Quick Update

There's a lot to tell you about the last few days. Instead of one massive note though, maybe I'll say a bit tonight and write more in the morning. First of all, Deborah is much better. Turns out she had two types of worms, which is actually ok, because that's treatable with medicine. For a few days, I couldn't eat much, just some plain rice. The food here is much oilier, and that makes my stomach very angry! At first, I was a bit concerned it was something more, as I was nauseous and slightly disoriented when I stood up after one meeting, and that night I had a high fever. But I slept in the next morning and was ok, except that I still couldn't eat much.

So maybe I'll just tell you all a few of the more interesting things about this crazy city and the lovely people here.
First of all, you risk your life crossing the street. Cars do not stop for pedestrians, and they are mostly unwilling to slow down. Even if you step right in front of them. And the streets are filled with cars, buses, rickshaws, autorickshaws, bikes, carts, etc., all weaving in and out around each other. It's amazing they don't have more accidents. But I have noticed that there really aren't many dent-free transportation vehicles.

Be glad for Sunday mtgs where everyone has a chair! Yesterday, there were about 30 people smashed in a tiny room. Two of the brothers sat on the floor with the kids, and 7 or 8 of us sat on the bed.

Women's Lib needs to make its way to this part of the world. It's actually not too bad here, especially since, as a foreigner, I have a higher status, but this also means I attract much more attention from the men. Everywhere I go, they just stare. The van driver today adjusted his rearview mirror everytime I moved, so he could watch me (I really wish he'd spent more time looking at the road!). But the other thing about this is, I'm technically not supposed to look at them any more than I absolutely have to. Deborah was saying it's best if I just kind of ignore them, even when they smile and try to talk, or else they'll think I'm really interested in them. Bengali girls are rather cold towards strange men, but I just feel really stuck up and rude!

I think I'd better wrap things up for tonight, but one short story first. John Watt is a bit of a case. During testimonies on one day of the convention, he was translating for an older man who was going on and on (they do that here!) about how horrible he's been in the past. So John translated some of that and then said (in his Kiwi accent), "Poor thing. I don't think he's ever done anything wrong; he just feels bad." I had a hard time keeping a straight face, but we had too, especially because the poor guy was so upset! For those of you who know Dan Helenek, John is a bit of a New Zealand version.

I'll try to write more tomorrow.