Life in Halifax & now going to Calgary …

Living abroad, here in Halifax,  literally, I’m afraid to step on the road. There are rules about everything. Stand here, don’t stand there, cross road here, like this, but not like this on the other crossing. Everyone seems to know all the rules….

Except me.  I need to learn everything.  All this takes time!

In Pakistan, I lord it out. I know everything.  In fact, I am teaching others how to go about things. (Remember my driving series on Instagram?)

Not here.

In fact, I’d not want to drive here, as we are used to left hand driving, and here it is all on the right side. Also, lots of other things which I’m seeing. Here, my grown up child Nadiya and her husband keep guiding me most of the time. (Thank God for that.)

I’m the nincompoop here.

Even in the house, I’m told, ‘we do it like this….’

‘I told you, why don’t you remember?’ – that’s my girl of course.

Hello!!! I’m having to learn twenty things here, all at the same time. On top of it, my short term memory is exactly that – short.

So, I was saying, after ten days, I start missing my own home, and my country. I love it there. Here, too, I’m loving it. Specially, with my children. Particularly, my brand new grand child. That is something I do know, how to bathe a baby, how to feed her, and to calm her down. How to take care of a new born… After three kids of my own, I’m a bit of a pro.

But, otherwise, I’m scared to venture out alone.

There are doors and locks that don’t open if you don’t know how.  Modes of payment through the phone, which I don’t know how, and most of all, there is a way to get into this building, or to get out, for which I’ve got the keys but… ! Its kinda scary, ‘what if? … God forbid, I forget to take the key?’So, it is not all so honky dory for a new comer. It is fine, when I’m with my daughter, or SIL.

In fact, whenever I want to venture out alone, I can feel my SIL and daughter getting nervous, ‘Don’t go too far!’

‘Put on your jacket!’

‘Close your jacket properly, you might catch a cold!’

As I said, reversed roles here. I mean, those were my dialogs! Now, they are being said to me?

Come to think of it, I’m used to reverse roles. It started with my mummy at home. I know exactly how protective and responsible you feel about your parents.

More adjustments:

So, when I started cooking here, as I wanted my own baby to rest, I found even the onions, vegetables, tomatoes, and spices all needed getting used to. Most of all the electrical stove and non-stick pans. In Pakistan I have this flaming gas flame and aluminum cooking pans, they cook FAST. Here, the stove takes its own time. Specially, when you find out that all this time, the cooking pot was on the wrong stove! I mean, it is over a month now, but still I get those innocent looking stoves wrong!

Later, when I sheepishly confessed, the kids said, ‘you can’t imagine how many times its happened with us!’ Oh, and all this time, I was thinking it was my age….

All this, in spite of the fact that I’ve used such stoves several times in my life. In Pakistan, in Badaber, near Peshawar, we lived in those American houses, and everything ran on electricity. I used these same stoves there too. Later, on in Duval, about eight years ago.

Thrilling outings;

So, I was saying, every weekend, and even weekdays, I’m being taken for outings. (Even though I know my SIL must be tired from his tough week at the office, but they insist.) The moment we are out, it is so beautiful, that I forget everything. I just love the amazing beauty of this place. Honestly, it is a heaven on earth.

God did a really neat job with this planet earth thing!

I mean, its beautiful all over, but we kind of mess it up a lot at our end.

Stay blessed, lovely ones. It is good to just enjoy, wherever you are right now. Enjoy the funny places in life that you end up in, during different parts of your life. Right now, I’m happy, I’ve ‘been there, done that!’ had babies and brought them up. I am in the happy place where I can sit back and enjoy the fruits of my endeavors.

Now, its them, ‘being there, and doing that’, while I, go all over the place.

https://www.facebook.com/shireen.gheba/videos/pcb.2817587474941193/2817586771607930/?type=3&theater

Humani-T Café with an art gallery:

https://www.facebook.com/shireen.gheba/videos/pcb.2817583221608285/2817580554941885/?type=3&theater

Air ticket sent by my friend Mahira-Rea Khan from Calgary:

So the BIG EXCITEMENT right now is that I’m off to Calgary, Alberta tomorrow. So, she was kidnapping me, and then Dave offered to pick me from the airport and take me to his place as his family is too excited to meet me. (A one or two hour meeting wouldn’t do.) So, I agreed, and so I’ll be going there. Insha Allah.

Would be meeting Dave Schirru after hundred years!

Dave Schirru would be picking me up from the airport. Believe me, we have never met, except exchanged a few conversations with each other on Facebook. But there is this deep connection with my mother’s family. His great grand mother is my great grandfather’s sister. That’s how we are related. We have heard stories and will spend some very interesting times with his mother,

Marilyn has many photographs which she wants to show me, and his wife Valerie is the gold mine of information. So, I’ll love meeting their their children too. It was Valerie who responded to Nadiya’s investigations, and they found Mum’s relations.

On Saturday, Dave will take me to my friends’ place. My friend’s husband lost his sister last week, and the funeral is on Saturday the fifth of October. My friend Mahira is naturally busy with it all. So, Dave will drive me over, on Saturday and then my friend and I shall meet after forty one years. 

Finally, I’ll be meeting my friend Shib, Mahira –Rae Khan and her family: Don Rae, Adam and Aisha. Just can’t wait. Remember, we had got connected here.  So, I hope to meet her tomorrow!!!!

Yes, just sometimes, Allah blesses us soooooo much. Thank you so much my Allah Mian.

Hope you all have enjoyed most of these pictures taken at the Crystal Crescent Beach a few days ago. My sweet children insist on taking me all over, knowing how much I love to travel.

I cannot help but feel that it is the prayers of my readers, and all those we helped during our projects. Specially the prayers of my parents. Stay blessed my wonderful readers, may happiness be yours, and may your dreams be fulfilled too.