JUST DIFFERENT (On the Move) : Special Guest Hijacker Lubaina E.

          Our hijacking visitors have taken us throughout the world and today is no exception.  Lubaina is a teenager from Pakistan and judging by this guest post she is one intelligent young lady.   This was an eye-opening read for me and I hope you will gain some insight as well.   

JUST DIFFERENT (On the Move).

Lubaina E.

lluviatic-logophile@blogspot.com

What if my life were a movie and I was the audience watching it?   I wouldn't accept any action, nor any horror for that matter.  Yes, there would be many lame jokes like 'What's green and says I'm a frog ?' 'A TALKING FROG!' and much more of travelling and shifting homes.  We sure have moved around a lot.  The home I'm sitting in right now is the ninth one in eighteen years of my life! :D 

Well, seventeen years and eleven months to be exact. (Yeah, my birthday's next month)

Here's how my experience has been of the most recent moving from Islamabad to Karachi last year. (I live in Pakistan)

Disclaimer: This piece of writing is no criticism and nor an attempt to devalue any city or citizen of Pakistan. 

Shifting from Islamabad is a one of a kind experience. Having spent almost a year at Karachi by now, the packing boxes, saying goodbyes and letting go of a place that held memories will always be remembered. Not because it was a very happy one, but because it was just different. And we all love adventures right ? :D

My home at Karachi

From getting used to a city with greenery, the peace and quiet, the early nights and a weather that could not stay warm for long to having to settle in a city full of life, with crowds of people and sudden bouts of rainfall. Being a rain lover the thought of missing all the rain spells was saddening (very saddening indeed), but what has to be done, must be done. 

So, this free citizen packed her stuff, got onto a plane, with her family of course, and landed at Karachi.

My home after it rained in Islamabad

First Reaction as I set foot in Karachi: WIND!
Second Reaction as I set foot in Karachi: WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIND! 

Third Reaction as I set foot in Karachi: DADDYYYY! (Yeah, the wind was getting old by now and my dad who had already moved in was there to pick us up at the airport)

Even then it was settled, that even if I make no friends, stand out in the crowd and do not adjust to living in ‘the Karachi way’, the winds will always be there to whisper comfortingly and to push the newcomer into the crowd. Yes, shifting to a new place does bring with it fears and I-don't-know-how-will-I-fit-in-phobias, but by my third day I had already begun to fit in. Of course, not entirely but a part of me felt like a part of Karachi.

So here’s rule number one of settling in at Karachi; if you want to be accepted, you have to accept it first. Because walking with a smug look on your face and brooding over what you would have been doing if you were not at Karachi does not go down well. Be positive and think positive, that should be the aim.

Most importantly, make sure you do not let all the “news” get you down. (Well, the news abut Pakistan is devastating usually, but my homeland is more than that. You'll see.)

The news comes with the experience of what Karachi has become now. How Karachi comes out of its grasp is a different debate, but for now enjoying all that this injured Karachi has to offer is my top aim. For when one’s injured and in pain, seeing the other’s smile makes the injured one smile too. 

Having spent exactly a week and three days in Karachi back then. I knew one thing for sure, the ‘Karachi-ites’ have not lost hope and that someday it is all going to be A-ok. 

The greens at Karachi are going to be back :D

The political rivalries are going to end :D
My overseas friends will then finally come visit without fear throbbing in their hearts :D

(The news sure is exaggerated at times though)

Apart from all this, Karachi can be very confusing. An ‘Isloo-ite’ like me is not used to living in a city with so many flyovers and bridges. And the inevitable has already happened.

The other day I was going to a friend’s place and was told to tell the driver to take a left turn before a bridge. I saw the road going upwards and immediately took it to being the beginning of the bridge. Well what do you know, I got it all wrong. After asking many passers-by, making calls to my friend and the ones who had instructed me to turn left before the bridge we found out where I had gone wrong.  The road going upwards was merely a road going upwards, not a bridge. For the bridge came after the upward road, with signboards and cemented railings on its sides, I am a newbie and I sure made a show of it. I mean who sees an uphill road as a bridge! Answer: ME :P

When we reached the beginning of the actual bridge, the driver stopped the car deliberately to show a red-faced me what a bridge looked like, all through heaving uncontrollably with laughter. (He would have let out loud guffaws if I hadn't looked so embarassed) 

Well, I still have to get used to the roads of Karachi and I still have to visit the 'Hawksbay' beach, but that experience is for another story. For now this newbie has said all she had to say. Oh and, the ice cream melts faster at Karachi than it does at Islamabad. A fact I thought you should probably know.

lluviatic-logophile@blogspot.com

        Does moving to new places excite you or does the idea make you apprehensive?   Have you ever been to Pakistan or thought about going?  Does Lubaina's story intrigue you to learn more about Pakistan?

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