We made it! Our little family officially now resides in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
After 24 hours total of travel time, we arrived in Dhaka at 4 am, and all we really cared about was seeing Athena.
There were some electricity problems on the plane while we were still on the ground at Dulles, and Athena was removed from the cargo hold until the electricity was back up and running. Nate checked with the flight attendants and they said she was taken off the plane, but then the electricity started working and we pushed off, and we had no idea if they’d actually put Athena back on the plane.
In Doha we checked at the transfer desk to see if she had been on our flight, and they said yes. We asked again at the check-in desk if she was there and they said yes too, so things were looking hopeful.
At the airport in Dhaka, we were told that Athena would come out on the luggage carousel, and seeing her in her huge crate push past the plastic barrier separating the passenger side of the luggage area from the cargo area was one of the happiest moments of my life. That sounds melodramatic, but it’s true. I’d never been so worried for so long in my life.
Athena arrived scared and dehydrated, but she’s resilient and recovered quickly. Although I think she has jet lag.
Anyways, we were settled into our apartment by 6 am, and we promptly took showers and fell asleep.
We’ve started exploring our neighborhood, and there is still a lot to do and see. We’re figuring out which streets have stray dogs, which make walking Athena difficult. That and the heat. Oh wow. Nate deals with it better than I do. I am so grateful for our apartment and its air conditioning and dehumidifiers. There are 3 dehumidifiers in our apartment, and they all have to be emptied daily because they fill up so quickly. It’s crazy. It is going to take me a long time to get used to the climate.
There are lots of feelings and emotions swirling around in my brain comparing this life to Peace Corps. That probably deserves its own blog post.
We’re happy and excited to finally be here, and we have plans to see more of Dhaka over the next couple of days. Hopefully one of our first stops will be the grocery store!
According to Athena 