bangladesh bound...

my bags are packed and i leave for Bangladesh at 5am (my time) on Wednesday (about 6:30 pm on Tuesday on the east coast). I feel like i packed too much...but there also isn't anything i'm willing to leave behind, so i guess it is what it is! we're travelling by bus, and even though its only about 225mi it will take about 12 hrs. Classes start on the first.

The regional retreat was wonderful. it was great meeting some of the staff for the first time, and getting to know others better. We talked about what it means to be the Body of Christ...which has my mind racing a bit - trying to figure out what it means to invite the community here, and Sheila specifically into my own brokenness, and the ways i feel hardened, or heavy-hearted...and also into this transition from life in the states to life in a very different place with very different struggles.

This morning i had a good cry (which doesn't happen here as often as you'd think - probably cause i tend to keep my heart a bit hard). And i've been a bit caught off guard by how different it feels to move here this time compared with other times i've spent in south Asia. i "miss" home in ways i haven't before. i'm definitely still grieving transition in relationships during this season.

I also feel like i have very little tolerance for the men here right now. specifically the staring. i was a bit surprised to find that while i was in the US for 10 months, my frustration at being stared at, or inappropriate attempts at conversation quickly returned to how it was before i left.

On a different note, I went to visit my friends the Katuns today. (i got to know them the first time i was in kolkata). i wanted to see them before i left for Bangladesh...and its a good thing i did, cause they told me that the police have said their "neighborhood" (slum) will be torn down in 2 months...so if i'd waited i may never have been able to re-connect with them. there's the possibility that it won't actually happen, but i was able to exchange phone numbers with them, so we'll be able to contact each other that way.

As for my phone...its turned into an incredibly frustrating situation...i've been to the phone guy 5 times, and i'm pretty convinced that its not gonna ever work. oh well, it wouldn't work in Bangladesh anyway, so i'll just deal with it when i get back.