Melinda and Sarah Go Wading Through Villages

Last week, Melinda and I went visiting in villages. We went with a translator and two guides who know the area. It is currently rainy season and in the area we visited the rains have been quite heavy. To the right is a picture of one road we drove down on the way.  We were in a van that was really high off the ground and sometimes I wasn't sure we would make it. The next day, we had a little bit of engine trouble, and Melinda and I were thinking "Well, we sunk the van..." I feel like if I had been walking and stepped in pothole I might have gone completely underwater. But maybe that's an exaggeration. There were men fishing on the edges because their ponds had overflowed and since the road was slightly slanted one side had a current.  Fortunately, other roads were not that bad.
When we got to the villages, our guide said, "Now, this is going to be a little muddy is that ok?" Yeah. Sure, we can handle mud.  By the end of the day, we had mud absolutely everywhere. At one point we were wading through water and mud up to our knees and that was the "good road". The other roads don't bear thinking about...

Our guides were extremely concerned about us lest we should fall and world come crashing to an end. They were always asking if we were ok and one of the ladies was holding onto me at almost all times. At first, the lady would hold my arm right by the elbow, which is really awkward to begin with and as time passed, her grip would get tighter and tighter until it became painful. I was thinking, um... this is actually making it more difficult to stand up. Finally, I said "It would be better if you held my hand." Melinda has better balance and walks faster than I do, so a lot of the guides' concern was focused on me. There were many conversations, in Bangla, about my ability to walk, including the following:

A: Is Sarah doing ok?

B: Yes, she's doing much better now.

Sometimes, I was doing well and sometimes, I was decidedly not doing well. We had a lot of fun though. We plan to go out visiting again in future, but probably after the rainy season.