BOO!

Greetings Goblins and Goblinettes...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Actually, it is the afternoon of the first day of November here, and the only thing scary to me right now is the upcoming election. I shiver at the mere thought of "four more years..."

Last night there was a very fun BRAC intern Halloween party. We invited many of our Bangladeshi colleagues and their families to join us on the rooftop of the apartment building for some candy, costumes, and orange punch. I came dressed as Begum Khaleda Zia, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Her (my) picture is to the right. I wore a bright pink sari, some white makeup, a white hijab (head covering), and a very serious expression. I think the "I HEART BNP" pin really gave it away though. What's BNP you ask? Look it up.

There were some other great costumes. Keisuke came as a security gaurd, dressed in complete para military regalia including a green beret. He borrowed the outfit from an actual gaurd. Clara was a rickshaw wallah and had the drawn-on mustache and plastic bag over her head to boot (the rickshaw drivers are self conscious about their hair, especially during the rainy season). There were several superheroes, including batman, superman, and Harry Potter. It was a great time. The best part of the evening was watching a few of my friends show off their new "fire spinning" skills. They've been taking classes in this art of swinging around two flaming kerosene lamps on chains while spinning and dancing. We got to see a grand finale performance by their teacher, which was totally badass.

In other news, my BRAC research is in full swing, as are the English classes I am helping to teach twice a week at another NGO called Sati. Sati focuses primarily on sex workers and garment workers and aims to help women develop marketable skill sets such as driving, computers, office work, etc. I really enjoy working with this group, as they are all about my age and such a fun and vibrant bunch of women.

Finally, I am BEYOND excited for my family's trip to India/Bangladesh. My parents are flying out to India in less than two weeks, and my sister will be here around Christmas time. I can't to see them and show 'em around the South Asian 'hood. I feel like I know it by now...

OK, off to work...