Like a lot of art, not everyone “gets” these elephant sculptures. I’ve heard some negative comments. But I think they are really something. I’ve been wanting to write about this art exhibit in the Embassy for a few months, and finally have a few minutes to share some images.

A little background: Bangladesh is the reluctant host to nearly a million refugees from Burma. The Rohingya crisis has spawned many tragedies, both humanitarian and environmental. The two combinesd in an unfortunate clash that happened when human beings and wild elephants needed the same space.

A large refugee camp sits right on top of a migration ground for wild elephants. Unfortunately there has been loss of life on both sides, as neither the confused elephants nor the panicked refugees know how to handle the situation.

A Bangladeshi artist had an idea. If the people understood the elephants, maybe they would seek ways to coexist and avoid conflict. His idea was to make life-size sculptures and place them in the refugee camps.

His next insight was to convince the people to not just accept the elephants. He explained to me: “they have to love the elephants.” His approach was to ask the people for their old clothing. He used the scraps to make the “skin” for his elephant sculptures.

The artist loaned three elephants to the Embassy. We have them on display just outside the main door. Aside from the patchwork skins, they are very lifelike.

I had realized that art could be a tool for social activism, but I had only thought about that point in the abstract. This project uses art for conservation and disaster relief. That’s pretty meaningful. I’m grateful to Mr. Shadhin for lending his work to the Embassy for a few months.

Our “garden” is really a collection of pots on the flat roof of our house. It’s the same concept of a raised-bed garden, I suppose. But our version is a lot less attractive.

The guy that we hired to take care of the yard is also supposed to do our garden. It’s taken a while, but he might finally understand what we want.

We inherited about 30 basil plants. They were already on the roof when I moved in. I like basil as much as the next guy, but 30 plants is objectively too much. Especially when they are not really “plants,” but are arguably “bushes.”

When we asked the gardener why he planted so much, he hemmed and hawed, then said that he likes to eat it. I think maybe he has a side business where he sells it. That doesn’t bother me, far be it from me to get in the way of his side hustle. As long as he plants what I want, too. We told him that he had to limit the basil and make room for what we want.

We convinced him to separate the kale out into individual pots. It’s starting to take off and grow quickly. This variety has flatter leaves and the stalks are tender and edible. I think we made a good choice.

We also have a healthy beanstalk. And I didn’t have to trade a cow for it! 🙂

The next challenge is to teach our housekeeper how to cook the kale. She calls all leafy green vegetables “spinach,” for some reason. We have been served what we would call “spinach,” but also vegetables that she calls “long spinach” (morning glory or 空心菜, and “red spinach” (I don’t know the English word for it, in Taiwan it’s called 莧菜). I guess we can call our kale: “roof spinach.”

This happens almost every day in my neighborhood, usually in the late afternoon or early evening. It appears to be an attempt to kill mosquitoes. It might kill some of them, but not all. Not by a long shot.

A guy runs around with a fogging machine. He shoots the stuff into the drainage sewers, where I guess the mosquitoes hide. It leaks out from drains further down the street.

The smell is pretty noxious. Every time we hear the lawnmower-like sound, we run around and turn off all the air conditioners. We don’t want the fumes to get sucked into the house. If it kills mosquitoes, it can’t be good for other living things. Like us, for example.

An alien life form penetrated the defense network of my fortress this morning.

Its posture within the secure zone indicated that it realized its fatal miscalculation.

Security forces encountered little resistance, and so were able to be merciful. The invader was extracted and banished to a dirt pile outside the perimeter. No casualties were reported.

An after-action review board will be convened to assess the protective measures that are currently in place, and will recommend adjustments to security protocols as necessary.

It’s been raining almost every afternoon and evening for the last few weeks. The locals tell me that it’s a little late this year, but rainy season seems to have arrived.

This squall caught us just as we wanted to leave for work. Instead of walking home, we waited for a few minutes, then a few minutes more, then finally gave up and called a car to drive us home.

This is not my video. Someone shared it online recently. I’ve seen most of the sights in the video, though, and can attest that this is the “real” Bangladesh.