tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368948551014422792024-03-12T20:29:49.539-07:00The adventures continueA collections of photos, thoughts, observations, and comments, while working on projects for the American Red Cross.Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-47293174098071778972012-06-30T17:41:00.001-07:002012-07-01T17:36:58.816-07:00Lake Superior Circumnavigation - Day 1The following posts will document my experiences as I drive around Lake Superior on my Goldwing. I'm meeting up with my niece Cathy's husband, JP Fortin, in Sault Ste Marie. JP has a BMW R1200RT.
I left home on a bright sunny morning and it was already 75F at 8:00am. The temperature warmed steadily into the mid to upper 80's until somewhere near Newberry, MI when it started to drop back into the 70's - it felt good. First day was a drive up to Sault Ste Marie, about 320 miles. Nothing out of the ordinary to report, just a very pleasant ride. Got a real treat at the border when I crossed over the bridge into Canada to find there was only one car in front of me ... that doesn't happen often.
One thing to note - I bought a pair of Diamond Gusset riding jeans fortified in the appropriate spots with kevlar and with a gusset sewn in the crotch for extra riding comfort ...they're GREAT, very comfortable.
Met up with JP at the Catalina Motel in the Sault. JP is from Ottawa and had ridden up from North Bay where he had overnighted with my sister and brother-in-law. His BMW is a great looking bike and he's obviously happy with it. It was fun looking at the many 'extras' he had added ... for safety of course. We checked out the CB's to make sure we could chat to one another while we're driving.
JP and I walked to dinner at Swiss Chalet and got my first mandatory fix - a half chicken dinner with extra dipping sauce! We'll have to find a Tim Horton's tomorrow for my second fix - a large Timmies coffee with double cream.
We're planning for an 8:00am start in the morning to head towards Terrace Bay. The giant goose in Wawa awaits.Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-59848391003827550302012-03-22T09:01:00.000-07:002012-09-19T08:40:13.387-07:0016 Days in the Life of an ECRV4711 Deployment<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Day 1 – Get a call at home is Wisconsin at 9:30am that
ECRV4711 has been deployed to the Kentucky tornadoes operation – on the road in
less than 30 minutes - drive 175 miles from home to pick up the ECRV at it’s
home in Glenview, IL – meet up with Jill Rowan, co-ECRV operator for this DRO –
drive 400 miles to Lexington, KY – arrive after 9:00pm – stop by chapter office
and meet local staff still at it – busy days ahead - overnight in Lexington<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Day 2 – Drive to West Liberty, KY to Morgan Central
Elementary School (MCES) – see the major devastation in the center of West
Liberty where it looks like the entire town has been wiped out - complete site
survey and establish communications inside the school – get IP phones out and
charging – all cellular communications are dead – run WAP into shelter area in
gym for “Safe & Well” laptops that never get used – shelter operation looks
chaotic to me but things quickly turn around when Brad Powell and Tim Vargo from
West Kentucky arrive to lead the operation - take down truck at end of day and
drive to motel in Morehead (25 miles) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>– motel has never heard of us – luckily find rooms nearby –
finally get to bed after 11:00pm<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Day 3 – wake up to 4” to 6” fresh wet snow – back to MCES
and set up communications – Verizon cell network now up so we retrieve the IP
phones and issue cell phones – much better – finally get staff cards but they
don’t work - go to new motel and meet my new roommate – Leroy Harris, an ERV
driver from west Kentucky – offers to buy me earplugs – an ominous start –
Leroy turns out to be a wonderful roommate and we pledge to share a room
together on a future operation if our paths cross<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Day 4 – A frosty start to the morning – back to MCES and set
up communications only to be told mid-morning that the shelter is relocating
that afternoon to the Assembly of Faith Church (AoFC) – discover that
multi-function printer we had ordered for fax capability was delivered to
Louisville instead of West Liberty – tear down all communications at MCES and
drive to AoFC – re-establish communications using a large RV-based mobile
operation center from RJ Corman as the Ops Center – order more laptops and
phones – it’s ramping up – start work on TIMS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Day 5 – Communications set up at AoFC then I spent the large
part of the day looking for a new Ops Center – the RV is quickly outgrowing
it’s utility – and also a client services center with local RC volunteer, Jim
Rummage – order more equipment for new Ops Center – find empty former bookstore
in a mall in Morehead – should do the job – lots of space, lots of light and
power, and a good site for the ECRV as long as we don’t raise the mast<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Day 6 – Move to the new Ops Center in Morehead and establish
communications – tables and chairs finally arrive later in the morning – new
equipment for Ops Center arrives and includes a Ruckus, a high-speed wifi
device – we have problems getting it working until we discover that the Ruckus
doesn’t play well with LDL’s (older laptops) – convert to newer laptops and all
is well – more staff continue to arrive that need equipment – we now have Ops
Management, Disaster Assessment, Mass Care, Government Liaison, Logistics, and
Staff Services followed shortly by Health Services, Disaster Mental Health,
Client Services, and Community Relations – receive word that ECRV has to move
tomorrow to set up a Client Services Center (CSC) at a church east of West
Liberty – more equipment ordered to set up a simplified wifi network<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Day 7 – Set up communications at Morehead waiting for final
word on the CSC at church – two new DST volunteers, Greg and Diane Ambrose,
arrive from Louisville with a VSAT – get communications established through
VSAT for the Ops Center and the ECRV is now free to go to the CSC – run the
VSAT cable in through the vent in the Ladies toilet which had become
non-operational – find out that the CSC is now going to be at the MCES where
the shelter was when we first arrived – get laundry done – clean fresh clothes
– life is good<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Day 8 – Jill and Diane take ECRV to MCES and set up the CSC
using a second Ruckus – have trouble most of the day with wifi disconnects – no
problems at Ops Center – Greg and Diane had been certified as ECRV operators
but had never had the chance to work on an actual DRO – they’re in heaven<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Day 9 – Go to MCES with Greg to set up communications for
CSC – wifi problem still present so we hard wire all laptops to the switch, a
reminder of DRO’s past – all is well … after we disable “radio” on all the
laptops<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Day 10 – Settle in to supporting both locations with half of
the team going to MCES with the ECRV for the CSC and the other half remaining
at the Ops Center for day-to-day support - fairly quiet day at both locations –
major effort was unloading a large box truck full of donated supplies by hand<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Day 11 – DRO is into a rhythm as connectivity at both
locations is ticking along and it’s only the infrequent “help desk” type
inquiries to keep us busy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Day 12 – Hear we have to be out of MCES in two days so they
can get it ready to restart school – begin limited testing to see where we
might establish another CSC<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Day 13 – The VSAT is very close to a dumpster that needs
emptying – we came in very early (6:30am) and tilt the dish to ensure it won’t
get accidentally bumped – dump truck never arrives – about 7:30am Greg goes and
looks at dumpster to discover it’s already been emptied – when, we don’t know –
Mike Brown, a new DST volunteer on his first DST DRO but with many DRO’s as
Mental Health, arrives from Louisville to help with possible quick relocation
of CSC overnight – at end of day we tear down the CSC at MCES and get all
equipment back to Morehead Ops Center – set up laptops for Client Services at
Ops Center<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Day 14 – Client Services decide to do outreach from Morehead
Ops Center – no need for a new CSC and no need for the ECRV any longer – word
is it may have to go to Austin for an overhaul – 4711 is one of the few, if
any, remaining trucks with a Garmin StreetPilot III – it will be replaced by a
“puck” – we hoped to do a VSAT realignment and cross-polarization test but
couldn’t connect with support<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Day 15 – Turn ECRV over to Greg and Diane for trip to Austin
and we take rental car to Louisville for out-processing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Day 16 – Drive back to Glenview, IL with two volunteers from
Greater Chicago then short 3 hour drive home to Wisconsin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Conclusion: A very successful and rewarding deployment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-3690602362892483422012-03-06T15:56:00.003-08:002012-03-06T16:58:11.564-08:00ECRV4711 Goes to Kentucky<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Early Saturday morning I got the call that they were deploying the Red Cross Emergency Communications Response Vehicle (ECRV) 4711 to assist in the relief efforts for the major tornado outbreak that occurred through southern Indiana and Kentucky. Since I was the "on-call" operator I was on the road to Chicago at 9:30am. By 1:00pm we had the ECRV rolling to Lexington and we arrived late that evening. The next morning we drove to one of the hardest hit communities in Kentucky, West Liberty, and set up the ECRV to provide communications to the Command Center and shelter at Morgan County Elementary School. The following are just a few photos. I'll post more later.</div>
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Monday morning we woke up to find a “fresh”<br />
dusting of snow over everything</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxKtfG2kqE6HSczJBReifufj1TG5nvyhGdz94hDrNGbJanxMktlG0ZOyCE2kgtlRZWzVPqYPkfeqFzG58EHfeC-6G1qh_i3O-uAci_iERtDE1Gie5vAsAgIGNDwPQy3nP1sFEg6kIP2tFT/s1600/IMG_1820.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxKtfG2kqE6HSczJBReifufj1TG5nvyhGdz94hDrNGbJanxMktlG0ZOyCE2kgtlRZWzVPqYPkfeqFzG58EHfeC-6G1qh_i3O-uAci_iERtDE1Gie5vAsAgIGNDwPQy3nP1sFEg6kIP2tFT/s320/IMG_1820.JPG" uda="true" width="320" /></a></div>
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The snow certainly made a pretty drive to the shelter<br />
but added insult to injury to the victims of the tornado.</div>
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Just a sample of the destruction in West Liberty.<br />
It was the worst I've seen and looked like the tornado<br />
was 100+ yards wide as it moved right over the<br />
center of the town.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdUPudALXm4nxJ00fU-BzUg5CYXo4gkxsE3adJoz6c2dkCmI2Uak8qJ9wjl9XmksF13hhoiOT9Rr_QQJJGhy9ACbi_8Rlrg0QHClLbBN45Qg6dokzEoOZ63ORdo2u8R5mtNfsB05hBX-Dz/s1600/IMG_1827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdUPudALXm4nxJ00fU-BzUg5CYXo4gkxsE3adJoz6c2dkCmI2Uak8qJ9wjl9XmksF13hhoiOT9Rr_QQJJGhy9ACbi_8Rlrg0QHClLbBN45Qg6dokzEoOZ63ORdo2u8R5mtNfsB05hBX-Dz/s320/IMG_1827.JPG" uda="true" width="320" /></a></div>
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My co-driver Jill Rowan.<br />
She is seated on one of the 'small' chairs at one of the 'small'<br />
tables at the Command Center. We used the Head Start room<br />
because it allowed easy access to the ECRV to run a<br />
Wireless Access Point (WAP) into the office.</div>
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Today we moved the shelter to the Assembly of Faith Church,<br />
just north of West Liberty.</div>
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We also have a new Command Center in a Mobile<br />
Operations Center provided to the effort by the</div>
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R. J. Corman Railroad Group - the big red RV.<br />
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The ECRV is providing connectivity to the</div>
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Red Cross network for the staff inside the</div>
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Command Center - I now have "vehicle envy"!!</div>
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</div>Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0Morgan St, West Liberty, KY 41472, USA37.9214758 -83.259621637.871372300000004 -83.3385856 37.9715793 -83.1806576tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-63644988687910741202011-11-07T00:45:00.000-08:002012-03-06T16:38:53.505-08:00Not a Good Time to be a Cow, or a Goat, or ...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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As Tom and I have driven through rural Bangladesh we’ve noticed cows and goats everywhere. A lot of the time they’re standing in the middle of the road and we have to slow down and treat them as roundabouts. As we got closer to the end of the first week in November the number of animals increased dramatically. Many were in small markets like the one shown. It turns out there was a reason we saw so many. </div>
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Word of warning: All vegans, vegetarians, animal activists, and animal lovers in general may want to quit reading now … </div>
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On November 6 and 7 Muslims celebrated one of their most sacred holidays called Eid al-Adha or Festival of Sacrifice. One of the main customs on the morning of the second day (the 7th) is for each family to slaughter a cow or goat or both. This is usually done on the street or road in front of their home and as one person told me “blood is everywhere!” The slain animals are then butchered with one third going to the family that owned the animal, one third going to relatives and friends, and one third going to the needy. </div>
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This is a three to five day holiday here in Bangladesh so Tom and I are not working. On Sajit’s advice we are in a resort town called Cox’s Bazar and have escaped all of the slaughter. I’ll report on how much of a resort Cox’s Bazar is in another blog entry. </div>
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Now I know I’m hypocritical as I’m a meat eater and I know that animals are slaughtered back home in terrible conditions but I don’t want to see the actual death of the animal. As we travelled over the last week or so the worst thing was to see all these animals enjoying their life and us knowing they only had days to live. I’m sure the last few days of these animals lives was far better than what their cousins face in the feed lots and slaughter houses in North America.</div>
</div>Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-9087434688905709342011-10-28T08:33:00.001-07:002012-03-06T16:39:20.531-08:00Cricket - a National Obsession<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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As Tom and I have driven through rural Bangladesh we’ve noticed cows and goats everywhere. A lot of the time they’re standing in the middle of the road and we have to slow down and treat them as roundabouts. As we got closer to the end of the first week in November the number of animals increased dramatically. Many were in small markets like the one shown. It turns out there was a reason we saw so many. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY16EuOz4YblwYQpTyValTuuOKUN86NNGNWmz0MXdOvpXaARwBTCEiwzY0hr6wAoW8c-yA9Q7I26zktln6zqmZQsam5_AyAvSIhKiEYQkRgd1G3OgTAUFOXMhlpx_Lte_nSb-pST7zkJA-/s1600/IMG_1356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY16EuOz4YblwYQpTyValTuuOKUN86NNGNWmz0MXdOvpXaARwBTCEiwzY0hr6wAoW8c-yA9Q7I26zktln6zqmZQsam5_AyAvSIhKiEYQkRgd1G3OgTAUFOXMhlpx_Lte_nSb-pST7zkJA-/s400/IMG_1356.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Word of warning: All vegans, vegetarians, animal activists, and animal lovers in general may want to quit reading now … <br />
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On November 6 and 7 Muslims celebrated one of their most sacred holidays called Eid al-Adha or Festival of Sacrifice. One of the main customs on the morning of the second day (the 7th) is for each family to slaughter a cow or goat or both. This is usually done on the street or road in front of their home and as one person told me “blood is everywhere!” The slain animals are then butchered with one third going to the family that owned the animal, one third going to relatives and friends, and one third going to the needy. <br />
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This is a three to five day holiday here in Bangladesh so Tom and I are not working. On Sajit’s advice we are in a resort town called Cox’s Bazar and have escaped all of the slaughter. I’ll report on how much of a resort Cox’s Bazar is in another blog entry. <br />
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Now I know I’m hypocritical as I’m a meat eater and I know that animals are slaughtered back home in terrible conditions but I don’t want to see the actual death of the animal. As we travelled over the last week or so the worst thing was to see all these animals enjoying their life and us knowing they only had days to live. I’m sure the last few days of these animals lives was far better than what their cousins face in the feed lots and slaughter houses in North America.</div>Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-83876808036318335252011-10-27T04:05:00.000-07:002011-10-27T17:02:43.586-07:00Cyclone Sidr Man<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In November 2007, Cyclone Sidr, the equivalent of a category 5 hurricane, slammed into Bangladesh and left in it's path as many as 10,000 dead. In the Amtoli district one man tirelessly made his way through the area on a bicycle equipped with loud speakers warning the villagers on the incoming storm. Most people in these areas do not have the benefit of radios and televisions to give them advance warning. The Cyclone Prepardness Programme (CPP) relies on 50,000 volunteers to get the word out. As a result of his incredible effort no one in the immediate area was drowned.</div>
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As a reward the local government presented him with a new motorcycle which he proudly rides every day wearing his Red Crescent vest. He goes by the name of 'Cyclone Sidr Man'. We were told that the BBC did a 30 minute documentary of the remarkable job he did to save so many lives.</div>
</div>Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-62060994123921734852011-10-16T17:55:00.000-07:002011-10-27T17:04:05.473-07:00Two Good Days in Amtoli...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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After arriving at the Amtoli upazila (district) office late Saturday morning we began work on the radios. Saturday we tore down the existing antennas, replaced one of the coax cables, installed the new VHF and HF antennas on the mast, got the VHF radio up and running, and assembled the HF radio. The first test of the new VHF radio had us scratching our heads for a bit until we discovered an error in the software. A quick fix later we were communicating with other CPP VHF stations in the vicinity. General consensus was that the quality had improved.. that’s good.</div>
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Sunday we trained 15 radio operators and finished the installation of the HF antenna. This was not without a challenge. Tom asked for a ladder to get up on the roof of a building to anchor one of the ends of the antenna. Three long pieces of bamboo were delivered along with a length of rope. Apparently the best they could do for a ladder was to lash the three lengths of bamboo together. Ladders as we know them are not available. After completing the preliminary install we tuned the new antenna to optimize the operation, connected the HF radio to the new antenna and tested it. The test back to Dhaka was excellent and another test to a remote HF station was also excellent. Both stations said the quality of the communication was much better than before.. let’s hope it was our work and not a sunspot cycle!</div>
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Some final work on grounding and we'd completed the work at Amtoli on schedule. Now we've moved on to Barguna where work starts on Monday.</div>
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A long day's drive over rough roads took us from Dhaka to Barisal, one of the district capitals in the delta region and home of one of the zone offices for CPP. We left Dhaka shortly after 7:00am and arrived at the hotel at 5:00pm – a long day in the back of a Toyota Hilux. Mid-morning we stopped at a 'rest area' for a cup of tea and the equivalent of a muffin. <br />
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Tom and our driver Osman are standing beside our trusty Toyota. There really is nothing to compare to the rest areas we have back home but what more do you need: food, drink, and a toilet. </div>
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Late morning we boarded a ferry crossing one of the big rivers. The ferry in this photo is the same as the one we were on. The roadway for most of the trip is a levee sitting 6 to 12 feet above the surrounding land and water. Even so they told us that the road floods regularly in the monsoon season.. glad that’s over. Road conditions range from silky smooth (very little) to total pothole hell (much). Traffic is steady but you have to share the road with everything from rickshaws to passenger busses, and when those busses lean on their horn and pull out to overtake it’s everyone for themselves. Osman’s a good driver so not worried!</div>
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The land is very flat and water is everywhere. We saw mostly rice fields but there were a few patches of other crops; bamboo, sugar cane, etc. The trip through agricultural land is broken up by small towns and villages where the traffic gets real crazy for a while.</div>
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Lunch came at Fahridpur at a Chinese restaurant. Since it was Friday we had an extended lunch stop as our driver Osman needed to attend the Friday afternoon prayer meeting at the local mosque. Friday is the most holy day of the Muslim week and Friday afternoon prayer is not to be missed.</div>
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After checking in at the hotel in Barisal and meeting up with the rest of the team we went down to the CPP zone office and identified the equipment and supplies needed for shipping to Amtoli in the morning to begin our radio rehabilitation work. Then back to the hotel for a short rest and dinner. Two of the Bangladeshi team accompanied us to dinner and after we were settled they asked if we would mind if they ate later. Apparently the normal time for the evening meal is 9:00pm or later … not sure if I’ll be able to adjust to this. I’m an early eater … and so is Tom.</div>
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</div>Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-31052062599973868722011-10-10T17:44:00.000-07:002011-10-16T20:40:29.260-07:00The DBB...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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When all the equipment and supplies purchased in the US by the American Red Cross National HQ team were assembled in Washington, they were all packed and shipped to Bangladesh in 11 separate boxes. Ten of the boxes were large black plastic Pelican cases and the eleventh was a large wooden crate. </div>
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When we arrived at the offices in Dhaka Maliha, one of the CPP Project team said to me, 'We know what kinds of things are in the black cases but what is in the dead body box?' After the confusion we guessed what it was. Much laughter followed. Here it is. </div>
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The case was built by the manufacturer of the VHF antennas we are installing, B-Square Engineering. We had ordered 120 J-pole antennas built to match the frequencies used in the CPP and B-Square offered to build a shipping crate. </div>
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I now refer to it as the DBB. If anyone needs a cheap burial solution please contact the CPP Project team. After all of the antennas are installed it will be available to the highest bidder!</div>
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</div>Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-35199494760773204652011-10-09T07:25:00.000-07:002011-10-16T20:37:21.968-07:00What a Difference a Day Makes...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Anyone who’s ever worked in a project environment knows there are ebbs and flows that can leave you thinking you’ve either taken on an impossible task - or, raised you to new levels of optimism. Leaving work yesterday I was more of the former state of mind, tonight I’m much more of the second! Yesterday was one of those days where nothing seemed to be falling into place: rain kept us off the roof for most of the day, unable to make the progress we would have liked on the radio system...</div>
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This pile of boxes is a shipment of radios from Geneva. Unfortunately, they came without packing lists so finding components to build one HF radio was a box search. One time I was convinced we were missing control boxes and connector cables but found them buried under totally non-related equipment. Then the project officer we'd sent to the market to purchase supplies came back with only 50% of what we needed. An<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">d, the p<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><em style="font-style: normal;">ièce de résistance - </em></span></span>we'd brought a beautiful Makita hammer drill from the US that we assumed was dual voltage. I checked the bottom of the battery charger and saw 120 – 220, plugged it in and heard a loud pop followed by an acrid smoky smell.. not good. On closer inspection the label read 120v 240w.. Oops.</div>
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The task of sorting all of the shipment from Geneva along with 11 boxes of equipment and supplies shipped from the US plus the locally purchased supplies got quickly overwhelming. Office and table space are in short supply, we had no idea how we were going to pull this off. </div>
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Fast forward 24 hours: Although we had more rain today we made good progress stringing a guy wire and coax for the new antenna.</div>
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We were given permission to use the BDRCS training room for the next 4 days, perfect – a large space with empty tables. We had some of the staff haul all of the equipment over and we assembled all of the parts for 41 HF radios. We now have a perfect room to assemble kits based on each location’s needs that we can send out ahead of our travel.</div>
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In the middle of the afternoon I had to run back to the main office and asked that the VHF radios (only three components per radio) were put in three boxes: one for the radios, one for the power</div>
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cables, and one for the microphones.</div>
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When I returned I found my instructions had not been very clear - the photograph shows what I found. It wasn't what I wanted but it turned out to be a beneficial step!</div>
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Returning to the main office to wind up the day, I found the project officer was back from another day's shopping with everything we needed.. and, to really make my day, he had a new 220v battery charger for the Makita!</div>
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Roll on tomorrow!</div>
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</div>Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-47187386301936307362011-10-08T17:45:00.000-07:002011-10-16T20:46:00.668-07:00The Work Begins...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a few delays getting the right equipment and supplies, a National holiday on Thursday, and the Muslim holy day on Friday (the first day of their weekend), we finally got stuck into the rebuilding of the radios in Dhaka. It’s going to be a challenge to source some of the parts primarily because the people doing the shopping have never seen the items we want. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tom is showing one of the radio operators and the telecom technician what can be learned from their new antenna tuner for the HF radio.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a teaching exercise we assembled a VHF antenna and mounted it to the top of the mast on the roof of the IFRC building. The local staff were only too willing to let Tom go up!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They do have dedicated mast climbers but apparently they were not available. We were assured that once we leave Dhaka for the delta region we will have a mast climber along with us. Truth is, Tom really enjoyed the climb. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a footnote: One of the staff said, 'You should see one of the mast climbers. He’s really old. He must be at least fifty five.'</span><br />
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It’s great having someone along to share the experience. We’ve ventured up the road from the hotel, dodging potholes, massive traffic, motorcyclists driving on the sidewalk, various rickshaw and tuk-tuk type vehicles. Yesterday we found a Chinese restaurant that had the closest thing I’ve had to Chinese food since Ann and I left Beijing. Tonight was Italian – pizza 'quattro formaggi' that was very good!</div>
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</div>Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-58480810151572899282011-10-04T17:31:00.001-07:002011-10-16T20:17:51.160-07:00All's Well That Ends Well...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As some of you already know I'm on a two month assignment in Bangladesh to continue the rehabilitation of the Cyclone Preparedness Program (CPP) radio network. This time I'm traveling with Tom Worthington who has left his island paradise of Maui to work on this project. It's good having someone to share the experience with. His vast knowledge of HF and VHF radio communication will be invaluable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cute story - I'd hoped Tom and I'd be able to fly out together or, meet at an asian hub and enter Bangladesh together. Instead, our flights had me fly through Hong Kong and Tom through Japan. I was scheduled to arrive in Dhaka at 12:00pm and Tom at 2:00am. United Airlines to the rescue! After boarding the flight from Chicago to Hong Kong (15 hours) they announce a ground delay due to a cockpit panel that needed replacing (it took 2 hours). In Hong Kong my flight was rescheduled through Bangkok - right onto the same flight from Bangkok to Dhaka that Tom was on! Exhausted, we arrived in Dhaka right on schedule and, with all our luggage. Thanks United!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In Dhaka they x-ray the luggage before you clear customs. Tom had two cases of radio equipment, tools, etc., and I had a supply case, along with two other cases of personal equipment and gear. One of the customs agents asked, “Are you Engineers?” I explained we were with the Red Cross, he nodded, spoke to his compatriots and said no more. We were in. Next we found the hotel shuttle bus and by 3:30am we were finally in our rooms.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That afternoon after catching up on some badly needed sleep, we went to the Red Cross/Red Crescent compound. After preliminary introductions Tom was given a tour of the radio setup. Then that evening Sajit Menon invited us to his home for a wonderful dinner (Sajit is our project leader and project coordinator for all of the American Red Cross efforts on CPP) </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and so ended a good first day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We’ll probably be in Dhaka this week then we'll head down into the delta region to visit all six CPP zones. We’ll begin radio rehabilitation and training of CPP technical staff to continue the work after we're gone. We will also be training CPP radio operators how to use and maintain their equipment.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stay tuned for more...</span><br />
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</div>Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-29893574883841914802010-12-07T01:20:00.000-08:002011-10-16T20:48:41.049-07:00One extra unplanned night away from home<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It’s 4:00am in the morning and I’m here in an airport hotel two flights away from home … wide awake … ! I’m safe and sound, and got 7 hours sleep. So why am I here and not home …</div>
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Bangladesh isn’t the easiest place to travel to from Appleton, WI. A month ago when I made my travel plans I decided to travel through this city for reasons at the time were perfectly logical but which, in hindsight, were flawed. I have become aware that there is only one direct flight to Appleton from here and it’s in the evening … if it gets cancelled your options are very limited. As my flight approached yesterday evening the departure time kept slipping – first 15 minutes, then 30 minutes, then another 30 minutes, then an hour, and finally 3 hours after I was supposed to depart they cancelled the flight – a “mechanical” problem - and here I am, a guest of Wyndham. At least the airline had the decency to put us up at a hotel.</div>
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I wonder why the phrase “all my eggs in one basket” didn’t pop into my mind when I told the travel agent this itinerary was fine … Duh! You would have thought I’d have learned this lesson a long time ago, but “No”, I had to save this one for later in life. Chicago's looking good as a hub for future travel. At worst it's only a three hour drive in a rental car.</div>
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All things considered I’m a very lucky guy. I’m warm, I have a roof over my head, I’m not hungry, I’ve had a good sleep in a soft comfortable bed, a hearty breakfast awaits, and I’ll be home by noon. In the grand scheme of things really not too bad … I just hope my checked bag makes it!!</div>
</div>Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-11715019558818974422010-12-04T05:33:00.000-08:002011-10-16T20:49:53.334-07:00A Sombre Message<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The following just came over CNN while I was working at the desk in my room. I wasn't really paying attention but all of a sudden I was transfixed by the words. It certainly makes you realize how fortunate we are to be born in countries where the 'c)' thoughts don't even arise.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">She is born. Do you …</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">a)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Celebrate your new daughter<br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">b)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Paint her room pink</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">c)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Curse that she was born a girl</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">She is six. Do you …</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">a)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Open an account for her education</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">b)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Buy her that pink dress</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">c)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Get her up at dawn to fetch water from the well</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">She is twelve. Do you …</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">a)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Consider that first sleep-over</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">b)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Buy her a mobile phone</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">c)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Sell her into marriage to pay for her brother’s education</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Poverty gives some people few choices and unfortunately it’s the girls that suffer most! It doesn’t have to be that way.</span></div>
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Didn't want to be depressing but it's such a powerful message I thought I'd pass it on.<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"></span></div>
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</div>Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-485823277403612512010-12-02T06:06:00.000-08:002010-12-02T11:37:17.910-08:00Here are a few photos of the various forms of transportation I've used in Bangladesh ... and I these are ones I actually used.<br /><br />First a small river ferry that takes passengers across the many rivers that flow through the country.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0KE7vIJuLU9_YwH5ukzFZF8PMb4QenSRkPIkL6DcS8tPFjtZ9KXMi5W_KWnN__pbOXaWy-pAxyGUdndq2iZR0TLK93TjpEJven1WNX8LkW3d1ARvE5G7Q1JAn0pr0hhI6Uq1ceBWlZqyI/s1600/DSCN0212.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0KE7vIJuLU9_YwH5ukzFZF8PMb4QenSRkPIkL6DcS8tPFjtZ9KXMi5W_KWnN__pbOXaWy-pAxyGUdndq2iZR0TLK93TjpEJven1WNX8LkW3d1ARvE5G7Q1JAn0pr0hhI6Uq1ceBWlZqyI/s320/DSCN0212.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546087936476938834" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIEFZ7UTZRwC_exdqZJdEObpalmtrAqUHhE-OLm-3zDavpkOVeKLl48p6KttPWV_ya0ObtaZZ6vtkxBe2VAgsXQw-UHEjT-eaY4WACTfV1Cj6lsW3St2P_gUvZxgPSfUY22Bg_8LXyaKkH/s1600/DSCN0252.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIEFZ7UTZRwC_exdqZJdEObpalmtrAqUHhE-OLm-3zDavpkOVeKLl48p6KttPWV_ya0ObtaZZ6vtkxBe2VAgsXQw-UHEjT-eaY4WACTfV1Cj6lsW3St2P_gUvZxgPSfUY22Bg_8LXyaKkH/s320/DSCN0252.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546087588530232466" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />This is a tom-tom.<br /><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ldVhVYqpnUVhZq80XpR1N8QMiGgcend8gmzDKYDUImUQgExZy8tmlzWiQZ8jVL8U-yQjh-PCL_t8lF6BQ43TkXbNMV0jZ934kT4jO5z6Sfy1x28jvw5nNthnPxI2OjoRaHSEnZ1j6Rnx/s320/DSCN0253.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546088198950416018" /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The tom-tom with us on board.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIlegbGfoNrqQaiQlSuvkcn4hDTkXb5DFUUhaeq3tE2dKAn3ZXEImZ3BEwQj306zYSsB5GtmEdMrlS2w1sCuqx_ayZL476rob4zqk_xZbMWg5gb_9LIUiX_21FGSuMK4mjEndDbJNqq8KN/s1600/DSCN0284.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIlegbGfoNrqQaiQlSuvkcn4hDTkXb5DFUUhaeq3tE2dKAn3ZXEImZ3BEwQj306zYSsB5GtmEdMrlS2w1sCuqx_ayZL476rob4zqk_xZbMWg5gb_9LIUiX_21FGSuMK4mjEndDbJNqq8KN/s320/DSCN0284.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546088703083999442" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>A chartered trawler with our deck chairs!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdgOE7wM-YOX9fJ9fM9YspFgKRbogSQXxMGMqIMXr4z8sUtJsP3xqrakR2YQd-DwHPzmXoBd7T4NbquoORQwCI2kTxoUrTmsmWKHJJGjSphRd-qT9VPrXnZ4AEBHOrWmC3u8lxFyebYk7N/s1600/DSCN0286.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdgOE7wM-YOX9fJ9fM9YspFgKRbogSQXxMGMqIMXr4z8sUtJsP3xqrakR2YQd-DwHPzmXoBd7T4NbquoORQwCI2kTxoUrTmsmWKHJJGjSphRd-qT9VPrXnZ4AEBHOrWmC3u8lxFyebYk7N/s320/DSCN0286.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546088866695871826" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The trawler from the back.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCD7z6gc8ZgOcqGk62I1yr5IZAgMMynemBz0UWgqjBG1ETy3b_3-cZ5zuGMWBI3rS3XdcSM7Uqf1BsawWsj1DbxjTsdnvdJbUaq7-8Zk36XDA0Znos3oeIiCmCuzAUqWObRpI-mSjwHjdl/s320/DSCN0302.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546089768504672690" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>A small coastal passenger boat. 70 cents a trip.</div><div><br /></div><div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlprY3hyphenhyphen6BO4vlYo-e2CH3uTDrsaWYTVPdwwrnrLlq5h7XXzbbNyOTQyHCPlyvyXsz8PjBzR4fE00XRXvGzFkWVVjajzZM4NokIXa3rJHwDINJ66buFO3OYra4tuP6vzicV1KKTkmZxM-/s320/DSCN0358.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546089996969171458" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>A 100cc motorcycle</div><div><br /><br /></div><div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKQYne5suxa2wt4RM02VxJbDEQjzX4J6ngFmcQeTHBLPgIiSjNRjNlC6yB95rdoEwztcWr93ttwDO8sR-CF-GCI0GfvM0FeAniwCS-cLy_ITvwgeWUoY6JyvBrw3-UlVY7ZIlYyYK-LDct/s320/DSCN0373.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546090566147630594" /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Our trusty Toyota Land Cruiser.</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB06VymC9fHutbHjwSTWoSUdndIc92QgGNHiDHRiCdNgrdEPitMaHboOFVoGPqejQWPwhB-ra6pU_LO78mqNPuwhqToFn1k6pRx5AvhdJeQoHBpY59WJrcuAT3EkN3tbj1Wls-Nlv7n5n-/s1600/DSCN0393.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB06VymC9fHutbHjwSTWoSUdndIc92QgGNHiDHRiCdNgrdEPitMaHboOFVoGPqejQWPwhB-ra6pU_LO78mqNPuwhqToFn1k6pRx5AvhdJeQoHBpY59WJrcuAT3EkN3tbj1Wls-Nlv7n5n-/s320/DSCN0393.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546090959044010082" /></a><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The 'SS Unreliable.'<br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEism2jVOIaU8J7t8zuOfby9dxK1Nxy89MNdsqVgHAAdkebGMUfxD02wQY6X43vn-cUjchQMgO4T0EWk6F-d_tunK_6DKNRXlbnn9gJtiCIEjYLoep22sPKeSnhtj8K-aCKOQHNT3uEmzhR-/s1600/DSCN0602.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEism2jVOIaU8J7t8zuOfby9dxK1Nxy89MNdsqVgHAAdkebGMUfxD02wQY6X43vn-cUjchQMgO4T0EWk6F-d_tunK_6DKNRXlbnn9gJtiCIEjYLoep22sPKeSnhtj8K-aCKOQHNT3uEmzhR-/s320/DSCN0602.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546091247998991106" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Another chartered trawler.<br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUSVtYDEPOlHyO2XkkDdd1pcDoKQEB70Hd2ko_v3U5eI0OQly-woD_D_qfE42jJpLBROJ19P-PrOY8nNhUeP7RtMshfP4sOcWnZbF73UWd-Lq49YxccyaedFNFaQvoKfU2FN3N-1GaXwWW/s320/DSCN0420.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546091462095024898" /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>And finally, Shank's Pony!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div>Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-72987250992072486742010-11-29T18:00:00.000-08:002010-12-02T12:15:32.860-08:00The Night Launch From BarisalAfter two more days visiting shelters in the delta region we planned our return to Dhaka. Rather than a 7 hour bumpy Land Cruiser ride on over-crowded roads we opted to take a night launch. The launches are large passenger boats that offer a limited number of air-conditioned cabins. Bangladesh is riddled with large waterways so river travel is an excellent way to get around.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCfVvF06oGgjglBj3dyRU892SDzs6f6U9uJ9PHOf8SwZIHCzkEIgAUeSDh1yLZP6fo8IZCAbI5zAhocQXpu1hpDq08MsbDiZ_so93jrNuoSbYxnn4jcIRtfKanZC_oGufPy8lpMUr7a2z/s1600/DSCN0813.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCfVvF06oGgjglBj3dyRU892SDzs6f6U9uJ9PHOf8SwZIHCzkEIgAUeSDh1yLZP6fo8IZCAbI5zAhocQXpu1hpDq08MsbDiZ_so93jrNuoSbYxnn4jcIRtfKanZC_oGufPy8lpMUr7a2z/s320/DSCN0813.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545157632548343122" /></a><br />We were lucky to secure three A/C cabins or we would probably have opted for the Land Cruiser.The main deck of the boat and every conceivable nook and cranny on the cabin decks become full of people who need to make the journey but cannot afford, or don't want to pay, the fare for a cabin. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMHl70Lbh8Yru4v5P75sMvoEW9zxIddko2FVUaCnY8e3xPfuQGpaZO4TI491qWfHEBTJE41W7w1L62CP5LJQqnux4P5BaMKR5DL2UqFxhi3HZXs6PONYDAHE6-a_eVAp9C1BVqFbGNOZfW/s1600/DSCN0815.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMHl70Lbh8Yru4v5P75sMvoEW9zxIddko2FVUaCnY8e3xPfuQGpaZO4TI491qWfHEBTJE41W7w1L62CP5LJQqnux4P5BaMKR5DL2UqFxhi3HZXs6PONYDAHE6-a_eVAp9C1BVqFbGNOZfW/s200/DSCN0815.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545158117785543618" /></a> I'm guessing 200 people in cabins and 1,000+ sleeping wherever they can. The photo was taken in the morning after half of the passengers had already arisen and left. Some people continued to sleep on board to wait for a more decent hour of the day to depart!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The boat leaves Barisal at 8:30pm and arrives at 5:30am in Dhaka so the journey is entirely at night with nothing to see on shore except the occasional light. We boarded at 7:30 and were led to our cabins which were on an narrow interior hallway half of which was occupied with people sleeping along the wall across from the doors. The cabins were literally just big enough for a single bed. Our host in Barisal, Rashid, was disappointed in the accommodation for us, especially since we had to use communal toilets and disappeared. I assured Sajit the room was fine as I planned to sleep all the way.<br /><br />Rashid came back a little bit later to announce that he had managed to acquire a two bed cabin that became available when the person who had reserved it failed to show up. What a difference! We went from overcrowding in interior rooms to a suite of two rooms with a small balcony and a private toilet. All for the price of $20 per person.<br /><br />I went to bed expecting a wake-up call near 5:00am when we neared Dhaka. Lo and behold a bump on the boat, a change in engine noise and lights being turned on, and I woke up at 3:15am to discover we were over two hours ahead of schedule and we'd arrived in Dhaka.<div><br />While we standing on the dock the cabin boy who had been looking after us at came running up with my Red Cross ID badge which had fallen on the floor. I was totally surprised as it would have been so easy for him to throw it away, but instead he had tracked us down on the pier so he could return it. An IFRC driver met us and dropped me off at the hotel and the journey was over.</div>Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-14865506178057502812010-11-25T18:00:00.000-08:002010-12-02T12:09:54.459-08:00A Busy Two DaysOn Wednesday we took a coastal passenger ship to an island in the delta to visit three radio sites at cyclone shelters. When we arrived at the dock we used motorcycles to get around the island since there are no roads, only dirt tracks on top of levees that keep the salt water from the ocean out of the fields. Not only are there no roads there is no electricity as we know it, and no running water. Solar panels provide DC electricity, if you're lucky enough to own one, and the water comes from the community well. The people live a simple existence very close to nature. The land is totally flat and probably no more that one or two feet above sea level. The levees are critical. It's easy to appreciate the devastation of a tropical cyclone and the flooding that occurs each monsoon season.<br /><br />In true Bangladesh fashion we had three people on each motorcycle and I became the meat in the proverbial sandwich between the driver and my colleague Hasan. Not the most comfortable way to ride but it got us where we needed to go.<br /><br />Just after we left the third site the motorcycle's rear tire went flat … one American + two Bangladeshi's was probably too much. As we waited for a replacement bike a crowd gathered as it always does around westerners on these islands. It was mostly young high school boys on a break. They stood and stared, so I said “Hello”. Hasan explained who I was and why I was near their village. I asked if they had any questions about America and they got shy when put on the spot. At that moment a young man, probably late twenties or thirties, wearing nothing but a sarong, probably a farmer, asked a long question which boiled down to, “Why does America keep forcing itself on other countries and is so heavily involved in Iraq and Afghanistan?”. Not what I was expecting - and not an easy question to answer. Hasan explained to me that even though these people live a simple life, disconnected from the world as we know it, they definitely know what's going on ... and have an opinion.<br /><br />Yesterday I had a day on the “SS Unreliable”. We chartered a wooden boat to take us down river to two islands to visit three more radio sites at cyclone shelters. Half way down river the engine quit. It took about 15 minutes but the captain got it running and we headed for the first island. As we approached shore I could see no dock or pier of any kind so the captain headed the boat in towards the river bank. Unfortunately the tide was low so he couldn't get close. Some fishermen pointed out a small inlet and we headed in and managed to get within two feet of a log that we used to get ashore. From there we walked about ½ mile into a village and found the cyclone shelter. After checking out the radio (the coax cable was perfectly cut in two when they moved to this building a month ago) we attended a meeting of all the village men so my compatriots could explain why we were there and to listen to requests for additional equipment.<br /><br />Back on the boat we attempted to leave but got stuck in the mud twice before finally escaping back into the river. At times we had two people on a long pole and the captain in the water pushing. This whole episode gave great delight to a group of small boys watching from the bank. Once underway we crossed the river without incident and pulled up along shore so we could hop off and visit two more shelters. This time I had a motorcycle to myself!! After tea and a very late lunch at the second village we headed back to the boat. As is typical, a huge crowd gathered in the village as we settled up for the motorcycles and had another cup of tea. Most of the crowd accompanied us down to the boat to see us off. The tide had fallen by now so we now had to walk about 10 yards across a very muddy and slippery river bank to get aboard.<br /><br />We headed back to home port and got about a quarter mile from the dock when the engine died yet again. This time it appeared to be a bit more serious as the captain had his mate lower an anchor. So there we sat as the dusk came and went. We had called ashore for a boat to come and get us and while we waited the captain finally cleared a blockage in the fuel line and we made it in without further incident. As part of the routine we had a cup of tea and a crowd formed as we settled up for the boat. A short ride back in to Golachipa in the Land Cruiser and our day was done!!Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-56334529222904335382010-11-23T16:36:00.000-08:002010-12-02T12:19:38.906-08:00A Multi-mode Transport DayToday I traveled down from Barisal to Olachipa and began the radio assessments in this area by visiting a couple of cyclone shelters on one of the myriad of islands that make up the coastal area of Bangladesh.<br /><br />The day started off in the trusty Toyota Land Cruiser and the main part of the drive was broken up with three major river crossings on small vehicle ferries. When we arrived in the Olachipa area we chartered an old wooden coastal cruiser (do not develop any visions of grandeur here – it was basically a flat topped boat with a one-lunger and a large tiller) to make a 60 minute crossing of a major river delta. At the dock we rented a "tom tom" which is basically a moped with a flat wooden bed on the back that the four of us sat on, legs dangling, and made a 15 mile circuit of the island to visit two shelters that are equipped with VHF radios. Both radios would turn on but they've been unable to reach anyone. I suspect a cable problem. It should be easy to fix in the Spring.<br /><br />We got back to the dock right at dusk and the boat took us back to where we started but in a very circuitous route since it was now low tide. One of the dangers of having a GPS is the "limited knowledge" problem. I could see the route we had taken to get to the island but couldn't understand why we were heading up the river way beyond our outbound track. When I later spied some mud banks all was revealed.<br /><br />When we got back to the shore the boat owner insisted we take tea in a local cafe which generated a large crowd as this lone westerner shared tea. We then returned to the Land Cruiser to head into Olachipa for dinner and our hotel.<br /><br />(I promise to add photos later. Just don't have the time right now.)Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-44490541023247488552010-11-23T16:31:00.000-08:002010-11-23T16:36:50.889-08:00Go Take a Cold ShowerThere are various times and situations in a person's life when they've been told “Oh go take a cold shower!”. Well here it's not suggested, it's the way of life once you leave Dhaka and head into the smaller towns. A couple of nights ago I was staying in a hotel that had two taps at the sink and two near the shower head. In addition, it had a large tank mounted on the wall that said “Hot Water Heater”. This all sounded promising until I tried to find some hot water to shave and then subsequently to shower. No go … I finally relented and went ahead and quickly showered in cold water. I talked with Sajit when we met for breakfast and he had the same problem.<br /><br />Last night I stayed at a hotel that saved the frustration in the morning by simply having one tap at the sink and one near the shower head and it wasn't a Delta Scaldguard. At least I was mentally prepared for the initial shock. I'm now in another hotel that also embraces the one knob philosophy. Since I'm here for at least 4 nights I'll have to get used to trying to wash my hair without splashing too much cold water on my body. It's not easy! But at least when you finally get used to the temperature you know you'll be awake for a while.<br /><br />It's another case of realizing what we take for granted in our way of life.Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-7419338980007174382010-11-22T05:47:00.000-08:002010-11-22T06:00:44.796-08:00Who Needs UtensilsI'm learning how to eat with my right hand, and I do mean my right hand. The standard method of eating here is to do everything with the fingers of your right hand. I'll spare you the photos … As you may be aware the left hand, especially in muslim countries, is considered unclean. Also, by tradition, implements are seldom used to eat. They say that the finger tips of the right hand are the first receptor in tasting and enjoying your food. Given a plate of rice, vegetables, and a curried meat or fish dish along with dal (lentil stew) and some chutney you mix a small ball of rice with whatever else you want with it and deliver it to the mouth. This requires two very necessary things to take place. First you need to wash your hands before you eat and second you definitely need to wash your right hand after you eat! It's actually very enjoyable and I'm getting the hang of it. Tearing of a piece of paratha (bread similar to a tortilla) using only one hand is still a trick but I'll keep practicing.<br /><p></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Here's a few pictures: <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW_v5a9YIt7a2ScnO_qrlT9qPkQ0rT4VePz5Ej_Jz2SHxDA5yOn2ZVa2pkEiSS0AnU5MYXCMAhOexBvAxmKTqGR-bL-_TbsEqvXuEukI4rfH9gHfuzcZ_T0uUNI5OXXgUqh2MSZo9wZ9sp/s1600/DSCN0159.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW_v5a9YIt7a2ScnO_qrlT9qPkQ0rT4VePz5Ej_Jz2SHxDA5yOn2ZVa2pkEiSS0AnU5MYXCMAhOexBvAxmKTqGR-bL-_TbsEqvXuEukI4rfH9gHfuzcZ_T0uUNI5OXXgUqh2MSZo9wZ9sp/s200/DSCN0159.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542371188828519394" border="0" /></a><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The first is a cart loaded with long bamboo poles in the town of Faridpur. I'm not sure where they're going but probably to a construction site.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsCviX_DmNg5ry0aie1ToUnTmR-utJXGLntsvOOSN0Y2xZzEjezuNsSrOZd7YRIieEQmzvfTngbtBUsdDakDyv1q2lSEOmHbdKyYhYLZRCo-hRrg_7LtHGzV6yQjgEQYvHr_7dbM45qotG/s1600/DSCN0162.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsCviX_DmNg5ry0aie1ToUnTmR-utJXGLntsvOOSN0Y2xZzEjezuNsSrOZd7YRIieEQmzvfTngbtBUsdDakDyv1q2lSEOmHbdKyYhYLZRCo-hRrg_7LtHGzV6yQjgEQYvHr_7dbM45qotG/s200/DSCN0162.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542371876241386162" border="0" /></a>Here are parathas being made at the cafe where we had our breakfast of parathas, vegetables, and a fried egg.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-LYRlZLVLXBsX7rsc0QVXC9ahoqf85XdGuVQcYUL9166WebrSSLlC_BeuXnn4dovzokoLVyqf8G3g2057PO6SMkshbv1y_9W8y3TJOGg676SGkdcU_rXGJqDuKgzXP_zcdpIYOeIAiV5/s1600/DSCN0165.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-LYRlZLVLXBsX7rsc0QVXC9ahoqf85XdGuVQcYUL9166WebrSSLlC_BeuXnn4dovzokoLVyqf8G3g2057PO6SMkshbv1y_9W8y3TJOGg676SGkdcU_rXGJqDuKgzXP_zcdpIYOeIAiV5/s200/DSCN0165.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542372524785321826" /></a>This picture is four of us in front of a ferry that take passengers and vehicles across the Tetulia River from Barisal to a large island in the delta. Two of the team are heading to Bhola.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivgs9I8SCf46uRs2y0OftAL1x0_7dRQJYP1_W-wCE-Jhi0vvnV0HZ0om7ULlkFj78L6s3U44WJtU7shUE8020wmZGsRsobADxaFkm4yVe3ZIYqyUIRWbWIypfIpWwyNzfx8FvM-HV_TsaE/s1600/DSCN0175.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivgs9I8SCf46uRs2y0OftAL1x0_7dRQJYP1_W-wCE-Jhi0vvnV0HZ0om7ULlkFj78L6s3U44WJtU7shUE8020wmZGsRsobADxaFkm4yVe3ZIYqyUIRWbWIypfIpWwyNzfx8FvM-HV_TsaE/s200/DSCN0175.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542372993402201586" /></a>This final picture is of a pedal rickshaw repair service across the road from the Red Crecent office in Barisal. Note the brightly colored paint jobs on the rickshaws. These are some of the more understated ones.</p>Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-13004353810585206172010-11-21T17:19:00.000-08:002010-11-21T17:25:09.907-08:00On the Road<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We kicked off the assessment project at the Red Cross compound with some orientation meetings and then it was time to hit the road. We had planned to be on our way by 1:00pm but finally headed out of Dhaka at 3:00 – Sajit had warned me earlier that things don't always happen as planned so I was well prepared for some delays - this forced a change in plans for our overnight stop which will now be the town of Faridpur instead of Barisal.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As we left Dhaka we saw a lot of brick works – it's hard to imagine where they can use so many bricks but they sure have a pile. I had seen the chimneys as I approached Dhaka on Sunday morning, though they looked like brick works, but dismissed the idea because there were so many.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The roads were completely jammed. The most common vehicles were buses of all descriptions followed by an assortment of trucks. Motorized rickshaws were next with motorcycles and cars bringing up the rear. The roads are narrow and everyone fights to make two or three lanes on each side of a two lane road. Horn honking is constant. Almost every bus and truck I saw had scrapes down the side. The drivers are amazing as they fit 6 foot wide vehicles through 6.1 foot gaps and never miss a beat. This is a small country about the size of Iowa or England+Scotland but with 165,000,000 people so you can picture how crowded it is in places. Given the busy nature of the roads and the constant struggle to get past slower vehicles you might expect carnage but I didn't see one accident.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We made fairly good time and arrived at our first major ferry ride of the trip across the Pradma River (aka the Ganges) just below where the Pradma and Brahmaputra Rivers meet. Our timing was good as we only had a short wait before boarding. We were on a small ferry with just a few cars and some buses but there were also a large number of bigger ferries and a myriad of small passenger boats carrying vehicles and peoples – boats were everywhere. I always enjoy being around water and boats so this was a treat. Unfortunately it was too dark to get any photos that would do the experience justice. The backlog of traffic on the south side of the river went on for miles, again mostly buses, as people were returning home after the Eid religious holiday.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We travelled on to Faridpur where we spent the night at Raffles-Inn – definitely not to be confused with it's namesake in Singapore but clean and friendly and a bed! Apparently Jaridpur is famous for jute so maybe I'll see some as we head on to Barisal.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-58564445908525651682010-11-20T09:49:00.000-08:002010-11-20T09:51:22.619-08:00A Great Time to Arrive ... 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mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I finally arrived in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, after a LONG journey from home. In Bangladesh time I got up at 4:00pm Thursday and arrived Saturday morning at 8:30am. I'm exactly 12 hours different from home so my brain is definitely 180 degrees out of whack and my butt has been reformed into the shape of an over-used airline seat.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">As I sat in the airport in Dubai waiting for my flight to Dhaka I quickly concluded that a lot of men from Bangladesh work in Dubai. It was a Friday night/early Saturday morning flight and most of the people waiting at the gate had at least one huge duty free bag, and many had two – this on top of their regular carry-on. I made sure to get on the plane as soon as I could to make sure I had a place for my backpack. I then sat back and watched how the other passengers and the flight attendants crammed everything somewhere. At times it resembled a commercial on American TV where a flight attendant repeatedly slams the overhead locker door to squeeze everything in.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Clearing immigration was a slow process that speeded up a little when the 8 policemen clearing Bangladeshi's back into their country began helping the 2 policemen taking care of all of the visitors. I don't have any problem with a little national favoritism but this may have been a bit too one-sided. I'm sure that never happens in the USA … grins!!<span style=""> </span>After clearing immigration I went to claim my checked bag at carousel #2 as instructed only to find they were also putting some of our bags on #3 as well. After a lengthy wait and no sign of my bag I took a walk around and found it laying on the ground at the end of carousel #3 where it had obviously tumbled off but no one had bothered to lift it back on!<span style=""> </span>Oh well, at least it was there.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Sajit, my lead in Bangladesh, met me at the airport with a driver and took me to the hotel. I had met Sajit previously on some training I took in Malaysia so we had quite a bit to catch up on. He is an Indian gentleman who is employed by the American Red Cross as a delegate to the International Federation of the Red Cross to head up the Cyclone Preparedness Project in Bangladesh. Got that!!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The reason for my title is that I had been reading about the horrendous traffic jams they have in Dhaka. My trip to the hotel and then a subsequent trip to Sajit's for lunch were easy – no holdups anywhere to be seen. Then I talked to the driver who explained that 1) it was Saturday and 2) this was the end of a major holiday and that many people were still away. “Wait for tomorrow” I heard more than once. A trip that took 5 minutes today will easily take 45 minutes tomorrow. Their work week here is Sunday through Thursday, Friday being a holy day for muslims is the first day of their weekend. I'll have to remember this in two weeks when I need to get back to the airport on Sunday and the trip that took 30 minutes this morning will probably take 2 hours. I think I think I've been spoiled ... :-)<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">My first impression of Dhaka is of a hustling, bustling city that obviously needs repair. Like many cities in poorer parts of the world almost everything is covered in a layer of dust and many of the buildings could use some exterior repair. Traffic seems to be chaotic but it works … at least on weekends. Rickshaws, both pedal powered and engine powered are everywhere. I'm sure I'll see many, many more tomorrow. Whenever you get stopped in traffic there's almost always at least one person either begging for money or trying to sell you something. You have to learn to turn the proverbial 'blind eye' or you'll be beseiged. The few people I've met so far are friendly as can be and I'm told this holds true for the entire country. The food, albeit based on a small sample, is delicious. In fact I had my second best ever airline meal this morning flying from Dubai which was a heavily seasoned vegetarian meal … I almost asked for seconds – and it was a coach-class meal as well. In case you're wondering my best ever airline meal was a dinner of chicken kababs as an appetizer followed by chicken tikka masala served on an Air Malaysia flight many moons ago in my former life. Business Class definitely offered some perks.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I'm staying for one night at the Washington Hotel, how fitting. It's an older hotel but seems to be well kept and has good wifi in the rooms … what more could you ask for. It's located in the diplomatic area of Dhaka called Gulshan and I'm told is a safe area to walk around.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Tomorrow I start my field trip. I'll be based in Barisal for 10 days or so to conduct radio assessments in that zone. We'll have 5 other teams doing the same in the other five zones. Much more to report on life in the Bangladeshi countryside later. And I'll try to include some photos ...</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">For now it's time to go to bed and try to convince my brain it's 10:00pm at night and not 10:00am in the morning. Maybe I can find an American football game on TV – Ann's convinced that can send me to sleep quicker than anything even though I claim I never nap.</span></p>Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-86110354329575568602010-11-11T15:39:00.000-08:002010-11-11T15:47:43.816-08:00A New Challenge AwaitsI've been asked to go to Bangladesh and evaluate their radio network that is part of a Cyclone Preparedness Program (CPP). The flights are booked - I leave next Thursday (18th) - and I'm waiting to receive my visa. It will prove to be a very busy two weeks assessing the current status of the radios. This project is very similar to the work we did in Indonesia and their Tsunami Early Warning System. <div><br /></div><div>One of the deliverables from this trip will be a list of equipment and supplies that I estimate will be necessary to bring all 125+ radios back into operational status. If all goes according to plan I'll return in 2011 with another volunteer to train the local staff and begin the repairs.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'll hopefully be able to make posts to this blog as the trip progresses.</div>Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-21384438098032310982009-05-05T09:19:00.000-07:002010-11-11T15:39:20.342-08:00Final Thoughts on Indonesia 2009<div style="text-align: justify;">What a treat this morning … I checked email and found two short emails from the Indonesia Red Cross (PMI) IT/Telecom technician in Banda Aceh, Pak Adi who was my right-hand man. He’s the glue that will hold the radio network together. The first email only contained two words but was a thousand words strong for me. It simply asked “How aryou?” The second email duplicated the first but in Bahasa Indonesia. Pak Adi has minimal English and 99% of our communication was through Salman, our interpreter. Still, somehow, we had a bond that I thought was more me than him. Of all the people I worked with in Aceh he was not one I would have expected to hear from. So you can imagine my delight to see his question. Today is going to be a good day!!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I reflect on my three months in Indonesia (I’ve been home for two weeks now) it’s almost always the people I worked with that come to mind:<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> - PMI technicians: Pak Adi, Sayed,<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> - IFRC technicians: Pak Edho, Andrea, Alex, Helmi,<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> - Interpreters: Salman, Jumari,<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> - IFRC HQ staff: Bu Dian, Tina, Ari, et al<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> - Drivers: Dharnisal, Muslim, Mursalin, et al<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> - IFRC delegates in Aceh: Susil, Shesh, Odette, Andy, et al<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> - American Red Cross delegates in Aceh: Ken, Dr. Ayham, et al<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> - My partner for the first month: Glen<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> - And, last but certainly not least: Sarmad<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My view of Muslim people, primarily formed by the western media, has been forever changed. Everyone I met was friendly. I wonder if “radical Islam” is present in Aceh. If it is, I sure didn’t see it. Then it could be the ‘rose-colored glasses’ I usually wear!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The next thing I remember is the wonderful food – everywhere I went we ate very well. I love spicy food so I was in heaven.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And of course, the scenery – what a magnificent country from the coastal beaches to the high altitude mountain vistas.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I miss Indonesia already, especially Aceh where I spent the bulk of my time, and hope to get back there sometime.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Emails, like the one I received this morning, bring it all back. Thank you Pak Adi.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It goes without saying that life goes on. I mowed the lawn for the first time this year; I’ve scheduled some work to be done on our boat; the motorcycle is in the shop having all of it’s bodily fluids refreshed; and the long list of projects around the house looms!! Before I get started on the list however Ann and I are making a trip out east to Virginia and DC to first visit with some friends and then to call into the Red Cross HQ and complete my debrief from the Indonesia mission.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'll close now, I don't expect to make any more entries but you never know...<br /></div>Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136894855101442279.post-27362842728572710412009-04-20T04:38:00.000-07:002009-04-20T06:25:35.489-07:00It's Over!<div style="text-align: justify;">My Indonesian adventure came to a close last night at about 9:00pm when I pulled in to my driveway after renting a car and driving the final leg from Chicago to Appleton. Mother Nature had the final laugh as she gave Chicago really bad weather that resulted in all of the Appleton flights being cancelled. It was only 3:30 pm in Chicago and the thought of getting this close to home and having to spend another night in a hotel with no guarantee of a seat this morning made me decide very quickly to call the Red Cross travel agent and rent a car. I wondered if I might be too tired to drive safely but a large coffee did the trick and it was an uneventful trip up the interstate.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The final week in Jakarta/Banda Aceh/Jakarta went by in a blur. I'll have time to reflect on everything over the coming weeks and will make one final post before I close this blog down. If you've been following along I hope it gave you a small sense of what I experienced. For friends and family that I'll be seeing in the next few days/weeks/months prepare be deluged with stories!!!! How long does it take to look at 1000+ photos anyway ...<br /></div>Tinbagelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01625091378328462650noreply@blogger.com0