It's almost the Holiday!

It has been a while since my last post because it is crazy busy over here. We just finished quarter 1 for Middle School and had parent teacher conferences.
Now, the elementary is finishing up their trimester, they are on a different schedule than the middle school and this week are parent teacher conferences with them!
And of course I am coaching Middle School soccer and volleyball. We leave in 2 weeks for Islamabad.  What am I not coaching!
Also our Grade 4 Assembly is next Tuesday, so I am even helping on my free period to practice with the kids.
The MSA accreditation team is coming here next week as they will be evaluating the whole school, every single detail. Teachers will be interviewed, they will come to our classes and observe. They are also coming to the Grade 4 Assembly which is why all the teachers are being perfectionists right now. A little over the top. Kids make mistakes. They are going to make mistakes but yes we want it to be the best we can.





In 3 weeks we have Christmas concerts and in just under 4 weeks we have Christmas holidays! Boy am I excited! Sri Lanka here I come!

Breathe Kim! Breathe!

I have recently bought a bike to travel around Lahore. It is a great way to see the city and get groceries.

I also recently went to a cancer fundraiser....it was at the Polo Grounds. We had students volunteering. We brought other schools to watch, gave free lunches, had amazing performances and a helium balloon send off into the sky in memory of those who are fighting against cancer.
There was a tent pegging activity where riders on horses galloped down the field with sticks, stabbing the tent pegs as they rode past. Apparently the Mongols used to raid villages and their horses used to pull the tent pegs out of the ground so that the tents would fall...This is still used for performances. It is very cool.

We also watched a polo match from children who are part of the Polo Club. They were quite impressive for their age.

I also heard the Pakistani national anthem for the first time as well. There were so many school boys and girls that wanted their picture taken so I took many pictures of them as the activities progressed. This was a very neat event and I was so glad that I was a part of the volunteer team. I have a tshirt that says  'Ride Off Cancer'

I am planning on running in a 10km race December 9 in Islamabad. Julia and I have been running around our park training. Are goal is to do it in under 65 minutes. We are both non runners so it has been a challenge but at least we are out staying fit with our busy schedules!

That is all for now!

Islamabad and the Khewra Salt Mine

Last weekend, Julia, Neil, Anne and I went to Islamabad for Eid break. We had a 4 day weekend which was much needed.

 We started our trip with our tire popping and actually almost coming off the rim. We were going pretty fast on the highway when we here this loud bang, we start swerving from side to side and good thing that our driver is amazing because we could have gone into the median. We pulled over on the side of the road and put on the spare tire.  However, that tire was not pumped up very much so we ended driving about 30km/hr until we reached the next service stop...which was only about 3km away. It was quite scary but our driver did a great job controlling the vehicle and he managed to find a new tire for us.

Me at Subway while we are waiting for the new tire

We finally arrived at our hotel. It was very Pakistani style, really cute but quite pricy for a small hotel. We were paying about 50 bucks a night....at least it was cheaper than the 5 star hotels in Islamabad. I shared a room with Anne. We stayed 2 nights and we could buy a cheap breakfast in the morning with tea. We enjoyed that in the morning sun outside.

Hotel

 We enjoyed the Faisal Mosque, a big tourist attraction, yet we were the only foreigners still. It was great this weekend cause there were hardly any people out. They were all celebrating Eid. So we had basically the whole mosque to ourselves. We could not go inside though but were able to have a peak through the window. There are just carpets on the floor for praying with a big Koran at the front. It is the biggest mosque in Pakistan, designed by a Turkish architect. It was shaped to be a bedouins tent....Does it look like one?

The crest (Islam sign)

Me wearing my new shirt that I bought. Called Kurti...it is a longer shirt that covers your bum with a slit and nice embroidery you can see on the front.

Me covered up to go inside the mosque...however my scarf wasn't staying on, hence the sunglasses. Great look I must say.

We headed up to Margalla hills that overlooked Islamabad. We ate at this amazing restaurant called Menal. It was located outside and had huge terraces with tables to sit at. It was gorgeous. And we had the best BBQ lamb, chicken, beef, you name it!

The view: Even though the air was cleaner up here, it was still quite smoggy. It is burning season right now so there are lots of fires on the street burning garbage and other things.

Restaurant View: Amazing!

Neil and I

The Food!

After our meal we enjoyed a walk down the mountain. There are lots of trails you can follow, and actually we ended up at the Islamabad zoo....we didn't go in cause it would probably be quite depressing I think. We noticed that the beggars in Islamabad are very aggressive. They were grabbing our arms and basically almost getting in our car. They are refugees from Afghanistan someone told me. We met up with the Athletic Director from the International School of Islamabad and we had some drinks at his house. We went out for dinner with him too.... and then the next morning he invited us out to the Canadian club for a brunch breakfast. Now just because it is called the Canadian club, doesn't mean everyone there was Canadian. It's more of an International club. But the food was amazing, for 900 RPS (9 bucks). Many families hang there because there is a pool and other activities available. We have something similar here in Lahore however, it is quite pricy each month to be a member. I have gone there a few times and played tennis and had happy hour with a member.

We also explored Rawal Lake. It is a man made lake that has a dam at the far end. This place was packed as everyone was out in row boats, petal boats and watching the sunset. This guy asked if he could take a picture of us so we said ok. He had his phone and he gets closer and closer and then we realize that he is just taking a picture of Anne and I. Neil was to the left of me and we said 'I think you are out of this picture now." Haha....but I guess he wasn't trying to make it so obvious. Well it was!

Boats you can rent and small look out points

Balloons anyone? Lots of snacks and trinkets you can buy

Row boats enjoying the sunset

Covered women enjoying the view

Sunset

Camel Ride anyone?

Gorgeous flowers on Margalla hills

A cow for sacrifice.

Doesn't that look safe.

We left Islamabad with full stomachs and on our way to the Salt Mine. It is about 2 hours south of Islamabad. This place was incredible! It was packed with locals and of course they were all staring at us as we arrived. You just have to get used to that. Even though this becomes very annoying, it won't stop. Once we entered the mine, there was this long tunnel where the tracks were to bring salt out. There was an option of a train taking you through the mine, however, because we are from the west coast, walking was preferred. As we were walking through the tunnel, this man with a flash light was lighting the way for us. We were thinking 'oh great. He is going to want money for helping us walk through an area that is already lit up.' Just because we are foreigners, people think they can take advantage of us. We then realized that the actual places to look out in the mine, were pitch black so having a flash light was a great idea! We did appreciate him showing us all the important parts of the mine, so we didn't mine offering him some money.  But he refused to take it! Who would ever do that in Pakistan!? I made him take the money anyways. He was a very sweet man.

The entrance tunnel to the mine

The Salt mine was discovered in 320BC by Alexander and his troops. The horses were found licking the salt in which they found out what it was. The trading began during the Mughal Empire in mid 1500s (says Wikipedia). The main tunnel at the entrance was developed during the British rule in Pakistan. After partition, the Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation took over and now salt remains the largest source of production in the country. The sea of the salt range stretches for about 300 km.

Salt! I never knew salt had so many colours..pink, white, red.

The train

So, inside the mine there is a mosque all made from salt brick. It was incredible. There were lights all behind it to light it up. But there was a minaret and everything. It was pretty amazing that this was built inside the mine.

The mosque inside the mine.

Minaret

One of the deep holes....the guide said they ranged from 50-100ft deep. Of course the sad thing was that food was allowed inside so there was garbage all through the mine. This is very unfortunate because it is such a beautiful, historical place.

The crystal palace. Can you see it glistening?

Just kidding! Pretty sure what I would be tasting is everyone's salt, but not from the mine, from everyone's sweaty hands touching the wall.

The area of the salt mine.

Wow.....children playing in a oil barrel. We were moving in the car but I had to get this shot.

Well I have almost concluded my blog....I just went for a walk down my road to get a home for the new addition to my family. I got a guinea pig. He has been at school this whole time and kids were poking stuff in his cage and running through the halls. He looked terrified so I asked the science teacher if I could take him home. Anyways, on my way home, Julia and I picked up some fresh naan on the side of the road. So we asked for 4 pieces and the guy said 48 rupees. Well I gave him 50 and he gave me 25 rupees change. Huh??? But what a deal getting fresh naan on the side of the road. I also got some veggies at a veggie stand and I got a hug bag of stuff for 120 rupees.....equivalent to around $1.20....How amazing is that!!! I think I am going to shop there more often...It is super fresh and I washed it well. Just down from my house is such an interesting street full of culture and shops. If you need anything fixed you can go there. If you need fabric, spices, grain....it is all there. I enjoy this unique alley.