You never know what a place could be before u go there… (A wonderful amazing place)

I never knew I would of come to love Sandip the way I now do. People always make a mental picture of the place they are about to visit for the first time but the reality is always different. My picture of Sandip was a dismal gathering of straw huts in a remote jungle clearing with no electricity nor running water. There was no furniture. At nights a crowd of humanity entangled among smelly beddings slept on an earthen floor. I even imagined being engulfed in miserable heat night and day with flies and mosquitoes to add to my torment.

            Sandip is a far away village in the country area of Bangladesh and can only be reaching by steamer or launch after eight hours of travel. I set out on my journey feeling very unhappy. There is no way overland to go to Sandwip. I took a launch which sailed along the coast line to reach Sandwip. I was actually travelling on the ocean and I was very scared of drowning I have a fear of water and I do not know how to swim. In addition launch was crowded with people taking all kinds of things with them. They were chickens, baskets of fruits and produce being taking on boat. Not to maintain bicycles, milk cans, peoples with lots of baby’s and bundle of items all squeezed together for the trip. I wondered what would happen if we had an accident. Furthermore, the boat had no safety jackets or floatation devices.

            As we traveled along the coast land the launch meets several stops at remote places. At a few stops many passengers got off but many more came in. this was how it was throughout my journey. Finally until we arrived at Sandwip, the last stop.

            Sandwip appeared quite suddenly on the coast land. At one moment there were bushes and the next moment appeared Sandwip. I was glad to end my confinement on that crowed boat. The workmen secure the boat against the pier and everyone got off; bicycles, chicken and even a goat. At the edge of the pier there was crowd of people waiting to welcome their friends and relatives. Among them I saw my sister and her husband. They were happy to welcome me. The first thing I saw of Sandwip changed my impression of that place.

            Sandwip is not a jungle clearing. It was a well planned settlement with roads and modern houses. It has schools, market places, post office, hospitals, play fields, police station and many beautiful mosques. Sandwip was a well planned village that looked like a small town my sister and her husband lived fifteen minute away from the pier and we could have walked to their home. However they noticed my fascination with the rickshaws so they hired two rickshaws that took us to their home.
            My sister’s home was like a palace. On entering the compound there was a huge lawn with a reflecting pool. In this pool were watch lilies with large green leaves, and the flowers were pink and white and yellow. Fish plays in the cool clear water. There was a garden of plants and flowers.
            I was shocked to see such is splendid place. The compound was lined by a grove of coconut trees. And further surprise waited me as I enter the house. The house was spacious and impressively decorated. There was electricity indoor plumbing and a modern kitchen with dish washer and washing machine and dryer. I was shocked. How can a house so far away from where I took to be civilizing Bangladesh be so modern? Most of the houses from where I came still had outdoor bathrooms. We had a fireplace instead of a kitchen and people still wash their dishes and clothing at a stream. In Sandwip they were living the life of the very rich.
            I truly enjoyed my stay at my sister’s house. We visited many beautiful places and I enjoyed just being with my sister and her husband when the time came for me to return home I was felt with great sadness. The same sadness I had when I was told that I would be going to Sandwip. However my sadness was caused by the knowledge that I would soon be leaving my sister and the Sandwip that I had come to love. My heart is now forever in Sandwip.

This experience was a surprising lesson for me because what I thought of Sandwip was different from what I actually experienced. The lesson I learned is not to make judgment of a place or a person based on one’s imagination or thinking.