O-K

So, amidst my midslump meanderings about being bored, several very un boring things happened that made me realize that nothing here is really boring. I may be feeling bored, but really adventures and the unexpected still surprise me and the rest of the country apparently.

The very next day after my "I am bored" post these things happened.

1. I was traveling with Fellow MCCer Rebecca (who works in the Peace program) and her 15 month old daughter, Hannah, by rickshaw to the Dhaka bus stand. A car pulled out in front of us and another rickshaw hit us from behind, throwing both Rebecca and Hannah to the ground. Thankfully, Rebecca's hand protected Hannah's face and no serious injuries occured--we were just shaken up.

2. We got to the bus stand and realized we were going to have to wait for 2 hours. Ususally busses go every 1/2 hr at least from Mymensingh to Dhaka. There was going to be another road blockade so people were trying to get where they needed to be. The place was a mad house. To kill time we wandered through a Mymensingh slum (that I thought was going to be a very beautiful road to have a relaxing walk on--ooops..and when that got old quick we went on a rickshaw ride....

3. We fin-ally got on board, were traveling at a reasonable rate, our bus driver was not even honking that much, making for a time of good conversation with Rebecca. Hannah was sleeping. We are almost to Dhaka, when our bus driver stopped to let more people on the bus. Apparently he stopped somewhere he shouldn't have b/c the next thing we knew the police pulled him over (I didn't even know there were actual traffic laws or who enforced them) and asked for a drivers liscense or else be arrested. Well, our bus driver didn't have one, and got yanked off the bus, and arrested, right before all 60 passenger's eyes. Now we were on the side of the road with no bus driver. Awesome.

4. As it would go, we met a man who told us where the city bus stand was, to get us the rest of the way in to Dhaka. He helped us buy tickets etc. Now we are on the bus with terrible traffic, but still moving at least. As we got closer, Rebecca recognized where we were and suggested walking as a better way to get to our destination. So we hastily got off the bus, ran across 5 lanes of traffic to get to the road that would lead us to Asad Gate (our destination). It's dark by now.

5. As we are walking, with Hannah on my shoulders, I get a phone call from Ethel, the country representative, (our supervisor) saying that a curfew has been put in place and to get where we were going as soon as possible. She sounded serious, but didn't say why the curfew was being implemented as she knew we were still outside.

6. We finish walking down Parliment road, get to our flat, and Ethel calls again. She tells us that there is a Curfew because the Military has taken over and that Bangladesh has declared a "state of emergency." She tells us the President has resigned and that it looks very serious and to stay inside.

7. BBC news has tons of TV coverage about it. Today, things seem to be under a bit more control, but the situation is definately still shaky. Nobody really knows what will happen. The elections have been postponed until they can be arranged in a neutral way. We'll see if that happens and when it will happen.....

8. To top it all off on the return trip home we got a brick thrown through our train window. No injuries occured.

The end.