Lahore - SOS, parties and daily life

8 - 17 june 05

Juhuuuuu,

Lahore is great, I am celebrating, I found work and enjoy every single hour with Lahore, friends and Pierre. Everyday a new surprise, a new opportunity shows up, but slowly:

2 weeks ago I started working at SOS Lahore Children’s Village voluntarily. The projects are now what one can call in a Pakistanis way continuously working..  Its always a bit difficult to concentrate one work – or to make other concentrate in between cups of tee, cookies, meals and chatting. Pakistani work like : Look busy, do nothing. With western schedules, timetables and motivation you look quite old here… but its working. The project girls are now motivated, joining and enjoying our time together with out pressure of teachers, just having a good time together and trying to work on digital pictures, editing them and speaking English. Even other projects are likely to start soon. I asked them if they were interested in going swimming, their answer was rather negative. “No, we don’t like to go, we are not interested!” “Why not?” “Because we wont get the permission to go!” „What if you had the permission?“ „Wow, that would be great!!“ So I try to persuade the director to give this permission. The head of the National Office is already on my side, together we will manage it Inchallah!!

Nicole shifted to our place now, she is a Canadian woman with Antiguan roots working on a project about corporal punishment in Pakistani schools. She brings live and colour to our place.

I start to explore the area around our house, so that I am not always totally lost if the rickshaw driver drops me at the wrong place. Now as I drove several times myself, the chaotic streets are no less chaotic, but they seem to have sense. I can recognise the most important ones now, but there is still a lot I have never seen.

Lahori people are very helpful in a way, the try to direct you in parking lots in a rather chaotic and strange way with directing in all directions at the same time, shouting, hammering at your car and feeling obviously important.
Once we were caught between some trucks and other cars, there was no way to drive out, so 4 guys came, lifted the car and put on the right way – Pakistani style, but very effective!

The weekend we spent relaxing and cleaning the veranda, getting rid of old plants and of the dirty black water left in the fountain. The engine, which should pump the water up is damaged, so there is a little water left in the basin, a beloved place for breeding mosquitoes…
Not anymore! Its really nice outside now, we usually sleep on the Charpoi outside, with 28-30 degrees at nite its really nice!

I got my visa extended just a day ago, it was a bureaucratic procedure, but the civil servant were very helpful – after a while. I was stuck there for three hours, but they provided tea and cookies and some nice chat.

In the evening when I came home a party was on, 17 people there, many Pakistanis and other crazy guys from Austria (me and Andy), France (Pierre), Tschad (Abdul Maliq), Canada (Nicole). A great evening, everyone singing, dancing, chatting, playing music – mostly Punjabi + Urdu. Even some chocolate cake was there – we discovered a wonderful bakery – yummy!!!
No alcohol – we are in Pakistan, but that was not bad – there are no empty beer bottles, no drunken people, the house doesn’t look like after a bombing… 
One Lady brought her 4 year old daughter along – this girl is the born photographer. Pierre explained her his camera, the I gave her mine – all the pics of the party are made by her – except the ones showing herself.

Just today I had a meeting with the owner of a well known tour operator who was searching for native German speaking guides. They hired me on the spot. Speaking German, experience and education in guiding especially in Asian countries, knowledge of the most important tourist places was enough. My personal data were of few interest to them. The first group I will have in July, 2 Swiss people going from Islamabad to Peshawar, A glimpse to Afghanistan from Khyber Pass, on to Swat Valley, Karakoram Highway – Chilas Gilgit and Hunza and see them off at the Khunjerab Pass, the border to China. Al the places I have visited – great places which I really love – at the best time: in hot summer, its cool up there!!

After that I went to pick my Passport, now I have the extention for 3 months with re-entry, because Pierre and me want to go to India Inchallah.

I one time a door opens to a new world, that is unknown and strange, but a dream of yours, just walk through, life will help you! And walk through with a smile, it will come back to you!!!!


See you soon Inchallah
And if you wanna come to Pakistan, you are very much welcome!!!

Allah Hafez

there are pics on yahoo - they are too much for this blog... if you are asked for a password: acchigom

Life in Lahore Gulberg pics