As far as my workday goes, I teach pretty much all day long. I'm sure most people can envision what this looks like (although if attitudes toward U.S. education today indicate anything, some people might not exactly understand all that this involves). Right now, I teach five different types of classes to more than 200 Pakistani employees. This is equivalent to teaching a small public high school, and incidentally, more classes and students than I have taught at some international schools. I act as sole administrator, guidance counselor, curriculum coordinator, building supervisor, and classroom instructor for the entire program; it is exhausting but rewarding.
After a long day in the classroom, I usually decompress at the gym that is located right on the embassy compound. It is well-stocked with all sorts of cardio and weight equipment, which seems surprisingly underutilized. Right outside the gym there is a pool where one never has to fight for a lane, and I can't wait for my goggles to arrive so I can give some laps a go. After the gym, it's off to a quick shower before catching a shuttle home. Riding the shuttle to and from work is pretty much like riding a bus to and from school, if the bus were fully armored.
It's hard to work out on the weekends. There are shuttles to the embassy, where I could use the 24-hour gym, but the schedule is not as convenient. And there's a cricket field a few blocks from our house with a nice track for jogging, but our attempts to run there have been thwarted by extreme heat, match play, and nearby gunfire. But you can definitely find ways to stay in shape. TJ and both ran in the local version of the Marine Corps Historic Half (top). Despite temperatures that were already in the 80s by the 6 a.m. race start, we both managed to finish without melting (bottom). A few weeks earlier, we ran in a 10K organized by a local group of international runners, the Islamabad Dashers; we hope to participate in more of their events in the future. TJ has already accomplished the run up the Margalla Hills road, organized monthly by some U.S. Marines, but I'm putting off any decision on making the climb until after the summer.
Still without a car, for now we fill our weekends more with chores and errands than day trips. Our housekeeper, who comes twice a week, keeps the place neat: sweeping up dog hair, doing the dishes, and cleaning the toilets. Since our shipments have not yet arrived, we have to wash clothes fairly frequently, and I haven't worked up the courage to ask him to launder my dainties. Our guards are responsible for maintaining the yard and garden, but we have tried to contribute with some seeds, including coriander, dill, and spinach. Already growing inside or just outside our walls are peppers, oranges, bananas, mint, and mangos.
In an attempt to not let food go to waste, we try to shop for fresh groceries frequently. We walk to nearby stores and lug home our purchases in duffle bags. About the only foods you can't find on the local market are alcohol and pork, but we can buy those at the embassy commissary if we so desire. So far, we've found the produce to be of low price and high quality, although you do have to bleach fruits and vegetables to kill any lingering parasites. But by far the best deal is bread; a local baker sells it hot-from-the-oven --including roti, naan, and chapati -- for less than 10 cents apiece.
Of course, one good way to enjoy the weekend is by not cooking. We continue our sporadic habit of Friday pizza night, with deliveries from 14th Street Pizza and Pizza Originale. One Friday, we didn't feel like pizza, but we didn't want to go out either. Just Eat Islamabad is a service that makes ordering delivery even from Urdu-speaking establishments easy. We decided to get a taste of TJ's next assignment (more on that in another post) by getting some Central Asian takeout from Khiva Restaurant. One excellent meal we ate at a restaurant instead of in front of our TV was excellent curry and daal from The House of Bombay.
We do have cable and internet at home, and like any home entertainment abroad, the offerings are interesting. Both YouTube and Buzzfeed are blocked online, which has made me realize just how many links posted on Facebook actually direct you to one of these sites, regardless of the URL. On TV, most of the channels are from India, but we do get some international offerings, like National Geographic, Animal Planet, and HBO, but even those have a South Asian bent. The primary movie offerings are action, mostly superheroes and kung-fu masters. This is good because kissing scenes are deleted, which makes for some confusing transitions in romantic comedies. Curse words regularly accepted by the FCC are bleeped, and I swear I even saw a reference to killing a cow, held sacred in Hinduism, beeped over.
There is no lack of entertainment outside of the home either. Cultural groups like the Asian Study Group and Kuch Khaas often hold public art, music, and nature events. We managed to get to a folklife festival at Lok Virsa, where we watched regional craftsmen create their wares before our eyes. But if you prefer to stick to American culture, the employee association at the embassy offers plenty of activities, including yard sales, sports tournaments, and karaoke nights. We recently threw our hat into a happy-hour trivia competition; we didn't win, but the free appetizers were prize enough.
The other embassies open their activities to the diplomatic community as well. In just the next few weeks, there are chess, soccer, and pétanque tournaments; salsa and Bond film nights; and even a play featuring an international cast. One weekend, we sipped Moosehead while wathcing a street-hockey tournament at the Canadian Embassy. More recently, we managed to snag tickets for the British High Commission's Burns Night (left), the annual dinner devoted to the Scottish poet, including his love of the lassies and haggis (right). In addition to dinner and speeches, the night included Scottish dancing and a dramatic reading of Burns' poem "Tam o' Shanter."
In an attempt to not let food go to waste, we try to shop for fresh groceries frequently. We walk to nearby stores and lug home our purchases in duffle bags. About the only foods you can't find on the local market are alcohol and pork, but we can buy those at the embassy commissary if we so desire. So far, we've found the produce to be of low price and high quality, although you do have to bleach fruits and vegetables to kill any lingering parasites. But by far the best deal is bread; a local baker sells it hot-from-the-oven --including roti, naan, and chapati -- for less than 10 cents apiece.
Of course, one good way to enjoy the weekend is by not cooking. We continue our sporadic habit of Friday pizza night, with deliveries from 14th Street Pizza and Pizza Originale. One Friday, we didn't feel like pizza, but we didn't want to go out either. Just Eat Islamabad is a service that makes ordering delivery even from Urdu-speaking establishments easy. We decided to get a taste of TJ's next assignment (more on that in another post) by getting some Central Asian takeout from Khiva Restaurant. One excellent meal we ate at a restaurant instead of in front of our TV was excellent curry and daal from The House of Bombay.
We do have cable and internet at home, and like any home entertainment abroad, the offerings are interesting. Both YouTube and Buzzfeed are blocked online, which has made me realize just how many links posted on Facebook actually direct you to one of these sites, regardless of the URL. On TV, most of the channels are from India, but we do get some international offerings, like National Geographic, Animal Planet, and HBO, but even those have a South Asian bent. The primary movie offerings are action, mostly superheroes and kung-fu masters. This is good because kissing scenes are deleted, which makes for some confusing transitions in romantic comedies. Curse words regularly accepted by the FCC are bleeped, and I swear I even saw a reference to killing a cow, held sacred in Hinduism, beeped over.
There is no lack of entertainment outside of the home either. Cultural groups like the Asian Study Group and Kuch Khaas often hold public art, music, and nature events. We managed to get to a folklife festival at Lok Virsa, where we watched regional craftsmen create their wares before our eyes. But if you prefer to stick to American culture, the employee association at the embassy offers plenty of activities, including yard sales, sports tournaments, and karaoke nights. We recently threw our hat into a happy-hour trivia competition; we didn't win, but the free appetizers were prize enough.
The other embassies open their activities to the diplomatic community as well. In just the next few weeks, there are chess, soccer, and pétanque tournaments; salsa and Bond film nights; and even a play featuring an international cast. One weekend, we sipped Moosehead while wathcing a street-hockey tournament at the Canadian Embassy. More recently, we managed to snag tickets for the British High Commission's Burns Night (left), the annual dinner devoted to the Scottish poet, including his love of the lassies and haggis (right). In addition to dinner and speeches, the night included Scottish dancing and a dramatic reading of Burns' poem "Tam o' Shanter."
So yeah, Islamabad is just like any other city -- it is what you make of it. Some days, we take advantage of the immense number of opportunities to enjoy our surroundings. Other days, we spend the day sitting at home on the computer, possibly writing a blog post. Such is life in our civilization.
