On Wednesday morning I awoke early as usual because I'm still recovering from jet lag. I'm getting about five hours of sleep a night, but as of yet it seems to be enough. A MCC driver was supposed to pick me up around 8:00, and as he was not coming I went down to the street to wait for him. Around 8:30 Lukeman (the guy who cooks, etc.) came and suggested that we go to the MCC office. We walked over - it is near to the flat - and as we were walking the MCC truck appeared. Besides myself and the driver, Andrew, a Bangla teacher for many MCCers went with us. The three hour trip north was quite exciting, and I was relieved to be sitting in the back, so that I could not see the traffic. If you think my driving is bad, you might have a problem in Bangladesh. We constantly passed vehicles on the crowded two-lane highway and passed anything going under 100. Our destination was the MCC office in Mohammadpur where we would meet Rebecca and Philip, currently the only expatriot MCCers in Bangladesh besides myself. They were held up at a funeral, so we sat and had snacks in the office. When they arrived we left to go visit my future house. On the way there had been an accident and someone had been killed. Sometimes when this happens the road is closed and vehicles cannot pass and this was the case. The truck and the driver were left behind and Philip, Rebecca, Andrew, and myself boarded a bike-pulled-wagon contraption. We had a fair distance to go at the slow speed, but it was nice to see the countryside. Another event of interest was a large group of students who were marching down the road and protesting something. We walked into the Korean farm and toured my house. A Korean family runs the farm so they can be missionaries in Bangladesh. The farm produces Korean food products which are sold in Dhaka to the Korean population.

Next we got back on the bike/wagon thing and were taken to the MCC Muktagatcha office where I will be working. It is a 10 minute motorcycle ride from my house, but it took us much longer and we were late for lunch. This didn't matter though, and we met the office staff and had lunch with our fingers. The office has never had an expatriot staff person before, and they deal only with job creation. I got a tour of the office, was introduced, saw some product samples, and had tea.

We headed back to my future house on the farm and had food with the Koreans as they had been away during our first visit. We had milk and another drink that tasted like crackerjacks. We visited with them and looked at my house again, and even climbed on the roof, which would make a nice patio. My house has two bedrooms - perfect for visitors, a bathroom with a shower, and a main kitchen/living room/dining room. It is beside a small pond in which you can go swimming in.

Philip, Rebecca, and I were taken to Philip and Rebecca's house, which is in a remote tribal area. The scenery was gorgeous, and the people changed from Muslim to Garo as we traveled. Philip and Rebecca had been living in Dhaka for the last two years, and have just moved to the Garo region in the last couple of weeks. The Garos are not Muslim - either Christian or animalistic so this will allow a better environment for the baby that Rebecca in Philip will have in the next month. The village house were beautiful - long and l-shaped with dirt floors and concrete walls. The electricity is very sporadic and was not on when we arrived. The Garo people are extremely friendly, Philip and Rebecca have only been here two weeks and already they are good friends with their neighbors acrossed the street. So we all went over there and visited with the neighbors and had lemon juice and bananas. We went back to the house and still there was no electric, so we lit alot of candles and talked and had dinner. Just as we finished the power came back on. The three of us sat talking until about ten, my newest record, and just as we decided to go to bed the power went out again. Again we had to light candles, and get ready in the dark. Besides the fact that there was no running water the lack of light made getting ready to sleep slightly more complicated. Fortunately I had used a squatty potty before. Eventually I climbed into the mosquito netting and slept for five more hours.

Today Rebecca went to the hospital to have checkup, and the docter that she is comfortable with is five hours away. She left the house around five, and after I had a bucket bath, Philip and I boarded a motorcyle for the MCC office in Mohammadpur. The staff had not been there yesterday, so I met them all and had tea and saw the fish and rabbits. This office is an agriculture office.

Then Philip and I rode the motorcycle to Mymensingh - about an hour's ride. We ended up at a Taize place where we had coffee and met with a brother, went to a Taize service, and had lunch. Now we are in Mymensingh passing the time before we visit the place that I will stay for the next three months during my language study.

I am having an excellent time - Philip are Rebecca are very nice and interesting and fun. I am fortunate to have them as fellow MCC workers, and they will be close to my house - about thirty minutes away. I love their house, and the tribal area is beautiful and exotic. I haven't had any horrible experiences with men yet, but women are not a common sight. Everywhere we go we are stared at. I think my time here will be an experience.