Over the past two weeks here in Bangladesh, we have had the opportunity to leave the orphanage compound, to journey into Hili, a number of times. We should begin by explaining our modes of transportation. 

Mode 1. The Put-Put (The name is self-explanatory)
The put-put is a motorized tricycle with a flat bed, where we ride. Side effects: the illusion of being on a roller coaster, spinning vision, white knuckles and/or arthritis, and the occasional mouth-full of dust, exhaust, or splattering of poo. 

Mode 2. Rickshaw Van (Disclaimer: This is not a van) 
The rickshaw van is a tricycle with a make-shift wooden bench attached above the two back wheels. The trick of a rickshaw van is to fit as many people as you can and then add three more. Side effects: Spinal re-alignment, loss of feeling in lower body (i.e. bum, legs, feet, ankles, toes), renewed sense of bonding with companions, as well as the risk of loss of upper extremities. 

These rides have given us a new meaning for the word "gawk". Some of the villagers are shy in their approach to staring, while others are bold enough to run right up to us. There are those who yell out the few phrases of English they know: "Hi!", "How are you?", "What is your name?", "What is your country?". Others take pictures- some from afar, some closer than we'd like any camera to be. Once a young man riding on a bike turned around to get a second look at the white girls and to his dismay rode straight into the wall of a road-side shop. We even had a rickshaw van full of policemen snapping shots with their their cell phone cameras! We try to return the favor though, and capture everything we see along the way.

-Elise and Cassie