The past month has been very eventful...
I have been
hospitalised and off sick many times
without electricity for a weekend
without water for few days
without internet for days
On top of that
intelligence authorities have bothered us
our office burnt down two days ago
But finally I feel that my body has adjusted, my mind is calm, have no stress, and was reading a book in a beautiful park today...
I think that our office burning down was a cherry on top after many challenging moments, and now I can only laugh at the challenges, and look ahead for a brighter future! As the saying goes, 'what doesnt kill you, only makes you stronger'...I am glad to have all these experiences, they only make your life richer, and I will have plenty of stories to tell to others, as one of the goals in my life is to inspire others with my experiences, and get other people to take risks and really enjoy their life! Besides, such challenges teaches you to appreciate little things in life, and basic amenities...but it is amazing with how little you can survive, and people just buy unnecessary luxuries and stuff to keep them happy!
Life would be boring without little challenges, and I have only become stronger throughout the years, and I believe I can do anything in my life...I can fly an airplane, if I want to, it is all about your attitude, and what you believe you can do!
Life is too short not to enjoy it, and now after my sicknesses, which were caused by very severe adjustation to the food and weather, I will have to do everything to keep myself healthy and enjoy being in Pakistan to the fullest!
I do love my work, the people, the surroundings here, and there is so much to see, to experience...have started acting, dancing, and now still want to start karaoke, climbing...the sky is the limit!
Funny thing is that this month has taught me also how to be by myself and rest,as have always been constantly surrounded by people, and never took any time to be with myself and relax...and now I have spent a lot of time by myself, as have been so much time sick at home, and now I actually enjoy chilling out by myself without any planned activities,as even my holidays have always been jampacked with sightseeing, meeting friends etc...
Now I am just looking forward to the new experiences ahead!! I think everyone should venture out to Pakistan once in their lives, test their limits, and come out stronger, and have beautiful, life-enriching experiences!;)
Saturday, July 24, 2010
About being healthy
Written 21st July.
Although I do love being in Pakistan, it has been really tough for me in terms of health. I have been hospitalised twice, and been off sick 4 days or so in past 3 weeks, and almost every day I suffer from stomach cramps, headache, fever etc, but still manage to go to work. I have never been this sick in my entire life, and never been hospitalised before, and the doctors didnt know what is wrong with me.
Being ill really makes you question about your life, as there are days when you don’t want to get out of bed, and days when you feel so weak that you can barely stand…and sometimes it’s a chore even to lift my computer, and I used to be able to carry 100 kgs of stuff from south to north of Poland just few years ago! I love being active, and at the moment cannot fully complete my work, take part in hobbies, or meet friends or stay in touch with family, which really frustrates me…but then I start thinking about why I’m here, as there has been a couple of times that I felt like going back home to Finland, but I have always been survivor and never give up! I came here to make a difference, in AIESEC terms to make a positive impact in society by making AIESEC in Pakistan grow so that more people could enjoy life-changing experiences, and the vision that I have for this year is almost the only thing that keeps me going.
Previously health was something I took for granted, and was never on top of my list, I was always focusing more on career success, friends and family, and many people were amased how I could go on working for 10 hours without any food, and I would take pride in surviving just with chocolate, energy drinks for few days. Despite being vegetarian with poor eating habits my blood levels etc have never suffered, and I could juggle work, university, friends, family and hobbies with poor food, little sleep, no exercise and no relaxation…but here in Pakistan my body cannot take my lifestyle anymore, and need to change everything to get better, health has suddenly become my top priority.
Although I do love being in Pakistan, it has been really tough for me in terms of health. I have been hospitalised twice, and been off sick 4 days or so in past 3 weeks, and almost every day I suffer from stomach cramps, headache, fever etc, but still manage to go to work. I have never been this sick in my entire life, and never been hospitalised before, and the doctors didnt know what is wrong with me.
Being ill really makes you question about your life, as there are days when you don’t want to get out of bed, and days when you feel so weak that you can barely stand…and sometimes it’s a chore even to lift my computer, and I used to be able to carry 100 kgs of stuff from south to north of Poland just few years ago! I love being active, and at the moment cannot fully complete my work, take part in hobbies, or meet friends or stay in touch with family, which really frustrates me…but then I start thinking about why I’m here, as there has been a couple of times that I felt like going back home to Finland, but I have always been survivor and never give up! I came here to make a difference, in AIESEC terms to make a positive impact in society by making AIESEC in Pakistan grow so that more people could enjoy life-changing experiences, and the vision that I have for this year is almost the only thing that keeps me going.
Previously health was something I took for granted, and was never on top of my list, I was always focusing more on career success, friends and family, and many people were amased how I could go on working for 10 hours without any food, and I would take pride in surviving just with chocolate, energy drinks for few days. Despite being vegetarian with poor eating habits my blood levels etc have never suffered, and I could juggle work, university, friends, family and hobbies with poor food, little sleep, no exercise and no relaxation…but here in Pakistan my body cannot take my lifestyle anymore, and need to change everything to get better, health has suddenly become my top priority.
Time flies...
Written 19th July
Time passes by so quickly...About month ago hosted a lovely corporate event for our partners at Marriott Hotel, and had an awesome rooftop party, where a lot of people showed up, and the rooftop was looking better than in long long time…whilst cleaning the rooftop though encountered some cultural taboos, as was wearing a top, and went to the street with trash, and got told off, as it is inappropriate to wear such clothes and carry trash, so now won’t venture out on the street without my dupata (scarf placed on shoulders)…there are so many subtle cultural norms for women in Pakistan, whereby the men don’t need to adhere to such rules, which is tough sometimes for a Nordic girl!
Pakistan is a country with many cultural norms that you could never think about before coming here, and also a country of such contracts that you could never imagine…in my neighbourhood there are a lot of fancy shops, nice cafes and restaurants as well as beautiful, big mansions, but then few hundred metres away there are street children, unpaved roads, donkeys carrying fruit carts, goats eating trash and tiny shops lined up next to another selling meat, furniture,metal scrap etc in haphazard way…so the contrasts are immense! I do feel for the people living in the streets, but not all actual poor people are allowed to beg here, as in many areas criminals control who begs and who doesn’t. Many children are forcefully taken, and they end up begging and giving their money to the criminal gangs, so by giving money to the beggars you might be contributing to the growth of organised crime…and the worst part is that some children purposefully hurt themselves to get more pity and thus money.
Two of my Finnish friends came to Pakistan about 3 weeks ago for AIESEC internships, and we were celebrating the a birthday of our common friend the last weekend of June, and we went crabbing together, but unfortunately got heat stroke, and fever the next day. However, I still managed to go with them to a lovely family dinner with our mutual friend’s (lives in Finland) family, and the dinner took over 4 hours with many courses of food…here the dinners start late and last for many many hours! The next day I went to work, but straight after work felt extremely ill, and had to be taken to a hospital, as had 39.2 fever, very high pulse etc, as had been apparently suffering from fever already for 2 days and got some sort of infection, so had to stay home for 2 days. Fortunately my friend from Finland came that day, and she was keeping my company during my sick leave. After that I had my first official day at office on 1st July, which was pretty chaotic, and after work was going to dance practices for friend’s wedding which I then missed, as I fell ill with fever again!
Despite my illness, I have been going to work, and started acting classes, and we are practicing for a play in August, funny thing is that classes are in urdu, so someone is all the time translating for me, and will be acting in that play in urdu, which should be fun! We had our first AIESEC seminar, which went really well, and enjoyed my time at the beach! I really love it here, just hoping that my body will get fully adjusted to the heat and food here so that I can really enjoy my time here!
Time passes by so quickly...About month ago hosted a lovely corporate event for our partners at Marriott Hotel, and had an awesome rooftop party, where a lot of people showed up, and the rooftop was looking better than in long long time…whilst cleaning the rooftop though encountered some cultural taboos, as was wearing a top, and went to the street with trash, and got told off, as it is inappropriate to wear such clothes and carry trash, so now won’t venture out on the street without my dupata (scarf placed on shoulders)…there are so many subtle cultural norms for women in Pakistan, whereby the men don’t need to adhere to such rules, which is tough sometimes for a Nordic girl!
Pakistan is a country with many cultural norms that you could never think about before coming here, and also a country of such contracts that you could never imagine…in my neighbourhood there are a lot of fancy shops, nice cafes and restaurants as well as beautiful, big mansions, but then few hundred metres away there are street children, unpaved roads, donkeys carrying fruit carts, goats eating trash and tiny shops lined up next to another selling meat, furniture,metal scrap etc in haphazard way…so the contrasts are immense! I do feel for the people living in the streets, but not all actual poor people are allowed to beg here, as in many areas criminals control who begs and who doesn’t. Many children are forcefully taken, and they end up begging and giving their money to the criminal gangs, so by giving money to the beggars you might be contributing to the growth of organised crime…and the worst part is that some children purposefully hurt themselves to get more pity and thus money.
Two of my Finnish friends came to Pakistan about 3 weeks ago for AIESEC internships, and we were celebrating the a birthday of our common friend the last weekend of June, and we went crabbing together, but unfortunately got heat stroke, and fever the next day. However, I still managed to go with them to a lovely family dinner with our mutual friend’s (lives in Finland) family, and the dinner took over 4 hours with many courses of food…here the dinners start late and last for many many hours! The next day I went to work, but straight after work felt extremely ill, and had to be taken to a hospital, as had 39.2 fever, very high pulse etc, as had been apparently suffering from fever already for 2 days and got some sort of infection, so had to stay home for 2 days. Fortunately my friend from Finland came that day, and she was keeping my company during my sick leave. After that I had my first official day at office on 1st July, which was pretty chaotic, and after work was going to dance practices for friend’s wedding which I then missed, as I fell ill with fever again!
Despite my illness, I have been going to work, and started acting classes, and we are practicing for a play in August, funny thing is that classes are in urdu, so someone is all the time translating for me, and will be acting in that play in urdu, which should be fun! We had our first AIESEC seminar, which went really well, and enjoyed my time at the beach! I really love it here, just hoping that my body will get fully adjusted to the heat and food here so that I can really enjoy my time here!
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