Bangladesh, more colorful, more sweet.

Yesterday Sanjita, the translator, made us laugh when she told us she doesn't like maple syrup because it's too sweet. Everything is sweet here, the white bread tastes as if it's been sprinkled with sugar, the bananas and tangerines are sweeter too. There are always sugar crystals at the bottom of the mug of dudh cha (milk tea) or coffee.
Yesterday, Setu, a paramedic, bought us 'mishti' or 'sweets.' We tried roshmalai, Gaibanda's famous style of sweets. After we finished our cha, the owner took us to tour the kitchen. Of course I did not have my camera. The main part of the sweet is made from milk curds (similar to making paneer) which are formed into balls and then saturated in sugar/syrup/cream mixture. One sweetmaker squatted on the floor making the curds, the others stood at a table making balls. The room was poorly lit and filled with smoke from the wood burning stove where the milk was boiling. I was reminded of this article about building a better stove for the developing world from the New Yorker http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/12/21/091221fa_fact_bilger .
For dinner last night the cook brought two live chickens for our farewell. Helena brought up a good point that live chickens are probably the best way to ensure the meat is not spoiled, I did not try any, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. Someone brought paan, the betel nut wrapped in a leaf with sugar and spices that acts as a digestiv and makes your mouth (and, when spat, the sidewalk) red, I did not try it because I can only eat cooked food. There are many things here I would like to try, but dysentary with a subcontinental toilet is certainly not one of them.
For the last two days I visited chars, the first, Shidai was about an hour and a half boat ride from Gaibanda. I wasn't able to see any patients there, but I did see the child nutrition program as well as the vocational and primary schools. Also we got to see parts of a maize harvest. The second char, Kunder Para, was closer, and I was able to see many pediatric patients and start collecting data.
Today we left Gaibanda for EFH, a long boat ride. On our last rickshaw ride to the dock, a group of school kids in white and blue uniforms waved at us, excited by our wave back, they started running after our rickshaws, collecting more screaming waving children as they went, it made us all laugh and again reminded me of the Pied Piper with his flute and trail of children following behind. Currently posting this from an air conditioned cabin on EFH, feels quite luxurious!