Bangladesh 2024 pt. 4: In Which I Reminisce

I didn’t know how it would feel to come back. Would it feel the same? Would it all be new again? Would it feel like coming home?

I walk the same brick paths I did a year ago, pet the same dogs, laugh with the same people. We buy coke from the same dokan and sit under the same roofs.

Yet there are two things that are evidence of my year away. The first is the development of the village. Houses and dokans are springing up everywhere. The sand lot where we used to play football has been purchased and grown to grass. Tulshi says it will be planted into an orchard.

The second thing is the children. My sweet little Sunday school children have grown up. This evening, while walking home from the bazaar, I heard my name from out of the darkness. I turned around to see two of my sweet little boys, now taller than me and with changed voices! My little friend Imon, who I used to play with everyday, is big now too.

Of course they grew up. All the kids at home grew up too. Of course the village changed. I wouldn’t have expected it to stay the same. But one thing remains unchanged: the hearts of the people. They are as still as big and bright and welcoming as ever.

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12th, 2024

Khulna, Bangladesh

DAY 6

Today was the first day at home without guests. The Dhaka members and Angela left on the bus in the morning. I stumbled out of my sheets at 10:45 and went downstairs.

We all had a lazy morning. Kylie helped me make cream puffs for dessert. After lunch, Whitney, Brandi, and I took a walk around the river where we always used to go. We stopped for ice cream in the bazar. Each day, I see another old, familiar face.

Upon our return from the river, we made a surprise trip into town to pick up Trevor’s mangos. Trevor had ordered three crates of mangos from Rajshahi: Bangladesh’s Eden. Rajshahi mangos are renowned all over the country. We buzzed into town, picked those things up, and went the coffee shop.

We had fun watching the people while we sipped our coffee. Bangladesh is changing. The styles, the people, the culture… it seems like it’s becoming more westernized. I’ve noticed it since the day I came.

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THURSDAY, JUNE 13th, 2024

Khulna, Bangladesh

DAY 7

Trevor went to get me shinghara in the morning. SHINGHARA: a flakey crust with a spicy potato filling AKA my favorite snack. I had four, and was fully satisfied.

We went back into Khulna in the afternoon. My first mission Papa, Travis Holdeman, sent me one of his Bangladesh tailor-made shirts. He wanted me to get some more made for him. Trevor, Lisa, and I had a fun time picking out fabric and talking with Travis’ tailor.

We went to a new restaurant for me! Trevor’s found this awesome Ramen Restaurant. I ordered a ramen bowl with chicken dumplings and indulged.

We encountered a rather strange man in the restaurant. He offered to drink Trevor’s drink as a sign of friendship. Trevor was polite but waved him off. His eyes and creepy smile followed us as we walked out the door.

We went to Lisa and the girls’ tailor and picked up my new camises they had made for me. Five new outfits?Yes please. Say less.

We walked to Aarong’s, a souvenir and clothing store. On the way, we stopped my plant man’s plant stand! I had given him a lot of business when I lived here, but I was still pleasantly surprised when he remembered me. I fondly remembered buying plants from him for $2 or $5. If only they knew we buy plants in the US for $50+.

When we stepped into Aarong’s, I walked in with new eyes. This was the place we always took company so they could buy their Bangladeshi knickknacks. Today, I was the company for a change. And today, I filled my hands with treasures to take back with me.

When I left a year ago, I took home 2 suitcases full of stuff. But over the past year, I have been missing certain things I didn’t take home. Before coming, I compiled a short list of things I wished I would have brought back.

In line to pay at Aarong’s, I suddenly noticed the strange and creepy man from the restaurant. He proceeded to stare and smile until security escorted him outside. It wasn’t long before he came back. He was weirding us out so much that Lisa called Trevor to come inside and scare him away.

Trevor came, and security escorted the man away once more. We thought we were done with him for good, but then we went to Safe ‘N Save.

Always under construction.

Safe ‘N Save is our nice, big grocery store. Since I left a year ago, it has grown two more floors, two more escalators, and four more western toilets. All improvements in our books.

Suddenly, Lisa gasped and said “There’s that man!” Sure enough, he was coming down from the second floor, where we had just been. He was smiling his toothless smile and looking for us. “Don’t anyone look at him.” Trevor went straight to security and told them to put that man out. Without another word or objection, it was done.

We stopped by my favorite eating place on the way home: the chicken and naan dokan. We got some to-go, and I couldn’t wait to get home. I sunk my teeth into that beautiful food straightaway.

It was just as good as I remembered.

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FRIDAY, JUNE 14th, 2024

Khulna, Bangladesh

DAY 8

One week in Bangladesh. Every day, it impresses me how much remains the same. The same, yes, but with newfound wonder. The same, but almost as if I had forgotten: like a dream nearly forgotten by morning.

Today, I stood on the school porch in front of the same wide-eyed children, leading singing like I always used to. The sweat dripped down my back in rivets, just like it always used to. We sang the same songs as before, the same voices rising and falling with the notes of “Ami Chotto Phul (I’m a little flower)” and “Pahar Shore Jabe.” The mountains will move, my sorrow will leave, the storm will end… if I love my Jesus.

It’s all the same.

Yet, some things were different. Church attendance was down today, so we had “round service” as they called it. We moved the chairs into a circle and sang songs and listened to the words Trevor and Shanto said.

Shanto’s invited us to stay and eat biriyani. While we waited, Lisa, Brandi, Hridoy, Antor, and I took a walk by the river. The water and the sky were the same color of blue-gray. The only difference were the waves that crashed along the embankment. We sat down and watched the boats and the people. The wind blew off the river’s salty water and stuck to everything: our hair, our clothes, our faces.

We returned to Shanto’s and sat on the floor to eat. Shati served the spiciest biriyani I have ever eaten. It. Was. Beautiful. We finished off the meal with coke, sprite, and ice cream.

Just like before, I sat in Shanto’s house with the people who got me through. Just like before, we ate together and laughed together and made plans to see each other again.

SATURDAY, JUNE 15th

Khulna, Bangladesh

DAY 9

I am UPSET. I spent the last half hour writing about Saturday, only to discover that my draft didn’t save and I lost it all. I guess I will attempt to do it all again.

I made scones for Brock in the morning. Ever since I had purchased my tickets to come, that was his singular request. I made chocolate chip with maple glaze, and lemon curd with raspberry. I made a double recipe so he could indulge to his heart’s content.

After breakfast, Whitney, Brandi, and took a walk on the paths that wind through the jungle behind our house. We encountered a man who asked where we were going. Brandi asked where the wind was the best, and he pointed over there somewhere. We headed in that direction and stood in the breeze to cool off.

As we stood there, two weather-beaten men came by to collect their cattle. Their skin looked like leather and their smiles were broad. They asked us what we were doing. We said we had come to “eat the wind.” Eat the wind… that’s what they say when they stand in the breeze. They told us the wind would be much cooler around 3:00, so why had we come now, at noon?

We asked them how to get back to the road. We had taken a long way here, and we wanted a shortcut back. They pointed through the pasture. We walked past the cows and squeezed around cows in the path. I love these cows… so gentle. They grow up around people and become massive and gentle as a kitten.

On the way home, we walked through my favorite lady’s yard. She was bathing her cow. These people do that in the heat to cool them down. Cows are precious here…. Then she informed me that this was the very cow that had been born on the day I left a year ago!

When we got home, I felt like I had jumped into a swimming pool. I was very happy to fly through a shower and eat a cold sandwich.

Brandi, Whitney, and I took transportation into Khulna City in the afternoon. We stopped by Whitney’s tailor. He told her to come back in the evening, and she left empty-handed and slightly upset.

We walked to Aarong’s again. I wanted to pick some more things up. Eid, a major Islamic holiday, was just around the corner, everyone was out and about buying new clothes. I was appalled. Usually in those nicer stores like Aarong’s, people act a little more civilized. But today, they pushed and shoved and tried to be first in line to pay. I tried to be polite. I tried to wait my turn. But finally, I gave in. When in Rome… I pushed my way in and didn’t let anyone through. I shoved my stuff on the counter and stood my ground until I was finished.

We then walked to the coffee shop. In one corner, there were young women doing henna for Eid. It was so interesting to watch the artists painting the intricate designs on their customers’ hands. Once the design was complete, the girls walked around touching nothing while they waited for the henna to dry.

In the evening, we played games and ate my favorite: chicken and naan. We talked about what we should do for Father’s Day. We googled and googled, but everything was going to be closed for Eid celebrations! Finally, we decided to just get in our van and drive around. With that resolved, we went to bed.

Love from Bangladesh 🇧🇩

-Kalli Sue