Welcome to Dhaka!

I arrived safely this morning around 6AM local time to Dhaka! The flight was pretty smooth, just a bit tiring after having already been on a plane for 10+ hours. My aunt sent someone in "an expediter" to with a sign with my name on it to guide me beyond the customs area.  I saw the expediter and the sign with my name, then proceeded to fill in my landing card with passport and visa details, etc. Upon approaching the immigration desk, I was greeted by the immigration officer. "You look like Serena Williams" he said with a big smile.  I started cracking up.  Here I am trying to make sure I spelled the neighborhood correctly on my landing card and he reiterates "I saw you and thought 'look Serena coming.'"  And then we chatted more about Serena and how she's the "Queen of Wimbledon" and how I have zero tennis skills whatsoever! Pretty soon I was all stamped in and my trip was officially beginning. 

I met my aunt in the parking lot and she immediately reached for her phone to take a photo as I approached to give her a hug. Vibrant as always, she and I hopped into the car and we headed home.  Her home is in a beautiful neighborhood with lots of rooftop gardens. 

By 10:30AM I was really starting to feel exhausted. I took a shower and 5-hour nap.  

By 8 PM we were on our way to a dinner party at a friend's house.  What a welcome! Everyone I met, of about 20+ people were very nice and genuinely interested in chatting with me as we enjoyed hors d'oeuvres of mini samosas and idly.  Idly I had before in India, with sambar, but it was served on tooth pics at the party and with aloo samosas— who can go wrong?! If this was any indicator of dinner, I knew I was in for a treat and boy was a right! The spread was fantastic, all traditional Bangladeshi foods. Also who knew aubergine, could look so good. I could have easily eaten more, but had to save room for desert.  I had a homemade yogurt with pomegranate, a kulfi-style ice cream, and lots of small dessert including one that tasted just like sugarcake only shaped into a round ball.  Before I left my uncle told me that many of the Indians from Guyana were brought over from regions in northern India bordering Bangladesh.  I expect to find more similarities in food and/or culture. 

This dinner party was the perfect first day welcome! 

Fast forward to the next day… still woke up tired around 6AM 🥱 so may go back to sleep. But now that I’ve spilled water from the dehumidifier all over the floor and just mopped it up.. it may be tough to go back to bed again. 😬