Another normal trip to Mymensingh....

I went up to visit my friends Reba and Cicely in Mymensingh yesterday. Since there was a large Muslim prayer gathering (the 2nd largest Muslim gathering in the world) between Dhaka and Mymensingh, I decided to leave early.
I left my apartment around 7 am on Saturday morning and walked out into a nice dense fog. I stood in the middle of the street and couldn't even see 3 stores down! It was intense. Waving down a taxi to get me to the bus station was easier than I thought it would be and as we drove the fog appeared to lighten up barely. Upon arriving at the bus station, I got on the bus and waited for what seemed like an eternity for the bus to load and go. In the last few weeks the new caretaker government has cracked down on the bus drivers who are not legal to drive, this makes me feel safer....kind of. Anyways, as the bus made its way out of Dhaka through the fog, the doctor sitting by me kept saying "this is dangerous". Encouraging words as we drove past a bus that hadn't even left the city yet and had already run on to a curb and hit a light pole. As the fog began to lighten, a new problem caught me attention, the road was wet! I never think about how bald tires might be unless if I'm driving, but as I felt the bus slide beneath me, I began to wonder. Thank God that the bus driver knew how to drive! I got to Mymensingh safely at around 10.
I have only been to Mymensingh once before and in that time I did not get to see very much of the city. Yesterday morning my friend Reba and I went through the market to get a few things that she needed. Later on we met with Cicely at the Catholic Mission in town. It was amazing how different the inside of the mission was from the rest of the city that surrounded it. I forgot where I was. Reba and I assisted Cicely as she baked cookies with her class. It was fun to see Cicely interact with her students and the way that they took to her.
After the baking we made our way to the Agricultural University in Mymensingh. It had been a long time since I had been on a college campus. Though there is a college across the street from me, its "campus" doesn't really exist. The University in Mymensingh was beautiful and had a lot of open room and fresh air.
Last night we went to a prayer service at the Taize Brothers' church in Mymensingh. It was so peaceful listening to the prayers and songs in Bangla. The church felt a lot like the churches I've been in Europe.
Afterward we went out to eat and amazingly enough, we ran into a badeshi (foreigner in Bangladesh) at the restuarant. I actually knew the person too! Boy oh boy did I feel important!
I spent the night at the MCC Guest House last night and this morning after breakfast, Reba and I went to a village west of Mymensingh. As we got to bus station we found that the bus we wanted to ride was moving already. Realizing that it was not going to stop, we got on to the moving bus. Definitely a first for me. In the village we visited one of the NGOs that MCC works with. The NGO produces bags that have old wrappers as their coverings.
As we left the village we were just in time to watch a building get demolished by a caterpillar tractor. After that we noticed that quite a few buildings had been destroyed since we had last gone by them.
For our trip back we first got on board a maxi-taxi which is a lot like 16 passengers sitting in the typical space for a pickup truck. It was a bit crammed, but I enjoyed jiving with the locals. The experience, however, was short lived. A tired blew after about 10 minutes and we boarded a tempo. This is an even smaller bus-like thing that carries 8-10 people. It was an interesting ride filled with exhaust and being looked at.
I spent the afternoon with Reba and Cicely at the MCC office in Mymensingh. After trying to figure out software for my phone on Reba's computer and failing, I decided that I might as well make my way back to Dhaka. I got to the bus station to board the bus that I had taken up the last two times only to discover that there were no drivers available. Eventually another bus drove up from a different company and took everyone that was waiting for the bus drivers to arrive. I met a college student who spoke English and told me to get on board this bus. Realizing that I could be stuck waiting for a while for the other bus, I took my chances and got on board. "Is this a bus that stops every 5 minutes?" I wondered for a while until 5 minutes became 10 and eventually 30 and then I no longer questioned, I was on a non-stop bus to Dhaka! Though it was non-stop to Dhaka, it was definitely stopped in Dhaka. Upon arriving into the northern parts of the city tonight at around 6:30, there was a horrible traffic jam from the Muslim prayer gathering. I think it had just gotten over with. We waited in traffic for roughly an hour and a half. Can't 8 million people move any faster in a 10 mile radius? Seriously!
Finally though, I made it home. As I type this I look at the clock and realize that the super bowl is going to be on ESPN here in 7 hours. The only question is this, do I gather the energy to watch it or simply check the internet when I wake up and pretend like I did? Questions.... Either way, GO BEARS!