Posts from Pakistan: 2.18.2023

We have been very tired. The trip took a lot out of us. So we have not felt we had a lot of time on our hands. We’ve taken naps. 

Exam days coming soon will be half days, followed by a couple of weeks of vacation. So we will have more opportunities to help with English. I told Nasreen last night I need some work so I’m pretty sure she’ll find some. 

The clothing is essentially long pants and a tunic. Many men, too, but all the women. And the women must wear a scarf or shawl outside or in the company of men. It’s not uncomfortable. It’s nice to be somewhere where people dress differently. No blue jeans or baseball caps except on the motorcycle drivers (all men). The teachers at the farewell party wore lovely dresses and trousers. They were elegant. And the colors and prints we all wear in our house are lively. Somehow I thought it would be all black. 

The street St. Anthony’s is on, in the suburb of Greentown, has two-story apartment buildings jammed together that run for miles. But they can’t be seen for the groceries and car repair and salons jammed in the first floors and fronted by kiosks of oranges and pirated cds and people. 11 million live in Lahore, many of them on our street. Cars are outnumbered here by rickshaws, motorcycles, and donkey carts. Not so in the center of the city, of course. No donkeys there, lucky fellows. 

Mary Ann