My Diary 2012 : Chapter 2

2 THE LOK VIRSA MUSEUM:

Situated on Garden Avenue, Shakkarparian, Islamabad, amid lush greenery, sits the National Heritage Museum : Lok Virsa, the first of its kind in Pakistan. Easily the largest museum in Pakistan, Lok Virsa differs in the sense that its exhibitions and collections are based on the history, tradition, culture and heritage pertaining to all areas of Pakistan. Being the diverse, multilingual , multicultural country that Pakistan is, Lok Virsa has managed to beautifully capture its essence within its four walls.

Personally, I found the museum completely awe-inspiring! There was so much to take in and so much to explore but sadly i didn't have enough time. It is easily one of the few places I would gladly spend a whole day in. I've uploaded a few pictures below but pictures cannot fully describe what an experience being there was! One of the must visit places in Pakistan for sure!

For further Information: http://lokvirsa.org.pk/index.php

My Diary 2012 : Chapter 1

1

I first became familiar with 'Teach for Pakistan' when a friend of mine, soon after she graduated back in 2012, was offered a job with them. It was through her and another friend that had also been involved with 'teach' for a while that i got to know that 'Teach for Pakistan'  is a nationwide program in which graduates are offered jobs teaching in under-resourced schools for 2 years soon after they graduate. If you ask me, it is a complete win-win situation. Jobs might be hard to come by for some individuals and we know how much scarcity there is of teachers. This way everyone gets what they want plus you get that extra satisfaction of working with and teaching children and ,hopefully, ultimately bring a change in their life.

It's a sad situation in our country. You either don't have good teachers or you don't have teachers at all in some of these schools. This is an excellent initiative taken by the 'teach for Pakistan' team. These people are truly making a difference and whatever praise i give to them, won't be enough. Hats off to these guys!

For further information : www.teachforpakistan.edu.pk

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10100287601910352&set=vb.154909711221643&type=3&theater

My Diary 2012 : Introduction

2013. It's finally here! A new year with all its new promises.New resolutions, New dos and don'ts, new memories, new chances, new beginnings and a new tomorrow.

 But as I welcome the new year and bid goodbye to the old one, I have to stop and look back. I need to look back at 2012 with all its ups and downs. I am not talking only about my own life here though. Being a Pakistani, and especially a Karachiite, it isn't so much about my personal life as it is about the condition of my country. Yes, there were moments when certain own matters brought me down and there were occasions pertaining to my life that will always bring a smile to my face but they all seem to numb when compared to the things ,in general, that were happening around me. It has been like this for quite some time for us Pakistanis now. How can we be happy when we know that somewhere in our country, there are families that were grieving for their loved ones, who has been victims of target killings that day. How can the price of a dress matter when we know thousands are working day and night just to make ends meet. How can we rejoice when we are aware that currently in our country, the sadness excruciatingly outweighs the happiness. 

 It isn't like the way it used to be 10 or so years ago when the only time you watched news was the 9 o' clock bulletin. Nope. Now it is absolutely necessary that we keep checking the TV or the internet or that breaking news package you have subscribed to in your cell so that you are not caught off guard when the situation in the country takes its turn for the worse, which seems to happen almost everyday. The news is filled with dark and devastating things. And IF you're lucky, you might get to see a 1 minute segment on something happy happening somewhere in Pakistan. In a country when there is so much to be sad for, why dedicate so little time to all the good things and so much to the bad ones? I know it isn't because there is nothing good to report about. I mean just around me so many things happen that bring a smile to my face. Why not give equal amount of time to all those things as well? Why end the news on something dark and unhappy when we have the ability to end it with something that might brighten someone's day? Because, If you ask me, this is one nation that needs that very badly.

 Based on that, I've gotten an Idea. For the next one month, whenever i get some time (and i really do hope that i do) , i'll post things here about my Pakistan, that had made my day when I found out about them back in 2012. An act of kindness. A small story that made me laugh. An organization working for the benefit of the people. Anything. I remember so many bad things about 2012,but I want to end it by thinking about only the good ones =).

 And so starts My Diary 2012 ;)

5 Easy Habits to live more healthy!

With all the hype about "getting healthy" these days, I thought I would quickly just list out the five top most habits that I think form the pinnacle of 'healthy living'. I speak from experience here and if you google ,you'll see that a lot of other people believe the same! So, without much further ado.

1. Drink Plenty of Water!

I know I don't need to go deeply into this! Almost EVERYONE knows how important drinking water in sufficient amount is , which happens to be AT LEAST 7 glasses a day. In hotter climate or if you spend most of your time doing heavy activities, this amount should be raised proportionately.

I can't emphasize enough how important this is. 70% of our body is composed of water. To make sure our body works properly ,this amount is to be maintained. It helps keep you hydrated, keeps your skin fresh, maintains the composition of your blood and helps in proper functioning of the kidneys. AND these are only FEW of the benefits of the sacred drink know as H2O.

So, if you want to think healthy, think water!

2. Have Breakfast!

Super important! And I will tell you why. After dinner, when you go to sleep at night, all that food in your tummy is digested, used up and/or stored inside your body. So, when you get up in the morning and decide not to have breakfast suppose cause you want to lose all that extra fat you gobbled up yesterday, lemme just say here : bad idea!

Why? Cause your body, when you skip your breakfast, doesn't think that you want to lose weight and all those extra cals. What it thinks is that your are not eating because you don't have food TO eat! Hence, like the faithful little thing it is, it goes into STARVATION MODE. It lowers down the metabolism and starts using your own food stores but meagerly. So, instead of getting the result that you wanted , you get the opposite results!

Thus, say yes to breakfast!

3. Be Active!

Do not laze about. Be active! Go for a walk or a run or ,if that's too much, do some chores! Believe me, you'll feel much more healthier if you move about more as compared to being a couch potato!

Humans are built to be active. Any other way, just won't do.

4. Embrace Veggies and Fruits!

Fruits and Vegetables, they are your friends. Eating burgers and pizzas and sodas will only lead you down a long, unhealthy road. 

If you sit down and think, it's really stupid ,isn't it, that we opt for things that we KNOW aren't good for us and disregard those that we KNOW are good! And it is not like Fruits and Veggies aren't delicious! PLUS, they are a storehouse for vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and what not!

Make the smarter choice. Eat your fruits and veggies!

5. Smile!

Remember all those cheesy pictures on facebook and all those quotes 'turn that frown upside down' etc etc? Well, they are all there for a reason!

Smile is one of the best things you can do in your life and it costs you NOTHING, except for maybe a couple of calories, but, hey, who doesn't want to part with them, right?

A smile can not only turn your day around but also that of others around you. Its contagious! Sure, life is stressful and not always cookie 'n' cream BUT, despite all of that, or because of it actually, you need to smile!

Okay,so those are my 5 top habits that, I think, lead to a healthier life! :) 

Signing off now, Adious!

Hey, yeah, so I know i haven't had time to start on my previous ideas about the blog but i just had a new one!

I happen to be a medical student, currently in my 4th year and ,since, this blog is kind of a collection of my thoughts and ideas and chunks of my life ,i thought to myself why exclude out such a big part of my life from it ,right? So, I've thought to share basically ANYTHING I find interesting or ,otherwise, important or something that I just think people should know about.

Most of us are living a sheltered life. And even if we are not ,still then we don't know about the hardships of MILLIONS of people out there. But when you work in a government hospital ,you come into contact with these kind of people. People who BARELY manage to get by. And you see their hardships and you start feeling for them and, in the retrospective, you also start to appreciate whatever you have because ,you know, that whatever condition in which you are now, It's much better than what these people are going through.

Let me share a case with you here so you can have an idea about what I mean. This month I am posted in the paediatric ward. For people who do not know, that's basically a children's ward. And when you walk in, take a look around,it is immediately apparent that most of these children are no older than 5 years. And ,sadly, 90% of these >5 yr olds are admitted to the ward because they are suffering from Malnutrition.


Malnutrition is a pathological state resulting from relative or absolute deficiency or excess of one or more essential nutritions. These nutrients can be macronutrients (Carbohydrates, Fats and Protein) or micronutrients i.e nutrients you don't need in very large amounts. (Vitamins and minerals). Most people in western countries suffer from a different kind of malnutrition than the one seen in my country (i.e Pakistan). There there is excess intake of nutrients resulting in ,most importantly, obesity. Here, on the other hand it is mostly because of UNDERNUTRITION.

And,believe me ,if you see that state of what these undernourished children, it'll move you. Just today we saw a child, 1 year old, suffering from a form of malnutrition called 'MARASMUS'. The kid's arms and legs were matchstick thin. He was crying but there was no tearing. And ,even though, he was a year old ,he could do nothing but lie around and cry. =(

AND the saddest part is most of these conditions are totally preventable!

So,yeah, Just thought I would bring this topic up. Something needs to be done about this cause malnutrition is a deadly condition.

Anyway, that's about it for today. Until next time.

Our Baking Adventures, Part 3

Hey there..
It's been a long time since I last blogged, so I just wanted to update it ,since,i finally have some time off.

Thought to share what me and my sister baked today : Cream Puffs.

This was our first time trying them so they didn't turn out to be perfect. The Choux pastry was all fine , although it took way longer to bake than it was supposed to. The main problem came from the cream bit. It was supposed to be whipped into stiff peaks but ,for some reason, that just wouldn't happen. So, the cream was kind of runny. Other than that, I liked the way the puffs turned out, seeing that it was first time anyway.

Following are their snaps!

What's to come!!

Alright, so I've got university in the morning and I really wanna hit the sack right now but then an idea popped into my head and i just had to blog about it! :D


Ever since I was tiny little brat (and mind you, I was) I've been making these 'Things I wanna do before i die' lists (like so many other people in the world). Everyone has certain goals they want to accomplish in their lives, stuff they want to do, places they want to go and , as facebook has so cruelly been pointing out for the past couple of years, you are just as unique as the next person. Hence, I, being one of those not-as-diverse-as-we-thought-we-were life forms, have such hopes and dreams too :D (Surprise, surprise!).


So, just for the fun of it and lack of better things to do, I am gonna blog about that wishlist of mine! So, yeah, that's what is coming up next on the blog... soon. Sit tight!


That was about it then. Time to crawl into that bed of mine now! Adious!