I've just put up loads new photos on the flickr site, (though they are slightly mixed up between snow in Oxford and the heat of Chakwal...)

Chakwal...

It is exactly six months to the day that I came to Pakistan! And life is still full of surprises, especially life in Chakwal.... I am living at the MIED hostel with one other girl, and the guys’ hostel is next door. Let me tell you about the meal I cooked for myself this evening to celebrate my six months anniversary. It was the first meal I have cooked in our kitchen, and first I had to clean (well, completely sterilise) the place. Here is a photo of my kitchen pre sterilisation (as you can see it is a bit short on the appliances side of things).

Among other pleasant things I found a dead hornet in the sink, and the place was black with grime. But I enjoyed it (something very satisfying about cleaning.)

MIED have kindly managed to bring for me some of the things I had in my kitchen in Mansehra, so I had saucepans and plates and things. But unfortunately the ants had found them before me, so they required thorough cleaning before use as well. There is only one fridge, and that is in the boys’ hostel, so every time I needed butter etc that was a trek around to the other house. I needed butter cos earlier one of the drivers had bought some cooking oil, but it is in a plastic bag! So now I need to find a bottle to pour the oil into. Anyway, I made a really good meal of fried potatoes with a tomato sauce, and thoroughly enjoyed eating it. But then when I came back to do the washing up there were hundreds of ants (maybe a slight exaggeration). So I went on the warpath – it wasn’t a pleasant sight. And then, finally, I had to go and ask one of the guys what to do with the rubbish, and imagine my complete horror when he chucked it over the wall. I have to say that I didn’t react particularly well - I couldn’t quite articulate my feelings in Urdu and the guy didn't speak much English. I can’t believe that they just throw all their rubbish onto the empty ground next door. But there is no rubbish collection here so there is nothing else they can do. The rubbish situation was bad in Mansehra, but at least they had bins that were emptied sometimes. What can I do????? Any suggestions gratefully received. (The photo is of the rubbish outside our house with a friendly next door neighbour.)

As I have been here six months now I thought I was getting used to Pakistani society. But things still have the power to completely shock me. For example, the other day I was talking with some girls and we walked past a building that used to be a cinema. I started to get excited and asked whether there was a working cinema in Chakwal now. Imagine my excitement when I heard that there was! But that excitement was short lived – apparently it is completely culturally inappropriate for women to go to the cinema, even accompanied by men. One of the girls said that she would like to go to the cinema just once in her life. So girls, next time you do such a normal thing as going to the cinema just think how lucky you are.

The attack on Plan has affected many things in Chakwal. The other day I went to a meeting with all the Plan partners and it was about working with communities and how to behave appropriately and deal with cultural norms. But then when we got back to the office we had to wait for someone to come with the keys. The girl I was with said I should wait in the boiling hot car because of cultural norms. Hmm. I have to say I refused, even though we had just been in an 8 hour session about how to behave appropriately. I’m finding it quite difficult to figure out how much to adapt, and when to draw a line. I am finding things quite culturally restrictive at the moment, more so than when I was in Mansehra. I can’t quite work out why as I’m not in the North West Frontier any more. I think it might partly be to do with having been at home in the UK for a short while. And also people are worried about my security so they are being more careful. The attack on Plan has changed things – the girls say that they are more careful with the way that they deal with the men they work with now. Some people here think it is not acceptable for women to work in NGOs.

So, all in all it is an experience. I went to Islamabad this weekend, and went up to Abbottabad on Saturday to collect my things. But unfortunately Corry and I had so much combined stuff between us that my things didn’t fit in the car, and so they are still in Abbottabad! So my possessions are scattered there, a few in Islamabad, and the rest here in Chakwal. I don’t know where I am going to end up – things are still very uncertain. It could be any of those three places. But anyway, I was able to see Corry’s new place in Islamabad (she is based there now, and working at VSO and another NGO). It is amazing! I was going to put up a photo of her living room and compare it to mine, but I have decided against it because I have just about got over my jealousy. When I volunteered, I didn’t expect to have every luxury, and so it shouldn’t be an issue that things in Chakwal are more on the basic side. And the people I am living with are really lovely and so helpful and welcoming, it makes things a lot easier. So anyway, here are a few photos of where I am living now:…

The spectacularly placed open drain centrally underneath our front door. Visions of dropping keys and laptops down there......

The living room at the girls hostel. OK, can I let my jealousy show through slightly and say that Corry (and two other VSOs) have TEN sofas between them.

The roof of our house, right next to the roof of the Mosque. Notice the loudspeakers - the first call to prayer is at 4.30 am. But also notice the lovely sunset and gorgeous view from our roof...

back home!

It was incredible how quickly I slotted back into my life in the UK – I remember sitting on the plane and daydreaming about what things I would buy when I finally entered Waitrose again (humous, coleslaw and cheese). But when I did get there, I had already turned into a usual shopper, trying to get round as fast as I could to leave as quickly as possible.

I felt a wave of nostalgia wash over me when I sat on a south-west trains service at Epsom station again, as it used to be my second home. Let me tell you, that did not last very long – just until someone started talking very loudly on their mobile in an otherwise silent carriage, and I rediscovered my commuter persona and exceedingly low annoyance threshold.

My first day back was slightly surreal – the sense of freedom when I went for a run was amazing! (But don’t ask how far I was actually able to run after 5 months of no exercise. My excuse was that I couldn’t actually run on the common as it was so muddy). And it was great to go to church without a sense of fear, even slight, that I could be blown up. Needless to say it was great seeing my family and friends again. And I experienced all types of English weather possible – howling wind, hail, snow, rain and even a little bit of sun.

I did face a few problems that I didn’t foresee. For example, what to say when people asked ‘how is Pakistan?’ Should I go with the truth: attack on an NGO near where I worked, evacuation, more threats, uncertainty, fear…? I tried that a couple of times but given that it was the ultimate conversation stopper I switched to the vague: ‘good, the weather in Islamabad is nice at this time of year..’ with a weak smile. Needless to say, this didn’t apply to all you lovely people who already read my blog. Re that, another VSO volunteer has put on her blog a list of people who obviously don’t read it because they keep asking her how it is going. I won’t resort to such a list of shame yet, as it would be topped with a member of my own family (my parents asked me yesterday to make clear that it wasn't them. So that leaves......?!).

Anyway, so now I am back in Islamabad again, with mixed feelings. It was almost worse saying goodbye to people this time round than before. My brother managed to avoid a tearful goodbye by threatening mum with a snowball (who cowered behind the wheelie bin), chucking it, and then making a quick exit on his bike. That’s the way to go.

Easter!

So, I’m running slightly behind on updating my blog as have been in the UK, and had a few other things to do there than writing. So, I’ll carry on from where I left off (Easter), and fill you in on my UK travels at a later date.

Here is a question for you: how many sites from different world religions is it possible to visit over one Easter weekend in an Islamic Republic?

Answer: sites from ALL the major world religions! On Good Friday VSO arranged a trip for all the new volunteers (they came out two weeks ago) and evacuees (me and Corry) several hours south of Islamabad to the second largest salt mines in the world. We were able to go on a little train right into the middle of the mine and it was so beautiful:

So I hear you wondering what has this got to do with world religions? Well, nothing, but after that we visited a Hindu pilgrimage site – the second holiest Hindu site in Pakistan. The site is mentioned in the Mahabharata – an ancient Hindu text, written 300BC.

I know the building at the front looks slightly like a Norman fort, but I don't think it is!

The next day we visited a Muslim shrine – it was very beautifully decorated inside with piles of rose petals, tinsel and photos of Islamic holy places.

Then on Easter Sunday I managed to get to church (after much stress as High Commission advised against it). I’ve never been to a church before where I had to walk past a police cordon, armed guards and a body and bag search. Quite depressing given the meaning of the celebration of Easter.

After that VSO had arranged another trip to Taxila. This is a very famous archaeological site with remains from from the Buddhist era through the time of Greek influence when Alexander came through as well as Moghul and Hindu relics. To be honest, I got thoroughly confused as to the history as it encompassed such a long time period but I (maybe) will research it and then provide you all with an in depth and incisive analysis (!). But it was great seeing the Buddhist remains – we visited a Buddhist monastery 2000 years old, and it was really interesting seeing the tombs with Buddhist art as well as the Greek influence.

And in the same afternoon we also visited a Sikh gurudwara which is also a very important pilgrimage site as it has a copy of their holy book – the Granth Sahib. We walked through some water and past a big rock with a hand print on of Guru Nanak. Sikhs believe that he stopped part of the mountain being thrown at him with his hand. Also, they believe that by walking through the water by this rock they they can wash away their sins.

In Taxila, there was a Buddha with a hole in the stomach, and Buddhists believe if you put your finger in there and pray then it will heal your bodily ailments. I felt quite holy after such a religious day, especially on Easter Sunday.

So, I wish I could end with some pearl of wisdom all about the different religions, particularly relating the experience of walking past armed guards into church, but I can’t think of anything clever so will leave it by saying that I feel very blessed to be here and have had such experiences (except the armed guards)!