criplomats

Ravia is the jewelry designer at the little shop we liked so much. She looks very young; we’re not sure if she has had medical problems that kept her from growing a lot, but her English is good and she has lovely jewelry! I couldn’t get her to smile for the camera, but her face lights up when she does.

Click for more photos of my shopping trip.

Saturday was pretty busy – before shopping, I went with two of John’s co-workers from the Embassy for a golf lesson at the Islamabad Country Club. We were there at the crack of dawn, before it got too hot (although I was still drenched from the humidity).  I had a good lesson with wedges and low irons – I hadn’t had a club in my hands since 2006 but it’s funny how your muscle memory works (including bad habits!). It was a lot of fun and I appreciated Gene and George inviting me to go with them.

Last Sunday we had six people over for a welcome brunch for our friend Mike from Tel Aviv. We had lots of good food and mimosas, and everyone had a good time. It was so nice to have a group of friends around the table – very warm and comfortable.

Later that day, we went to Jim and Kellee’s for a fun sunset cookout on their rooftop. They’ve added a “disco cat” to the roof, bequeathed to them by someone who had left post. I’m not sure what the story is, but these things are everywhere. You can get other animals, but the cats are the most popular. Theirs is about three feet tall:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday was a holiday. John and I stayed home; I logged in to the computer at work and spent most of the day working. After that, John took me over to Nirvana to get a manicure.

You may have heard about the car bombing in Peshawar this week. Peshawar is one of the most dangerous places in Pakistan – it’s a couple of hours from us and a totally different world from what I have heard. Thankfully our co-workers made it out alive. Very scary, but we are fine here in Islamabad.

Here’s one more photo taken at the ribbon store.

 

 

 

This was a pretty low-key week since John and I are both getting over colds. We have medicine from the health unit to treat the symptoms, but we’ve had fairly low energy.

That said, we did manage to get out for a few fun get-togethers.

Last Sunday, we went to a going away party for an Embassy employee. The party was held at the home of a woman who works for the International School here. We met lots of non-Embassy people, including teachers from the school and folks from other embassies and the U.N.

My predecessor in my job left this week, so I’m really on my own now and moved into my office. She really helped me a  lot the last few weeks to prepare me for the job. We had a going away lunch for her that the local staff put together – very nice.

Friday was John’s boss’s last day in the office before he and his wife move to Karachi for their next tour. We really liked both of them and I hate to see them go. There was a big happy hour at the American Club for him that night that was a lot of fun.

Our friend Mike from Tel Aviv arrived this week – how fun to see a familiar face! He and some othe folks are coming over for a welcome brunch this morning, so I did some cooking yesterday.

Oh! Also yesterday, John took Brett and me to the market. It was my first outing to go shopping here. The “market” is more like a strip mall with a couple of small grocery stores, a fruit/vegetable store, a meat market, housewares store, etc. The grocery stores are actually pretty well stocked with both Western and local foods – I was very happy. Between these stores and the commissary at work, we’re in pretty good shape. After shopping, we sat down at Gloria Jean’s and had a latte – it really felt like I was back in the US!

 

So this was a short week, since we were in Nathia Gali through Tuesday. We were off work on Wednesday, but I went in for a while to work and go to the gym. Afterward, I had a manicure/pedicure at a nice salon near our house.

Thursday night we watched a good movie, “Footnote.” It’s set in Jerusalem and is in Hebrew with subtitles – it was fun to hear some Hebrew words that we understood.

Last night, we went to a large party at Frank and Lita’s. Lita is John’s new manager. They had a fire pit set up in the front yard with lots of lawn chairs, along with a big table where folks could eat. It was a nice evening – not too hot. We came home fairly early – we’re both struggling with summer colds right now and aren’t feeling 100%.

It rained a lot last night, and is still raining a little this morning, but it will probably get steamy this afternoon!

Since not a lot has happened since my last blog entry, I’ll tell you a bit about our daily life here. We’re usually up early and head into the office. I go to the gym (very nice and big), get dressed there, then meet John and his management friends for breakfast at the cafeteria. For lunch, we’re both usually at the American Club (the restaurant on the compound),  but usually at different times and with different people.

The compound is pretty self-contained, complete with medical unit – where John and I both went this week to see the Embassy doctor and get medicine for our colds. Sometimes I feel like I’m on a college campus.

Yesterday marked my one month anniversary of my arrival here – so far, so good!

 

 

 

Eid marks the end of Ramadan, and it’s greeted with fanfare that the U.S. reserves for the Christmas holidays. We had a long weekend from work, and our friends Kellee and Jim organized a trip for several of us to go up into the mountains to Nathia Gali.

Nathia Gali is at an altitude of around 8000 feet. The mountains dotting the way are filled with guest houses like the one where we stayed. Cool weather! Sweaters! Rain! Books! Scrabble! Eating! Relaxing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As peaceful as it was at the guest house, getting there and back was crazy! On the way up, we had good weather, but we crept through crowded villages where traffic came to a standstill as passengers climbed on tops of passing busses, pedestrians wove in and out, vegetable trucks stopped to unload, and cars pulled over to buy grilled chicken from a street vendor. We also passed lots of monkeys on the side of the road, begging from cars, or hanging out in the trees!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But if going up was hard, coming down was even harder in rain and fog. There is a one-way bridge that all visitors must go through into or out of the mountains. It was no problem going up, but coming down, we sat for almost an hour for our turn. It looked like half of Islamabad was heading to Nathia Gali as we were coming out – we suppose to spend the remaining couple of days in the mountains. The traffic going up the mountain went on for miles and miles and miles, and I imagine those folks are still waiting to cross the bridge!

Drivers here are pretty crazy, too. Passing on blind curves in rain and fog is just the way they roll. And people stop just anywhere to take photos, have lunch, play in muddy water, rest, sit a while, dance (yes), etc. Even on the highways, you see cows, goats, chickens, donkeys and toddlers in the road. John has been doing a great job of getting us around, but I think we are both pretty white-knuckled by the time we get home!

Here’s a photo of a “jingle truck” – pretty much any kind of vehicle is decked out in this fashion – and they jingle from all of the adornments. Jingle trucks can be busses, milk trucks, small vans that function as taxis, donkey carts, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last Sunday when our friend Richard was in town, we went to the Serena Hotel for brunch with Richard, Michael, Jim and Kellee – they have a very nice buffet and the hotel is beautiful. And the hotel’s golf cart is also decked out as a jingle truck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That evening, John and I went to a carpet party at Melinda’s house. Folks usually have their favorite carpet vendors, so often people will have a carpet party – the vendor will bring a large variety of rugs, and you can shop in the comfort of someone’s home. Quite nice and a good introduction to the different types of rugs here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the carpet party, we went to another iftar with the consular group, as a welcome party for the new Consul General and his deputy.

Thursday night, John hosted an iftar at a mountaintop restaurant just outside of town. They are a cute group and it was a lot of fun. The view over the city is breathtaking!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, it was a very fun and busy week! Here’s a misty shot taken at our guest house in Nathia Gali. Click here for more photos from Nathia Gali.

Since I arrived, it’s been Ramadan here in Pakistan. There’s a lot more to it, but in a nutshell, Muslims can only eat or drink before sunrise and after sunset. Their evening meal is a big deal, as you can imagine and is called iftar. So Thursday night I went to an iftar at one of the big hotels in town, hosted by one of the U.S. agencies here. I met some of the folks from the Pakistani government who I will be working with.

Friday night, the Consular section hosted an iftar at the home of one of the section chiefs. It was primarily a party to “hail and farewell” the myriad of folks coming and going. Our whole management staff is turning over with old bosses leaving and new ones arriving. It was a lot of fun, and all of the food was cooked on the premises – when we arrived there was a huge metal disk over a fire filled with fattening, yummy goodies cooking in oil. It was a fun party because it was both officers and the local staff, so I had a chance to get to know some of the local employees better. We also had two welcome lunches this week for the new folks.

This week was definitely fun and busy, with lots of good food. Tuesday night, we went to Paul and Derek’s house for a lovely dinner. I’ve been friends with Derek on Facebook but had never met him in person, so it was fun to get to meet him. Both really nice guys.

Last night, we went to a party hosted by John’s boss Doug. There were about a dozen of us there – most all from the GSO section where John works. They are a really fun group of folks, always joking and laughing. After dinner we sat on the upstairs balcony and enjoyed the cooler weather.

I finally met our housekeeper Saleem, who also works for Doug. He cooked last night’s meal for us, including kabobs and chicken over a coal fire. He’s a very sweet man and his cooking was good, too!

Yesterday afternoon, our friend Richard came over to visit – we sat out on the terrace and yakked for a few hours. Richard is working down in Karachi at the Consulate there, and had come up to Islamabad to meet his counterparts here. (Richard spent a couple of weeks with us in Tel Aviv.) Always good to visit with him. His life in Karachi is very different from ours: they have to live on a compound and can’t get off the compound unless they have tight security with them. He was pretty amazed at the amount of freedom we have here.

John’s been out on the terrace this morning roasting coffee, and he spotted a new bird in the fig tree, some sort of a barbet that’s really cute.

Here are a few photos from the party last night.