our backpacks at hotel. We enjoyed a traditional English breakfast (Rusty's favorite thing here: scrambled eggs on toast with tomato and mushrooms an a a big slice of bacon). We toured the city, visiting Buckinham Palace with the guards that look like wind up toys (says Jeremy). Other highlights: Big Ben and the parliament bldg, Westminster Abbey (where we lit a candle and said a prayer of healing and strenght for Rusty's Uncle Mike), and the London Eye (like an oversized ferris wheel with views of the city (see Big Ben behind the kids in the photo?). Note, Courtney's new London scarf...her big purchase :).

Everyone is doing well and adjusting to time well. Camille insists on wearing her watch Colorado time, while Rusty keeps his on current time. It's fun that way.

Jeremy is the only one feeling a bit ill with a cold...hopefully this next flight won't be too difficult for him.
Dhaka is next, we're at the airport and currently our flight is delayed 35 minutes (okay Zach!) We loved London and were here too short!

Ready, Set...GO!

Everything's packed and we're ready to go. Leaving one day ahead of schedule due to our stand-by status. We arrive in London Thursday (2am MST) and head out Friday (3am MST) for Dhaka. So not as much time in London as we'd hoped, but we plan on soaking up the city as much as we can.

Thanks everyone for all your calls, meals, snacks, playdates, advice and support as we've planned this adventure. We're now at the door ready to step into it...YIKES and yippee too!

Best advice:
"Don't have any expectations."
Predicted most important travel items: (we'll let you know later if this is indeed true)
Cameras and journals!

FNF: When asked what commodity is missed from the US (that we could bring with us), our family friends in Dhaka (5 children) said: Goldfish, Lik-m-aid and dry erase markers. So we're stocked with plenty of all 3 of those items!

Well, as the Clash says..."London's calling!"

Whaddaya doing in Thailand?

The best time to visit SE Asia is November through February due to pleasant climate. Thailand has many festivals during these months.

Our plan is to land in Bankok and stay a few days. Then take a night train to Chaing Mai and tour the mountain tribes, villages, rivers and elephants, caves and birds of the north. We will have to travel through Bankok to get to the southern beaches/islands down by Phuket. We'll ferry and train back up to Bankok to depart to Tokyo on February 26th.

FNF (Fun New Fact): Did you know that you can leave your books and pick up books all over the world if you join Bookcrossings.com? So we'll be able to drop off books as we read them across the world. That's such a cool thing I just learned from my friend Margaret! It's like a world-community book club!

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry & narrow-mindedness"

(Quote by Mark Twain)
My father-in-law, by pointing me towards Mark Twain's quote, demonstrated his comprehension of the spirit of our trip. A small and beautiful gesture, that deepens our relationship.

I ponder this quote daily. It was to my surprise that I would start to feel the truth of it so quickly by creating a blog! Sharing the experience of our travel has already widened the borders of the stereotyped family/friend "comfort zone conversation" to include topics such as global politics, immigration, geography, history, human rights, "poverty and despair vs. poverty and dignity, " economy and my favorite topic: advocacy.

As a result, I've learned of the wisdom of your own journeys. Eloquently, you all have spoken with inspirational worldliness, open-mindedness and appreciation of culture and countryside. Thank you.

These kinds of conversational moments open doors in our fundamental relationships and build intimacy and trust from which I am finding all kinds of energy to act...explore further ...discover more...share again. Whadyaknow...it's a cycle!

Where's Bangladesh?

Bangladesh used to East Pakistan way back from 1941-1971. This is when two large Muslim groups sought to be independent, Hindu India. East Pakistan had little in common with West Pakistan creating cultural, political, religious tension...so the Bengali's of EP created a movement which ended in becoming a separate country called Bangaldesh (that is the shortest history EVER, no disrespect intended).

Here is a map of Bangladesh. It is nestled in the "armpit" of India...actually it's very NE India with but only a sliver of India to the East. We are landing in Dhaka on February 2nd, 2009. Our wonderful friends will pick us up at the airport and take us to our little apartment :). We'll spend time in Dhaka and then travel outside of the city to a village for 2 nights. We're looking to book a river trip before departing on February 11th.

Why are we going?

March 13, 2008 I (Camille) attended the Denver Microcredit Summit where I listened to Mohammad Yunus, Nobel laureate, founder of Grameen Bank speak volumes on possibility, empowerment and dignity. John Hatch of FINCA, spoke about going past reading about poverty and advocating for poverty (though there is strong need to continue this) to coming face to face with poverty. Getting "fire in your belly" to fight for those who, when given the smallest amount of opportunity, rise out of poverty. I immediately wanted "fire" not only in my belly but the bellies of my dearest...my children and husband. When I brought it up to Rusty he was instantaneously as excited as me! We even have friends who were going to be living in Dhaka, Bangladesh who welcomed the idea of visitors! What would it mean to leave our country to seek out new cultural experiences, test the morals we stand upon and face what I most passionately advocate against...poverty. I'm curious how we will synthesize the entire experience of face to face with the people, environment, school, business, economy, dress, food, behavior, simple activities of daily living... We are thrilled to duck out from under the social umbrella of the United States feel that freedom of exploration. Thankfully we have a strong foundation of family on which we will be leaning on I am sure! We are equally anticipating the transition back after a month of travel, the appreciation of what we have, what we take for granted both in the freedom of our country and the simplicity of surviving in others. What it will actually be in detail we are ready to encounter. Welcome to our blog as we begin our journey of exploration of world and self.