I saw this banana seller on the street below my hotel window.
We had a buffet breakfast at the hotel. I mostly ate pastry and bread.
After breakfast, Dash & Bina went off top the CE course they were teaching and Depthi, a dentist-friend of Nisha, picked her & me up and took us to the dental school where she works: City Dental College (CDC). Depthi is a graduate of CDC (same batch as Siras!) and she also has a PhD (studied dental implant coatings) from Hiroshima, Japan. Her father (a physician-allergist) owns this school and she functions as its Operations Director. Her sister is also a dentist and is the "CFO." We met two dental students from Nepal who are presently studying here.
After touring the school (and having the obligatory tea), Depthi's driver picked up her, Nisha and me and took us to Depthi's penthouse condo where we met her 5 year-old son. Her husband lives and works as a professor in Hokkaido, Japan. Her brother lives on the floor below. She is very well-to-do for Dhaka. The fact that she has a penthouse condo and a very nice car with a driver shows that. She is also a local celebrity, as she hosts a weekly TV show on health issues.
Her condo has balconies on three sides. This one overlooks a graveyard -- where her mother is buried. She is muslim -- they bury their dead.
This is probably a dining room?
This is the kitchen.
One of the balconies overlooks this golf course (where we would visit later in the day -- read on!)
We left her son with his babysitter and then Depthi's driver dropped us off at this 7th floor buffet restaurant. As the sign says: 120+ items. I ate a load! They had everything: beef, mutton, chicken, fish, squid, duck, prepared in all sorts of ways.
This is a decoratively carved yellow melon!
At lunch, Depthi was very open when I asked her to explain why she wore a sari instead of a hjab (personal choice). We also talked about how Muslim men could have multiple wives, about whether divorce can happen (yes), about her marriage (arranged by her father), and about the role of women in Muslim society.
After lunch, she took us to her country club where she arranged for me to hit golf balls at the driving range. It has literally been years since I swung a club, but I actually managed a decent swing!
Nisha had never swung a golf club before and with some coaching had a few good "Whacks."
They don't have any fancy machines to pick up the golf balls -- they have teams of boys!
Depthi explained that although she is presently taking golf lessons, she couldn't hit balls today, because the club won't allow that in her sari. I was able to play because I had a collared shirt.
Amazingly, Depthi had acquired new swim "costumes" for Nisha and me so we could all go swimming at the club. The swim costume she got for me fit perfectly. So I practiced my water aerobics and water ballet!
What a day! But it wasn't over yet. Around 5PM, Depthi and her driver dropped Nisha and me off at another dental school, the Mandy Dental College. Dash and Bina were there with the CE course they were teaching. We learned they had started late (and had multiple delays -- because of call to prayer and other issues). This sign advertises Dash's course.
Here is Dash at work. There were 20-25 orthodontists in attendance.
This is a pic of a Mandy dental school clinic.
This guy is a prosthodontist and the Dean of this school. I had met him in Agra, India at the Traumatology meeting in December. He is a dental school batchmate of Anil.
These are sunset views from the school's rooftop.
At the end of the CE course, the Mandy Dean recognized me with this gift! I was surprised.
Finally after 8PM, the course ended and one of Dash's orthodontist friends gave us a ride back to our hotel.
I had a fast snack at the hotel restaurant and then went to sleep. My travel companions went out and found another fine Bengali dinner. After such a big day, I was exhausted (and we had a very early flight scheduled the next morning).
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