Return to the Western World
In the plane a few hours away from Toronto. I can't wait. I have had a fantastic trip and had a great time with family, both with old relatives and forging new relationships but I can't wait to be home. If there is anything this trip has taught me, it is that I am a true north americaner. I would find it difficult to live anywhere else, although I love experiencing different cultures and visiting different parts of the world. Azhar has written a great ode to Pakistan below so in my last post I'll give you this.
Things I'm not going to miss:
1....the scarcity of Toilet Paper. In a land where there is such a need for toilet paper, why is there never any in the bathroom? There's always some in the kitchens as it seems the concept of kitchen roll or paper towels has not yet been invented, but never any in the bathroom where it is so desperately needed. And this is based on my experiences in bathrooms in peoples homes, five star restaurants, service stations, rest stops etc. I think I brought about 500 wipes to Pakistan and used almost all of them on my 12 day trip.
2...Layering. I live in Canada, where the weather can get as cold as -30c and I have never layered more than 3 layers: base layer, tshirt, sweater, and over that a coat. If I'm skiing or going to be outdoors, I may swap out some of those layers for a warmer version but it's never more than that. In Pakistan, in the winter, as the houses are cold, and gas is sporadic, I felt like the Michelin man. It's only when I reached Germany on the return trip that I realized how tiny my kid is. This entire trip, his wardrobe consisted of leggings and a slim t, which was layered over with a pair of slim fitting old pajamas. Then at least 2 more shirts on top, a sweater and sometimes a jacket. The poor guys feet Barely fit into his shoes as he had a minimum of 2 pairs of socks on at any time. Going back to Canada and putting him in a single sleeper to sleep is going to feel weird.
3....the showers. Oh...i can't wait to shower in a north American shower! The water pressure, the way hot water just comes on a few seconds after you turn on the tap. The way you can stand in the shower for half an hour with no issues and change in the warm bathroom or hang out in a towel while leisurely selecting your clothes for the day. The way you can take a shower at any time of the day. The fact that I don't even own a Balti. Cannot wait!
On that note, here are the things I will miss:
1...the food. I'm going to miss waking up and being asked if I want fresh squeezed juice or a hot tea first thing and what I want for breakfast. When asked what they have, being told " whatever you want".
2... The lifestyle. Waking up and having nothing to do other than perform basic personal hygiene.
By the way, if anyone else is going to Pakistan in the nest bit, let me know. I have a huge stash of meds that I need to traffic somehow before expiry. Everything to do with nausea, upset stomach, heartburn, indigestion, diaharea, vomiting, gas and bloating. I have ginger chews, I have gravol, pesto bismol, Imodium, gas-x, tums, you name it I have it.
Showing posts with label village. Show all posts
Showing posts with label village. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
First world perceptions of the fourth world
First world perceptions of the fourth world
We have arrived. From the modern motorway, which really looks kind of like the 401, we turned out to this tooty pooty dirt road where we shared road space with cows, bicycles, Tangas, wagons and all manner of shit. No really, shit. That's not a euphemism, there really was shit everywhere.
Along the side of the road we saw various manners of dhabas, mud huts, Charpais and other forms of housing, all covered with what my son excitedly calls "chocolate cupcakes". These chocolate cupcakes, for those who don't know, are made from cow dung (Atleast I hope it's cow dung but who knows) that are used as a fuel source for cooking. They are shared into patties and put on the houses to dry out in the sun, and are the single greatest contributor to the trademark gaon scent that permeates through the air.
We finally reach the gaon and go into Aymens family home, which is a haveli style ( open courtyard with rooms off the courtyard, and then a raised roof you can walk on and see below into the home). It's bustling, there is a tent going up in the middle for the valima, people everywhere, a full service kitchen dispatching chai trays with nibbles, to various parts of the house, a busy tandoor making dozens and dozens of fresh tandoori naans, huge daygs in which food is being prepared for the nights events. We sit down for a cup of chai which is not bad but tastes, well, different. It's got milkpak in it so I'm wondering what this new flavour is. Aymen is with me and takes a sip, first words out of her mouth, it tastes like goober. What is goober? Well, it's what those aforementioned chocolate cupcakes are made of. I decided at that moment I was not drinking chai the rest of the trip.
We decided to go for a walk in the village. This was actually a lot of fun. The road in the village is filled with village children, cows, goats and chickens (basically, live dinner). Cayden had a ball, feeding the goats, running after chickens. Within ten minutes he looked exactly like the rest of the gaon children. You couldn't tell his clothes were from Zara or that he was North American. With dirt on his face, shit on his shoes, snot running down his face due to all the dirt/allergies, he looked like he fit in just fine. Yay for me!
For those of you following the blog for the potty humor and shit stories. There will be a lot of that in this post. First, the kids were treated to the sight of a large cow shitting in front of them. Or in the words of Saifaan, "Aisha aunty, that cow did potty In front of everybody!". Oh yes he did. Maneuvering a toddler out of big piles of shit while trying to avoid carrying him as his shoes and clothes are already covered in big piles of shit and who knows what else was not fun. Probably not a good idea to wear a light colored outfit that you actually like.
Cayden decided that if there was a pile of shit in the road, he was going to step in it. I don't get it, I guess it's soft and squishy? All I can say is, if there was a single piece of shit on the road, my son stepped in it. Guess he takes after his dad after all.
We ended our walk in the kaith, outside of the village walls with big open fields of saag and other crops and beautiful picturesque landscapes. Don't really have anything negative to say here, it as beautiful, the sun was setting and we were all able to indulge our filmi alter egos and take beautiful shots in fields of flowers.
My funniest experience in the gaon was talking to Aymens chacha, who lives in the US and hasn't been to Pakistan in 37 years. When I asked him if the gaon was as he remembered, he said "this is the filthiest place on earth. It's just filthy. I left here 37 years ago and it has gotten worse". When people asked us what we thought of the gaon, and we told them it was very different, he told us to stop being diplomatic. Lol.
The next morning, my stomach is feeling a little queasy. I share this with Omar who smiles and pulls out his camera to share pictures of the food preparation process. Basically all the meat was skinned and feathered on site, with carcasses laid on sheets on the floor. Then, meat was butchered and butchered pieces were tossed into a Charpai that is lined with a bed sheet where it sits in the sun till the butchering Is done. No one is wearing gloves, and apron and judging from the pics, I'm not sure if they are adhering to hand washing protocol. Oh my lord. Where is Azhar and his bootleg amoxicillin when I need it? I'm also wishing I brought my own sheets as I'm not sure of the origin of the sheets on the bed I slept on last night. Luckily it wasn't a Charpai.
Omar was smart enough to shower before heading to the village. I on the other hand, am indebted to flush able wipes and anti perspirant. The "shower" consists of a communal stone walled area that comes up to mid chest, located in the front entrance to the haveli. I am not joking. Judging from the number of shirtless men wrapped in towels I see walking around in the early morning it seemed to be very popular. I tried to convince Omar but he wasn't having it. I was later told there are indoor shower facilities for women however at this point I figured I would just shower when I returned to civilization! Our bathroom did not have a lock on the door and so taking a shower just sounded like it would be a stressful experience.
We ran out of toilet paper shortly before leaving, which to my mind signified our time in the village had come to an end.
All in all, a different experience, fun in its own way bit can I say, I am very glad we were only there for 26 hours :)
We have arrived. From the modern motorway, which really looks kind of like the 401, we turned out to this tooty pooty dirt road where we shared road space with cows, bicycles, Tangas, wagons and all manner of shit. No really, shit. That's not a euphemism, there really was shit everywhere.
Along the side of the road we saw various manners of dhabas, mud huts, Charpais and other forms of housing, all covered with what my son excitedly calls "chocolate cupcakes". These chocolate cupcakes, for those who don't know, are made from cow dung (Atleast I hope it's cow dung but who knows) that are used as a fuel source for cooking. They are shared into patties and put on the houses to dry out in the sun, and are the single greatest contributor to the trademark gaon scent that permeates through the air.
We finally reach the gaon and go into Aymens family home, which is a haveli style ( open courtyard with rooms off the courtyard, and then a raised roof you can walk on and see below into the home). It's bustling, there is a tent going up in the middle for the valima, people everywhere, a full service kitchen dispatching chai trays with nibbles, to various parts of the house, a busy tandoor making dozens and dozens of fresh tandoori naans, huge daygs in which food is being prepared for the nights events. We sit down for a cup of chai which is not bad but tastes, well, different. It's got milkpak in it so I'm wondering what this new flavour is. Aymen is with me and takes a sip, first words out of her mouth, it tastes like goober. What is goober? Well, it's what those aforementioned chocolate cupcakes are made of. I decided at that moment I was not drinking chai the rest of the trip.
We decided to go for a walk in the village. This was actually a lot of fun. The road in the village is filled with village children, cows, goats and chickens (basically, live dinner). Cayden had a ball, feeding the goats, running after chickens. Within ten minutes he looked exactly like the rest of the gaon children. You couldn't tell his clothes were from Zara or that he was North American. With dirt on his face, shit on his shoes, snot running down his face due to all the dirt/allergies, he looked like he fit in just fine. Yay for me!
For those of you following the blog for the potty humor and shit stories. There will be a lot of that in this post. First, the kids were treated to the sight of a large cow shitting in front of them. Or in the words of Saifaan, "Aisha aunty, that cow did potty In front of everybody!". Oh yes he did. Maneuvering a toddler out of big piles of shit while trying to avoid carrying him as his shoes and clothes are already covered in big piles of shit and who knows what else was not fun. Probably not a good idea to wear a light colored outfit that you actually like.
Cayden decided that if there was a pile of shit in the road, he was going to step in it. I don't get it, I guess it's soft and squishy? All I can say is, if there was a single piece of shit on the road, my son stepped in it. Guess he takes after his dad after all.
We ended our walk in the kaith, outside of the village walls with big open fields of saag and other crops and beautiful picturesque landscapes. Don't really have anything negative to say here, it as beautiful, the sun was setting and we were all able to indulge our filmi alter egos and take beautiful shots in fields of flowers.
My funniest experience in the gaon was talking to Aymens chacha, who lives in the US and hasn't been to Pakistan in 37 years. When I asked him if the gaon was as he remembered, he said "this is the filthiest place on earth. It's just filthy. I left here 37 years ago and it has gotten worse". When people asked us what we thought of the gaon, and we told them it was very different, he told us to stop being diplomatic. Lol.
The next morning, my stomach is feeling a little queasy. I share this with Omar who smiles and pulls out his camera to share pictures of the food preparation process. Basically all the meat was skinned and feathered on site, with carcasses laid on sheets on the floor. Then, meat was butchered and butchered pieces were tossed into a Charpai that is lined with a bed sheet where it sits in the sun till the butchering Is done. No one is wearing gloves, and apron and judging from the pics, I'm not sure if they are adhering to hand washing protocol. Oh my lord. Where is Azhar and his bootleg amoxicillin when I need it? I'm also wishing I brought my own sheets as I'm not sure of the origin of the sheets on the bed I slept on last night. Luckily it wasn't a Charpai.
Omar was smart enough to shower before heading to the village. I on the other hand, am indebted to flush able wipes and anti perspirant. The "shower" consists of a communal stone walled area that comes up to mid chest, located in the front entrance to the haveli. I am not joking. Judging from the number of shirtless men wrapped in towels I see walking around in the early morning it seemed to be very popular. I tried to convince Omar but he wasn't having it. I was later told there are indoor shower facilities for women however at this point I figured I would just shower when I returned to civilization! Our bathroom did not have a lock on the door and so taking a shower just sounded like it would be a stressful experience.
We ran out of toilet paper shortly before leaving, which to my mind signified our time in the village had come to an end.
All in all, a different experience, fun in its own way bit can I say, I am very glad we were only there for 26 hours :)
From Pindi... to the Pind!
From Pindi...to the Pind!
This blog post is long overdue. I promised Azhar I would keep his blog after he returned to the modern world, and I've drafted this blog post in my head many times but something or the other has come up since he's left, and I haven't had time to update the blog. By "something" I mean a 35 pound iPad Nazi who requires constant attention, along with an iPad in hand, but I digress ( what did parents do before iPads were invented?)
So, cayden has been missing his nana and dad like crazy. He doesn't understand why they left without him, and in turn has stick to Omar and I like white on rice since last Friday. Luckily he has a new mumani to divert his attention, who he adores (Jaane Mani!) which has been a great help.
This blog has so far focused on life in "modern day" Pakistan, namely, big town life ie the "shehars" of Lahore and Pindi. But now, we move from the shehars to the Pind! Pindi is the Pind, you say? Well, I have now been to a real life Pakistani gaon (village) and I can assure you, Pindi is a bustling metropolis compared to the gaon.
We are heading to Omar's father in laws gaon for a family valima for 2 days. Ok, about 28 hours. Yes, I calculated. My first question upon hearing that I was going to experience Pakistani rural life: will there be wifi? ( first world problems, I know). Upon being told that there was some sort of network connection but not wifi ( which I assume means one dial up connection in the entire village), I proceeded to ask less important questions like, is there running water and questions on sanitary conditions.
If you read Azhars post on packing for Pakistan, let me assure you packing for the gaon takes it to the next level! Essentially I had to plan outfits for 2 functions. Our footwear of choice: khussas ( can be disposable) and crocs ( can be hosed down and/ or boiled to sanitize, as required!). Pants too long and need heels? No problem! Just pull them up almost to Urkel level heights, and rock on. Caydens clothing consisted of frankly, anything that could be steam washed upon our return. Ensured that there were tons of stomach meds, diapers, diaper rash cream, milk pack, bottled water and of course, toilet paper packed
Those of you who know me well know I am not a minimalist. Suffice it to say I had 3 huge bags packed for the Pind because frankly I don't know what to expect. Those who have warned me that it may not be a pleasant experience.
Wish me luck!
This blog post is long overdue. I promised Azhar I would keep his blog after he returned to the modern world, and I've drafted this blog post in my head many times but something or the other has come up since he's left, and I haven't had time to update the blog. By "something" I mean a 35 pound iPad Nazi who requires constant attention, along with an iPad in hand, but I digress ( what did parents do before iPads were invented?)
So, cayden has been missing his nana and dad like crazy. He doesn't understand why they left without him, and in turn has stick to Omar and I like white on rice since last Friday. Luckily he has a new mumani to divert his attention, who he adores (Jaane Mani!) which has been a great help.
This blog has so far focused on life in "modern day" Pakistan, namely, big town life ie the "shehars" of Lahore and Pindi. But now, we move from the shehars to the Pind! Pindi is the Pind, you say? Well, I have now been to a real life Pakistani gaon (village) and I can assure you, Pindi is a bustling metropolis compared to the gaon.
We are heading to Omar's father in laws gaon for a family valima for 2 days. Ok, about 28 hours. Yes, I calculated. My first question upon hearing that I was going to experience Pakistani rural life: will there be wifi? ( first world problems, I know). Upon being told that there was some sort of network connection but not wifi ( which I assume means one dial up connection in the entire village), I proceeded to ask less important questions like, is there running water and questions on sanitary conditions.
If you read Azhars post on packing for Pakistan, let me assure you packing for the gaon takes it to the next level! Essentially I had to plan outfits for 2 functions. Our footwear of choice: khussas ( can be disposable) and crocs ( can be hosed down and/ or boiled to sanitize, as required!). Pants too long and need heels? No problem! Just pull them up almost to Urkel level heights, and rock on. Caydens clothing consisted of frankly, anything that could be steam washed upon our return. Ensured that there were tons of stomach meds, diapers, diaper rash cream, milk pack, bottled water and of course, toilet paper packed
Those of you who know me well know I am not a minimalist. Suffice it to say I had 3 huge bags packed for the Pind because frankly I don't know what to expect. Those who have warned me that it may not be a pleasant experience.
Wish me luck!
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