Saturday, October 23, 2004
First post from Paki-land...
I have the WORST allergies here!! The whole week I’ve been here in Abbottabad (a city my cousin Rabia resides in that reminds me a lot of Yosemite) I’ve been sneezing and blowing my nose like no other. For those of you who can’t recognize who I am by now (and this will tell you how well you know me!), it’s me Alina. :)
Abbottabad is a pretty nice place… for Pakistan, I guess. No, actually it IS a nice place; the weather here is really pleasant (about 65 degrees Fahrenheit), unlike places like Lahore and Karachi where it is pretty hot. My cousin Rabia tells me tat Kashmir is about 6 hours away from here, so you all can imagine how nice the scenery is here. Two days ago we – me, Naiema, Daniah, Rabia, and my aunt Assiya – went to this beautiful place called Nathia Ghali. I almost could not even tell I was in Pakistan anymore-- there wasn’t any litter around and along our trip we saw these lavish resorts that the big shots here in Paki-land stay in during the summer.
I’m sorry we haven’t been able to update this blog lately. Since we arrived in Pakistan we’ve had hardly any access to the internet. Now, thankfully, here in Abbottabad we can finally connect to y’all back home, even if it’s via dial-up! Insha-Allah, we’ll be able to get online in Lahore. Tomorrow we are going back for Omar’s 7th birthday.
I’m missing my home very much… MCA, my friends, my house, GFC, just America in general. But Pakistan wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The most pleasant surprise I discovered here is that they have two-way roads! No more of that terrifying car-dodging that I had to undergo in Dera and the trip to Peshawar in 2002.
Ramadan Mubarak! Are all the people still living in Santa Clara going to MCA for taraweeh prayers? God, I miss those days. Ramadan is pretty low-key here, however… not as exciting and lively as I expected. The restaurants and stores all close early and the tourist attractions in Abbottabad are closed because of Ramadan, too.
I did not really get to write about my reflections on London and Paris in previous entries. They were amazing. Soooooooo amazing. InshaAllah, InshaAllah I will do study abroad in London, it’s just the coolest place ever. It’s so pretty and cool and… wow. I really can’t describe it, it’s just the feeling you get over there. Londoners are pretty nice, too.
Okay, I gotta go. My sisters are watching Jerry McGuire (sp?) on HBO and I don’t wanna miss out, it looks like a good movie. Keep me updated on your lives, as usual.
Much love,
Alina
Abbottabad is a pretty nice place… for Pakistan, I guess. No, actually it IS a nice place; the weather here is really pleasant (about 65 degrees Fahrenheit), unlike places like Lahore and Karachi where it is pretty hot. My cousin Rabia tells me tat Kashmir is about 6 hours away from here, so you all can imagine how nice the scenery is here. Two days ago we – me, Naiema, Daniah, Rabia, and my aunt Assiya – went to this beautiful place called Nathia Ghali. I almost could not even tell I was in Pakistan anymore-- there wasn’t any litter around and along our trip we saw these lavish resorts that the big shots here in Paki-land stay in during the summer.
I’m sorry we haven’t been able to update this blog lately. Since we arrived in Pakistan we’ve had hardly any access to the internet. Now, thankfully, here in Abbottabad we can finally connect to y’all back home, even if it’s via dial-up! Insha-Allah, we’ll be able to get online in Lahore. Tomorrow we are going back for Omar’s 7th birthday.
I’m missing my home very much… MCA, my friends, my house, GFC, just America in general. But Pakistan wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The most pleasant surprise I discovered here is that they have two-way roads! No more of that terrifying car-dodging that I had to undergo in Dera and the trip to Peshawar in 2002.
Ramadan Mubarak! Are all the people still living in Santa Clara going to MCA for taraweeh prayers? God, I miss those days. Ramadan is pretty low-key here, however… not as exciting and lively as I expected. The restaurants and stores all close early and the tourist attractions in Abbottabad are closed because of Ramadan, too.
I did not really get to write about my reflections on London and Paris in previous entries. They were amazing. Soooooooo amazing. InshaAllah, InshaAllah I will do study abroad in London, it’s just the coolest place ever. It’s so pretty and cool and… wow. I really can’t describe it, it’s just the feeling you get over there. Londoners are pretty nice, too.
Okay, I gotta go. My sisters are watching Jerry McGuire (sp?) on HBO and I don’t wanna miss out, it looks like a good movie. Keep me updated on your lives, as usual.
Much love,
Alina
# posted by StudyHopper @ 9:50 AM 
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I could so tell that was you =)
I'm glad you enjoyed London and Parí. They're really gorgeous places, ain't they? And I'm glad you're not in DIK, too. Even KARACHI is better than there (or Peshawer x_x)
I get what you mean about the excitement of Ramadhan. It's really DEAD over here. Shops are closed almost ALL DAY LONG, but they stay open at night. What's kind of sad though is people spend all night partying, but no Tahajjud =( If nothing, they should just go to bed! Anyways, I hope you adjust well ^_^
Salams and aloha croc,
~Emaan
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I'm glad you enjoyed London and Parí. They're really gorgeous places, ain't they? And I'm glad you're not in DIK, too. Even KARACHI is better than there (or Peshawer x_x)
I get what you mean about the excitement of Ramadhan. It's really DEAD over here. Shops are closed almost ALL DAY LONG, but they stay open at night. What's kind of sad though is people spend all night partying, but no Tahajjud =( If nothing, they should just go to bed! Anyways, I hope you adjust well ^_^
Salams and aloha croc,
~Emaan
# posted by 
: 8:21 AM
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