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I am leaving tomorrow for Canada, that's where we are moving!

And trust me, leaving Pakistan sucks! :/ : /

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!

Busy me!

I am so busy these days. My family is moving and there is so much to do. I spend the day packing and planning how to wind stuff up while in the evening I am visiting people at Iftars (Fast breaking) saying my final goodbyes.

That is how my days are passing by. The fight I blogged about in my previous post between with my brothers, is now solved and things are back to normal. As expected, none of them apologized! I just softened up.

I have been eating so much lately, due to the extensive Iftar parties that I seriously think I am getting kinda chubby. But it's just a matter of two weeks after that we'll be out of Karachi and therefore no more farewell parties. This is the thought that doesn't stop me from gulping down huge amounts of food at the parties. Haha! I really like eating. (I am not fat though!)

I still have to buy gifts for my friends. Loads of them. Right after I post this I am writing the names of people I need to buy gifts for, in my planner. Talking of that I don't remember if I have ever mentioned this on my blog before but I am a real planner/organizer freak! I just have to write every single thing down. Every single thing! I plan weeks and years and days. Sometimes minute by minute. Though most of the times I don't go exactly by the planner it does really help in sorting stuff out.

I don't know what else to write! I seriously have nothing else going on in life except for what I have written above. Well, as I really feel like writing more I'll think of stuff to write...Ummm.... Well, I would certainly like to draw your attention towards the flood in Pakistan once again and would also like to appeal for a donation for the victims. You can read more about the flood here.

And finally I would like to mention once again how grateful I am to all those who comment on my blog! :) It's a real pleasure to read what the readers have to say! :) And my readers, themselves have the most interesting blogs ever. Seriously I love reading them!

Well, this was an ordinary post!

Till next time,

Tata! :)

P.S: One of my brother is like so rapt in figuring out the my dad's Samsonite brief case code. Funny! :P

The way it is!

Last night I cried myself to sleep. I had been crying for more than three hours and I was extremely hurt. They say the ones you love the most hurt you the most and yesterday it was asserted.

I was sitting in the terrace yesterday with my cousins when my youngest brother joined us. He wanted the empty milk can I had in my hand. I refused to give it to him, at the same time my cousins were making harmless fun of him and asking him to go away. And then suddenly my brother got all aggressive and between all the argument for the milk can; slapped me my right in the face. So dumbfounded was I that I seriously didn't know what to do. My right cheek was aching and my cousins were giggling around me. The next thing I knew my eyes were burning and I couldn't stop myself from crying.

I ran downstairs and locked myself up in the bathroom for over an hour with my cousins banging the doors and shouting how immature I was acting and all that stuff. But you know, I wasn't acting immature at all 'cos I was extremely hurt. I had never felt this disrespected. I was hurt 'cos I never hurt my brothers or ever hit them. 'Cos I always sacrifice things I love for them. 'Cos I value them but I guess they can never understand that!

Anyway, my youngest brother never came to properly apologize and we are still not on talking terms and neither the eldest or the youngest even slightly bothered. But I guess, it's fine; rather than being hurt all the time by them, it's better not to talk to them!

Other than that, I would like inform that the month of Ramazan has once again enlightened us with it's presence. I posted about it last year as well. Ramazan is a month in the Muslim calender in which Muslims around the world fast and spend their time engaged in praying to Allah. We fast from dawn to dusk and during our fast not only do we prevent ourselves from eating but also from bad worldly deeds. Staying hungry from dawn to dusk enlightens us with the realization that how difficult it is for people who don't have food and water, to survive. Allah wants us to feel the pain of the needy ones which gives birth to the feeling of responsibility that we should help those in need.

I am already done with my first fast, and today is the second day of Ramazan. So for the next 28 days, every morning I'll be getting up before dawn to eat and then at dust I'll be breaking my fast. I really love Ramazans! :) They make me feel intimate with Allah.

My cousin visiting from Canada will be leaving this Sunday. So finally after two months I'll have my house to myself. with the usual people around. The summers have been so busy I don't believe time elapsed this quickly.

Well, that's all I had to say. Thank you for being such regular visitors every one. Love your comments.

Tata! :)

The devastating flood :(

I always hate switching on to news channels 'cos I hate listening to bad news. But running away from things doesn't change anything. It doesn't change the fact that my fellow country men lost or evacuated their houses due to the flood. It doesn't change the fact that the flood swept away 140 lives with it. It doesn't change the fact that every night millions of children sleep with an empty stomach, with extinguished hopes.

The flood

The worst flood in the last 80 years

Three million people affected

140 people died

Allah has been generous enough to keep us safe from this tragedy but a lot of others have been tested and they had to leave their houses to move to places that were not affected by the flood. The Pakistani government, as always, disappointed the citizens once again by coping with the situation slowly rather than being brisk with their actions. And although our forces are trying their best to rehabilitate the citizens, it's still not enough, 'cos when you're talking about 3 million people even the best efforts are less.

And then again a lot of people question that is this the best Pakistan can do?

Everyday, I feel guilty that I live such a life when my fellow countrymen starve. I sleep in my comfy bed when the houses of my fellow countrymen were flooded by rain water. I want to go to those places. I wanna work there. I want to see people smile. But I know that can't happen.

This blog post is a little effort to lighten that stain of guilt on my heart. Pakistanis all around are donating for the victims of the flood. You can donate too: Here are some links

Hadiya

Islamic Relief USA

You can Google donating sites too.

A break-through poem, end of writer's block!

Okay so remember how I mentioned about my irksome writer's block in my last post. Well, I am happy to announce that I am over that. And I came up with one of my most beautiful pieces of poetry I have ever penned (typed) today. Well, the truth is yesterday was a holy night according to the Islamic calender. Muslims stay up the entire night praying and fast the other day. I posted about it last year as well. (Click here to view that post)

Anyway, so I was praying last night and an inspiration struck me. It was about how lost I was and how God directed me to the right path. So today after my afternoon prayer I sat down to write my feelings. it was really difficult to get through the first two stanzas so I Googled 'writer's blog' as instructed by Gaalikae in her comment. Turns out writer's block is merely a phrase behind which writers hide to disguise their lack of focus or imagination or confidence. Believing in that, all I had to do is gather up some courage and write down whatever broken sentences came to my mind. Eventually, sentences started coming out more formatted and by the time I was through the 4th stanza, my poem was coming out in a real smooth flow. by the time I finished the piece I had to reformat it once or twice and reading it all over finally I was done. I was proud of what i had come up with. :) Really proud.

Well, it'll be really nice if you guys drop by my other blog and check the poem out. I would really like to hear what you have to say! :)

Tata! :)

Ouch..!

I am going through so much pain right now! My arms, legs, shoulder and back; every part is paining. I am sitting in the most rigid position ever and just my fingers are moving across the keyboard.

Wanna know why??

'Cos yesterday I played like crazy with cousins. We played all the games that required running and loads of energy. I had fun, but the thing is my body isn't used to such movement. I am a couch potato and running and playing 'tag' doesn't work for me. So look at me now, I wince at even the tiniest movement. :( But, at least I had fun. So I can bear the pain! :)

Anyway I have been really busy with my family lately and I hardly get time to do anything by myself. So today, while everyone was sleeping I sneaked out of the room and got hold of the computer. And here I am right now, writing a post while the other snooze away! :D

But you know what sucks these days, with all the things happening around me and so much to write about; I wonder why am I going through such a major writer's block. It's really irksome, you know. I get down to write something but nothing comes out. I feel like tearing the screen apart. I started writing a book and got through the first chapter easily. Then two days back I got some time and tried starting with the second chapter, but..BLANK.I had stuff on my mind but it wasn't able to find the right path to the screen. Uhhh... Writing is not working for me these days! :( Seriously!

I am kinda really missing my friends, 'cos it has been a long time since we last met and had a hell lot of fun. You know, it's fun being around family and all but when things start getting monotonous, I just don't have fun anymore. That's the worst part about vacations, monotony can't be kept at bay. School is better that way, at least not everyday is the same.

I am gonna end here, 'cos I seriously need to get a painkiller.

I'll leave you with a Korean song that has been a part of my Korean fever these days. Korean people are so cute! Ahhh! :)

Tata! :)

P.S: I would like my readers to leave links when they comment 'cos I always want to return everyone's comments! :)