Our Own Coffee Table Book

I finally finished correcting and updating the second edition of our first coffee table book, “Our Life & Adventures in Pakistan.” The software I used is Booksmart by Blurb.com. The first edition only had two printed copies, but it served more as draft and sample copy. I was impressed by the professional quality of the printing and binding, and so now I can proudly order additional copies for my family.

Maybe I should also order a paperback version to carry around wherever we travel. We’re tired of explaining to people why we live in Pakistan since 2005. Now they can see our answer in these beautiful pictures of our home, school, Islamabad, and parts of the country that we visited. This is the perfect souvenir for our son who was born here in 2007.

Our Last Pakistan Day

We all wore shalwar kameezes yesterday to join the school celebration of Pakistan Day. This was both a fun and a sad day for me. The Pakistan Day fair at school has always been my favorite school activity, so I became a little sentimental towards the end when I realized this was our last opportunity to celebrate it.

It was hard to say if there were more or better items on sale at the mela, but I was pleased to see some familiar faces among the vendors. I’ve been looking forward to this day, more so than the previous years, because I wanted to get a few more souvenirs of Pakistan before we leave the country for good in June. But James had to be entertained first. We picked a basketball, cricket ball, and cricket hat for him. Well, I made an executive decision on the hat, because James hates hats. I also got him a balloon and quickly pushed the stroller away in the opposite direction while he kept gesturing and making uh-uh noises at more balls and balloons.

We made our way to his dad’s music room, and right outside were the camels, ox cart, and horse cart for children to ride on. That got his attention. Brian finally showed up, munching a paratha roll. We decided to go to the cafeteria so James could have his favorite chapati. Then while Brian looked after James, I did my rounds with the vendors and bought some kurtas, pashmina scarves, bangles, rugs, etc. And of course I didn’t have enough cash. But one vendor graciously told me to just come by his shop whenever I could to pay. And still I didn’t have enough to buy a piece of truck art to add to my collection. Unfortunately the guy doesn’t have a shop in Islamabad either. I was disappointed, while Brian’s reaction can only be described as relieved.

The highlight of the day was of course the assembly program. I was so proud and happy for Brian when the All-Girls Choir sand the Pakistan national anthem acapella and in 3-part harmony. They sang so beautifully, and with just a few hours of practice. It has always been Brian’s goal for years to have his choir perform the national anthem. Now we’re thinking about recording it so it can be played over and over again.

The school hired a coordinator to handle everything, and he brought dancers and musicians to perform traditional dances. I was also looking forward to the Khattak dance, which is a military dance performed with swords. There were also impressive performances by Punjabi dancers and musicians.

Tent Pegging in Domali

We had another opportunity to watch a tent pegging tournament, which was held in Domali. I was so excited about attending this event again, because my camera had dirty lens and was not working properly during the national championship last February. This time I brought my new DSLR, a Sony Alpha 100, with zoom lens. Imagine my consternation when I realized that I forgot to put back the battery which I put in the charged the night before. Luckily I also had a Canon Powershot, and was able to take photos and videos.
This was also James’ first trip outside Islamabad, and he slept during the 2-hour ride although his new toddler seat is not as comfortable as the rear-facing baby car seat. He got excited when he saw the horses, and had a pretty good time.

Four Countries in 6 Weeks

Yeah, we’ve been back for a month now. One would think I would be updating this blog more often since I am not working this year. But I have made it my goal to lose weight, spend more time with our baby, set up an herb and salad garden, and start a book project and all these things have kept me busy enough. But I’m done procrastinating, and here’s my report on our summer holiday where we traveled to four countries with our baby.

Overall it had been a productive summer. Baby J had the least tantrums when we took him everywhere, so we never stayed in the same place for more than a week. He was baptised in both the Philippines and the US, in Catholic and United Methodist rites, respectively. Not only did he meet a lot of relatives, he was also introduced to some of our friends, former colleagues, and former students in Thailand.

The road trip to Vancouver to visit our Canadian friends resulted in an instant reunion with more former colleagues from our previous school in Thailand. Like us they have all moved on, one couple returned to Seattle to raise their two sons, another settled in Miami, while another got a job in Singapore. Our hosts are currently residing in Hong Kong with their two-year old son, who was born in Shanghai. It’s amazing that we all met in Bangkok but managed to get together in Vancouver, when we don’t even live there. Needless to say, nobody was interested in visiting us in Pakistan. But we love Vancouver and will definitely visit again, hopefully next summer. We enjoyed the time spent at Granville Island and Capilano suspension bridge, and wish to see more.

So we’re back to our boring routines in Islamabad, regardless of what the headlines say. Just got an e-mail from my brother because my father is concerned about the political turmoil and continuing violence in the north and tribal areas.

“The funny thing about agriculture-based countries,” my husband observed, “is that politics seem to have little immediate effect on the man on the street” … who, by the way, is trying to deal with rising fuel prices and six or more hours of power outages a day.

Even we are not immune from these economic problems, not to mention the slide of the rupee from $1=Rps.60 to $1=Rps.75. We have adjusted the salaries of our household staff, who have requested for cash advances. As my husband is the only breadwinner for now we are also keeping an eye on our savings and investments. We made the decision last summer that this is the best time to invest, rather than just save.

In the meantime, we continue to pray for this beautiful country.

Bull Races

“Welcome! Welcome!”

I went to the bull races for the first time last Friday. This is an exciting event held in villages all over Pakistan, and as luck would have it, this one was held at a village just 30 minutes from Islamabad. We couldn’t believe our eyes when we drove to the site, where about 5,000 spectators — all men — have already gathered. Some waved and cheered us welcome. Many, especially boys and teenagers, gawked at us – an odd group of 15 foreigners including seven women. We became part of the attraction as some couldn’t take their eyes off us while the races were going on.

Bull races are often held in open fields. Each team is made up of two bulls and their “driver,” who holds the reins with his left hand, a stick to prod them with his right, while standing on a sled made of what looks like thick leather. Some teams have men running alongside the bull to make sure they stay on track. And that’s all, no helmets, or protective pads, nothing but quick reflexes to jump out of the sled if things go wrong as they often do. These bulls are fast. As if that’s not enough they also set off firecrackers on both sides of the track to make the animals go faster. It’s a very dangerous sport: drivers run the risk of being dragged, trampled, and getting their neck broken. The same risks apply to spectators who get in the way when the bulls veer off course.

This is why I was advised to stay away from the starting line, so that we can at least see the bulls and have a chance to run if they coming running towards us instead. Many people just get on top of trucks and carts, even trees. And our host arranged for a pickup truck for us. This was great, because we were able to see a lot of action. My friend Monica entertained us with stories of bulls charging into vehicles, and about one driver who got dragged on his stomach but refused to let go, and still managed to pull himself up and back on the sled to finish the race. Really remarkable when you see how fast these animals go. The only thing I didn’t like about this setup was we were facing the sun so it was hard to get clear shots, more so when the dusts were so thick. But I managed to get a few shots and video clips to give you an idea:

View more photos on Flickr by me

Bull race photos by Monica

Visa Tales

As a Filipino living in Pakistan I quickly learned that applying for a visa to other countries has become more and more complicated. And I’m not even saying that applying for a visa in my own country was easy either.

When I lived in the Philippines, and when the US still had bases in Clark and Subic, visa applications to the States were free. Partly due to this the lines at the US consulate in Cebu and Manila were unbelievable. Even when the US government started charging visa fees my friends and I still had to get in line as early as 5 am (only to find mosquito-bitten people who have been there since midnight). This changed when they allowed “dropbox applications” (for renewals that don’t require personal interviews) and introduced the interview by appointment only system.

My 10-year US visitors visa is expiring this year, so I took advantage of the winter holiday to have it renewed. It’s a good thing that I did because it took three months. I have gone to the US almost every year and never stayed more than 2 months during each visit. We were therefore surprised when I was asked to submit proof that I did not violate the terms of my 1999 student visa (thank God I saved all my school records) — even though I went back on a student visa in 2002. We heaved a sigh of relief when I finally received my passport with renewed visa just a few weeks before the old one expired. In contrast our baby’s new passport, which are printed in the US, took only two weeks. I did learn two interesting things during those trips to the consular office. One is that a lot of Pakistanis (at least a hundred a day) still want to go to the US and live there. The other is that it is important to use lotion and keep one’s fingers moist for fingerprinting. We thought it was weird when I got an e-mail to come for re-fingerprinting and “apply lotion on (my) hands for a week.”

The clear message is to never assume a visa will be granted even if you have previously traveled to that country before. This is also true when I applied for a Schengen visa to go to Germany for the second time last summer. My German friend, whose birthday we were attending, had to file an application in Nuremberg and show proof of her financial status. In hindsight we should have just shown them our hotel reservations in Munich, Garmisch, Koblenz, and Vienna. I also had to get a travel insurance because the international coverage that I already have is not one of their accredited insurers in Pakistan! When I asked the consul officer why I had to do all these requirements which were not required when I got my Schengen visa in Bangkok she simply said, “because you are in Pakistan.”

Now I’ve been wanting to go to Canada since it’s within driving distance from my husband’s hometown in Central Washington. And of course, they have a special requirement that makes it nearly impossible for me to do: a re-entry visa to Pakistan. Unfortunately for us our Pakistan visa is renewed yearly before we leave for the summer. So I’m currently without my passport while the visa is being processed. And I can’t go miss work until school ends on June 6; then we leave for the Philippines and US on June 11. So unless the Canadian embassy can process visas in 1-2 weeks without a personal interview (or in one day with one) this means I have little chance of driving to Canada again.

Bummer.