I do!

Almost a year ago, Shazzad proposed to me in front of the Mona Lisa.

 On Saturday, we kicked off our worldwide wedding tour in Raleigh, North Carolina.  In the presence of family, a few random hikers, and the occasional frog or earthworm wandering by, we had our legal ceremony and officially became husband and wife.  Yippee!!

On the sunny banks of Big Lake, Umstead Park.

 We chose a spot in the woods of Umstead Park, a beautiful forest where I have run many times.  It was on the lake, which looked picture perfect on a sunny afternoon.

 Surrounded by smiling faces and pine trees, Shazzad and I stood looking at each other as my dad officiated the ceremony.  After a few words of welcome, he remarked,

 As you all know from getting here and from looking around, this spot is a bit off the beaten trail. That is how Shazzad and Maria live– off the beaten path– as they forge their own trail together. 

I think that Shazzad and Maria are well prepared for the journey forward. Maria said recently, ‘I just have a compass. I don't know where it's taking me, but I trust that it's the right path.’ 

Shazzad and Maria, use that compass to find your happiness together in this big world.”

Girls just wanna have fun.......

We had a latte fun!!

I had a great alternative bachelorette weekend with my girls Amanda and Srijita.  We enjoyed the sights, the sounds, and especially the food!!

Hanging out at Bhaktapur

 We spent one day outside of Kathmandu, wandering through the hills of Nagarkot and the dusty streets of Bhaktapur.  It's well know for its wonderful views of the Himalayas.....on a clear day.  We went on a foggy day, so we were happy that we didn't get up at 4AM to try to catch the dawn.

We weather an afternoon rain storm from a coffee
shop with an awesome view of the Boudhanath.

Saying goodbye!  Over one last coffee!!

Check out the full photo album.

Can you ski behind that, and have your cake?

I spent the week before my birthday up in Northern Bangladesh.  One day, my colleagues and I went out to one of the most remote areas of the country--river islands called chars that are highly vulnerable to river erosion and flooding.  Many of the people who live there are very poor. At this time of year, many of the men from the area are off in Sylhet working to help harvest rice.  Often they get paid in rice, instead of wages.

Getting out there is difficult.  It's a long bumpy ride on a bad road, and then another hour on a boat.

I find myself thinking about "the river" in North Carolina.  This river has similar ecology, and similarly makes me want to go water skiing.

On the boat with my colleague Paroma.

Amanda and Alvina

Could I ski behind this?  Not sure it's built for speed.

After a week of moving around in the field, it's nice to finally go home, take a nice, long shower to wash off the dust.

It doesn't hurt that there's a delicious chocolate birthday cake awaiting me!  There are worse ways to celebrate the big "30."

Scenes from the "zero point" road trip

A few weeks ago, Shazzad, Amanda, Jarrod and I went on a road trip to Syhlet.  We wanted to go somewhere that none of us had even gone before. We chose Jaflong, an area on the Indian border in Sylhet that is supposed to be beautiful.  It's also where most of Bangladesh's rock quarries are located.

Sylhet is about a 5 hour drive from Dhaka.  We get up early and head out there.  By the time we arrive, we are very hungry.

With great concentration, Amanda and I manage to read the Bangla notice on the table.  It says that we can't

linger after finishing our food.  Maybe we were better off not knowing!!

If at first you don't suceed, thai and thai again

Eat up!  Your next meal is just a few hours away!

“Vacation” is synonymous with “Thailand” for Dhaka's social elite.  Just two hours away, Bangkok offers everything that’s forbidden in Dhaka: late night clubs, bars galore, you name it.  Not to mention the bargain shopping!

To be honest, I have never understood the hype.  My previous "72 hours in Bangkok" (spent mainly in a hotel conference room talking about health systems) left me underwhelmed.  Bangkok seemed big, Thai was confusing (and English hard to come by), and the night scene was too sketchy for me.

But it is just two hours from Dhaka, and relatively easy for Americans (no visa required) and Bangladeshis (one week for processing), so Shazzad and I decided to turn our May Day holiday into a one week vacation.  I called it a “practice honeymoon;” there’s no harm in taking a trip (or two or three!) just to test things out, figure out what we like, and get the “real” honeymoon as perfect as possible.

We loved Bangkok this time.  We stayed at a hotel that was unexceptional in every way except that it was in exact type of neighborhood we would have chosen, had we done that kind of research (thanks agoda.com and the many helpful reviewers!!).  Just a stone’s throw from the metro, it was more of a local residential area than a tourist haven, full of cheap, no-frills food stands and simple restaurants.  We spent many hours just wandering along, peering at interesting-looking foods and eventually decided to buy one so that we could try it.  The selection was astonishing—noodle soup, seafood crepes, snow cones, mango and sticky rice, kebabs, pad thai, omelets…..and that was just what we ate the first day (ok, I’m exaggerating ever so slightly).  I found that I could get my daily caffeine fix from the iced coffee stands on the streets, who served up a deliciously cold and sweet combination of Nescafe, ice, and condensed milk.

Joining the mob

It's been a crazy month.  I've got to catch up on posting.

First things first, my innovative team convinced me that the best way to create buzz about our new innovation fund was to.......do a flash mob at our BRAC day fair.  Why not?  I'm pretty sure it's the first flash mob that's ever been attempted at BRAC!

It hasn't quite gone viral yet, but we're pretty satisfied with it.