Wednesday, July 29, 2009
For all the Vital Signs and Rohail Hyatt fans :)
http://65.175.69.168:91/dawnanimation/rohail_hyatt/
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Sorry!
I'd post a nice juicy blog but unfortunately I've been here for almost 2 months and nothing really interesting has happened other than me spending time with family and then the riots.
My bad! =(
But, for some more news... the riots are continuing now... I don't know why because we have water and electricity but they are continuing and becoming more violent. The maids came to the house thing morning very disgruntled because their bus was attacked with metal sticks and rocks. Hmph. Someone need to take the PPP out of power.
My bad! =(
But, for some more news... the riots are continuing now... I don't know why because we have water and electricity but they are continuing and becoming more violent. The maids came to the house thing morning very disgruntled because their bus was attacked with metal sticks and rocks. Hmph. Someone need to take the PPP out of power.
Yay!
Sweet! I get to dress and go to my first Desi/Brown/Pakistani wedding :) I'll let you know how it goes!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Riots
So, there was rain. Lots of it. First rain of the season and it came in full force. Oh, did I mention that Karachi isn't a place fit for rain? There were floods...both inside and outside, and if I remember correctly the news was 26 dead in Karachi, the majority due to electrocution and drowning. Long story short, there was a lot of damage due to high winds and many people lost their homes and are still dealing with the damages. The part that we're still dealing with is that with all the rain, a lot of KSC offices (Karachi Electric Supply Company) were "damaged" and "shut down" and so we didn't have power for 3 days and it's still coming in and out. But the majority of the problem is with all the people who don't really have generators and so they had 0 electricity and eventually it gets really annoying because with no electricity there isn't any water that can be generated and also all the food and everything goes bad. So there have been a lot of riots on the streets lately and just the other day I got caught in one. We were driving back from my grandmother's house and got stuck in a traffic jam. When we got a little further we realized that it was about 250-300 women in burkas standing in the street demanding electricity and water. The scary part wasn't the women but the police officers that came with tear gas..and although it was broken up with out any casualties it can still be very scary. Later that night we heard news of people burning tyres outside of the KSC office and just trying to find ways to get electricity and water back. There was rock throwing and many other smaller riots but it takes a fraction of a second for a small riot to turn really dangerous so we've been keeping it really low key all week.
That being said, we're all safe :) Ali and Aliza are leaving for Va on Friday night and I'm leaving for Islamabad on Tuesday to go stay with my grandmother.
Till next time... :)
That being said, we're all safe :) Ali and Aliza are leaving for Va on Friday night and I'm leaving for Islamabad on Tuesday to go stay with my grandmother.
Till next time... :)
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Recently...
(This blog is going to be very gramically incorrect and all over the place because I'm tired -- Sorry :) )
I've been doing a lot of stuff all while feeling like I've accomplished nothing. Haha, Oops. Anyways, last night all the ladies (Aliza, myself, my aunt and her friends) went to Kama Meshi again for the Karaoke night and it ended up being a blast. We sang the night away with lots of old songs and have contests and whatnot and then around 1 30 we decided to go to Espresso which is a coffee spot with a really chill atmosphere. Anyways so Aliza, Huma Apa (apa is a word used to show respect it's used towards someone giving the status of an older sister), Sanam Phupps and I went there and hung out and gossiped and oh! I totally had cold coffee and okay fine for all those people who had to listen to be go on about how disgusting coffee is... fine, you win. It's not THAT bad. Happy? Anyways, we got home at like 3 ish... ate some really good fruit.. (for anyone that's a fruit fanatic...the best fruit in the world grows in Pakistan... I promise!) and then it started raining. I know that for all you Virginians rain doesn't sound like a big deal but it rarely rains in Karachi and so it was quite nice. Around 9 am we all decided to get out of bed and go play in the rain and oh god was it cold! I'll post pictures of later but twas loads of fun :) Since Pakistan isn't really used to rain and whatnot...every time it does rain, the lights tend to go out and then we can't even turn on the generator because it's wet...and so that was the only down side. Oh well. All is back and working again.
Oh! And I caught my first baby lizard. They're everywhere here..little sand colored lizards which are fast as hell but I caught it because Aliza refused to go to the bathroom with it in there and so I wrapped it in a tissue, threw it off the balcony and then chased all the girls with an empty tissue, reducing them to nothing but tears and wet pants. Yes, yes, I am very proud of my self and have kept my steak of scaring them almost every night, successfully!
Well that's all for now...I'll write more later.
Song - Close to Me - The Cure
Till next time.
I've been doing a lot of stuff all while feeling like I've accomplished nothing. Haha, Oops. Anyways, last night all the ladies (Aliza, myself, my aunt and her friends) went to Kama Meshi again for the Karaoke night and it ended up being a blast. We sang the night away with lots of old songs and have contests and whatnot and then around 1 30 we decided to go to Espresso which is a coffee spot with a really chill atmosphere. Anyways so Aliza, Huma Apa (apa is a word used to show respect it's used towards someone giving the status of an older sister), Sanam Phupps and I went there and hung out and gossiped and oh! I totally had cold coffee and okay fine for all those people who had to listen to be go on about how disgusting coffee is... fine, you win. It's not THAT bad. Happy? Anyways, we got home at like 3 ish... ate some really good fruit.. (for anyone that's a fruit fanatic...the best fruit in the world grows in Pakistan... I promise!) and then it started raining. I know that for all you Virginians rain doesn't sound like a big deal but it rarely rains in Karachi and so it was quite nice. Around 9 am we all decided to get out of bed and go play in the rain and oh god was it cold! I'll post pictures of later but twas loads of fun :) Since Pakistan isn't really used to rain and whatnot...every time it does rain, the lights tend to go out and then we can't even turn on the generator because it's wet...and so that was the only down side. Oh well. All is back and working again.
Oh! And I caught my first baby lizard. They're everywhere here..little sand colored lizards which are fast as hell but I caught it because Aliza refused to go to the bathroom with it in there and so I wrapped it in a tissue, threw it off the balcony and then chased all the girls with an empty tissue, reducing them to nothing but tears and wet pants. Yes, yes, I am very proud of my self and have kept my steak of scaring them almost every night, successfully!
Well that's all for now...I'll write more later.
Song - Close to Me - The Cure
Till next time.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Politics ... Sigh
Things up north are heating up and it doesn't look too good. Don't know much past that other than the amount of "Victim Food and Clothing" donation stations have increased.
I went to Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Monday and saw real politics at work. Outside of the glory of Karachi, I saw a lot of the real Pakistan. But the funny thing is that for all the people who think that Pakistan is nothing more than mud houses and dung patties on walls, there are more people who know of the class system and how the upper class live life. The disparity between the classes is so mind boggling that even the toughest of people are brought to tears.
While in Islamabad I saw flags of the PPP (People's Party of Pakistan- Bhutto's Party) on almost every lamp post on every Highway and the sad part is that it's a sick green red and black flag made of silk. Now think - all those flags used time and money and even more, material which easily could have clothed many many many people. My cousin Sidra and I were discussing the Feudal System and it's corrupt way of treating it's people and I really saw it come to life while in Islamabad. The amount of monetary aid coming to this country is beyond me but all I know is that there wouldn't be one hungry person on the streets if the money went to the right place. Unfortunately, the money goes to power hungry politicians and their family and friends and barely a quarter of the aid will ever reach the small villages who still do not have proper electricity and drinking water.
On my second day in Islamabad we decided to go to Sargoda (Also known as one of the hottest places in Pakistan) where my uncle (Father's elder brother (a lieutenant general in the Pakistani Army)) is the GOC (General of Commanding). Simply put, if there was a land within an empire, he would be the king of that specific area (in regards to the army). Make sense? Anyways, on the way there I did actually see people living in mud huts and dung patties on walls and I saw people in very bad conditions but the one thing that I can say about the Pakistani people is that they are very optimistic about it's future. In the last 60 years Pakistan has seen a number of wars and turbulent times but it's hope has never broken. For a country so young, Pakistan has seen a lot. ..............But I'm not taking sides. I love my country and will defend it but I also think that it won't go any where until we fix the corruption within the government and find a balance between the money and power within the country.
I'm going to go stuff my face with some Mangoes and some ice cold Coke now :) Will type more later.
(Please - don't start fighting on my blog in regards to politics - this is my blog and I have the right to post my opinions as to how I see things )
x0x0x0 =)
"Us and Them" by Pink Floyd
I went to Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Monday and saw real politics at work. Outside of the glory of Karachi, I saw a lot of the real Pakistan. But the funny thing is that for all the people who think that Pakistan is nothing more than mud houses and dung patties on walls, there are more people who know of the class system and how the upper class live life. The disparity between the classes is so mind boggling that even the toughest of people are brought to tears.
While in Islamabad I saw flags of the PPP (People's Party of Pakistan- Bhutto's Party) on almost every lamp post on every Highway and the sad part is that it's a sick green red and black flag made of silk. Now think - all those flags used time and money and even more, material which easily could have clothed many many many people. My cousin Sidra and I were discussing the Feudal System and it's corrupt way of treating it's people and I really saw it come to life while in Islamabad. The amount of monetary aid coming to this country is beyond me but all I know is that there wouldn't be one hungry person on the streets if the money went to the right place. Unfortunately, the money goes to power hungry politicians and their family and friends and barely a quarter of the aid will ever reach the small villages who still do not have proper electricity and drinking water.
On my second day in Islamabad we decided to go to Sargoda (Also known as one of the hottest places in Pakistan) where my uncle (Father's elder brother (a lieutenant general in the Pakistani Army)) is the GOC (General of Commanding). Simply put, if there was a land within an empire, he would be the king of that specific area (in regards to the army). Make sense? Anyways, on the way there I did actually see people living in mud huts and dung patties on walls and I saw people in very bad conditions but the one thing that I can say about the Pakistani people is that they are very optimistic about it's future. In the last 60 years Pakistan has seen a number of wars and turbulent times but it's hope has never broken. For a country so young, Pakistan has seen a lot. ..............But I'm not taking sides. I love my country and will defend it but I also think that it won't go any where until we fix the corruption within the government and find a balance between the money and power within the country.
I'm going to go stuff my face with some Mangoes and some ice cold Coke now :) Will type more later.
(Please - don't start fighting on my blog in regards to politics - this is my blog and I have the right to post my opinions as to how I see things )
x0x0x0 =)
"Us and Them" by Pink Floyd
Saturday, July 11, 2009
My bad!
Crap! Okay sorry! Since Blogspot is being whack in regards to uploading videos, I'll upload them to Facebook. Sorry!
Karachi
Hello Everyone! Here's a small video clip of us in the car in Karachi on the way to Kids and Co. In the car you'll see Sasha and Maya and My Aunt, Sanam. :) We also see lots of shops in Karachi and you can see how the terrain is very dry but it's nice as well. The disparity between the rich and poor is quite extreme and don't worry..you'll see both ends of the spectrum.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
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