Jeni as a Bangladeshi

One of my high school superlatives was going to be "most likely to drown in a puddle," but that was eventually (and fortunately) voted off the list because it wasn’t nice, and it also wasn’t true. Well, clearly no one knew about Dhaka puddles.

For the past three days, we’ve had daily bursts of Bangladeshi monsoon. They’ve all hit precisely at the moment I’m about to head out the door in the mornings. The entire sky turns dark, gives you a few seconds to observe the impending doom, and, just like that, it’s torrential downpour. It’s almost frightening. Three days. I think that’s my limit. Because this morning, I decided that I will not be hindered by a little rain. So I changed to my flip flops, took out my umbrella, and braved the elements. As I walked down the streets, I chose my steps carefully and hopped over deep puddles. I had fun for a little bit, until I realized that I was hopping over puddles and into deeper puddles. I couldn’t see my feet, and then I couldn’t see my ankles. It was after I stepped on something sticky a foot deep in the water that reality hit and I realized that not only did I look extremely stupid, I, in fact, was extremely stupid. I gave myself a minute to fully digest this revelation, and then waded my way back to my place - two measly blocks from where I was standing.

It all ended well though. The guest house folks had a great laugh, and I had long, long, long, hot shower. It was definitely an unforgettable experience.