Today's Featured Biography

 
Robert Bongard

74-79 New Brunswick, NJ - Rutgers University
79-81 Colonia, New Jersey - American Health Club
81-83 Niamey, Niger - Peace Corps Volunteer
83-89 Niamey, Niger - American Embassy (non-diplomatic)
89-94 Antananarivo, Madagascar - American Embassy (non-diplomatic)
94-96 Antananarivo, Madagascar - American Cultural Center
96-01 Pyramids, Giza, Egypt - Chemonics International (98/99)
02-06 Rangpur, Bangladesh
06-08 Muang Sing, Laos
09-11 Hongsa, Laos
12-16 Pabna, Bangladesh
16-17 Dhaka, Bangladesh
18- Bad Nauheim, Germany (the final frontier)

Our permanent house is in Roedgen, Germany which is 40 minutes north of Frankfurt. We live between the town that Elvis was stationed in (Friedberg) and the town he lived in (Bad Nauheim). Bad Nauheim is considered the Elvis capital of Europe.

I visit Colonia annually. I just returned in September 2009 for a niece's wedding (Diane Bower Bongard's daughter) - first one from the next generation! I also became a great uncle with the birth of my grand nephew Joshua Paul Bongard on September 2. (LOL my younger brother, Doug, is the first granpa in the family!) Great to be home with family during these two major events!

Next trip to the homeland will probably be April and October 2014. (It's now Sept 2014 and I surprised my brother for his 60th birthday! Decided to come back early for that and stay longer for our CHS 40th.)

Here's my story cut and pasted from classmates.com

In July 1981 I joined the Peace Corps, moved to Africa and basically never returned to live in NJ. We lived in Niger (81-88), Madagascar (89-96), Egypt (96-01), Bangladesh (02-06), and currently living in Laos (06 to probably 11). We lived two years in Muang Sing near the Chinese border and moved Jan 09 to Hongsa near the Thai border. NOW we live in Pabna, Bangladesh - since early 2012 and will be living here until May 2015 at the earliest probably until May 2017. Our second home is in Roedgen, Germany, just 40 minutes north of Frankfurt.

I met my partner, Peter, while I was a Peace Corps volunteer and we've been together ever since - 39+ years at this point. He's German and has the real job (development aid) in the family. I just follow along and look for work where possible - which included two American embassies (non-diplomatic), an American Cultural Center, and an American consulting company. Note all that American stuff - just because I don't live in America doesn't mean I'm not patriotic. I've actually come across people who think that. What's up with that?

I never really came out. I just left the country and then met someone. As they say at the supermarket - two men, one cart, fresh pasta - you do the math. Along the way I started signing both our names to letters home. Letters, remember those things?

In Egypt we lived down the street from THE Pyramids. Saw them every day. Our address was Garden of the Pyramids Street; Pyramids, Giza; Egypt. The bad part was having the Sahara Desert two blocks away and having sand and dust blowing through your apartment at each sand storm.

Our first home in Laos was in Muang Sing (which was a [email protected]) and was traditional Thai style - off the ground four feet, 20-foot pointed roof, bamboo, brick, and wood. Walls and floors are not double and you can see through the flooring at spots.

Bugs are always an interesting challenge and right now we are in the monsoon season so everything is moldy. When the sun does come out everyone brings their furniture and belongings outside to air. But we are up in the mountains (2,000 feet) so it's not that hot. Actually we are in a small valley with the surrounding mountains reaching up to 4,500 feet above sea level. We have electricity and running water, satellite TV, and the Internet. Most importantly we have a rare sit down toilet (squat toilets are the norm here)! One of only two within 50 miles. Hey - at our age a sit down toilet is a treasure! (tropical living hint #27 - always look in the toilet before sitting down!) Our current house in Hongsa, Laos is cement.

It takes two days to get to our village from the capital, Vientiane. Eight hours on a paved road to Luang Prabang (a World Heritage city) where we stay overnight. The next morning we do some shopping at the market and then cross the Mekong River for a five hour drive on a dirt road. There are three westerners in Hongsa - the two of us and a German woman who runs a small guest house. The claim to fame for Hongsa are elephants which are still used for logging in the remaining forests. I see them go by the house on their way to work almost daily. In February 2010 the fourth annual Elephant Festival will be held in Hongsa. Make your reservations now!

UPDATE (2013): Currently living in Pabna, Bangladesh (since early 2012). We are out in the countryside. We live in a new apartment building at the edge of town (pop. 140,000). We have a highway out front but rice paddies out back.

ANOTHER UPDATE (2016): Moved to the capital, Dhaka, due to security. We've been here since October 2015. My partner will probably retire at the end of October this year (2017). If he doesn't find another project in the area we will retire to Germany. We've been living overseas for over 36 years. It will be an adjustment going back to the real world. At least I will be closer to the US for trips home.

AND YET ANOTHER UPDATE (2019): Retired to Bad Nauheim, Germany! We've been here a year already. No more stock piling canned goods from home. No more keeping empty jars and containers to store things in so the bugs don't get them. We can go to a cafe or a bar whenever we want. And by June we should be settled into our final house. We've had some things in storage for over 25 years. It will be nice to finally unpack everything!

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