SAY CHEESE!

Now, I work in the "country", for all you southerners you can understand just what that means. Working in the country lends to some advantages: away from congested traffic, air is not so polluted, and you feel like you can move! That being said, there are some....interesting.....things about working in the country, and here's one of them. I don't mean the bicycle come sunglass hut, rather I'm talking about the random livestock. I don't feel out of place when I notice a cow here or a sheep there because in the country you get all kinds of animals crossing the roads. Where Pakistan is unique in my experiences, however, is the random livestock aren't so random! It is normal everyday life to share a park, the road, even a dip in the canal (for those who swim in it) with everything from sheep to water buffalo.

Yes, I purchased sunglasses from the man on the bicycle. That was the intent of the stop on the way home-the cows just made for a great photo moment!

M.M.M.

On the way to and from work I get my daily dose of co2, among other agents which I'm convinced are NOT on the recommended daily allowances, and I am reminded I am the one who wanted a motorcycle sooo badly. Idiot. It is just a small piece of evidence that thinking what would be such a great thing to have or do is not always as it seems. For the most part, though, I LOVE my bike. Her name is Maggie...the Metro Motorcycle-Metro being the brand name.

My observances on the bike are quite different than those when I was driving a car. Traffic in Lahore is not just bad it's WRETCHED! People have NO concern for anyone other than themselves on the road. While in a car you have a little bit of "too bad for you" to push your weight around-and even then that's dependent on the size of your car (and horn). It's a perfect case study for "survival of the fittest". The bigger vehicle on the road, the more likely you're going to get where you want...and how you want. The smaller vehicle, the more likely someone feels you dare share their road. If you are in a Land Rover..you rule. You can honk and sway about through traffic at remarkable speeds-and who is going to get into your way. If you are a Honda City or a Toyota Corolla you are second to push others around. And so goes the chain.....so, if you're a motorcycle, forget it, you are nothing. If you are a bicyclist or a donkey cart, you're worse than nothing! Oh, I forgot the rickshaw....you are unworthy of living!

Among other things...I am the only female driving around Lahore, or so it seems. There are female traffic police just now on bikes, however I have yet to see them apart from the picture in the paper. While I do not intend to strike a chord in the women's rights movement in Pakistan, I am now the coolest chick at my office! (and I look pretty bad ass in my jeans, red leather coat, red helmet, and sunglasses)

So, I have learned to hold my breath for incredible lengths of time and I dodge the donkey doo near my work, BUT I am on my bike!!!!