Day two, thus far - Stephanie

Morning! It's interesting waking up to the sounds of the first call to prayer... but what's nice is that today I can take another nap this morning if I'd like :)
Today there is a hartal, which is a kind of government protest planned until noon, so we changed our plans to avoid this. Hartals usually shut Dhaka down, since busy roads become blocked and the State Department of the US warns us that hartals can quickly become violent and recommend we stay where we are until they are over. Rifaiyat was telling me that since her company works with so many ex-pats it would be a liability for them to still ask them to come into work in the morning, so she doesn't have to be into work until one this afternoon. She was also saying that today's hartal was called by the communist party in Bangladesh, which doesn't have a huge following, and that they are also one of the groups least likely to become violent, but its better to be safe than sorry!
Since my stomach is feeling less rocky today, I tried a traditional Bangladeshi breakfast, and it was absolutely delicious! (I haven't had any bad food yet, but some of it has been a little spicy for my tastes- last night I bit into a chili on accident and quickly took down as much soda, water, and yogurt as I could. The yogurt was the only thing that helped, but my mouth and lips were really hurting!) A traditional Bangladeshi breakfast includes puri, which is a deep fried unleavened bread, made with peas inside it, and a sunny side up egg, and various sauces and salads for dipping the puri. One of the sauces was a mint sauce, and I honestly didn't think I would like it, but it was very good as well!
Mashiwat is leaving to go back towards school today, and I say towards because she will be staying over in London for a few days on the way. She is planning to do a semester abroad in the fall over there, while still gaining credits from Wellesley. I think it is fantastic that so many young Bangladeshis choose to go to school abroad, I am very jealous!
Today's agenda includes lunch with a prominent Rotarian (I am still learning the titles, but here they use the acronyms so it gets a little confusing) and our very first presentation for the Gulshan Lake City Rotary club. I am a little nervous, but hopefully by the end of this trip I somewhat get over my fear of public speaking!
Since we are not leaving the house this morning, here are some more interesting photos from our travels yesterday...

                                                   A highly decorated auto-rickshaw

                                     Adorable baby goats hanging out at the low-cost shelter village

                                And here I thought this trip would help me get over my soda addiction...

                                                                Rice paddy

                                   Tonya and I thought these mustard flowers looked so pretty!

Okay, I think I will start getting ready for my day, hopefully I will have more pictures soon!

SB