The warmth is slowly arriving back in Pakistan and I have been enjoying sitting on the neighbors lawn in the sunshine reading a book (He has the best sun on his lawn in the whole compound so we all sit there).
Wow.....where to start....
We just had our SAISA Middle School Basketball tournament hosted by LAS. This is the first tournament that we have hosted in 3 years. It was a very special event for us and we hosted all the teams in our classrooms. I wasn't coaching however, I told Neil that I would help out with whatever so I was one of the chaperones and slept in the library with the girls. I became Neil's little assistant running around and helping out with the coaching and scoring and lunch tickets. I felt like I was helping out with one of Carlee's events running around doing personal errands for her. I had no problem with that. And I am really good at it too from so much experience! However, this weekend it was raining quite a bit and our 'great' facility was leaking through the roof so we had to make some changes with court sizes as well as people running on to the court with a towel to soak up the little puddles. What chaos! Although, it was overall a really great tournament and the kids had so much fun! I have never seen some of my PE students run so fast and try so hard!
About a month ago, Julia, Neil and I went on a Tonga tour around Lahore. A tonga is a horse and carriage. We also had to wear traditional clothing and wrap bright yellow scarfs around us. The men had to wear the skirts (they looked quite hilarious with sneakers). There were about 13 of us and we all squished onto 2 tongas. Yes...it was very cramped. We saw some beautiful mosques and walked around the old city. It was great, but very very long. It was about 12 hours from start to finish. We experienced so much of the culture, it was worth it. But of course we attracted a lot of attention!
I also went to watch some traditional Sufi dancing. This is a physically active meditation that involves head circles, foot tapping, chanting and spinning around. It was very interesting. They are also known as whirling dervishes however, they were very different from the ones I saw in Egypt. Pakistani men still practice this today and it is a spiritual dance where you almost get high on the actions that you do. It was really amazing. And there were so many people crowded around. I was stuck for an hour in the same position because it was so crowded.
The pictures aren't that clear because it was really dark! But there were drummers that were banging away for over an hour! And the drumming would get so loud with amazing beats and then get quiet and you felt yourself moving with the wave of the music. It was very exhilarating when the whole crowd was chanting away and you are caught in the middle listening to all of it.
This past weekend we had a 3 day weekend. One day we went up to Katasraj Mandir temple. This is actually a Hindu temple that has been somewhat preserved since the 6th century. If any of you know anything about Hinduism, this temple was dedicated to Shiva. There are 2 legends behind this historical site.
Katasraj temple complex is believed to date back to the Mahabharata era. Many legends are associated with the temples. Legend says that the five Pandava brothers, heroes of the Sansrit epic Mahabharata, stayed here for four out of the 14 years that they spent in exile. The lake in the complex is believed to have magical powers and is supposed to be where Yudhisthira defeated the Yaksha with his wisdom to bring his brothers back to life.
Another legend involves the death of Shiva's wife Sati; the story goes that when she died he cried so much and for so long that his tears created two holy ponds - one at Pushkara in Ajmer and the other at Ketaksha, which literally means "raining eyes" in Sanskrit.
I obviously had to look this up....but anyways, the sky was beautiful, the water was aqua green and the company was great!
A lot has happened in the last 2 months!
And as usual, work is busy, the kids are still energetic and loud and sometimes it is hard to calm them down. But the best part right now is watching my grade 6 boys try to do gymnastics! Good times!
Well off to bed!
My next blog will probably be from Paris!! Then India!
An exciting few months to go before home! It will go by fast!
Until next time
Wow.....where to start....
We just had our SAISA Middle School Basketball tournament hosted by LAS. This is the first tournament that we have hosted in 3 years. It was a very special event for us and we hosted all the teams in our classrooms. I wasn't coaching however, I told Neil that I would help out with whatever so I was one of the chaperones and slept in the library with the girls. I became Neil's little assistant running around and helping out with the coaching and scoring and lunch tickets. I felt like I was helping out with one of Carlee's events running around doing personal errands for her. I had no problem with that. And I am really good at it too from so much experience! However, this weekend it was raining quite a bit and our 'great' facility was leaking through the roof so we had to make some changes with court sizes as well as people running on to the court with a towel to soak up the little puddles. What chaos! Although, it was overall a really great tournament and the kids had so much fun! I have never seen some of my PE students run so fast and try so hard!
About a month ago, Julia, Neil and I went on a Tonga tour around Lahore. A tonga is a horse and carriage. We also had to wear traditional clothing and wrap bright yellow scarfs around us. The men had to wear the skirts (they looked quite hilarious with sneakers). There were about 13 of us and we all squished onto 2 tongas. Yes...it was very cramped. We saw some beautiful mosques and walked around the old city. It was great, but very very long. It was about 12 hours from start to finish. We experienced so much of the culture, it was worth it. But of course we attracted a lot of attention!
 |
| Chaburji Chowk |
 |
| Our group photo |
 |
| What we were looking out too!!!! I counted over 50 staring at us as we were getting ready for our tour |
 |
| Wazir Khan mosque. Amazing view |
 |
| Fabric dying and drying |
 |
| Decorations from the prophets birthday |
 |
| Tomb of Jahangir...Apparently this is the tomb of a Mogul emperor however, no one has dug up the tomb so it is not for sure. But through stories and myths, this is where he is buried. |
 |
| A butcher |
 |
| Our horse and tonga |
 |
| Playing cricket in an alley way! |
 |
| Making lassi.....a yoghurt drink! Very tasty |
 |
| The other horse got a little too close. haha |
 |
| Jumping! |
I also went to watch some traditional Sufi dancing. This is a physically active meditation that involves head circles, foot tapping, chanting and spinning around. It was very interesting. They are also known as whirling dervishes however, they were very different from the ones I saw in Egypt. Pakistani men still practice this today and it is a spiritual dance where you almost get high on the actions that you do. It was really amazing. And there were so many people crowded around. I was stuck for an hour in the same position because it was so crowded.
The pictures aren't that clear because it was really dark! But there were drummers that were banging away for over an hour! And the drumming would get so loud with amazing beats and then get quiet and you felt yourself moving with the wave of the music. It was very exhilarating when the whole crowd was chanting away and you are caught in the middle listening to all of it.
This past weekend we had a 3 day weekend. One day we went up to Katasraj Mandir temple. This is actually a Hindu temple that has been somewhat preserved since the 6th century. If any of you know anything about Hinduism, this temple was dedicated to Shiva. There are 2 legends behind this historical site.
Katasraj temple complex is believed to date back to the Mahabharata era. Many legends are associated with the temples. Legend says that the five Pandava brothers, heroes of the Sansrit epic Mahabharata, stayed here for four out of the 14 years that they spent in exile. The lake in the complex is believed to have magical powers and is supposed to be where Yudhisthira defeated the Yaksha with his wisdom to bring his brothers back to life.
Another legend involves the death of Shiva's wife Sati; the story goes that when she died he cried so much and for so long that his tears created two holy ponds - one at Pushkara in Ajmer and the other at Ketaksha, which literally means "raining eyes" in Sanskrit.
I obviously had to look this up....but anyways, the sky was beautiful, the water was aqua green and the company was great!
 |
| Mustard seed |
 |
| View from one of the other monuments |
 |
| one of the monuments at the top of the fort |
 |
| Overlooking the pond |
 |
| Overlooking the whole fort area |
 |
| My second family! |
 |
| Beautiful, green water |
 |
| One of the narrow stairs to the top of a temple |
 |
| The other direction |
And as usual, work is busy, the kids are still energetic and loud and sometimes it is hard to calm them down. But the best part right now is watching my grade 6 boys try to do gymnastics! Good times!
Well off to bed!
My next blog will probably be from Paris!! Then India!
An exciting few months to go before home! It will go by fast!
Until next time
No comments:
Post a Comment