Post-visitor blues

I'm always being asked by Bangladeshis what my feelings are about things.  What are your feelings about Bangladesh?  What are your feelings about X place (2 seconds after you've arrived and not had enough time to have any bloody feelings about it yet)?

So what are my feelings after having a visit from my eldest brother Brendan, his wife Karen and kids Declan (7) and Niamh (5)?

Generally sad and lonely, with a good dose of back-to-work blues thrown in.  It's been so lovely to have some people I really love seeing me in this different environment, experiencing the things that I do and meeting the people who are around me here.

Proving that I am indeed my mother's daughter, I've made a few lists about their visit.

Declan's best things in Bangladesh:

• The hotel in Chittagong
• Buying some Bangladesh clothes
• Seeing Aunty Mon (added after my brother whispered it in his ear)

Declan's worst things in Bangladesh:

• His Nintendo DS breaking (I think this was the only time he cried all week, although he's been remarkably good-spirited about it since and hasn't sooked at all)
• All the cars, buses and trucks honking

Niamh's best things in Bangladesh:

• Meeting the other kids (some street kids who hang around the shopping area near Carly and Tania's place in Chittagong who I often talk to and sometimes buy some food for)
• Buying some Bangladesh clothes
• Seeing Aunty Mon (this was following Declan's example)

Niamh's worst thing in Bangladesh:

• Sleeping (cos it meant she wasn't doing more interesting things)

My favourite things during their visit to Bangladesh:

• Getting re-acquainted with Green Eggs and Ham (a literary masterpiece)
• Lots and lots of cuddles, tickles, kisses and general physical affection I've been missing
• Seeing them all in their Bangladesh clothes (especially Bren's tie-dyed punjabi)
• Niamh falling asleep while I sang 5 Little Ducks one night
  

My worst things about their visit to Bangladesh:

• Dropping them off at the airport

Things the Bangladeshis stared at the most:

• Me wearing a sari when I picked them up from the airport (admittedly, I did look pretty damn gorgeous)
• Me crying at the airport when they left

Miscellaneous funny things that happened:

• Declan and Niamh emailing their teachers to ask if it was okay to talk about Sitakunda ("Shit-akunda") when they have their news time at school
• Declan asking if Bangladeshis would understand his meaning when he flips them the bird, with particular reference to the beggars ("I don't know why they're asking me, I haven't got any money!")
• Two boys singing me Panjabiwala (a popular Bangla song) on the beach in Cox's Bazar
• All of us going nuts in the shops selling stuff from the ship-breaking yards, like kids in a toy shop
• Making an emergency road-side stop for Niamh to take a wizz in the rain with a busload of Bangladeshis (and a passing cow) looking on
• Dinner at Pizza Hut, with the staff performing an enthusiastic birthday chant while the birthday boy (a random Bangladeshi guy) stood on his chair lapping up the attention