One long post! :)

I have been really busy with the moving as I mentioned in my previous post. So that's all I have been doing lately: packing, meeting people, attending farewell parties and receiving farewell gifts and taking loads of pictures.

I am taking pictures for two reasons: 1. I want to put things on my blog and 2. I want to freeze every beautiful memory of this place before I leave. So this post would be mainly pictorial.

So on Monday I visited my maternal aunt's all-girls, government-owned school. People who read my 5oth post might be aware of my maternal aunt and her school. I posted her interview and about of the work she has done for the school.

So I took pictures of her school and you know it's really sad to know the educational standards in Pakistan. It's like education is only for the rich and the under-privileged don't deserve anything. The government-owned schools due to low tuition fees are places where the kids of the under-privileged study but the Pakistani government doesn't put in enough effort to make their educational experience, a standard one. And though my maternal aunt as the principal put in all the work she could to educate the girls to their best, the government-owned school still lacks modern facilities. The school is built in a tunnel under a flyover in a posh area of Karachi. It has been there for more than four decades but I guess the government is still oblivious. Perhaps they have no idea how hard it is for girls to get educated inside a tunnel, without even a proper school building! (For a detailed report on the school click here)

I'll just let the pictures say the rest:

The school courtyard and the flyover

The classrooms inside the tunnel separated by walls.

A glimpse of their class room

The girls leaving in a queue after the bell rings

Shattered I was after I left the school building. It was simply heart-wreaking, I kept questioning myself; 'Is this a price they have to pay for not being born with a silver spoon in their mouths??' 'So saaaddd'

So innocent were the faces of those girls I really couldn't help smiling when I looked their way, and then their bright smiles in return. I thank God for being so generous to me and giving me a chance to be a part of great schools and I also thank him for enlightening my heart with the sense of responsibility that I have to work for these children and help them. And InshAllah, I will! :)

On a lighter note. I'd also like to share with you some other pictures from recent days. :) So here goes:

I baked brownies a few days back and they turned out delicious! :)

The mixture (before)

In the oven

And the final product!

I got awesome farewell gifts from my bffs

Bun pins! :)

I love love love my friends! :) :) :)

I listened to street children chanting praise for the holy month of Ramadan. :)

The instrument around his neck is a dholak. A traditional south Asian drum-type instrument!

And finally,

Tata! :)

P.S: I just really LOVE Karachi, Pakistan. Moving from here is So hard!

A summary of a wonderful week. :)

I am back from my 5-day long stay at my grandma's house and finally I am updating my blog. I had such an awfully wonderful week that I am certain that my words would not be enough to describe it. Counting from last Sunday, each day has been a delight; and now a beautiful fragment of my memory! :)

Last Sunday I went to my cousin's place and had such an amazing time there. I gobbled on every last bit of brownies left in the tray. I ate the tastiest of baked potatoes and watched a Beyonce Knowles film late at night. And slept like a baby in my cousin's room with a night light on! (oops, did I just write that! :P) I 'youtubed' like crazy and laughed my head off with my cousin. I truly had the most fantastic stay.

Then on Monday, I came back home gathered my stuff and went to stay at my grandma's house. All my maternal cousin are over there; 'cos here in Pakistan we have a joint-family system. All my maternal uncles and aunts live in one big house.

I stayed there for five days and now I am finally back home. I did the most craziest things over there. I went for shopping twice. Once in a rickshaw(public transport) and ate a shawarma in a rickshaw which was moving with the speed of light. My soft drink and ketchup dripped all over my clothes. Travelling in such a fast moving rickshaw was seriously a near-death experience I later exclaimed while telling my friends. It was bonkers fun after all! :D

The other shopping trip was to a local bargain-bazaar (shopping area) and my maternal aunt (I posted her interview) and (youngest) uncle are like champions in bargain shopping! Like seriously. I got two pairs of sneakers and one flip flop for 4$. I mean that is super super cheap. All I had to do was point out the pair of shoes I liked. The rest was up to them. I love them! :)

Other than that I ate so much while I was there. I ate kulfi (Eastern ice cream), had lassi (a blended yogurt and sugar mixture), had an eastern style burger and samoosas. Bottom-line: Ate A LOT!

And now, I sit here in front of my computer screen, happy and loving my life. A LOT! And yeah, I am really thankful to Allah for surrounding me with people who care so much about me. How would I have lived otherwise?

I am gonna wrap up this post by expressing my utmost gratitude for Ayak, who just gave me such a special award. It's for young bloggers, teenagers like me! :D Well..teenage... I am glad I write about mine on this blog!

Maybe one day when I am old and all weary I will open up this blog and read about my idiocies and my immature thoughts. With my life in front of me, I'll have no regrets or fears! :) InshAllah! :)

Here is the award:

Thanks a lot Ayak! :)

Till next time,

Tata :)

My pretty ordinary day! (You might not be interested!!!)

30 July 2009

So I slept pretty late last night again, near 4, and was dragged back from my mere nothingness long before it officially gave me the permission to move out! I was informed that were visiting our maternal side of the family for a day! Hmmm!
Well in Pakistan we have a strong joint family system, rather than living alone people live together with their parents and their siblings even after they get married. This is a principle here, we cannot just abandon our parents and move out. Usually people who do that aren't respected or valued in the society. Islam, the religion in Pakistan, teaches us to remain with our parents till they breath their very last breadth.
So as the whole of my maternal family lives in one house, so a trip there means a day spent with my mom's youngest brother who we call Chunay mamoo ( mamoo is a word in urdu for mom's brother), Pappu mamoo who is elder than chunay mamoo, his wife, his one-year old, Fatima; Jawed mamoo, my mom's eldest brother, his wife and his four kids: Taimoor: 17, Uroosa: my age, Sharmeen: 11 and Hassan:9; my mom's sister who I call khalajani (a word in urdu for mom's sister) and my mom's mother who I call my nanna!
Okay so that makes one big family but out of all people three people are dearest to me, my khalajani, more like my own sister, my Chunay mamoo, who spoils me and my nanna, who loves and prays for me every second of the day!
So as sleepy as I was, after entering the house and greeting everyone the next thing I did was dive on the bed and get lost once again in my welcoming mere nothingness! I gave in on myself at 11:30 and got the control back when it was 2:30 in the afternoon. I was called for lunch and after that things went pretty ordinarily. I discussed the recent twist in the political events of the nation with my khalajani, cursed a politician here and there and commented on some old photos that were lying around!
My mom was going to the beauty saloon so I decided to tag along and get my haircut refreshed for my big party! Wanna know what big party I am talking about, well I just got my Matriculation result and have scored 90% MashAllah! So my mom and dad decided to throw this huge party for every one! I am soooo waiting for it!!! Its on the 1st August 2009! :)
After my Chunay mamoo came home he showed me the new iPhone he bought me! UUUHHHHH I soooo love it! I was drooling over it, but my khalajani said that my mamoo will bring it as an official gift on the day of my party! Oh well...I don't wanna wait till then but I have to! :(
So near nine my dad came to pick us up and we were on our way back to home! Well what can I say I love my home! It's good to be back! :)