By now you've surely heard the terrible news of Benazir Bhutto's assassination. Shocking and awful, though sadly, not terribly surprising. Cities all over the country are seeing violent protests, including TLC. From the news I gather that traffic was blocked for ages in the early evening as everyone rushed to get home and indoors, and there have been some abandoned cars burned and I think some shooting as well.
I'm grateful tonight to be indoors in my apartment in our quiet neighborhood. Major Sahib, our Cheif Security Officer, has been in touch and will be keeping me and Roomie posted on his latest safety recommendations. Now it's very late at night and I need to go to bed. I'll write more tomorrow. It's overwhelmingly sad, all this turmoil in Pakistan.
About Me
- Ubiquitous Pidgeon
- I recently moved to Pakistan to teach Kindergarten in a new American-style school for Pakistani kids. This means that in English I'm forever speaking in the first person plural ("Today we learned to grow plants!"), and in Urdu I sound like a two-year-old ("DSL kharab hai? Lal bijli kyu?" "The DSL is bad? Red light why?").
Today's Urdu lesson
- ahm/am: mango
- akela: lonely
- Al-Hamdullah: [Arabic] praise G-d
- amroud: guava
- ayk: one (number)
- bara: twelve/twelfth (not to be confused with 'bara' meaning 'big')
- Baree Eid: Big Eid, aka Eid ul-Zuha, or Eid al-Adha for those of you who speak Arabic
- Begum: Respectful way to address a woman; Mrs., ma'am, or wife
- bhen: sister
- bhi: too, as well
- bijli: electricity or electric light
- biryani: a yummy (and spicy) aromatic rice dish made with chicken
- chai khana: tea shop
- channeh: beans
- chappals: sandals, especially flip-flop style sandals, often fancy and decorated with beads or sequins
- chirriah: bird/sparrow
- choogley: back-biting
- choti: little, small
- churria: bangles
- daal: a sort of stew made from lentils
- dhobi: launderer/washerman (or woman)
- dhol: big drum
- dholki: mid-sized drum; also the drumming usually done for wedding celebrations
- dupatta: large, usually colorful rectangle of fabric, about 7 feet long, that Pakistani women typically wear wrapped over their hair and chest. Women who don't cover their hair generally wear it as an accessory, draped in a 'v' with the ends fluttering behind them.
- firni: sweet pudding made with rosewater
- gadger: carrot
- ghobi: cabbage or cauliflower
- gulab jaman: sweet fried donut-hole-type thing, soaked in sugar syrup
- Habibeh: [Arabic] Sweetheart or My Love; "Habibti" for girls and women
- halva puri: sweet semolina mush scooped up with flat fried dough. Usually eaten for breakfast
- Iftari: meal that ends the day's fast during Ramzan.
- jummah: Friday; also the congregational prayers said at the mosque on Friday afternoon
- kela: banana
- khala: maternal aunt
- Khanoum: [Persian] ma'am, lady (not actually used in Pakistan, as far as I know)
- kheer: rice pudding with pistachios
- kon: who (is it)?
- maghreb: the prayer said just before sunset
- mera/meri: my
- murghey: chicken (if dead) / hen (if alive)
- naan: flat bread (thick)
- nam: name
- namaz: prayer
- nehin hai: there is not
- nehin: no/not
- palek: spinach
- Rabi-ul-Awwal: the third month in the Islamic calendar
- raita: yoghurt dipping sauce, usually with spices in it
- roti: flat bread (thin, rather like a wheatflour tortilla)
- saag: pureed mustard greens
- Sahib: Respectful way to address a man; gentleman, sir, or Mr.
- Sahiba: Respectful way to address a woman; Ma'am or lady
- salat: the five daily prayers Muslims offer to G-d
- Sehri: pre-sunrise meal before the day's Ramzan fast.
- shaadi: wedding; I believe the word is taken from Hindu culture
- shukria: thank you
- tik hai/TK: Okay
- wallah: one, as in "the one [person] with the vegetables/milk/shoes." The number one is 'ayk.'
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December
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- News link
- Benazir Bhutto was buried today, next to her fathe...
- I'm fine
- Present and future nostalgia, Part II
- 'Tis the Season
- Merry Christmas
- In case you were wondering how to cook Pakistani p...
- Present and future nostalgia
- A new day, a new opportunity for amusement
- Mama Pidgeon and Papa Pidgeon are coming to visit!
- Jumble-bumble
- Chanukah
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1 comment:
Good! Due to holiday vacations and illnesses, This has been too long in doing. So I am saying I am glad to know you are well. I'm sorry I'm so squeamish about contacting you, I just worry about doing something innocently wrong that will get you hauled in by someone. THANKS for the blog! It is a great confort to read, as well as being great fun.
Do you need any craft supplies or kits? (Yeah, right, you're in Pakistan...) but anyways, if you do, let me know! Love, Anna
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