Two Months after coming home... Stephanie

Wow, we've been home for two months already! I promised I would keep this blog going but time has gotten away from me, so apologies for the long lag since the last time we have posted!
Everyone has been extremely busy since we returned! I know Dr. Tonya and Meredith have been busy up north and we haven't had a chance to connect, so it will be good to see them at the District Conference for our home district 5510 in June... And Holly has been stuck in a training program on the other side of the country, but I will get to see her even sooner- we are planning a trip with friends to New Orleans next month,  I am excited for the reunion!
We have been very sad to hear all that has been going on in Bangladesh since we left, lots of hartals and riots and violence- this was not the side of the country we saw! I am glad to say our friends are all safe and sound, and I have been trying to make sure to check up on them every once in awhile via facebook.
Since our return I have been trying to get involved with the Rotary clubs here, joining them for service projects as well as going to several meetings. I think I have filled my quota for presentations, including the Tempe Rio Salado club (Holly's sponsoring club), their sister-club Camelback Crossroads, Phoenix East Rotary Club, and my own sponsoring club, Mesa West! I also volunteered to join RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Academy) as a mentor, but since they have had a surplus of volunteers I am currently an alternate. Just a few pictures from before Holly left Arizona...

 Presenting at Holly's sponsoring club, Tempe Rio Salado!

 Volunteering with Tempe Rio Salado at a local television station!

It was a little rough getting back into the groove of being home again- it is always hard to return the the mundane activities of real life when you have been traveling or experiencing something as wonderful as an entirely different culture. You get used to living more simply, needing less stuff when you are traveling, and coming back home to a job that requires you to wear a certain type of clothing and behave a certain way is a let down. Everyday life does not provide the constant learning opportunities of operating in a foreign culture or being in a new place, so you have to search that much harder for the same mental stimulation.
I will say though, it is nice to be amongst friends and family again, the only bad part about traveling is that I can't take them all with me!
Like I said, I am hoping to get back into blogging at least until our district conference, and then maybe I will let it rest, but the Facebook page is still alive and well :) Here's hoping I have more to add soon!

Stephanie

Holly - 10-13 Feb - Final Days... :(

2/10- 213 - Final Days... :(

Who knew this trip would come to an end so quickly? We still had a lot to do and see, but we managed to get everything done...somehow. lol

2/10- On Sunday morning we met with the Chancellor of Dhaka University. There was a very large demonstration that day at the school so traffic was horrific and put us behind schedule an hour. However, it was incredible that so many students came together to protest about the War of 1971 and the punishment of several brutal rulers. The hearings are finally here and I love that the next generation took it upon themselves to get justice.

The Chancellor was telling us about some of the challenges the university faces. It amazed me that more than 247,000 students apply each year, however, they can only accept 6,000 students. Education is extremely important in Bangladesh and many elite and innovative leaders have risen from this growing culture. One example is YouTube, who was founded by a Bangladeshi.

Next we went to visit The Daily Star, which is the largest English newspaper firm in the country. I love reading this paper because it's very interesting topics and they even focus on the details of the right colors to keep it vibrant. The next day we saw our photo on the second page in the paper. :)

2/11- On Monday morning, we had the rare opportunity to meet with the founder of BRAC, Sir Abed, one of the most amazing and successful NGO's in the world. He was so kind to give us so much of his time. So many interesting stories which has inspired millions of people.

Next, Stephanie and I were very excited to visit the U.S. Embassy. We would both love to work for the State Department and travel the world. She wants to be a Consulate and I want to work in the Public Democracy (Relations) track. We made some good contacts so we'll see what happens. :)

This night we presented at Fawzia's (our GSE Coordinator) club. We are going to miss her so much! She has been so good at taking care of us, that we won't know what to do without her. The good news is that she'll be bringing the Bangladeshi team to Arizona in May as the team leader. We can't wait to see her!!

2/12- Tuesday morning we had some free time in the morning so my host mom (Asma), had arranged for me to go see an Old Age Home which was started by one lady when she was 32 years old. We left around 6am to avoid traffic since it was about an hour and a half drive, but it was well worth it. Asma had told me about this place because she read about it in the paper and volunteers with them. I will never forget this experience and the incredible story of how one woman has changed the lives of many. This experience will always have a place in my heart and I'm working with different organizations to get funding and medical supplies so it can be sustained.

The amazing woman, Salina, who started the Old Age Home. Everyone loves her...

Next, Asma, was so sweet to let Steph and I borrow the car so we could do some last minute shopping (however, we could never get enough time to shop)!

We finished right in time so we could make it to our Women's Empowerment Luncheon. The second we walked in, we fell in love with the ladies and their witty comments and jokes.

This lady, Niloufar, had us rolling on the floor telling us a story about her grandson and a goat. Let me know if you'd like the full version and I'll privately tell you since it's slightly inappropriate, yet hysterical. :D

After our luncheon we were told our next two meetings were cancelled due to another hartal in that area. Therefore, I went for a walk in the park with 10 yr old Shahreen then had tea on the street after. I'm really going to miss my family!!

Shahreen protecting me from the traffic...:)

When I got home, I was told the meetings were back on so I grabbed my Sari and took it with me so Fawzia could dress me at the hotel where our meeting would be. Those Sari's are impossible for us to put on by ourselves! :-/ It was a great club and they were so generous in giving us beautiful gifts. We also took pictures by the Valentine's Day display. <3

Lastly, we had our farewell dinner with the District Governor, Ishtiaque, his wife, Tahia, our GSE Chair, Jamal, and GSE Coordinator, Fawzia. Steph and I were excited because we went to Pizza Hut, but we were laughing because we were dressed up in Sari's. Reminds me when we went to the Tea Garden and I drank coffee! Haha Never a dull moment...

Had a wonderful time catching up and reminiscing about our trip...can't believe it's coming to an end! :( However, the friendships and memories will last forever...

When I got home around 11ish that night, my host family was waiting to take me to get gelato- my favorite! It was only appropriate to eat at Pizza Hut and order 'American Mud' ice cream while dressed up in a Sari on my last night. :) Good times...

Then I gave them a few gifts and Shahreen LOVED the whoopie cushion from my club! She tried it our on all their staff and used it so much that it actually popped!!  :( She tried so hard to fix it, but had a huge smile on her face as soon as I gave her another one. :)

My host family is so generous and wouldn't stop giving me gifts! Asma gave me some of the most beautiful jelwrey and also some bangles that were hers which mean so much! I was teasing that I was going to take them home with me...wish I could!

I then stayed up until 3am packing (mostly because I didn't want to leave and packing became reality). I left a lot of my stuff there and brought back mostly gifts and souvenirs.  I was joking with my family that I was leaving my stuff there because I'll be back soon. Then I realized I wasn't joking...I will be back someday! :)

2/13 - My host father took Steph and I to the airport early on 13 Feb. It was so hard saying bye to everyone...but I knew in my heart it wasn't goodbye- it was until next time...

We love you Bangladesh and all the amazing people that became a part of our lives. I whole heartily mean this when I say I had one brother and one sister when I left the US on 12 Jan, now when I leave Bangladesh on 13 Feb, I will have over 86 brothers and sisters, 22 sets of parents, hundreds of aunts and uncles, and more than 2,200 rotary friends from Bangladesh.

Feb 12th-13th - Stephanie

As with all good things, our trip had to come to an eventual end... still feels like we didn't get a month though, it went by soooo quickly! I didn't take as many photos towards the tail end of the trip, but I wanted to wrap up the blog anyways :)
(Don't worry your pretty little heads though, I am sure I will continue posting in the blog until at least our district conference!)
February 12th was our last full day, and Holly and I wanted to squeeze in some last minute shopping, so her host mother Asma gave us the use of her car until our lunch meeting at 1pm. We especially wanted to get extra gifts for our Dhaka families, since mine had to put up with me when I was sick and overall we spent more time in Dhaka than anywhere else. I had previously purchased an extra gift for my host mother Haseen, but it completely went missing in the shuffle, so I decided to get her something else in case we didn't find it... (and even now that I have unpacked back home in Arizona I still haven't found it :-/)
We went by Jathra and Aranya, two artisan shops that sold local handicrafts, and picked up items for our sponsoring Rotary clubs, as well as a few other odds and ends... They did have one GORGEOUS sari I wanted to purchase, but it came out to about $200USD even before adding in a petticoat and top, so unfortunately I just had to walk away... I know my opportunities to wear it would be limited, but I have never seen such beautiful fabric in my life as I have shopping in Bangladesh!
Then we headed over to the Gulshan shopping area where I picked up some pretty pearls for Haseen and a few other people, and Holly bought a LOT of gifts for people back home.
We ran out of time for more shopping and had to run to our lunch, which was upsetting because I still hadn't been able to pick up a gift for my host father Mahbubur, but this lunch was with some extremely powerful women and we didn't want to miss it!
What we didn't know was how funny and entertainingly irreverent these ladies would be, and one of them opened up with a story about the first time her grandson came to visit her from the states and he saw a nanny goat for the first time... slightly inappropriate language but we were pretty much rolling on the ground! The lunch was delicious, and as a BONUS our friend Zubeida from Chittagong showed up!!! She missed the District Conference due to a death in the family, but I think we all were pretty darn excited to see her!!! (and I think Holly has  pictures... hint hint Miss Holly!) :)
After lunch we were hearing rumors of some kind of spontaneous violence around where we were supposed to have our last meeting so we were told it would be canceled, and we were taken directly home (which killed my other potential opportunity to shop for gifts for my host father), but then about 30 minutes before our meeting we were told it was back on!! So we all had to rush to get ready and Fawzia sent her car to pick up Holly and I, since neither of us had access to another car!
The meeting was at the Sonargoan Hotel, a very VERY nice hotel, that was all decorated for Valentine's day, which reminded us that V-Day was only two days away, I think all of us forgot! We did have to run up to our meeting though, so we promised ourselves a photo session later ;)
Our meeting was a lot of fun, and we got to really do the presentation that we had created for the District Conference, that ended up slightly messy because of some A/V issues... this time it came off without a hitch, but I made the mistake of musing out loud that maybe I should look for a Bangladeshi boyfriend, because the men are slightly more responsible and definitely more respectful than the guys I have been meeting in the U.S.... Good thing we were leaving the next day! My host father had shown up to this meeting about half-way through our presentation, and afterwards he commented that he knew a guy who was tall, good-looking, and smart that worked for him at the bank!
This club included Mr. Alam (AKA "Grandpa"- Fawzia's Father in Law) and Capt. Khaliquzzaman (Meredith's host father) as well as a lot of other people we had already met, so presenting to them was like speaking with friends, easily one of our best presentations... and then they gave us some VERY nice gifts to take home with us!

They did have a special guest at the club that night (Besides us ;) ), a businessman from South Africa that had actually been a GSE Team member himself! He was very interesting to talk to, he had been in Rotary for quite some time!

When the meeting ended we went back downstairs for our "photo session" with the cool Valentine's Day decorations...

And then we went for our farewell dinner with the District Governor Ishtiaque Zaman and his lovely wife Tahia, as well as PDG Jamaluddin and Fawzia... it was good to have a quiet dinner to go over the trip and how everything had gone! Everyone was so kind and wonderful, we didn't even want to leave!!

We had our early flight the next morning, but my family said goodbye to me at the house (I'll admit, I got a little teary-eyed) and then my car took me to Holly's house, so we could go together, and saying goodbye to her host-mother and sisters was very hard too! Holly's host father Sadeque was able to go with us to the airport, but it didn't make saying goodbye any easier... Overall I don't know what to say about this experience, other than that it was wonderful, eye-opening, life-changing, and inspiring... the people in Bangladesh could teach us so much, and I've said it before, but I think in about 10-15 years Bangladesh will be quite a force to be reckoned with, economically. The entire country is still recovering from their war for liberation, but the construction and growing industry show that it is going just beyond recovery and is now entering a period of massive growth. I look forward to coming back to visit someday soon, to see my huge extended family and spend more time enjoying the natural beauty of this part of the world!

Feb 10th-11th - Last Few Days in Bangladesh... - Stephanie

Our last few days were filled with important meetings and sad goodbyes... We still can't believe how quickly that month flew by! It seems like just yesterday we were going to our first Rotary meeting with Gulshan Lake City Club and then all of a sudden we were packing to get ready to leave.
The day after District Conference was over (10th Feb) our first meeting was with the Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University, the most prestigious college in Bangladesh, and huge at that! We knew ahead of time that we would run into issues getting there due to a huge protest at Shahbagh Square on the University grounds. This demonstration is being held by the college age population, demanding the re-trial and death penalty for the war criminals from the war of liberation in 1971.

These war criminals sided with Pakistan and committed atrocities during the war, but apparently they had been previously pardoned for their crimes. There are all sorts of arguments and sides to this story, but I don't really want to get into it beyond saying that the Bangladeshi spirit and patriotism is astounding. You figure these college-age kids weren't even alive during the fighting, but they feel very strongly about their country and what their forefathers went through to secure their freedom, and how much the war cost their country. One of the Rotaractors we met during Rotasia thought I should see it and the pride they feel for their country, but our schedule didn't permit it, plus Rotary was very worried about our safety in anything termed a "demonstration".

Bangladesh is a very rich country, natural-resource wise, and the war set their economy back decades and possibly even centuries, but I expect to see their economy stable and flourishing in the next 10 to 15 years. 

So back to our meeting with the Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University... We had an appointment for 10:30am, so we tried to get there early and even took all roads that should have avoided the traffic jam around the square... but as with Bangladesh even in the best of times, traffic is unpredictable, so we were an hour late for our meeting (which I think translates to two hours in traffic to go just a couple of miles)... the Vice Chancellor was actually supposed to leave HIS office by 11am, to make an appointment with the US Ambassador, but since we were extremely late, the man was kind enough to still spend a half-hour with us talking about the University and the school population and current education trends, so I know we made him EXTREMELY late for his meeting!
 

Then we headed over to the Daily Star (the largest English-language newspaper in Bangladesh), but we were so incredibly late that we weren't able to speak with the editor/publisher Mr. Anam for as long as we had planned, but he spoke with us as long as he could and then left us with the Editor of Defense and Strategic Affairs, Mr. Khan.

There was a photographer present, but we thought it was for posterity, and then our team ended up on Page 2 of the Daily Star the following day!!

Then we went out to a late lunch with one of the most amazing women I've ever met, Dr. Begum, and Past Club President Choudhury. Dr. Begum works with Marie Stopes International, and she explained what exactly her clinics do and how they interact with the laws of Bangladesh as well as those of Islam, and it was very interesting... Not to get too political or stir up controversy, because I know everyone feels strongly about the subject, but I did my final research paper in college on Roe Vs. Wade, so I already have strong opinions on family planning and it was nice to hear that there are groups in developing countries such as Bangladesh that support women's choices.

Us with our tokens of love from the Rotary Club of Dhaka North West :)
Then we went back home to rest (me anyways, I think Meredith took some meetings and Dr. Tonya was busy working on something else, but I was still recovering). Then I got to go for a family meal with my Dhaka host family! I wish I would have taken pictures, because I think this was the one time I was able to enjoy dinner with my family without meetings and other such stuff going on! We went to a cute little Italian restaurant called Spaghetti Jazz, and the food was delicious :) And it was nice to talk to my host family, I really enjoyed staying with them, they are very sweet and all have great senses of humor!
The next day we had two REALLY BIG meetings on the schedule, we got a private meeting with the founder of Brac, the largest NGO in the world, and a meeting with Mr. Dhillon, the Director of Political and Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy. Sir Fazle Hasan Abed founded Brac as a response to help his country recover after the War in 1971, and they are the most comprehensive and inclusive recovery effort I have ever heard of in my life... their projects are numerous and are all almost completely self-sustaining. I could go on for days about how amazing this organization is and what kind of good work they do for their country and for others as well, but unfortunately I have limited space... But we were so grateful that he was willing to take 45 minutes from his day just to chat with us! He is truly an inspiring man!

Then we rushed over to the US Embassy to make sure we were on time for our meeting with Mr. Dhillon... he took a full hour from his day to talk to Holly and I about joining the State Department (my ultimate goal) and to the group as a whole about why Bangladesh is of such strategic importance to U.S. interests and his impressions of the country... he made a fine point when he said "The world has more to learn from Bangladesh than they have to learn from the rest of the world"... he also pointed out that no culture at no time in the history of the world has ever made such exponential leaps and bounds in the advancement of public health, as Bangladesh has in the past 20 years or so... this country and it's people truly are amazing! I wish I could have taken photos, but pictures are strictly forbidden inside the United States Embassy, for safety reasons.
We did have another Rotary Club meeting at the Westin that night, but unfortunately I did not take any photos!
The next day was our very last full day, more to come on that later!

Holly - 8-9 Feb, District Conference

2/8-2/9- District Conference

Stephanie's and my host fathers were in charge of planning the 75th Anniversary Platinum District Rotary Conference, which would also be the last conference as one district. On 1 July 2013, Bangladesh will become two districts, which is great because that means more and more Bangladeshi's are becoming rotarians! This also means there is a LOT of work involved in planning this 2-day conference for nearly 2,500 people.

Like father, like daughter...

Gazy and I...met him on my vocation day for event planning. He designed all the signs and setup for the conference...very talented!

We as a GSE team are extremely fortunate to get this opportunity to come to Bangladesh...1. because they are still one district so we were able to travel all over the country, visit many new rotarian projects, meet many more people, and 2. this is the last year that Rotary will have GSE teams. They will be changing the program to focus more on vocations.

The District Governor invited us to a wonderful pre-conference dinner at his beautiful house where we met a lot of the guest speakers for the conference. We had fun dressing up in our Sari's and seeing old and new friends. Poor Meredith wasn't feeling good so she stayed at home. :(

The District Governor and his beautiful wife...

Our lovely Fawzia....

One of the sweetest, most gracious man in Bangladesh (Steph's host father in Chittagong)

It was so much fun to see everyone at the District Conference and felt like a family reunion. We were able to see some of our family members who we had stayed with across the country.

We love and miss Sizzil...

We also met hundreds of more people, and smiled for thousands of more photos. It became so crazy with photos that we couldn't walk to the 'washroom' by ourselves without getting stopped every two feet for photos. Once one camera came out, we would be surrounded by 10 more with everyone wanting to pop in the pictures. After a while it became a game, and eventually my host father would come rescue us and become our bodyguard. He is very protective of us as his daughters. We also laughed that we should have been charging 100 taka (.80 cents) for someone to take a photo and we would put it toward a good cause in Rotary, but in reality we would have done quite well. :)

There were many phenomenal guest speakers and at one point we presented our views and experience about Bangladesh. Now I can't wait to share them with the rest of the world.

We laughed as they would walk around holding the 'silence please' signs....

So I do have to admit that Stephanie and I went shopping for a few hours during the conference. However, it was my host mom's idea and two girls would never say no to shopping. We also left a little early the first night to attend another beautiful wedding. It was very productive. ;)

Just wanted to thank everyone in Rotary who was apart of the planning committee for the District Conference. They did an outstanding job and it is one conference I will never forget!