Goodbye to Bangladesh

Leaving Dhaka behind is like walking back into the real world. The world I've always considered real anyways. In my first week in Dhaka I thought, "just get through it, 6 more weeks. I can do it." I thought the traffic noise, the pollution, the garbage everywhere would drive me nuts.

Instead, I got used to it. Mostly. Now that my time here is up I think, how could it have gone so fast? There is so much about Bangladesh I will miss. There were so many prolonged goodbyes, difficult prolonged goodbyes. Here is a brief list of things I will miss, things I've learned, and things I hope to never forget:

1. I will miss my patients, particularly the boy I took outside everyday for the past 4 weeks. It was terribly hard to say goodbye to him. He calls me his crazy long trolley driver (sometimes I race his long trolley). He said he was not happy about me leaving. I felt guilty for leaving him.

2. The fantastic people. I will miss being a guest of an entire country. As Sumanta says, "you are my guest. It is my duty to show you my country."  I was honoured to be thought of as a guest.

3. I won't miss being stared at by a steadily growing crowd (over 100 people can provide a lot of awkward stares).

4. Fried food is safe, but makes you fat.

5. There is no possible way that food shipped from half way around the world will ever taste as good as the fruit purchased directly off the street, fresh and ready to eat that day.

5. Don't eat that little hard fruit with the mushy brown insides. It almost killed me.

6. Food handed to you is still good.

7. I already miss the naan bread from Shuchuri the fried chicken place. It is amazing.

8. Living with 5 other girls in a 600sq ft apartment is possible. And you can even still like them at the end.

9. Don't judge a country at first glance. Bangladesh is poor, more so than I could have imagined. Dhaka is dirty, more so than I could have imagined. The beggars are aggressive and resilient. The levels of corruption are crippling. And the people are kind, generous and gracious hosts. And I loved it.

10. It's way easier to learn some language when you live in the country. And I can now barter. sort of.

11. Volunteering abroad is an amazing way to travel. DO IT!

Maybe one day I will return. Ami Jonni na ( I don't know)

Abar Darka Hobey Na (but maybe)
Lindsay