A whirlwind, and an ending

April was, in many senses, a whirlwind. It started with field preparations for Sirajdikhan, a flurry of e-mails and outreach to water experts in the States and in Dhaka, and then epic, epic India. For a better update of India, check out Z's at www.whereintheworldiszehra.blogspot.com . It was a grand adventure, from Delhi, to Agra, Varanasi, Darjeeling, and a lovely day with Piya's family friend in Kolkata.

There are too many stories, pictures, and memories but the gem of the trip was certainly Darjeeling. We almost didn't make it--it took a 45-minute delayed train, our guide moving traffic on a jammed bridge, and a lot of adrenaline. We arrived after a 15 hour train ride in hot, dusty New Jaipalgur, and figured out a group of a British couple, a Tibetan man, and us to take the Jeep up to Darjeeling.

It was a breathtaking ride. As the Jeep wound up, up, up through the hills the traffic disappeared, the air cooled, and we just became enveloped in green. And that was the essence of Darjeeling: lush tea estates, tea-tasting, the misty peace of the Himalayan hills. Walking through, I just had this overwhelming sense of serenity. We saw the Tibetan refugee center, where hundreds of refugees have lived and worked in handicrafts over the years, toured an estate and learned about how tea was made, and strolled through the town. Tiger Hill, and seeing the Himalayas at sunrise, was magical. Early morning light gives a strange and beautiful glow to these majestic mountains. But my words don't do this all justice-- I'll link to more pictures once they are up.




It's officially been more than a month since I've written here-- it's hard to know where to start.


After Darjeeling, Zehra and I went our separate ways. I spent a day in Kolkata with Piya's family friend. Shopped at South City, and it was incredibly refreshing to be in a Western, air-conditioned mall, surrounded by the Crocs store and Lacoste and all these little luxuries that I barely care for at home but you miss every once in a while. Pooja, and Pooja's family, was absolutely lovely. I met some of Pooja's college friends at Jadvaphur University, one of the top institutions in India, toured around Victoria's Memorial and the cathedral, just wandered around the city.

It was a grand adventure in every way. Once I got back to Dhaka, I went straight to the field in Sirajdikhan every day for seven days. We had--and have--a few challenges with the water chemistry, high turbidity, lack of chlorine residuals, headachey things that I'm referring back to experts back in DC to help with. The field staff, though, have been amazing. Even with my very limited Bangla and their not-too-much-better English, we chat and joke about my "magic Barack Obama water" that I bring in the nalgene. They text me every morning and evening with the measurements and have begun to take meticulous notes based on the data sheets and protocols I've made. If this will last, we would set a great precedent for the project.

Next, I'll spend a week in Pabna doing the same thing, but on three wells instead of just one. I'm struggling a bit to understand the water chemistry--it is a lot more complex than I expected--but that will come. What's most key will be to build that strong relationship again with the field staff, teach them the tests, get them enthused and into a groove of taking good data and sending it back to Dhaka.

In between was a beautiful long weekend in St. Martin's and Cox's Bazaar. I have stories about tarantulas and night stars to rival those in the Chilean San Pedro desert-- but let me just leave you with this image:



And so wraps up the whirlwind month of April. It's now a time of endings and goodbyes, as many expat friends are leaving, and I will be too in a few short weeks--but not before I act in a Bangladeshi short film! Am very excited. I cannot begin to express all that I have learned and gained from my months here. Cheers to May!