Bowman Gets in Lots of Family Time

When you live in the same country as your family, you get to see them a whole lot more.  It's great!

I got to visit Cousin Cedar for a few hours in Seattle on my way to Glacier.  It was super nice of Uncle Andy to meet us at the airport for our long layover, and I loved seeing him, Aunt Lisa and Cedar again after almost a year.  

I've been staying with my Most (Grandpa Davidson) for most of the time I've been back in America, and Mormor came up for a long weekend.  Just today, though, they both officially moved to Montana.  Congratulations on your new job, Mormor!

While my grandparents were packing up their house in Arizona and driving their cars from Phoenix, Mom and I drove to Bozeman, Montana where my Aunt Katy, Uncle Brad, Cousin Stimson and newest Cousin Merritt live.  What fun to hang out at parks with them and even learn to roast Carlson hot dogs over a fire.  Thanks for such a great week!

Of course, I wish I would have had some time with my Carlson Grams and Gramps, but that should come soon, right?

Bowman Breaks in his Vest

I have to dress a whole lot more warmly now that I live in Montana.  I think I've worn this sweatshirt (thanks, Zach!) and vest (thanks, Dad, for getting me a fake North Face in Kathmandu!) almost every day since March 24 when I got here.  Also, there are waaaaaay more rocks for me to throw here than I ever found in Dhaka.  I take that back; I often found rocks piled up near construction sites in Dhaka, but there was no safe space to throw them.  Mom was always telling me to be careful because so many people were always around.  Here, that's not the case.  This is the driveway at my Davidson Grandparents' house where I'm staying, and seeing it every morning when I wake up is like being in Heaven. 

Mom also feels like we're in Heaven because we can drive to Lake McDonald in less than 15 minutes.  Lake McDonald is the lake in Glacier National Park where she and Dad met in 2005.  It's a pretty special place for them.  I'm learning to love it, too.  The other day I told everyone that, "Lake McDonal rocks!"  I was just trying to tell them that I wanted to play with the rocks by the beach, but they all think I was telling them how great of a place it is.

Of course, the real best part about being here is being by more family.  This is me with my Most Amazing Grandfather who really encourages my rock-throwing habit.  My Mormor was also here for a few days, and will be coming back for good in about a week, but she took all of these pictures, so I don't have any with her in them.

So, when are you going to come visit now that I live in such a cool place?

Bowman and Duffle Bags

My Dad is really proud of his luggage.  It a collection he's amassed through years of REI employment and travelling to Nepal where these name-brands (or their knockoffs) can be found in many corner shops.  These are the four bags (all just hovering around that 23 kilogram limit) that Mom and I had to get through customs in Bangladesh and Seattle about two weeks ago.  In Dhaka, we were quite a spectacle and no one wanted to help, but we did get plenty of aid in Seattle, and in the Kalispell airport my Most Amazing Grandfather was there to drag them off the belt for us. 

And now here we are in Coram, Montana, waiting for Dad to get here in three more weeks, and my new little sibling to arrive in about four more weeks.  Things are a little different here than they were in Bangladesh!

Bowman's Best of Bangladesh 2011-2012

I've actually moved away from Bangladesh, and realize I need to change the title of my blog, but it's all happened rather quickly to me this week.  I have a few more things to say about life in Dhaka before I'm ready to move on in this blog!  Here are the best things that happened to me this year:

Sathy  

Sathy worked for my family and was incredible.  She would take care of me when both Mom and Dad were working; make food I liked like kichuri with vegetables, rice and lentils mixed together; and make sure the house was nice and clean so when I did things like chew on the window grates, I wasn't getting sick.  She was a beautiful woman who cared about me, worked hard and loved God, and I will miss her influence on my life.

Babygroup

In Dhaka, there are a whole bunch of parents who want their kids to get out and play and have a chance to socialize, but realize that there isn't a lot of space for it.  They have organized babygroups, most from 10-12 in the morning before lunch and nap times, in their homes to let us do that.  Last year Mom took me to a bunch of babygroups so she could meet other parents and talk.  This year, I was much more social and started to own the groups for myself.  On Wednesdays, a group of my friends always came over to my house for playtime, snacks and general frivolity.  I loved these kiddos and am still talking about them even after missing the groups for a full week.

Family Time

In this picture I may not look like I love my family, but I do, and I loved how much time we had together in Dhaka.  With no car and no malls and no crazy agendas like people seem to have in the West (as my parents call most of the rest of the world), we had a lot of time together even though Dad worked more than full time and Mom volunteered with a youth group and at the school and worked with a few students.  We'd all do our grocery shopping together on weekends and ride a school bus or a rickshaw (like we're doing in this picture) home together because one person couldn't ever carry all of the vegetables and fruit alone.  Mom would take me to Dad's after-school practices because it would give me a chance to run around with an extra football and then we could walk home together.  Dad would bring me to the American Club while Mom was helping with youth group and we'd get to play on one of the only swings in Dhaka together afterwards.  They'd take turns putting me to bed after family dinners because everyone could pretty consistently be home in the evenings with no extra distractions to keep us busy.  

Dhaka, there are many things about you that made Mom cry and made normal life take a long time and a lot of work, but I'm thankful for almost two years of time to learn some Bangla. hang out with Sathy, play with some great friends, and see my family all together as much as I did.