Busy Sunday

Baba has been with our family for over 25 years... He was my grandfather's batman and then moved in as chowkidar/comptroller. Last year, Baba retired from service, went for Umra and then joined the Tableegh with frequent trips to Rywand.

Baba sent his son Ajmer in his place and today, we went to visit him at his home since he'd just become a father for the first time. Baba, Ajmer and his four brothers all live together in a house in Landhi with their wives and children. They'd done a lot of ehtemam in honor of our visit and everything was clean and shiny. They entertained us in the best room (beautifully decorated with flowers and wall hangings) and introduced us to all the children (around 27 in all). I was surprised at how liberal they were (I'd expected segregation and covered heads) but all the women were dressed in their colorful outfits and wore lots of makeup and jewelry :). Ajmer's baby girl Ayman is gorgeous Mashalah with beautiful big black eyes and he dotes on her :)

Baba's wife spoke mainly Pushto but my mom understood most of it and translated for me. They served us a lavish lunch and kept refilling our plates. Finally, Ajmer's wife served us green tea with sliced lemons and sugar...

I came away highly impressed by their consideration and saleekha and feeling slightly ashamed of my not-s0-dhang-walay ways. I can't think of an English word for "dhang" or "saleekha". Any suggestions are welcome!

Another Week Goes By

So I'm going to pretend all is hunky dory in the country and put on my blinders... (and I've decided to not watch the news in an attempt to retain my sanity) but I hope and pray that the victims' families find peace.

Work was pretty slow this week... Btw, I'm confused about the whole "saying hello in the morning" deal. Am I, as the newest/youngest member of the firm obligated to go around and greet everyone with a "Good Morning/Salam"? Do I appear rude/stuck-up if I don't? I'm also the only girl so I guess I'm supposed to remain sitting when all the guys are going around doing the whole Eid Mubarak/3-way hug :P. It's pretty complicated and it's stressing me out :p.

I went to Saddar today after a really long time... traffic was awful and it took us an hour to find parking. Finally, my mom found a parking spot and we went off to do our work. When we returned an hour later, the car wasn't there.

Ammi: "I'm sure I parked it here"
Me: "Really? maybe you forgot where you'd parked it?" (When in doubt, I doubt my faculties rather than external circumstances)

Just then, we saw a police car towing our car and started running after it. The police car refused to stop, so we continued running (on the sidewalk of the crowded road) with our dupattas flying out behind us as the sun set in the horizon and the Maghrib azaan blared from the Avari mosque. After asking various passers-by, "Aaap ne koi police car dekhi hai? Us ke peechay aik white corolla tow ho rahi thi" (Have you seen a police car towing a white corolla?), we finally spotted our car, payed Rs. 500 and drove home. We promised mommy not to tell dad, otherwise, she'd never hear the end of it :).

Sunday

I guess this time, Eid was pretty unconventional... Back when I was young (and relatively docile), mum and dad used to take us around visiting random people whom we saw once a year on Eid. This time, I ended up going to Gunsmoke for lunch with friends from school... The food was decent and the servings, huge but I think it's more suited for meat-lovers with big appetites (I'm more into vegetarian/white meat/desserts). They had peanuts in bowls and we were supposed to shell the peanuts and throw the shells on the floor :P. For someone as obsessive/compulsive as me this was trying... I remember using a carpet brush to brush my carpet straight after someone had walked on it and disturbed the alignment of the fibers :P

I visited an aunty who is now suffering from dementia... When we were younger, she used to give us a pack of candy for Eid and money for ice cream and it made me sad to see her like this. Old age is scary, especially if your kids are all abroad and you're alone...

So, Eid Day 2 is over and now I have to look forward to work Tuesday... *joy*

Corporate in Karachi

So I'm working for one of the big multi-national(ish) organizations in Karachi and it's been rather interesting. I have three bosses: B1 is 24 and just one level senior to me (we went to the same school, small world, eh?), B2's been in the firm for the past 12 years and likes to boss me around. He likes giving me a ton of work at 5:30pm (just when I'm getting ready to leave!) so that I end up staying till 8... and B3 is the cool Aitchisonian guy from Lahore (I'm slightly in awe of him but he's fun when he isn't stressing out about one thing or another).

My dad never raises his voice, most of my professors were soft-spoken and so were my previous supervisors, so the Pakistani male baritones took some getting used to :P. Once, B3 was stressed out and addressed me in a slightly harsh tone... it brought the tears to my eyes (I know, I know, I'm a wimpy, weepy girl) but thankfully, I managed to control myself before the all-out weeping began... LOL.

Oh, and I'm the new "weird kid" in the office... I bring my own coffee mug (instead of using the communal ones used by everyone else) and I also have a little green glass that I wash and use instead of the plastic ones :P. Also, I drive to work when all the shareef girls come with drivers. The other day, one of the uncles asked me, "Beta, aap ko dar nahin lagta?" (Dear, don't you feel scared?). Ummm... not really, not after being stuck in NY Penn station waiting for the subway at 2:00 am with lots of sketchy characters around.

We have lunch in a cafeteria... the menu isn't very creative, featuring things like daal chawal and qorma while I'm more of a pizza/sandwich person. I miss our Spinney's cafeteria in AD...

I'm also trying to find a balance between work and personal life. I mean, we do hang out as a group and go out for lunch together but I don't want to get *too* close to my colleagues (as in having them over at my place for dinner/hanging out after work). It could also get awkward since they're all guys (and single) and I'm a girl and this is Pakistan after all...

Anyway, since it's Eid tomorrow, B2 and B3 have both gone to Lahore and I'm freeeee :D hurrah!

Eid Mubarak y'all!!

Sunday at French Beach

What do Karachiites do on a sunny, wintry Sunday? They go to the beach :). The road to Hawkesbay is awful but we finally made it after much jolting and knocking about in the car. The scenery is pretty drab... All you see are freight containers, massive trucks and seedy khokhas (I think I'm spoiled after Abu Dhabi's pristine Corniche).

We had a barbecue lunch and went in for a quick dip, got wet, dried off and headed home. Fun :)

Sometimes though, I miss my "alone" time. Between work and family, I'm always surrounded by people (alhamdulilah) but I miss cooking and doing laundry and shopping for groceries. I also miss having showarma and mint lemonade at Special and my weekly Baskin Robbins sundae...

Oh, and I'm supposed to take my colleagues out to dinner with my first salary (it's a company tradition)... :0. I'm making 1/15th of what I was getting in AD it's probably going to cost more than my entire paycheck :S.

Ana ghareebah jiddan...