Truffles from Dhaka

Sundarbuns Trip

2009-12-23T19:55:00.001-08:00

We spent 4 amazing nights during the Thanksgiving (and Eid) break on a boat in the Sundarbuns. As the world's largest mangrove forest in one of the lowest sea level countries in the world (remember Al Gore and sea levels predictions ... yep that was Bangladesh) and the last refuge for the Bengal tiger it's an extremely special place. The weather was perfect, food was tasty, and the scenery breathtaking. The tour company has three boats of varying sizes. Our's had room for about 40 people but there was plenty of room ... even though sound traveled quite well. But I don't want to nitpick and whine about a few small issues and ruin an otherwise perfect Bangladeshi vacation.

Clairvoyant ....

2009-07-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

2009-06-17T17:02:00.000-07:00

A bit late with this post ... but I finally have to put up some of the photos. It was an amazing experience (although one that completely physically and mentally drained me) with excellent acting talent across the board (these people gave everything over and beyond), a loud shouting insane but genius director, fabulous sets, superb lighting and sound, and overall my performance for a while. I think I'll concentrate on some other things. It was an incredible way to go out ... trust me it's hard acting crazy for 3 hours on stage!

The ward staff (all female cast) ... this worked out with some small alterations.

The crazies

Make-up .. thankfully it was not too overboard.

Peter gets lipstick!

Chief ... 1st time acting!

"what you talking about willis?" pose

McMurphy meets the Chief .. Billy (Berkly Mason) peeks on

Playing cards ... the new guy scares us a bit

Dialing in channel 4 .... the nuts go crazy

Chief and nurse (Chloe) staring out into something

Complaining about meds

The 'ceremony'

Shock therapy (in back) and chief roars ... still gives me chills. There's a nursery rhyme "wire, byre, limber lock ..." that is featured throughout the tale which Chief and McMurphy talk about. I recorded my 3rd grade students singing it and as the shock scene is played out and Chief starts roaring and singing it the lights go out and there are my students mildly creepy falsetto recording of them singing it.

One of the 20 lines throughout the play ... delivered with gusto!

"No playing ball in the ward!!" "But we got the championships next week!"

Peter and his "bomb"

Stealing cigs ... (we never smoked on stage but I was always sneaking a few into the pockets)

Vietnam

2009-06-16T19:02:00.000-07:00

The main reason in visiting Vietnam was to meet up with some old Damascus friends. Eric and Tessa from Indonesia, and Aaron, Megan, and Owen from Cambodia (they are heading back to Canada). Nice beach with soft sand, nice old town, lots of garment shops (beautiful winter coats), excellent seafood from grimy road side restaurants, free bikes, friendly locals and tourists, good beer, and really cheap. Almost no haggling needed.

The small but significant reunion. Who's missing a baby?

Aaron, Megan, and Owen on the rooftop Cafe

The ladies (and Owen) in Hoi An

One of the many eateries that line the road. Lots of fresh fish. Good spring rolls and fried calamari

The Aaron

The Beer (La rue)

The market ....

There are only primitive vehicle and walkers allowed in the old city.

Old man ... Photo op!

The French and Portuguese influence of old Hoi An.

The Japanese bridge

Lazy ricksaws drivers .. they pedal from behind.

Venice? Paris?

Lots of roof top eateries and cafes ... a nice night life atmopshere

A very ominous gale blew in but we kept fishing ... I guess it did not matter since we were never more than 30 feet from shore.

The captain ... into the heart of darkness.

This was my only catch ... very dangerous he said. In all we caught 3 types of fish. The most exciting being a 'puffer' fish that the guide starting beating and throwing on the deck in order to get it to "puff" up which it did ... then looked quite dead. After throwing it overboard and watching it float a while (to our dismay) it recovered, deflated, and swim off happily.

Aaron was off to a quick lead with four of what we named spiny tiger fish.

Be proud!

She was a sea worthy vessel but rocked easily.

Adam tried the basket boat.

The gang looking particularly bad ass with the baskets!

Babies in baskets which the locals warned us "very dangerous".

A Sweet Parent Letter

2009-06-02T20:55:00.000-07:00

It's the last day of school and I was cleaning out the email. I really have to share this letter from a parent. I had their daughter in 1st and 3rd grade and Carrie had the son this year in Kindergarten. A very sweet family and a nice letter of thanks.

Dear Matthew and Carrie
†
Hi our lovely respectful teachers!!! Hope you're well with your sweet and pretty Elizabeth.
†
We don't know how to thank you for your great and enthusiastic and dynamic teaching toward
Our Jiah and Jisu respectively.
†
Jiah has been changing many points with good improvement of all general English skill since
God bless for us to meet you(Matt) in this year.
Meanwhile Jisu who was real naughty boy by the way now he is getting much better on your(Carrie)
Special love and teaching wisdom. †I.m sure that Jiah and Jisu enjoyed their school life with all of your
wonderful efforts in this year.
†We are really appreciated to all of your help and love to our kids again and we wish you would
† be maintain the best health all the time and some more opportunities of main teacher for our
† Jiah and Jisu on next time as long as you are staying at AISD.
†
† Please pray for Jiah and Jisu having the better future on their best in Him.
† Look forward to keeping in touch each other and We will continue always to pray for your family
† to be the best life in Him!!!
†
†Have a good summer vocation and see you soon again.

(Beginning of the year)
Dear Mr.McEwen,
†
This is Million, Jiah's Father!!! Hope y are fine with good health.
First of all, I am really happy to see you again at the school as a Main teacher
of our Jiah in this 3rd Grade.
Moreover your wife Mrs.McEwen is our Jisu's(Jiah's yonger brother) Main teacher
so I and Kid's Mom Mrs.Park also are very happy of it too.
Hope it would be wonderful school year 08~09 for us.
Let's keep in touch each other frequently if time is convenient for you.
†
Meanwhile I would like to ask y that our Jiah's English ability for now and i need
to know what we have to help for her at home and how to develop her English
skill for easy study at the class after school.
Really i need your vivid guide for Jiah's English improvement???
Pls give me your candid opinion for her ability of English and guide me what
we need to help her at home also is it necessary for her to do extra study
at home after school with Native speaker i f so pls let me get your introducing
for the proper teacher for us???
Pls advise me asap on your best cooperation.
†
In the meantime, I need 3M's web address for our ref and easy comminication
between y and us.
†
Look forward to hearing your kind response as soon as possible in your convenient
time.
†
†
Best Rgds,

Thunderstorms

2009-05-12T23:49:00.000-07:00

The rainstorms started a couple weeks ago and have made for some interesting nights and relaxing weekends indoors. They usually last an for no more than an hour but make up for it in their intensity. Of course that's not what this one was about ... mild downpour with a twist of E on the end. At least it cools the city off for a bit. Enjoy!

Kuala Lumpur

2009-04-17T23:36:00.000-07:00

It's always nice to travel to a place where people drive in the lanes, line up nicely, and there are malls. Remember where we live. After the wedding we spent two nights at the Traders Hotel. The view of the Petronas Towers was amazing and was there was a mall and fabulous park right outside.

The view at night and out our hotel window.

Elizabeth finds the cookie stash and is allowed to indulge because it's 'vacation'

Elizabeth at the California Pizza Kitchen using those crappy crayons they give kids.

We visited the aquarium and were so impressed with the moving tunnel that we went through twice. (watch for the video soon)

E enjoyed in experience for a short while but in the end seemed more interested in the people then fish and went to sleep in the stroller.

Sleep sleep sleep

Sleep sleep sleep

In the park outside the hotel there was a place to play in the water with fountains and waterfalls. We didn't but it was a nice thought especially since there would be no way in hell we could do this in Dhaka.

The park also had a HUGE playground that went on and on and on.

E loved the bouncy horse

Using the stroller in the mall proved effective and we learned to use the escalators and elevators with a new found appreciation.

Hanging out in the hotel room was heaven .. (watch for the bathtub video)

In all, it was a wonderful vacation .. we had not left Dhaka since October and we were getting itchy. Elizabeth's expression sums it up perfectly. We figure it's cheap enough to fly to KL for the weekend on Air Asia with empty suitcases and do shopping as needed.

Justin and Kelly: Wedding in Paradise

2009-04-12T19:12:00.000-07:00

Spring break we flew into Karabi, Thailand and went to Raleigh for Justin and Kelly's wedding. We'd never been to this area but it was beautiful. There were a group of friends from Dhaka and then other friends from all over. It was a merry group. We drank, ate, and enjoyed the water festival which was in full swing. It was very baby friendly even if there were a couple boat rides involved. Sometimes the longtail boats pull up on the shore and other times you ride out in a trailer attached to a tractor. Besides the video, I was also in charge of the fireworks which Sam and I procured with a bit of luck in Krabi (of course we had Justin's friend Ott who is a local helping us). It's against the law to sell them but we got lucky in the Chinatown area of the town and I guess we looked harmless.

Justin and Kelly (not looking at the camera)

Everyone else (not looking at the camera)

Sunset on the beach, because the sea is so shallow the tide goes was out.

Large Singha please ... used to be about a dollar a bottle.

E did well with the traveling, late nights, meeting new people, crawling in the sand, wearing cute dresses, drinking fresh fruit shakes, swimming in the pool, and hanging out under the chairs.

The wedding itself was idyllic ... in the overhang of a cave with the sunset behind the limestone atolls.

Me and Fred were the official video and photographers ... Elizabeth with Justin's mom.

E was the honorary flower girl and everyone else wore white.

Sam and Heather Mom and E

That's Fred with the happy couple .. he got some great pics I bet!

The reception ....

Rock lobster nice details

Flower girl with bib ... and attitude! "what's up!?"

We also bumped into Aaron, Megan and Owen, who loves kisses. Can't wait to see them again in Vietnam in a few weeks.

Sea kayaking with the underwater video camera ...

The happy couple!!

Marriage .... in Dhaka!

2009-03-24T06:04:00.000-07:00

Before flying to Thailand for the wedding Justin and Kelly decided to officially tie the knot in Bangladesh. The embassy requires that an official sign the papers of the marriage certificate. The embassy gave them some phone numbers and they contacted a tiny Christen church. They could have had the minister come to the house or just sign the papers but they opted to have the wedding at the church. This must have been very surprising to the minister because they pulled out all the stops for the wedding .. of course Justin and Kelly had to buy some sweets and a few liters of coke for the masses that attended. The convoy of cars wound back behind the main road passed smaller and smaller alleys. Turning around did not become an option but eventually we pulled up to a very modest little church right next to a huge mosque.

On display in the plastic chairs

Justin and Kelly ...... Elizabeth just loves a wedding

The kids were fasinated

The ceremony was partially in Bangla but mostly he spoke in a fabulously broken English. There was quite a bit of "what he say?" but in all it was a lovely experience. After the ceremony and the sticky sweets and coke, we went to our favorite Indian restaurant Bukarra for a few drinks.

All the women wore saris ...

Heather and Beckly Cate and I

The happy couple!

Murder on the SS Titania

2009-03-20T23:20:00.000-07:00

We were recently invited (by a fellow teacher) to a murder mystery dinner with three other couples. A 1920's cruise on the SS Titania bound for America in which the captain has been.. murdered ... during an exclusive dinner in his cabin. Hair and make-up were at 5:30 and done by one of the hosts Tanya, a Russian women married to an American whose house we were at. It was a huge house decorated mainly by large plasma TVs and other expensive electronics. They were in every room including the kitchen and bar. The make-up came out stunning and the story is played out.

We were to dress and act the part from the moment dinner started. I played Bjorn Riche, a silver spoon youth with a chip on his shoulder and Carrie played a writer of sordid mysteries who was escaping her past. Play was a set of rounds with questions to ask and answers to give or to keep secret. Everyone played their parts well but the accents (a French couple, Russian women, and a Scotsman) were a bit to muddle through. Regardless of the accents the story itself became a twisted and convuluted mess of details so that no one really knew who the murder was. When the murdered was finally named the motive (and we all had motive) and evidence was thin. There really was no hard evidence or a trail of clues. In the end everyone basically guessed. I got lucky and guessed correctly and won absolutely nothing. Apparently, as murder dinners go, this one was lame. They are planning the next already.

After the dinner the crowd thinned and we got to know the real host (the American), who changed into a Harley Davison leather vest and shorts and proceeded to rock the house with Y&T at an insane volume that Carrie would have never agree to. I now understand the greatness that is Y&T, at least I did at the time. Then we discussed (over the increasing ear splitting volume) artists like Iron Maiden, RUSH, and . We watched a recent Rio concert on his obscenely large tv, played some mean air guitar, and discussed Y&T some more. Then out comes the Russian vodka chilled and poured not once, not twice, but four times in as many minutes.

HELP ME!!!!

At the fifth shot, Carrie rescued me and we left or home with almost 8 ounces of vodka, consumed within about 15 minutes, settling in my stomach.

More Better Good photos from the host click here

Let There Be Mold!

2009-03-09T17:25:00.000-07:00

So living in Dhaka has it's advantages and disadvantages. Case in point was when our tub started flooding (clogged drain maybe) and then leaked into the walls and caused a huge moldy area of the two walls opposite the tub. Perfectly identical moldy patches right where the tub was. The advantage is they agreed come fix it either immediately or wait 4 weeks till Spring Break. Carrie opted for immediately and we had a new tub and newly done walls (sans the color) with a few days. The disadvantage is that when they installed the new tub they forgot to level it correctly and the edges are like gutters that pool and spill water onto the floor despite repeated attempts to seal it. It completely encapsulates the idea of two steps forward and one step back. At least they fixed the mold .... for now.

YouTube Woes

2009-03-08T23:19:00.000-07:00

Ok .. fine ... I have now had two videos pulled off of youtube because of copyright infringement. One Godzilla movie they just pulled straight off after I received an email that "fire, water, burn" by the Bloodhound Gang was used without permission. The second time there was no actual email and they just muted the audio to another movie (Godzilla again). Is there a Godzilla conspiracy or is there actually someone watching videos (even badly homemade ones) and scanning the over 13 hours of video that is uploaded to youtube EVERY MINUTE for copyrighted material.

Fine .. you got me ..

What do I do? Re-upload and run the risk of severe penalties? Or play it safe and deprive the 2-3 people that watch the Godzilla trilogy each month? Any suggestions? Anyone ever had this happen?

Oh and now Bangladesh has banned the mentioned site for posting an audio tape of the shouting match between the BDR and ruling party. Just a quick reminder that we aren't in Kansas anymore. http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=79064

Questions We Ask or Comments in Traffic

2009-03-01T16:08:00.000-08:00

What's that ricksaw going to do?
What's that microbus going to do?
Roll up the windows and lock the doors, we are coming to DIT2 circle. (the large traffic circle)
I wish I had some crackers.
What's that babytaxi (tuk-tuk), bus, walker, motorcycle going to do?!?
Push through the crowd! Push through them! Use that van to block the flow!
Anyone need a map? Anyone? (there are a plethora of map sellers at every corner and they canswear you need one)
Look out ... Pee'rs..
We've moved 20 feet in the last 10 minutes!
Oh oh oh oh ... he IS not coming over!?!?
He won't hit you, his car is too nice!
We need a vacation! We really need a vacation.
I need to use my horn more.
You can't pass more than three rickshaws at a time.
This WAS a two way street this morning!?
I wish I had a glove box full of rocks ....
Justin use your whistle.
Just nick him with your side view mirror.
I love having a driver.
We are getting passed by rickshaws!!!
Remember Karma ...
And the most often heard for iffy expat drivers "I only take lefts!"

Conversation with Das (our Driver)

2009-02-25T05:48:00.000-08:00

Carrie: You hear on news fighting in Dahmundi? Shootings?
Das: Hm?
Carrie: Today shootings in city? Hear on news?
Das: mm Hm
Carrie: What happened? Is it safe now?
Das: mm Hm
Carrie: Any problems now?
Das: Yes. 9 died. Army men.
Carrie: Sargent died?
Das: Mm hm
Matt: very bad.
Das: yes.
Carrie: still fight? now?
Das: No. 9AM stop maybe 12:30. Maybe curfew tonight.
Carrie/Matt: Ahh. Hmm.

Now I Can Survive in Dhaka

2009-02-18T16:56:00.000-08:00

A recent and surprising addition to the US Commissary .... it's a taste explosion! This is specifically dedicated to Kerstyn whom introduced me to all the goodness that is Nerd's Rope. I'm sure Willy Wonka did not actually think of it himself but more likely bought out a some really high dude in his basement that was messing around licking gummy bears and sticking them in nerds. I unveiled this product with awe in my 3rd grade class room to cries of "is it possible?" "say you'll share" and "ahhhhhh" ... then I ate it in front of them. They were being bad.

Dhaka Construction: Brickies in Bangladesh

2009-02-09T00:09:00.000-08:00

More Dhaka man powered manual labor in Bangladesh. This guy gets the big taka.

Dhaka Construction

2008-12-28T02:13:00.000-08:00

Building site watching is a hobby for some of the expats here in Dhaka. So many strange and interesting ways to get things done. Rarely do they use machines to do any of the actual building because there is such an abundance of cheap man power. Although, here they are riding up and down on the machine that lays the concrete pylons. There used to be a three story building across the street but the entire structure was dismantled by hand and sledge hammer. Now we have the rare noisy treat of watching the new building go up. We figure it is a private residence because they did not dig out enough space for an apartment, (this is good). What they did dig out filled quickly with the muddy soil that they are building on. The machine in the video is set up multiple times. It might suck out the mud first as it smashes the metal cylinder into the ground but not likely. After the cylinder is buried they fill it with concrete. Next comes all the rebar that is bent and laid by hand.

More to come . . .

Eid al-Adha

2008-12-10T08:58:00.000-08:00

8"The Festival of Sacrifice" Eid ... Eid Mubarak! For the first time in 7 years we stayed in our host country during the Eid al-Adha festivities and sacrifices. We'd always heard about the sheep in Syria and blood running red in the streets but always fled in order to get our vacation time. Not this time. In Bangladesh the families that can afford sacrifice cows (100USD) ... and boy there were a lot. 5 million slaughtered ... I'm sure there are crazy numbers like that all over the world but here it's all on in the streets. I've been told that in other more developed countries this is all done by the butcher behind closed doors but here the butcher travels down the street visiting the houses. In all it's a very festive and giving time. The actual slaughtering of the cows had a very serious and religious tone and is done quickly, humanely, and cleanly. It was interesting to see the animals paraded around, some even decorated mildly. Since Indian Hindu's revere cows, we often joke that they should have run for the border but apparently there used to be big trade in cows during this time and since ties have suffered between the two countries there was a ban on Indian cows ... These are supposedly all Bangladeshi cows ... from where I do not know.

The sacrifice is to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ishmal as an act of obedience to God. At the time of sacrifice, God's name is recited along with the offering statement and a supplication as Muhammad said. According to the Quran, the meat is divided into three shares, one share for the poor, one share for the relatives and neighbors and the last to keep to oneself. A large portion of the meat must be given towards the poor and hungry people so they can all join in the feast which is held on Eid al-Adha. The remainder is cooked for the family celebration meal in which relatives and friends are invited to share. There are strict rules on the animal, which must meet age and quality standards. The sacrifice is conducted on the day after the pilgrims on the Hajj (annual pilgrimage to Mecca) descend from Mount Arafat. Please check wikipedia.com for all facts and figures.

Thanksgiving Traffic

2008-12-08T17:52:00.001-08:00

So Thanksgiving was a while day affair here in Dhaka. I got to play flag football in the "turkey bowl" (yeah me and flag football??! and I was a lineman for the most part). There were 4 teams playing and I got a cool jersey with my name on it. And I was blocking a 400 pound Samoan man.

Also that Thursday ,one of the two main political parties (the BNP) was selecting their MPs candidates which made traffic horrendous. People were being bused in, streets were closed, and it was general chaos in the small diplomatic zone we live in. The mentality of Bangli drivers, rickwash wallas, people on bikes, walkers, cow carts, and what ever else is fit to roam the streets is this: if there is a gap then fill it regardless of the fact it's the other lane or that it might causes gridlock. Get there ... and get there fast and before the guy in front of you. It took hours to travel a couple kilometers. At one point I found my van on a street with barracades blocking the way (bamboo poles and lots of armed gaurds) cars were still streaming in behind and the guards were telling people to turn around. Within seconds there were cars pointed in every direction and no one was going anywhere. I rolled down my window and gestured the international sign for "what the hell do i do?" the gaurd smacked a car in front of my and made him back up and waved me through the barricade. I was the only car driving down road 86 where the BNP headquarters are and went through 3 more barricades. TV crews, mobs of people, lots of guns and gaurds and rapid action battalion (RAB) troops. Luckily there was more traffic on the other side and I made it to the first game just a little late.

The holidays!!

2008-12-07T03:14:00.000-08:00

Since we are resigned to and accepted that we are spending the first Christmas at home (in Dhaka) in seven years of being overseas. We are actually looking at it as a blessing. Plane tickets are still outrageous (750 to fly to Bangkok ... 2 hours away), packing, airports, hotels, beaches, blue water, fancy cocktails with little umbrellas, rest and relaxation....wait ... shake it off! We are staying put and are excited about it. We think E's first X-mas should be home affair and we are doing something we have not done in 7 years ... getting a Christmas tree! So we went to nursery road and strolled the mosquito infested lanes to look for a suitable replacement for the traditional tree.

Here we decide on a what we are calling a Charlie Brown tree which they 'cleaned and washed' for us for no extra charge. The tree cost 1200 taka (about 17 bucks ).

We thought that we'd be able to jump out and pick one up quickly but we nevertheless walked from nursery to nursery asking them to pull out their trees and spin them so we could get a better look. We completely baffled them sellers: " this is a good tree" , "nice tree nice tree" and "what price you pay". We tried to explain what the tree was for but that was completely lost in translation. After as much shuffling from tree to tree we decided on the one pictured. So it's Christmas in Dhaka for the new McEwen family trio. We are decorating it and enjoying beginning family traditions. We looking forward to almost 4 weeks of baby time, video editing, recording music, quilting, lounging, not working, catching up on DVDs, sleeping in, and Bangladeshi elections. Merry holidays .. more to come.

Breakies in Dhaka

2008-12-04T03:58:00.000-08:00

I thought for future reference it would be interesting to look back a typical Saturday morning breakfast at the American Club. Sometime after taking the picture I realized how stupid it sounded but thought I'd share any ways. As you can see we are partial to the 'home fries' and a Gilbert's is a kick ass version of an egg McMuffin. Not bad for prices for a leisurely Saturday morning breakfast.

Power in Dhaka

2008-11-05T07:59:00.000-08:00

Tonight the power went off, which is normally not a bad thing with the UPS to keep an Uninterrupted Power Supply (acronyms!) and a generator that kicks in about 30 seconds later. No resetting the DVD or other minor inconveniences like that. But lately there's been a problem with the generator in which it either fails to start up at all or it revs up and the whole apartment flickers. Even though the generator is two floors below us, it makes an extremely loud noise. Tonight it revved over and over with the lights fading to black and then returning to full brightness at least 20 times. My fear is that it's going to send a lethal set of voltage through the sub par wiring in the apartment and blow or fry everything electronic. After I sat staring at the computer screen and watching the lights fade on and off for a few moments, I finally decided to move to a safe distance to see what would happened. Luckily nothing exploded and the power return shortly but it does stand to remind me that we live in Dhaka. (I guess some Californians could relate with the rolling brownouts)

Fish markets?

2008-11-04T07:49:00.000-08:00

This morning when I walked down into the parking garage, I noticed a smell that I connected to walking through a fish market. Not entirely a horrible smell but one that was odd to find in the garage (or car park as they refer to it here). You know that wet icy slightly rotting fishy smell? Coming down our street after school today we not only got a huge concentrated whiff of something much more sinister and truly gaggable (?) through the AC. Appearantly they are sorting a HUGE pile of garbage on the corner. Rotting leaves and other trash in a big pile with people digging in it.

Vacation Snacks

2008-11-03T05:43:00.000-08:00

Another plus of living overseas is getting to taste all the sweet potato chip flavors. You think blue cheese and salsa Doritos are funky ... how about Nori Seaweed and Salmon Teriyaki Lay's.

or just plain old chicken with 25% lower saturated fat (they still use trans fats here). They really do "taste like chicken" ... Carrie couldn't stomach them but a little BBQ sauce and mmmm.

Mum's the Word

2008-11-01T06:37:00.000-07:00

We fill the ice cubes with bottled water. I could boil water but that puts another step between me and my cold frosty drinks. The preferred water of choice is MUM's and we are not even a 100% sure that is clean.

Apartment Decorations

2008-11-01T05:06:00.000-07:00

An engagement party for Jason meant that the apartment was decorated with Christmas lights. They hung down the stair well and littered the apartment. It was a nice touch in many ways but since we have not been home for Christmas in the last 6 years and we miss out on all the lights, it brought a strong nostalgia. We definitely have to get a tree this year.

mmmm halloween

2008-10-29T01:19:00.000-07:00

Last night I took my daughter trick or treating for the very first time, I ate a miniature Reese's cup with the brown paper still on it. I only realized this after I had popped it in my my mouth and had gotten in a few good chews. Dilemma? Not at all. But I could have sworn that I unwrapped the foil and brown paper (with tasks like that you are practically an automaton) and felt I was being punished for breaking the diet I'd started after Bali (fried calamari). But when I told Evan he admitted that the one he'd just opened had had two brown papers too. So I guess I can fall on the either side of this one. Whether there were two layers or I my mind was just so intent on getting the chocolate fix that it skipped a crucial step in the unwrapping process, I may never know. In all the mix of peanut butter, chocolate, and waxy brown paper was still appetizing. At least my brain remembered to remove the foil ..... zzzzap! (cheesy onomatopoeia courtesy of 3rd grade writing instructor)

Bali

2008-10-24T19:17:00.000-07:00

Bali for the October break helped to remind us of some of the benefits of teaching in Bangladesh. It's the only island in Indonesia where a majority of the inhabitants are Hindu and is shows from the very first taxi ride. People are overly friendly ... well that might be because tourism is the main income for most the population but it's still nice to see smiling faces everywhere you look. There are little offerings everywhere ... this drivers was for prosperity and health.

The hotel (timeshare) was a nice three story building in the Balinese style. We were on the ground floor and were going to try and move up to get a balcony but decided with Elizabeth the ground floor was easier to negotiate.

Even though the place was full it never seemed crowded. Other hotels on the beach had crowded beaches with chairs right next to each other. Ours was spaced out nicely. It was hot but the shade was perfect with nice breezes and pool and beach side food and drink service.

For Elizabeth's first beach vacation it was a winner. Although she slept most of the time when were were outside she did play in the sand and pool a bit.

We also hung out with Kelly and Justin, they were down the beach at another posh resort, that had more of the young jet set crowd. We contemplated the things that make a good beach, resort, and pool. We decided we are kind of beach resort snobs ... swim up bar? nice sandy bottom? clear or blue waters? lagoon pool? it seems we are still looking for the perfect resort but we decided we've got extremely close at times.

After having everyone go bananas at the sight of E (this woman literally snatched her from my hands and had someone taking video of it ... after a minute I asked if the crazy lady would please give the baby back and it took a few more) and touching and grabbing for her. Carrie started putting her in the Baby Bjorn to baby block them. It was especially annoying when she was asleep. Though I will note that eating out with Elizabeth has become a new game of trade the baby. You eat, I entertain, I eat, you entertain. Additional thanks to Justin and Kelly for the extra hands ... you cut the holding time to a fourth. At one point early in the trip a waitress asked Carrie to hold her and she said no ... at the end of the trip a second waitress asked and was given Elizabeth after an affirming nod from myself.

100% FAN!

Coming soon: the visit to the monkey forest!

GlitterBall

2008-10-17T02:05:00.000-07:00

Glitter ball was last weekend and the group went with the "Under the Sea" theme. I really wanted to perform and do a spoof of the Little Mermaid song with bits like "The ice caps are truly melting .. in Dhaka we are getting wet .. they say it's cause "global warming" but Bush says that is a mistake". Well it was all voted down and in a way it was nice not to have all the pressure of the performance ... everyone was much more relaxed. I will say that the costumes were kickin' and people went out of control ... we should have won best dressed but didn't ... it's all a political game anyhow.

A motley crew of underwater animals ..

I made Carrie a shell hat that looked more like ice cream and I was supposed to be a fly 70's Neptune or Poseidon (couldn't quite figure out my motivation) with a denim leisure suit.

Sanne's wire framed seahorse and Kelly as sea "weed"

Justin's fly sail fish (we have the same tailor) and Leon and Elaine as shark boy and starfish girl

Ian's insane puffer fish and Stella's sea hag

Sara's turtle and Issac's narwhal

Jason as the hammerhead ... and Tina's Clown fish

Lauren as a shipwreck and Stephanie as "waves"
I guess this stuff is pretty self-explanatory ...........

Lee Ann as a jelly fish and a shy oyster (Tracy)

(the 3 interns) Amorous dolphins on Beckly and tuna on Jimmy

I pretty sure that's NOT Hitler dancing with Superwoman but anything is possible at the GlitterBall ... the Hashers did a shameless country song act about boobs and dongs (anything less and they would not be hashers)

"we are two wild and crazy guys"

Alice in wonderland

Dave and Carol's group recreated the Sargent Pepper's album cover.

Rick and Heidi danced to the chicken dance and one by one they all expired from bird flu ... very simple and clever.

Last Years Steve Irwin Perfomance

Support starving writers and read a real review for Lulu:
http://landolulu.blogspot.com/2008/10/glitterati.html

More photos of the Ball:
Sarah's Photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/homeplacedrive/

Lee Ann's Photos
http://picasaweb.google.com/lamilagra/GlitterBall2008#

Cock-a-Doodle-shutup!

2008-10-16T20:21:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it was for Eid or Durga Puja but there's another celebratory gift rooster next door, just like last year, causing all kinds o' ruckus every morning. It seemed like I remember it being in the two week range before it suddenly and mysteriously silenced. I sometimes wonder where that rooster went (to live with friends out in the country?) ... maybe this its the same one coming back to visit. We'll we are leaving for Bali soon, so I expect the rooster to start packing for greener pastures so I can sleep in when I get back.

Follow That Rickshaw!

2008-10-15T03:05:00.000-07:00

Looking out the window,
watching all the people go,
feeling the congestion flow,
why can't that rickshaw go ...
glad I'm not driving.

Subtitles

2008-10-13T04:43:00.000-07:00

Watching bootleg movies is a two-tiered enjoyment as you never know the quality or hidden surprises half way through a movie: strangers talking in the seats in front, laughing that is delayed because of it takes Asian audiences time to read the subtitles, sudden scrolling of messages of warning (for awards purposes only) , or cuts to black and white, but the real fun is the subtitles which can range from bad translations to having absolutely nothing to do with the action. U-571 subtitles began at the titles with a conversation someone was having on the phone
"hey!" "how's it going?" "Yeah, I'm going out tonight" "where's everyone at?" ... I left it on as long as I could stand it but always wondered where it went. I just became too distracting. Another of my favorites is The Four Feathers where "whore house" was subtitled as "waffle house". Tonight we watched the Forbidden Kingdom and I jotted a few down for amusement purposes ... I'll have to bring some home this summer to enjoy.

Jackie Chan and Jet Li are fighting and one of them busts out the praying mantis
"Praying mantis? Good for killing bugs but not tigers."
subtitles say:
"Religious blankets? Good bugs of hunting. nontigers"

After taking a beating the kid states:
"I've had enough"
subtitles:
"I'm already full up"

Sometimes there is meaning making in the words:
"she was assassinated by an arrow from the warlords bow"
becomes:
"mother that assassinated by the shoots with the arrow of the arc of the general"

Sometimes I think they just can't figure it out:
"kill them"
becomes
"mjtenlios"

Wow ... wow ... wow

2008-10-08T06:39:00.000-07:00

I just learned something from Lauren (an amazingly interesting high school English teacher from Chicago) that absolutely blows my mind. Literally I'm wordless.

The author of the ACB? In Dhaka? Teaching me educational strategies?

Read more here ... and Lauren, as a real licensed writer, gives a fabulous account and another perspective of living in the big B. When you get to Wikipedia be sure to click on his name to get more information. PASSION!!!!!

http://landolulu.blogspot.com/2008/09/passion.html

Night Ultimate in Dhaka

2008-10-05T02:59:00.000-07:00

Ultimate is now a night activity on the AISD artificial grass field (one of the only of it's kind in the city) and is a nice outlet for the crazier expats. It's still very hot and humid at night here and there's quite a lot of running around. Europeans that normally play soccer are usually breathing heavily in a short time. These sweaty blurry pictures are a first attempt at night action shots.

SMART Boards

2008-09-30T05:23:00.000-07:00

There are a few SMART Boards at the school and this year I've tried my best to expose the kids to them. Out of the three times I've taken the kids into the library room that's it's set up in, it's frozen up exactly 10-15 minutes into the use of it. Projector, board, and laptop all being issues and then I spend 10-15 minutes trying to get it working again. The kids have dubbed it the "DUMB board" and say "it's lost it's brain" and several other unfunny jokes and comments that didn't help while I was trying to get the stupid technology to work. I told the kids I'm giving it one more chance and then I'm waiting another 5 years. Ohh and that's Gwen the California valley girl in the picture ... the kids don't understand her too old for her age language and attitude.

4 Day Weekend!!!

2008-09-29T17:05:00.001-07:00

Normally our weekend is Friday and Saturday and this coming Thursday we had off for the Eid holiday. But there was a chance that Eid would fall on Wednesday depending on the sighting of the moon on Tuesday night. The buzz at school is that we might have a 4 day weekend but would have to wait to get that sms or email on Tuesday night. The overseas staff remained positive while the Muslims at the school told us it would never happen. Imagine working Christmas Eve and waiting until the evening to see if you are going to celebrate Christmas the next day. Walter Plotkin, our wise leader, has seen fit to preemptively give us Wednesday off. There was literally dancing and shouts of joy heard throughout the halls as the news filtered around. My kids screamed and spontaneously broke into song and dance. I was a good day! Especially for all the support staff that have to shop and travel long distances to celebrate Eid with their families in their villages.

GGGGGGGGGRRRRRILLLLL!!!!!!

2008-09-24T16:55:00.000-07:00

Next time I'll actually show you some grilling of FOOD!

More Woes

2008-09-23T16:35:00.000-07:00

The van CD player stopped working ... well actually it's just being picky. Out of the case of CD's in the car it will only play Paul Simon and Spin Doctors so far. That's OK because we just found that car tape player adapter that I thought we'd never need again and I'd almost thrown out.

Car Stereo Woes

2008-09-18T03:27:00.000-07:00

The stereo in the van was not playing cds and the FM dial did not go above 90.0 (BBC news is 100.0 FM) so the school was going to replace it. The brand new stereo still does not go above 90FM or play CDs. Kind of a waste of time huh? I did find out later that it will play some original cds. Well at least can listen to the Wallflowers and we have music for the long ride home.

Mosquitos Out

2008-09-11T08:38:00.000-07:00

The new bed and mosquito net are in place and so much larger and comfortable than the old version. The 'old' bed felt like you were being smothered under a gauze bandage but now we feel like we are laying in a gauze cube ... of sorts. It is a modified sled bed ... not that seld-y at all actaully but it was made from a two photos I printed off the internet and I told the woodman "Poban" that I wanted the front of this one and the back of the other. "No Problem! You will have maximun satisfaction!" he said and at the price it was a bargain. Mosquitos do have a harder time slipping in to the folds. The "best' Bengali mattress I purchased was like sleeping on coconut husks (which they actaully use to stuff mattresses) but with the foam pad and matress topper that came in the shipment all have been made comfy.

English Dave in Dhaka

2008-09-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it but someone we actually know came to Dhaka for a conference (He's in the British Foreign Service ... and i'm pretty sure he's a spook) . We were able to touch base with Dave for the week he was here. He was staying in the Westin which is right around the corner from us and was treated to the BHC (British High Commission Club .. I t) but Carrie and I also showed him the ARA. There was also the Thursday night premier of G3: The Wrath of Godzilla at our apartment (it was well received ... we even watched the deleted scenes and the 1st Godzilla). Then I went into old downtown Dhaka for the 1st time just to prove the reason I usually give of why I have not been down there before. It was an interested experience although I think Dave and Caroline thought "old Dhaka" would be charming like 'old Damascus' we were so wrong. The experience did confirm that it will be a long time before going back. Maybe the next time someone visits. In all it was an interesting (back stressful) experience. We mainly went to Bongo Bazaar to do a little shopping, be followed and stared at by the masses, and sweat copiously. Ohh and I got three t shirts that don't fit for a little over a dollar a piece.

This woman followed us around as a 'guide' to the bazaar and was quite helpful in making sense of the maze inside the market. She also 'helped' bargain and thankfully kept other 'guides' away. Dave and Caroline had there own 'guides' .... mine had a kickin' unibrow and I only had to pay her 100 taka.

Year of the Rat!

2008-09-08T04:08:00.000-07:00

There is a bit of a rat problem in school...mostly in my classroom. The bearers (bearers=janitors) at school first tried to catch the rats using carpenters glue that they spread out on a board around cookies and soap (the most recent snack of choice for these rats). The rats walked right through it, ate the bait, and continued walking across the glue. I think they are more like cats than rats. Most recently they've switched to snappy traps and have caught 4 (yes 4...in my room!!) so far with this method. This afternoon one of my students quietly came to me and said in a very soft voice "I saw a rat" Another student spoke up as well "I saw something very dangerous!". (We are talking about how our senses keep us safe...he must be picking it up!) We shuffled the kids out of the room as the bearers checked for the rat....by this time it was long gone. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I prefer cockroaches to rats skittering across the classroom floor. Yikes!
So it's more traps tonight.

A Ride to (Before Ramadan)

2008-09-06T17:55:00.000-07:00

Carrie fired up the camera and I commentated for the short ride to school. This was before Ramadan started.

Chopping Broccolli or Grinding Jewerly

2008-09-04T11:28:00.000-07:00

During the summer my gracious mother let me mess around with her diochromatic glass she uses to make jewelery and boy was it fun ... especially using the grinder in the Texas humidity.

Happy Ramadan!!

2008-09-02T04:24:00.001-07:00

Today is the first day of Ramadan and although traffic is bad on the mile it takes to commute home .... we never expected it to be this bad. after traveling approximately 100 yards from the school traffic was at a stand still. Carrie suggested walking and after another five minutes of going nowhere I agreed (got to get home for some baby time!). The walk was a pleasant mix of aromas, eyefuls of staring, beautiful lakeside scenery, and more strong aromas. Carrie and I had never walked before and it took about 15 minutes .... the driver showed up an hour later. Carrie is pointing to the traffic on the bridge we'd have to wrassle (texan) with.

The Club

2008-09-01T03:36:00.000-07:00

Breakfast by the pool on a weekend morning? The three-story building is the back has a restaurant on the 1st floor, a pub on the second and the "banana cabana" on the top.

Lush and green all year round!

The pool restaurant and tennis courts.

Warm chicken and bacon salad and Carrie and a BBQ bacon chicken burger!

Shopping for Uncle Sam

2008-09-01T03:32:00.000-07:00

Here's an idea what shopping in the commissary looks like and taken with a hidden camera. There are a five aisles like this and recently they have been stocked with all that is Americana. Magic Shell? Cheese Puffs? Apple Jacks? All possible!

Our New Driver

2008-08-31T07:20:00.000-07:00

Even though our old driver Rafiq was an extremely careful driver (people riding in our car would laugh at the way he went over speed bumps), when we needed to get somewhere fast he would go, cut people, cars, and rickshaws off, and do the crazy. Our new driver Das (pronounced Dash) is similar except he did not go when he needed to last night and I ended a bit miffed at him. With Elizabeth screaming bloody murder, he let rickshaw after rickshaw pass on a critical left turn (remember our left turn is your right turn ... very simple). In Dhaka it's push in or never get in ... after we got home, I told him that was unacceptable and Rafiq would not have let ithappen. I really don't think he understood what I was saying but I apologized the next day and gave him a free Emirates Airlines bathroom bag (we had five of them). I think he is very confused but seemed very pleased with the gift.

Here's a Little One

2008-08-29T15:47:00.000-07:00

Even though they are completely harmless they still scare the willies out of me! Carrie filmed and then killed this one.

Bearers and Stairs

2008-08-28T19:09:00.000-07:00

We have a great bearer/cook (bearer=maid). His name is Alum and he is a hard worker. Last week he fixed our freezer door with some wire so we could start storing food in that part again. His most recent task was cleaning the stairs outside our apartment. When we came home there was the smell of bleach hanging about and our stairs were the cleanest they've been. Yesterday the bearer for the family on the first floor was scrubbing their stairs. Alum said that all the bearers in the building were talking about him and grumbling because they now had to clean like he did. Apparently he uses sand paper to get the tiles so clean! Make them work Alum!

CPR (on the weekend)

2008-08-16T03:31:00.000-07:00

So it was decided (and I think it's a great idea) to have all the staff at AISD have first aid and CPR training. This was two sessions that were three hours each. One was done during on in-service time and the other on the weekend before school started .... and no breakfast! Well besides being confident in preforming CPR, getting intimate with Shirely (picture here), and learning how to clear the scene ... the most memorable item was our instructor Ed Jones story about a javelin that impaled a official which someone prematurely pulled out and caused his intestines to shoot out the wound. So remember ..

Sushi in Dhaka

2008-08-11T03:22:00.000-07:00

The best sushi in Dhaka is at Sumdados is prepared by Filipino chefs. They wait staff while slow and easily confused are always happy to see us (we tip well). And apparently they use "real" wasabi ... I've been told that other restaurants use a chili based "fake" wasabi.

Suitcases

2008-07-30T22:32:00.000-07:00

As international teachers living in a country where alcohol is hard to come by, we usually take visiting the duty free shop very seriously and on more than one occasion break duty laws by bringing in more than our allotted 2 bottle maximum. I even know someone (name withheld in order to protect them from the Bengali Duty Authority search) that brought in 20+ bottles of spirits one time. But this blog isn't about rum and bulk wine ... it's about meat. A friend that (I'm not sure it's smuggling though) brings in bulk meat. Sausages, whole fish, pork shoulder, steak fillets, haggis (give it away?) and (here's why I'm blogging this) skate .... yes a whole string ray wing. It's in his freezer ... I saw it. I remain thoroughly amazed at his stock of meat products.

Back home

2008-07-22T22:31:00.000-07:00

Back in Dhaka! Ahh the comfort of the smells and sounds ... well at least we are back in our own space.

There's Always Room for Bulk Sparklers and Snakes

2008-07-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

Light writing has been around since the chinese invented sparklers

I think these are the night before we left ... I was actually worried about testing for gunpowder at the airport and having to submit to a body cavity search.

Here my father tries the three sparkler tribute!

The wind kicked up on the beach ..

King of Kong

2008-07-18T19:18:00.000-07:00

Even though we have bootleg DVD's in Dhaka, there is a limit to the more low budget documentaries we can get and which I so love to watch. Being summer, I love to catch up. King of Kong being one of them this summer. Although Dave blogged about Billy Mitchell's scandalizing performance. (I watched all the DVD extras and also went online to see what happened next) What really blew my mind was that there was really a Mappy champion out there somewhere. Sure Asteriods, Centipede, and Pac-Man but Mappy?

Super High Me

2008-07-15T19:16:00.000-07:00

Another off the shelf documentary about comedian Doug Benson who goes sober (no pot or alcohol) for 30 days and then does 30 days of constant smoking. Along the way he takes the SAT and does medical and psychological tests during both phases. Pretty interesting results ... and my parents sat through the whole thing too.

Theater

2008-07-14T11:41:00.000-07:00

There are some really interesting play companies in Houston and one of our favorites The Infernal Bride Groom Productions went bankrupt a couple of years ago and with it Tamarie Cooper's crazy autobiographical musical productions (she put on ten of them). Dancing bacon, time-traveling sit-n-spins, singing cocktails, or whatever came out of her mind or life would come to life on stage. Well ... they reformed into the Catastrophic Theater and we went to see The Tamalie Cooper Show, which was a more mature married and wanting a kid Tamalia ... that still had dancing sperm, a heaven and hell battle with dieting, health, and junk food (complete with golden exercycle entering on the shoulders of angels during a symphonic climax), and her husband being played by an short overweight gay man and her dog being played by a tall man with a hand puppet.

Extenze

2008-06-28T23:25:00.000-07:00

I guess being out of the country I miss lots of new medicinal improvements and their marketing campaigns. Well I saw this late night commercial for this product called Extenze that 'extends' (clever huh?) a 'certain part of the male body' ... they constantly skate around the actual 'part' the product was intended for in multiple creative ways ... I think it would be funny if they were actually talking about another 'certain part' of the body. Insert.

Eight Happy Years

2008-06-18T07:23:00.000-07:00

For our 8th Wedding Anniversary I took Carrie to see Iron Man and then went straight home. I mistakenly thought that the 8th wedding anniversary gift was iron. We were going to see the M Night Shayamalan movie but "the baby" was not ready to sleep. I know Iron Man is not as romantic as The Happening, but she's always had a thing for Robert Downey Jr. or so I thought (it's actually Vinn Diesel she likes but I thought Jeff Bridges was quite fetching sporting the evil shaved head and beard look) . June 17th 2008

Speed Stacking 'Relay'

2008-06-17T10:30:00.000-07:00

Thank God for the ingenious toy marketing guru that came up with this to help keep these kids off the street and getting beat up for being ultra nerdy. Or could this 'bound for Olympic competition' activity be corrupted by performance enhancing drugs too? Speed stacking cups? Who came up with? It has to be a homeschooling PE activity or a Tupperware conspiracy?

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T15:41:00.001-07:00

Happy Father's Day!

Now this greeting card holiday has a little more of a significant meaning to me, even though it seems now that everyday is father's day. Well ... I still deserve a card and some cheese cake once a year just because.

Deadliest Catch

2008-06-14T15:24:00.000-07:00

We were watching Deadliest Catch, the do-or-die crabbing reality show when I remembered that a friend of mine and I were going to try and work on the fishing fleet in Alaska for summer employment during college. I think he actually paid $25 for the catalog of the ships and information. Although it would have been fun freezing to death, working 20 hour shifts, playing with dangerous sharp instruments (they were jobs like grinder and fish masher) and of course smelling like ripe fish, we decided that it probably was not the greatest idea.

Until Recently a Father Tip #1

2008-06-13T16:59:00.000-07:00

Nursing bra pads make excellent absorbent drink coasters also.

Parking Garage Karma

2008-06-11T10:14:00.000-07:00

During our hospital stay we parked the car in the garage. We left Wednesday night after Carrie was discharged for a few hours and we went to see all the family congregating at the Farthing house but did not think about paying for parking until we were at the gate and he was asking for $20. On a whim I decided to act surprised that they did not take credit cards and feign the fact that we actually had a few dollars and some change because I was hoping for an easier way out. I really did not want to park, get out of the car, walk to and use the ATM (which was very very far away). Luckily, they wrote a bill to pay the next time we park and exited. Great! Karma was with us. But leaving the hospital with Elizabeth I decided that I would do the right thing and pay the bill, even though I was pretty sure we could make a clean getaway and that $20 could go to Elizabeth's college fund. I handed the new ticket and the bill to the lady at the gate but was not able to pay her. I was forced to park, make a Bataan death march to the parking garage office and pay the bill, which delayed me a maximum of three minutes. You just can't win with parking garages ...

Elizabeth Arrives!

2008-06-09T09:49:00.000-07:00

We are happy to announce Elizabeth Madeline McEwen was born June 8th at 5:35pm. She was born by cesarean in a rather surprising and rapid fashion. I thought they were going to send her home telling her to come back when she was having real contractions, but Carrie's intuition was right and the baby was a little distressed (high heart beat and less movement). Within the hour there was baby Elizabeth. I have to say she is an adorable 6lbs and 10 ozs. and something like 19 inches (about a foot and a half) but I have not measured her myself. Mom and baby are just fine, more details to follow.

For more pictures visit: Life with Elizabeth

Little Creepy?

2008-06-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

Facebook just announced the the world that I bought Don't Mess With the Zohan tickets on Fandango. Since Carrie bought the tickets under her credit card and in no way connected it with Facebook or my name it's a little disconcerting. It's the greatest marketing and advertising scam to disguise itself as a people networking platform yet. Zohan was only slightly funnier because we lived int the area for four years. I also feel obliged to announce that I've also seen the Indiana Jones movie, Kung-Fu Panda (first five minutes were the most entertaining), and the Narnia movie (so very dark Disney). Any movies I have to see?

Generations

2008-06-07T08:59:00.000-07:00

Last night Carrie's Grandma and mom, Carrie and I went out to Mexican (Casa Azteca ... I know, I know but Grams loves it) for dinner. I took the camera along because I thought it would be a nice to have a generational photo before the baby arrives. Well coming out of the restaurant, Grandma fell and broke her arm. She's doing OK, but I did feet a few pangs of regret for not being more helpful because at the time of the incident I was window shopping at a toy store. Well while waiting for the ambulance, I suddenly remembered the camera and snapped this photo. Carrie said it was tacky but I think it's fairly poignant. Notice everyone laughing or smiling? That's Robin from the restaurant by her knees (she called 911). We were at the same hospital that Carrie will go when the time comes until 1am but Elizabeth decided to let Grandma have her night. Again Grandma remained humorous, elegant and kept her composure as always. She is doing fine. Oh .. and the Mexican food was typically typical.

Best Gift Yet

2008-06-06T08:27:00.000-07:00

Carrie's Grandma came through again with the gift of this glamorous fox wrap. This will really help during those fashion conscious winters in Dhaka.

Have A Great Summer

2008-06-05T10:11:00.000-07:00

The American School of Dhaka is officially off for summer! To all the AISD teachers and friends teaching around the world and in the states, have super safe summer fun and keep in touch! Woo! As my friend Lauren says, "I love my job, but I also love that my job comes with 7-8 weeks of vacation" ... June and July makes it all good! See you in August!

My Mom

2008-06-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to give a shout out to my amazing mother who is in New York this week with two of her high school art students who are being awarded the National Gold Key Award for their art. She is a just a ultra super cool mom. She is also an accomplished artist and fabulous teacher. This is her last year of teaching because she is to retiring to become a full-time grandmother (well not really). Love you MOM!

Athena Glass Jewelry
Visit Houston to see her ceramics ...

Beer .. Sans Baby

2008-06-04T13:25:00.000-07:00

Today we were in Wegmans (an interesting New York grocery store) and they had CascaZilla beer (monstrously hoppy) from the Ithaca Beer company, which sports a imitation Godzilla breathing fiery hops on it (G3: The Wrath of Godzilla). I also added a six pack of Red Stripe but still have to visit Beers of the World to get my Shiner Bock. You might ask "Matthew! Why so much excitement about beer?" Well living in Bangladesh severely restricts choices in almost all categories, including beer. When Carrie and I get back to the states, we usually just wander stores in awe of all the choices. So well ... it's nice to have a variety and ... tasty beer. Next time you are drinking a Joseph Holt Hunmdinger or a King Billy Bitter, remember there are people in Dhaka drinking Heineken ... when they can get it. I will give a shout out to Leon's MIB (Made in Bangladesh), an award winning home brew. Carrie just made me promise to not drink around her Grandma because it will mean us not getting into the highest level of heaven. At least not until after we convert to Mormonism ...

Oh Spacious Skies

2008-06-04T05:16:00.000-07:00

On our way into Rochester not only did I just avoid a large gray squirrel, a tiny field rabbit, and two deer crossing the street, I also drove into what must be the only roundabout in the states on some farm road out in the middle of nowhere. At first Carrie was giving excellent directions and then the next thing I know, BAM I'm going around in circles. Where do they get off putting a completely foreign road implement like a roundabout in America?! We Americans have a right to being stopped at traffic lights in the middle of nowhere for no particular reason! ... I'm pretty sure if you looked hard enough in that area there'd be an Al-Queda training camp close by. Remain vigalent and vary your routes to work!

Games games games

2008-06-03T05:40:00.000-07:00

My sister in law Dori is always in the search for fun, wacky, and rules complicated games. Yesterday we played Quelf, Munchkin Chathulu, and Killer Bunnies. Lots of silliness, group interaction, and backstabbing. I still can't forgive Dori for killing my only bunny when everyone else had several ... she claims it was an extremely 'dangerous' bunny but as the rules were still nebulous to me, I really don't know. Then we played some crazy four deck group solitaire which I think they called squib or squish. I still like Time's Up (uh Mensa Select winna) and Go Fish. I also think making up games would be on my top ten list of dream jobs. http://www.quelf.com/
Killer Bunnies
Steve Jackson Games
Just for giggles here's a list of the Mensa Select Games
Even funnier BoardGameGeek.com comments and their picks

Wildlife

2008-06-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

Carrie's parents live outside of Rochester in a little town called Pittsford. The Erie canal is just outside the main road, we are surrounded with trees, and it's cold, way too cold. With the cottonwood trees (I think ... in Texas we have pine pollen) releasing their floating seeds into the air it's almost like snow in June until you inhale and choke on one. We are also surround by an abundance of wildlife: woodpeckers, chipmunks, raccoons, hummingbirds, lots of other birds that are pretty and I can't name, and lots of deer. I was up one morning and was stunned to see a deer just outside the living room windows. She just turned and watched me. My father-in-law came around the corner and I mentioned the deer and asked if they usually come this close. As he headed outside in his bathrobe, I remembered the camera and ran downstairs. Of course by the time I returned the deer was gone. Apparently they are a big nuisance and eat new tree shoots and flowers. They say people use firecrackers and motion sensing sprinklers, and they have been talking about purchasing a slingshot. My in-laws have already captured, relocated and released at least two chipmunks and a raccoon. I think of the capture and release as a twisted form of animal hazing.

Ceramics and Bluegrass

2008-06-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Carrie and I went with her father to a cool warehouse commune where he takes pottery lessons. They were having a kind of open house trying to raise money for a scholarship they fund. Besides meeting lots of interesting people, one of the teachers also plays in a bluegrass band. So as the banjo, mandolins, and stand up bass were cranking out some sweet bayou music, there were 12 wheels cranking out tea bowls for the fund raiser. I also got to taste a eclectic variety of local beers. My favorite being Caszazilla which had Godzilla on it. I'm currently on a 'beer' hunt (1st grade humor).

Now I Undertand What's Important

2008-05-31T04:34:00.000-07:00

I finally met the doctor who may or may not be delivering the baby (it's a group of OGs (whatzzzz up!) BYN's) , but that's OK because I read that they really don't do that much in the long run anyway(pop a shoulder out, snip a cord, get paid). So I learned that we are on the pathway to birth with a 1/2 cm dilation and some cervical thinning. Oh and I also read an interesting pamphlet on labiaplasty and vaginal reconstruction. I wonder if insurance covers that? It's not like showing showing someone your new boobs .. or is it?

BD Karma

2008-05-29T04:15:00.000-07:00

For her last birthday before becoming a mother Carrie wanted a good steak, something we've watering about in Dhaka all year. Not that there isn't some decent steak in Dhaka, but a real steakhouse steak. We decided to go to a fancy restaurant by the mall (it was recommended) ... but in one of those hard to explain moments ended up walking into Champps ... a sports bar grill. They sat us right next to the door and high chair storage are at a wobbly table. We moved one table to fix the wobbly table. It wasn't the jumbotron TV above us or the noise level was way above my tolerant level for a romantic dinner. The clincher was when I asked for a beer and she ID'ed me. Of course no wallet/no proof. Obviously it's her job to ask, so I began to tell this ridiculous story about Dhaka, wallets, babies, 36 years old and passports ...well ... we walked out ... best decision ever ... Karma works in strange ways. We walked "through the mall" to the Bone Fish Grill, had a candle lit booth (we prefer), the best steak in ages, cloth napkins (oh yeah), Newcastle's Brown Ale (no ID), and a pleasurable birthday dinner. I feel like going back to Champps with my passport ... isn't there any slack for originality anymore?

1st Days of Food

2008-05-28T03:42:00.000-07:00

Taco Bell
Denny's
Subway
Red Robin

I'm not as familiar with this area ... will wait till Texas for Mexican.

Thank You Tracy

2008-05-24T01:46:00.000-07:00

A hearty thanks to Tracy Hill's (a wonderful friend and 5th grade teacher at AISD) and her incredible shopping appetite! Tracy and I went shopping the day I left Dhaka, as she wanted to help me get things for the nursery ... and shop a little for herself. Thank goodness for that. She overspent, I loaned, and she paid me back in USD. I then forgot my wallet in Dhaka (all access to money) but had her cash as a life saver. If my bags had been overweight for the domestic flight I would of been OK. With a little shuffling I came out ok and the money helped to buy sustenance and pseudo-literate reading materials. Thanks Tracy!!!

Forgotten in Dhaka

2008-05-23T04:25:00.000-07:00

Wallet (with drivers license, credit cards, insurance cards)
Sunglasses
Guitar sheet music
Headphones
Expectant Father book (now I have to make it up)
Weeds (we were going to finish the season in the hospital)

Last summer was a packing nightmare with Godzilla 3 being rendered and burned up until the time we left. I consider this year's departure a roaring success.

Come on ...

2008-05-22T09:22:00.000-07:00

In business class they give you noise canceling headphones which makes it very difficult to hear the lady asking if you want more chocolate pettifores.

Schism in the Building

2008-05-20T03:07:00.000-07:00

The lightning rod incident has led to huge changes in the building for the hired help. The gardener (as not officially employed staff he is not eligible for a garage room (cubicle)) has to move out of the building, the family that was in the storage room has to move back to the cubicles, and they are switching out the three guards. I guess Mr Z (our Bangli staff director) was over the drama. Krista and Vinnie (our crazy apartment dog) are leaving the building for greener pastures. I'm leaving so I'll have to update you on the situation when I return.

Lightning Rods

2008-05-16T14:57:00.000-07:00

This is the second time they have stole the copper lightning rods off the roof this school year. The two thoughts are that 1. it's an inside job or 2. someone is jumping over from the next building's roof. With the inside job theory there is some thought that there exists a battle between the three guards and the family living in the garage. Some strange power play soap opera. I''m just glad they left the satellite dish.

Ahhhh ... LSOH opening night!

2008-05-07T23:55:00.000-07:00

Someone sent me beautiful white roses to flowers to wish meeez luck on Little Shop's opening night!

Gardener Issues

2008-05-03T23:37:00.000-07:00

When we moved to Dhaka, we settled in a 5-story building with an apartment on each floor. It's the only all-teacher building at our school and it came with 3 guards that work around the clock and a "gardener". The guards make about 3000Tk (about 45USD) and the gardener makes 6750 (about 100USD) but we were new and really did not know any better. The "garden" is a few enormous barrels on the roof with who-knows-what in them and a bunch of house plants in the garage. Apparently, you can buy plants from him at marked up prices, he'll water them, and eventually kill them while you are away on vacation. The problem is that over the year and during the beginning of this school year, I realized that we are throwing 20USD at this guy a month to do what? Oh ... I forgot to mention the fact that he also cleans the stairs, roof, and garage. This guy is so ridiculously overpaid and underused that the building had a meeting at the beginning of the school year to come up with more jobs for him. I was shut up on moral and ethical grounds by trying to suggest that he should try to secure employment or additional income elsewhere. Most apartments pay a couple bucks a month for this service but this guy has been sitting on this job so long that he's literally over compensated himself. He feels he is obligated to the job. The problem is that no one would pay even a tenth of his salary to do a job he sucks at. He's on a grace period.

105 T-Shirt Party

2008-04-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

The building party was last night and we celebrated the fact that the breeze actually made sitting on the roof tolerable. We paid extra for the "fairy lights" ... I know it looks empty but I only took photos before and after (people that hung in till the very end .... lushes!) (That's Amiee above, David and Tracy/Justin, Ian, and Lauren) We gave out wine and mosquito rackets for different categories of T-shirts. I hosted the teacher kids in my apartment and the Alam served then drinks and food while they watched movies. Overall, pretty successful party.

Building Deconstruction in Dhaka

2008-04-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

Since Bangladesh is basically a swamp that's below sea level they do not a lot of natural rock or heavy elements. Any time a building is torn down the material is completely recycled ... but first it has to be torn down. This is done completely by hand by a group of workers with sledgehammers. Then the rubble is carried in baskets and used to make new bricks, roads, smaller houses, birdbaths, or whatever they need. The problem with this is that it takes for-ev-er and it's extremely noisy ... clink, clink, clink. This is a photo of what used to be a 2-story house across the street ... now it's some stairs. What's even scarier is the fact that they are probably going to build something there soon, which is bad. It could take years, it's noisier, and they sometimes work at night!

Even in our apartment everything is recycled. All paper, glass, electronics, metals, wires, and containers go to some other use. We even have a composing and a small herb-vegetable garden on the roof. We should import some of their recyclers ... our trash in the US would be like gold.

Irrevocable Proof That Carrie Is Gone

2008-04-20T19:45:00.000-07:00

It wasn't going to the commissary on Sunday (when it's closed) or that I was halfway back to school with my driver before I realized that my keys were in my backpack (something I never do) .... it was putting the kettle on to make tea before a building meeting and leaving for two hours. I actually thought an AC had blown when I came back and it took me a few minutes to work out where the smell was coming from. I melted what I had thought were ceramic parts. In my defense, I was talking to Carrie online and the little whistle that's suppose to blow hasn't worked lately. My bearer is going to pick up a new one today and I told him to make sure it whistles (I hope he understood that's why I was whistling to him this morning). I also told him to make snicker doodles.

Surprise Party

2008-04-15T23:15:00.000-07:00

So I decided after throwing another surprise party for Carrie that we'd agree never to do them again (We had an even score before this). In the last week before Carrie leaves Dhaka for New York, I decided to have a informal gathering of friends to send her off. Instead of asking what she wanted, I decided it was easier to plan around her. An elaborate set of covert plans and secret signals were in place and everything went well. Our friend Justin (in the first floor apartment) agreed to store people in his apartment while we went up for a couple drinks to Aimee and Dean's (5th floor apartment) and waited for the all clear. (For clarification we are in the 2nd floor apartment) I had made the suggestion to Justin that we would move up to our apartment after the surprise but the party was already in full swing when we arrived .... so instead we drained all their wine and left them (at around 10:30) with an apartment full of lushes. It was a lot of fun and Carrie swears she had no idea ... even though she commented that our apartment smelled "fried". (our bearer had made samosas and spring rolls).

Happy New Year!

2008-04-14T05:49:00.000-07:00

Happy 1415!

Bangladesh celebrated it's New Year along with some of Eastern India. Mogul Emperor Akbar (built the Taj Mahal) was apparently not happy that the lunar Islamic calendar did not fit with the crop season (many an unhappy farmer paying taxes in off season) and decided to adopt a solar calender. Well it's still very important in Bangladesh and the school was off kilter in celebrating all day (we should have actually had it off!). There was henna, Bengali music and dancers, tasty treats (well I wouldn't go so far), horse carriage rides, and a bunch of street vendors selling all manor of trinkets. The culture dance show was very impressive It was extremely chaotic but fun and colorful.

A Pork Haiku

2008-04-11T06:01:00.000-07:00

Beef pepperoni?
chicken sausages, beef bacon?
I really miss pork!

-MM

The only thing missing on this wonderful vacation.

Borneo - 5 Star Chinese

2008-04-09T17:16:00.000-07:00

Last night Carrie and I went to the fancy Chinese restaurant in the hotel and the whole experience was unsettling from the beginning. I guess ordering went well: hot and sour soup, crab dumplings, beef with black pepper sauce and a kung pow chicken. It's the way the waiters (all female and one to one ratio to customers) stood behind me or off to the side of us during the whole experience. At any one time there were three pairs of eyes waiting for anything to react to. I'm sure the service was great and they are very attentive but it was slightly creepy. Especially because my chop sticks skills leave something to be desired and I could hear them whispering to each other. When the main dishes came they put them in the middle of the table and left. The only implements on the table were a dessert sized plate and what I later learned was a rice bowl. I asked for a 'dinner plate' but instead she pointed to the small plate and served rice into the small bowl. Is it wrong to like want to mix the rice and main dishes together to get that saucy rice? It was all too comical trying to do this on the small plate and I felt completely conscious of all the eyes on me as I made a small mess. Do you shovel rice from a rice bowl in a fancy restaurant? The really strange thing is when we left I was checking out the rest of the patrons' tables and plenty were eating off large plates. I think it was some sociological experiment in dinning. Overall, it was the tastiest Chinese we'd ever had ... we are buying a new wok this summer.

I guess I'm glad I passed on the "double boiled winter melon with fungus".

Borneo's Big Nosed Monkeys

2008-04-08T07:20:00.000-07:00

We went on a all day 'river cruise' which I thought was going to be pretty cheesy but it turned out to be a fabulously interesting trip. Here's the gist of what went on (click to enlarge):

1. Borneo has the largest flood plain forest in the world! (See our excited looks!)

2. I would never be able to make it in the wild or on Fear Factor for that matter (this guy never actually ate one either so I didn't quite feel that 'man' urge to have to follow him)

3. Most of the plants and fruits in the mangrove are poisonous, so the Proboscis monkeys have two stomachs: one is used to detoxify the poisonous shoots they eat. They also look like they are wearing tightie whities! (Our guide pointed that out)

4. The male eats some fruit or some other thing (i wasn't paying attention) that gives him a 24 hour erection (pay close attention).

5. Sunsets in/on a mangrove are breath-taking.

6. throw in the odd monitor and silverleaf monkey (only 200 left in the wild) and wallah!

Borneo

2008-04-07T17:55:00.000-07:00

It's been a pretty relaxing trip so far and decisions have mainly centered around where to eat and when to get out of bed.

Here's the evening ... watching the sunset and drinking fruity drinks! Although the best deal is the bucket of beer (4 Stellas on ice) which I have to drink myself (Carrie's pregnant and refuses to believe me that a beer here and there will give our girl "the edge" (whatever that is)).

Consumer Warning

2008-04-05T03:18:00.000-07:00

While in Thailand during Christmas break we purchased some new toothpaste in anticipation of the old toothpaste running out. PLEASE BEWARE! DON’T be fooled by the sparkly package and toothpaste that we thought was fortified with vitamins (E & C)…. BE VERY WARY!

After Carrie enjoyed the surprising experience so much, I tried it with full knowledge what was coming and it was still THE most disgusting toothbrushing moment of my life.

Karma to KL

2008-04-05T02:20:00.000-07:00

Blindly tested this vacation from the beginning. We arrived at Zia International Airport at 11:00pm for a 1:20am flight to Kuala Lumpur. Being break and one of the first of relatively few major outgoing flights to the rest of the world there were plenty of teachers, parents, students, and migratory workers. Remember it was a full week of school and we are running on empty.
Here’s the time line of the night:

11:00 get in the checkin line with a few people in front of us
11:25 asked by service ‘person’ to move to a ‘shorter’ queue
11:40 watch as everyone behind us in the 1st line check-in'ed
11:50 finally check-in’ed
11:55 have some chicken wings (I don’t know why I even try) and ice cream and listen to Lee Ann vent about being on stand-by (hopefully she’ll blog that)
12:30 arrive at gate ready to board at 12:50
12:50 not boarding
1:20 not leaving
1:30 a spokesman says there is a small problem and we’ll know shortly
2:00 a spokesman says there a big problem and we might not take off, we’ll know in 30 mins and he stated that it was"unlikely" we'd fly
2:01 migrant worker takes off shoes and noxious odor fills gate area ..
3:00 a spokesman says they are talking with Kuala Lumpur and we’ll know in 20 minutes
3:40 waiting on a telex from KL on whether we can depart or not and we’ll know in 5 mins
3:50 the telex is out of paper

We figure the ratio of actual time stated to the real waiting time is about 2:1

4:00 the telex arrives, a wedge line forms with the migrant workers … I yelled “women and children first!” grabbed the first student I saw and then thought better of it and instead pushed Carrie yelling “pregnant woman coming through!”' We'll discuss migrant workers on airplanes later.

Apparently it was an equipment problem with the manual landing system. Sooo lame! Who needs that? All in good punch drunk fashion we are off to the last vacation sans kids!

All in good fun and spirits we arrive slightly more than three hours behind schedule and checked into a 5-star resort. Very posh! I guess it all comes round because there was a Blue Bayou Texas buffet in one of the restaurants. Not exactly my idea of a Texas BBQ but the lobster, shrimp etouffee, salmon and chile con carne were very tasty.

... see it all comes around! Kota Kinabalu in Borneo is awesome ... there's Carrie in the background and our swim up bar. So happy ...

Cable pains

2008-04-02T20:20:00.001-07:00

So we just got satellite cable (with the fancy on-screen guide) and even though there's a ratio of Hindi/Bollywood/Asian/and other non-English channels to ENGLISH channels of 20:1. We get CNN, BBC World, Discovery, a bizarre version of Nick, and a HBO that seems to play mostly B-movies, made for TV movies, and after-school specials pretending to be movies (the even sadder fact being that they actaully have "the making of" shows for many of the later (I did watch The Making of Merlin: good stuff)).

I return to my original thought: Which was ..we do get VH1 (the MTV is painful to watch as they constantly switch between English and Hindi and they primarily show Bollywood) and this morning I was subjected to complete horror (link below) and honestly could not tear myself away. Watch then rate!

They have managed to get all the greatest 90's dances moves into the video.
Watch that kick in at 1:08!
It's sad to say it does have Beatle-ish sound to it.
Go Hammer! or Millie Vanillie?
If you are watching this in Dhaka sorry that we can't stream video (go 64kbs!)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2OWUQh43WKo

If you need to recover from that:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=SwB9zg7Tbx8 (for Greg)

Knit Donuts

2008-04-02T02:19:00.000-07:00

They are pleasant to hold, squeeze, and I'll admit to smelling them but who comes up with this stuff? In the marketing room ... "I've got it .... kids like donuts ... follow me ... so they are going to go ape-shit for KNIT DONUTS!!! We'll make millions!" I'm thinking they are made through some NGO doing THE 'good' work here in Dhaka with some cottage industry project and some wise ass expat is getting a laugh out of it ... "no really all westerners LOVE knit donuts ... especially in the heat of Dhaka" Well Carrie had her shower and we've got knit donuts, puppets, hats, booties, and other accessories. I guess I got my laughs out of it too. I still like the ones with sprinkles.

Warning Labels

2008-04-01T23:07:00.000-07:00

I've been really trying to get rid of deep congestion, cough, and sore throat for weeks. I'm really not feeling especially ill but instead just slightly annoyed (I can't sing the Seymour parts without sounding like I'm going through puberty). I suppose I should actually do something more about it. Well a few weeks ago I bought several types of congestion, cough, and deep clogging medicines (give me them all!). Many of the type that should come with a small cup to help pour. In Dhaka they don't have the little cups so I've been measuring doses with the patented Matt McEwen swig (I think that's the first time I've typed swig ... cool) technique.

Yesterday I was feeling particularly congestion so I took a rather large swig and 5-10 minutes later I was fighting the urge to fall asleep at my desk in mid-conversation (This normal behavior depending on whether or not mosquitoes got into the net last night). I really thought nothing of it until this morning when I took a medium swig and instantly felt tired again. I have now deduced that this bottle is the "PM" kind but since the label is in Bangali I can't really tell. I'll discontinue use, not because I don't want to sleep during school hours, but because my students were whispering things about playing pranks (April 1st) on me next time it happened.