Category: Bangladesh
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Trials of Joy
I just re-read my last blog post and was very tempted to go through and edit it. The spelling and grammer were awful, and parts of it didn’t make any sense, but I decided against it. I think it’s better to be real and honest with ourselves, and with others. And before I left for…
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Cow Markets …and other delusional thoughts
“Sorry I was delayed in getting back to the office… traffic was terrible…I got stuck in the middle of cow market.” I don’t even know where the last 2 weeks have gone… but here I am, somehow finding a chance to sit down somewhere other than in a car going to the field, or on…
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I have a thing about rooftops
I don’t know what it is about them, but I have a thing about rooftops. They’re where I’ve fallen in love, where I’ve met my best friend, and where I’ve had my heart broken into a million pieces. Some of my best memories are on rooftops. Like that one time Marc and I had a…
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Boss Lady
Goodbyes are never easy, especially when they leave you all alone. Two days after returning to Bangladesh I had to say good-bye to one of my co-workers. The first health manager here, and an American search and rescue military paramedic, Willy’s been with me from the beginning. For the past 6 weeks, he’s been showing…
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“This disaster is going pretty well”
The other day there was so much rain we were all wondering if this random boat in the middle of the street was actually going to start floating away…. I’m now in unchartered territory. Until now, the longest that I’ve ever been in-country for humanitarian work has been 4 weeks. This past week I hit…
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A day in the (camp) life.
Mornings start early here. My alarm goes off at 6:00am, but I hit the snooze button a couple times before dragging my butt out of bed around 6:15am. I enjoy quiet mornings alone, so I always try to wake up early and get to the kitchen before everyone else. As I wait for my coffee…
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Football on the World’s Longest Beach
Today I got to experience a bit of Bangladeshi culture – a picnic, hosted by my organization’s local staff. But there were no blankets, or picnic baskets, or a grassy little nook to spread out on while we sipped wine, ate cheese, and chatted. It turns out a Bangladeshi picnic is a big DIY event…
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“So, what exactly are you doing there?”
I’ve received many questions from friends around the world since moving to Bangladesh: “Is it hot there?”, “Where are you staying?”, “Are you working with good people”, “What’s the food like?”, etc… most of which are pretty easy to answer: “Yes, it’s hot”, “In an apartment”, “Yes, they’re all awesome”, “rice, veggies, fruit, chapati, nutella,…
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2 am Argentina wins
It’s 36 degrees and I’m sitting on a plastic chair inside a sweltering, dusty, bamboo and plastic building. I’m completely drenched in sweat, and heavily regretting having not brought my running shoes today as I’m getting hotter by the minute in my knee-high rubber boots. My required long pants, long-sleeve shirt, and scarf around my…
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Day 1 of Doxy
The most expensive bag of trail mix ever It’s been 29 hours so far – I’ve had three meals of questionable plane food, purchased an absurdly expensive coffee and bag of trail mix, my first dose of doxycycline (the daily anti-malarial I’m supposed to be on for the next 13 months, and definitely not something…
Teryn Warnke 