That's right, I said expediency and government in the same sentence!
So I half-decided awhile ago and truly decided for sure in Rajshahi that I would not be leaving Bangladesh at the end of the month (which happens to be now!). Plans have changed since my lovely friend Jill has decided to luxuriate in her Turkish experience, and I have no interest in visiting many of the places we'd thought to go on my own since I've already seen them. Remember that map I posted awhile ago? Well, fogeddaboudit, lol... allll different now - and just how different? I'm afraid even I can't answer that question at the moment!
Anything I say in the here and now is pure speculation, because really I don't know what will happen when the time comes to decide. I am easily moved to change my decisions at the moment, so I'll save you from speculation.
The fact is, Bangladesh has truly taken over my heart, and I have really no interest in leaving her beautiful lands and amazing people for anywhere else. The government is going to make me leave at some point, because after all is said and done, my tourist visa was only valid for 30 days. BUT, I'm pretty sure I can come back after I go out for a bit, so that is likely what I will do.
The past 2 days in Dhaka I have been doing a lot of sitting, a lot of writing, and a lot of waiting - the internet is SO stinkin' SLOW!! Blogging is actually making me crazy today because it is taking me 3 times longer to write anything when I add photos since the uploader stalls repeatedly while I sit around and wait for it to get sorted. However, I keep writing, because even NOW I'm only still writing about the beginning of the month - that 10 days with no computer KILLED me for keeping up with writing!! :)
While in Rajshahi I couldn't upload my photos, so my friend Rana put them all on a CD for me. Problem I didn't forsee at the time? My netbook doesn't have a CD drive of course! I will ask Kassandra later if I can use her Apple to load them to my zip drive and then I can post them later... there were some amazing sights to see in my first few days in Rajshahi, and I don't want to miss out on telling you about them!!
So today I did 2 things... 1, I spent almost 2 hours at the Western Union office trying to figure out how the $^#@! to get a money transfer over to my friend so that she isn't left eating rocks with an empty bank account (it's her money, it just happens to be in my account, thank you Korea!). At the end of the day after 2 supervisors, 3 managers and a very embarassed desk clerk they had no flipping solution, except for me to have the bank wire the money to western union in Dhaka (where they will take a percentage and my bank will charge a fee), and then wire it to Jill (where they will charge the same percentage on what's left). In the end she'll lose nearly $1,000 doing it that way, and that is not cool, so now I'm waiting to hear back from the Royal bank at home tonight.
Second, (this is actually the part about expediency and the government), I went over to the passport office to get my visa... remember the young fathead officer that sent me the wrong way (walking through the slums) when I was looking for the computer shop? Well, it turns out that he was actually guarding the immigration office, and I had no idea!
I went on Tuesday to apply for a 30-day visa extension (the maximum allowed on a tourist visa), and today I went to pick it up. I got there and when I got to the counter after waiting half hour for them to open found that I actually didn't have to go back to the office, that they had just approved my extention through the 25th in my original visit - they didn't write it in English, OR in my passport, but it's done - yay for me n' Bangladesh! I'm not sure why it isn't a full month, but whatever, what you see is what you get here so I'm over it, lol...
More soon as I figure out what on earth I'm doing - but don't get to thinking I'm coming home early, because that ain't gonna happen (sorry Mom!).
Signin' off for now,
S.
So I half-decided awhile ago and truly decided for sure in Rajshahi that I would not be leaving Bangladesh at the end of the month (which happens to be now!). Plans have changed since my lovely friend Jill has decided to luxuriate in her Turkish experience, and I have no interest in visiting many of the places we'd thought to go on my own since I've already seen them. Remember that map I posted awhile ago? Well, fogeddaboudit, lol... allll different now - and just how different? I'm afraid even I can't answer that question at the moment!
Anything I say in the here and now is pure speculation, because really I don't know what will happen when the time comes to decide. I am easily moved to change my decisions at the moment, so I'll save you from speculation.
The fact is, Bangladesh has truly taken over my heart, and I have really no interest in leaving her beautiful lands and amazing people for anywhere else. The government is going to make me leave at some point, because after all is said and done, my tourist visa was only valid for 30 days. BUT, I'm pretty sure I can come back after I go out for a bit, so that is likely what I will do.
The past 2 days in Dhaka I have been doing a lot of sitting, a lot of writing, and a lot of waiting - the internet is SO stinkin' SLOW!! Blogging is actually making me crazy today because it is taking me 3 times longer to write anything when I add photos since the uploader stalls repeatedly while I sit around and wait for it to get sorted. However, I keep writing, because even NOW I'm only still writing about the beginning of the month - that 10 days with no computer KILLED me for keeping up with writing!! :)
While in Rajshahi I couldn't upload my photos, so my friend Rana put them all on a CD for me. Problem I didn't forsee at the time? My netbook doesn't have a CD drive of course! I will ask Kassandra later if I can use her Apple to load them to my zip drive and then I can post them later... there were some amazing sights to see in my first few days in Rajshahi, and I don't want to miss out on telling you about them!!
So today I did 2 things... 1, I spent almost 2 hours at the Western Union office trying to figure out how the $^#@! to get a money transfer over to my friend so that she isn't left eating rocks with an empty bank account (it's her money, it just happens to be in my account, thank you Korea!). At the end of the day after 2 supervisors, 3 managers and a very embarassed desk clerk they had no flipping solution, except for me to have the bank wire the money to western union in Dhaka (where they will take a percentage and my bank will charge a fee), and then wire it to Jill (where they will charge the same percentage on what's left). In the end she'll lose nearly $1,000 doing it that way, and that is not cool, so now I'm waiting to hear back from the Royal bank at home tonight.
Second, (this is actually the part about expediency and the government), I went over to the passport office to get my visa... remember the young fathead officer that sent me the wrong way (walking through the slums) when I was looking for the computer shop? Well, it turns out that he was actually guarding the immigration office, and I had no idea!
I went on Tuesday to apply for a 30-day visa extension (the maximum allowed on a tourist visa), and today I went to pick it up. I got there and when I got to the counter after waiting half hour for them to open found that I actually didn't have to go back to the office, that they had just approved my extention through the 25th in my original visit - they didn't write it in English, OR in my passport, but it's done - yay for me n' Bangladesh! I'm not sure why it isn't a full month, but whatever, what you see is what you get here so I'm over it, lol...
More soon as I figure out what on earth I'm doing - but don't get to thinking I'm coming home early, because that ain't gonna happen (sorry Mom!).
Signin' off for now,
S.
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