A Special Day

Today is special for two reasons. First, it is my last day of teaching Year 1 (I will be in a new role next semester). Second, 100 days from today I will be married! I am so excited!

It has been an amazing semester with 18 wonderful children. I am happy to say that I will still get to teach them a few afternoons a week next semester, but I will be entering the role of ESL (English as a Second Language) support for students that need a little extra help. This is really an area that I love teaching and I am looking forward to working one on one with students.

As I reflect back on the semester I see many challenges and successes. I am exhausted and ready for a holiday break, but I couldn't be happier or more pleased with how far my students have come and how much they are growing.

I wish I could show you mare pictures of my students and how wonderfully they looked and did on their Christmas production of the Little Drummer Boy, but policies are policies so I have included a couple fun photos that will let you have an idea of my class.

A gift from my boss during reports week. Need the extra energy!

Foluda

This is a very interesting Bengali dessert/drink. It has icecream, jello, tapioca and noodles. Yummy..... well sort of.... drinking it through a straw make it an experience indeed. And of course I just had to try it with my food buddy Leslie!

 Shompa and me out for some Mugli Parata. This was actually really really good. It is a fried dough with egg inside. 

 This 'Germany' rickshaw is for my lovely parents.

My dear friend Rumpa's (Shompa's sister) birthday. It is tradition that you feed each other a bite of cake. 

After reports are all finished we had a staff luncheon on our campus. The ladies made wonderful Bangla food. 

A Real Thnksgiving! 

With real turkey and ham!! It has become an annual tradition at Grace International School to have an all staff Thanksgiving dinner. It was a wonderful gift, though it was hard not being with family. 

My Wonderful Husband to Be

Many of you have now heard of my engagement, but have not heard the story of how I ended up falling in love with Alpha Upohar Samaddar. So to answer all the questions swirling around in your head, here is our story. Alpha approved of course... (and of course I must show off a few pictures!)

Alpha Upohar Samaddar

I first came to Bangladesh in 2008 when my father lead a short missions trip form my church to the organization that Alpha's family works for. At the time Alpha's mother was head of the school/orphanage we were working with. I fell in love with the country and her people from the moment the plane set down at Dhaka airport. That short trip changed my life in so many ways, many of which I am still finding out. It instilled in my heart a longing to live and work in Bangladesh. A longing that took five years, 3 more trips to Bangladesh and 3.5 months in Africa to see fulfilled (but that is another story). Back to Alpha...

Because his mother was head of school and my father was team leader we ended up spending a lot of time together, he became the translator for my class and a good friend. At the end of the trip we decided to stay in touch and texted (sms) back a forth for a few months, but lost touch until I went back the next year. I remember at the end of that first trip sitting on the plane next to my best friend joking with her that Alpha was super cute and I was going to marry him someday (oh the mind of a 16 year old girl).

2008

I returned to Bangladesh two more times in consecutive years (2009 and 2010), again seeing Alpha and keeping in touch for the few months after the trips, but not much more then that. It was always a delight to see him while I was in country and catch up on each other's lives, but being half a world away did not make it easy to stay in touch. Then school and university took over and an internship in Africa pulled me away from Bangladesh until November of 2013 when I had the chance to return on a missions trip. 

Alpha 2009

Now,there had been a running joke with my friends about this "cute Bengali guy named Alpha", I guess I talked about him more then I realized when I came back from those original trips. So after two years of not talking to him, I was on my way back to Bangladesh and a God ordained meeting.

The first time I saw him on the trip was at a church service and he did not say anything to me. Didn't even look at me (from what I could see), which is hard to do when you are a white person in a room full of Bengalis. So being the smart girl that I am I talked to his mom... "So how has Alpha been?" The next day he came to say hi. I think the exact words were "Emily, I am sorry I did not say hi yesterday. I thought you would not remember me." Wow, same fear as me. I reassured him that I did remember him and talked about him quite often back home. He told me that I was often a topic with him as well. What a lovely surprise. 

At the end of the trip we agreed not to lose touch again, exchanging email and Skype (best invention ever!) information. And we didn't lose touch, actually the opposite happened. We started Skyping everyday for hours on end. We went from being acquaintances to best friends in a very short time. And he truly was (and is) my very best friend. 

A few months later as I was applying to teach in Bangladesh, Alpha expressed interest in me as more then a friend, of course I was thrilled! (Remember my 16 year old crush? Well maybe it never really left me;)) He talked to his father who agreed to the relationship thinking 'what is the harm? She lives in America'.... well that didn't last long as I had gotten a job as a kindergarten (year 1) teacher in Dhaka the capital of Bangladesh and moved here in August. By that point Alpha and I had already been discussing the possibility of marriage, think out a few years. Then came the real test, seeing each other in person...

Alpha came to Dhaka a few week after I arrived.and after the initial 'hi... so um... well...' we just picked up where we left off on Skype, being best friends. You can see more about his first visit in my previous post "Rain forests, Tea Gardens and Leaches! Oh My!"

I then spent my fall vacation (check out the post "Eid Holiday") with his family in Khulna (his home town, south of Dhaka). It was a wonderful time. I knew his mom and had met his father and brother before, but it was really nice getting to know all of them better. This is also when the serious wedding discussions and planning happened, setting the date for 20th of March 2015!! 

I could not be more excited and happy to be marrying and spending the rest of my life with my best friend. We both appreciate your prayers as we begin wedding planning and more importantly, planning our next steps as a married couple. 

Always With Me

I had a stark reminder and a valuable lesson from one of my students today. Addy came in from lunch wearing a different outfit then she had left my class in. She told me she had gotten water on her dress and changed it. She continued to tell me that some of the other students laughed at her because she had changed her clothes. I was about to reassure her when she said "It's okay though Miss Miller, God is with me and I don't need to worry about what the other kids say."

I couldn't help but give her a big hug. I told her she was absolutely right! When she happily walked away I turned to my assistant and asked if she had heard what Addy had said. We were both in awe of how Addy had a deep and sweet understanding of God's love.

With so many changes in my life and the expectation of the coming major changes, I sometimes can forget the simple truth that God is always with me, and that my true worth is found in Him. Five year old Addy was a wonderful reminder to me today.

Eid Holiday

There are many interesting things about living in a different country, but some of the most fascinating things about Bangladesh are the Religious Holidays. This year the Muslim holy day of Eid Mubarak and the Hindu holy festival of Punja were on the same weekend. I was able to travel down to Khulna with my friend Leslie to visit Alpha for the holiday week.

Alpha, Emily and Leslie

Punja is the celebration of the ten armed goddess returning home with her children. There were large tents with the statutes of the goddess and her children everywhere. It was actually very pretty with all the lights and bright colors. There were fairs with many different kinds of vendors. I was able to try a few new sweets, like fresh coconut with sugar that tasted exactly like Frosted Flakes. I also went on a very sketchy ferries wheel of sorts. I most definitely was terrified the whole time. You can check out the video of that adventure on my Vlog.

Hindus Worshiping during Punja

Alpha, Leslie and I at Punja

The Entrance to Punja

Trumpet Player at Punja

 Eid Mubarak is the Muslim holy time where they sacrifice bull cows and goat to Allah. It is an intense time and definitely not for the squeamish. On Eid there are cows being 'cut' (killed) every few yards. I decided to stay home that morning since I had been in Bangladesh for Eid a few years back, but it was new for Laslie and so Alpha took her out to see the event. Young and old watch the sacrificing. Here are some of her more tame pictures.

A young boy watching a Cow be cut

Children gathered around a cow

A massive bull 

Every Eid it is tradition to wear a Sari so Leslie and I followed this tradition. We were invited over to a Muslim's family's house for the traditional Eid dinner. It was a wonderful time and the family was very nice, we had a lot of laughs.

Looking stunning in our Eid saris with Anjoly (Alpha's Mom) 

Leslie and I at dinner

Alpha and I 

Appitizers

The trip was wonderful, I wish I could have stayed longer. Here are some more pictures of the things we did and experienced over the holiday.

We found a Crab

Leslie and I on the bus to Khulna

Tea with the Pastor's wife

Playing with Pastor's niece

Going to a Cha Stall (having street tea)

My hair looking very red

well.... this is Bangladesh

Alpha and Emily