Two dramatically different chars...however, the people are always the same

locals waiting for a boat

Unfortunately I haven't been able to blog in a couple of days and I seem to forget all the things I plan on blogging about. Yesterday we visited a char that has only been there 1-2 years. It is crazy to see a small village in the middle of what is basically a huge sand dune. The best thing I can compare it to is that scene from Pirates of the Caribbean where the ship is sitting on salt (I guess the ocean has evaporated?) and that is all you see for miles. When our boat pulls up to the edge of the char and we climb up from the water, it is just sand as far as you can see with a village faintly present in the far distance. The people are very poor. The men go onto the mainland for a month at a time to work and earn money to buy food. The women invite you into their homes, though and are willing to do anything to help. I am always immediately offered a chair and made to sit. They almost always ask how old I am and if I am married (the wedding ring isn't recognized here as a sign of marriage, I need a nose ring and a dot on my forehead) as they are into arranged marriages here and I am flattered that they wish to have me stay and marry into their families.

In contrast, today we visited a char that has been there for an estimated 15 years (however I often wonder where Jasim gets his estimations from). It was covered in bamboo trees, established buildings, and even has a market. Word quickly spreads that there is a white person that has candy and as always, the kids come running. There was some downtime after our work was done and we were waiting for the boat to come and pick us up. Jasim was busy, so I was sitting outside reading a book but there is only so long that you can sit and try to read with 20 children literally staring at you. The few kids with cell phones take pictures of me, they all want to know my name and show of what little English they know. To kill some time, we got a game going. It was very similar to the game "sorry" that we play in the states. It is amazing how games like this can bring people that don't even speak the same language together.