beauty

i feel like i've been able to see/experience a lot of beauty recently.

this afternoon we went to one of our classmate's house. She is from pakistan and lives here with her sister and brother-in-law. they live on the 12th floor of a building overlooking a golf course. it was beautiful! we ate wonderful food, and had an incredible conversation. my brain is still reeling a bit trying to wrap my mind around gender and race and safety and opportunity questions/comments that came up. (as a small bit of history, there was a war for independance fought between pakistan and bangladesh).

this evening i watched the closing ceremony of the South Asia Games. after they torch was extinguished there were dances representing the different areas/tribes of Bangladesh. it was beautiful. (the automated bird was a bit ghetto...but the dancing/music/costumes...amazing).

the weather is amazing. i know it won't stay like this...that its gonna get really hot sooner than i'd like, but for now, its just perfect. i'm not hot. i'm not cold. i sit out on the roof/balcony of the school/my house and study in the afternoons. i look at the potted flowers, and catch sight of a bird every once in awhile. the school is on a relatively quite road, so even the horns aren't too annoying (although there is some construction/demolition going on that can get a bit loud sometimes).

i've been going for walks to a park with a lake a few times a week. i love that i can exercise...

the past couple days sheila and i have had some great conversations with people around the school...practicing our bangla, and learning more too. i really love that i'm getting to know the teachers more, and joking with them after class and around the building (sheila and i are staying a guest room at the school...so we live there...which really has been nice...and provides lots of opportunity to get our grammar and vocab questions answered!).

there is a little puppy outside our house that gives me great joy. its strange. i'm not a dog person. i'm not a pet person really. i mean, they're fine...but i can take them or leave them (generally), and especially here where the street dogs look pretty rough...but this little puppy, well, i just like him. he makes me smile every time i see him waddle/run down the road. i know he'll get big soon, but for now, he's my buddy (but i refuse to touch him...cause then he'd be my friend for like, and i'm not ready to commit to that...not even for the next 4 months).

and a bonus comment...no beauty here, but a chuckle at least: i asked today how to say "loud" or "noisy" cause i wanted to say, "My shoes are loud" (when i walk down the stairs they flip and flop and make a lot of noise). the direct translation is, "My shoes have words" or "my shoes are talking"...now this makes me smile every time my feet loudly flop down the stairs.