Can you believe that my Hubby hasn't been home for nearly 8 years, since he came to the UK in 2007? Not that he never wanted to, but there was always something in the way. But "good things come to those who wait", and it's finally time for us to go.
Everyone's so excited!
Hubby, of course, is happy to go and see his family and old friends. Yeah, there's Skype, phones, Facebook, all sort of apps to communicate... But it's not the same as seeing them face-to-face, is it? Plus, his parents haven't actually had the internet access lately, so it's just the phone these days.
Family is happy for the same reasons. Plus, they finally get to see Adam! He'll be 20 months old when we go, and I can't imagine how it must feel for them not being able to see him yet. I know my parents love him to bits and would love to have him around a lot more. Still, they have been here when he was born, when we celebrated his 1st birthday, and we also went to Poland in the meantime. I've always felt bad for Hubby's family for not being able to spend some time with the cheeky man.
Myself? I'm excited for many reasons!
First of all, it's my first ever trip there, so I'm obviously looking forward to seeing Pakistan. I'm sure it will be a huge culture shock for me, as it's so different from Europe, but I can't wait. Ever since I fell in love with Bollywood movies I wanted to visit India - now with a Pakistani husband I've already given up on this dream, but Pakistan is close enough to my dream ;) And of course it's gonna be my furthest journey to date - so far the UK is as far as I got from Poland.
Then of course it's meeting the whole family - Hubby's parents, grandma, brothers, aunts and uncles, cousins, probably some of his friends... Now I'll know exactly how he must have felt going to Poland for the first time ;) I'll be feeling like a freak there, especially that my language knowledge is pretty much non-existent! Have you seen my New Year's goals post? Well, I said I want to start learning Urdu - and as you could see in my previous post, I'm already on it ;) Hopefully I can at least catch a few most useful expressions!
Finally, it's the whole cultural experience I'm looking forward to. The language - what's better opportunity to learn than spending some time with the natives? The food - all authentic Pakistani cuisine. The clothes - I love Pakistani fashion, but here I rarely wear it. I'll surely embrace a month of beautiful tunics and salwar kameez ;) Even though I live in a place with a massive Asian community, and I have a Pakistani guy at home, it all still feels so exotic. I just want to see, try and taste as much as I can while there.
Right now we're getting the stuff sorted - luggage, gifts for the family, travel essentials for ourselves... It's all planning and organising madness!
I'll soon be posting more on how we prepared for the travel to Pakistan: what needs sorting out, travel health, what we're packing etc.
In the meantime, have look at this fun video of six foreigners visiting Pakistan and proving it's not as scary as you could think ;)
24 comments
It sounds like it is going to be an amazing trip - I hope you have a fantastic time!
ReplyDeleteThank you! x
DeleteOh my word all that time apart must been so hard.
ReplyDeleteI'm away from my parents too, but it's only two-hour flight, meaning I can visit them few times a year. I don't think I can ever understand how hard it is for my husband.
DeleteOh how exciting. I am sure you will have an amazing time. I would love to visit. I went to India, but never Pakistan
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to visit India! The relationship between these countries is complicated though, I don't think I can make it there with a Pakistani husband ;) But since they used to be one country once, I guess the experience will be similar :)
DeleteOh wow, I know how you must feel as in 2007 I went to Nigeria, which is my husband's ethic origin although he was born in the UK. It was daunting, but so culturally beautiful and enlightening. I often look at the photos, some of which I made into a photobook. We went for my dearly departed Father in Law's burial, but it was a celebration of his life that went on for 4 days. It was so colourful and vibrant. Can't wait to see how you get on. I'm also a fan of Bollywood and a big fan of Bhangra. Liska xxx
ReplyDeleteI think that even though your husband was born in the UK, it must have been great for you to go and experience what his cultural background is all about! Sorry to hear it was to say goodbye to your Father in Law, but it seems like you got to experience something special and so much different from the way people deal with death here. And photobook sounds like a great idea as I hope to take loads of pictures!
DeleteOh my gosh, how exciting! I would LOVE to visit pakistan with the kids one day. Enjoy your trip and take LOADS of photos :)
ReplyDeleteThanks :) I'm hoping I'll have a lot of pictures to share, especially to show my mum it's not as scary as she thinks ;)
DeleteWow you are going to have such an amazing time! Initially I thought you meant your husband hadn't been home with you for 8 years! x
ReplyDeleteHaha! Yeah, after re-reading that first sentence I can see why you'd think that! I don't think that would work well for our marriage though ;)
DeleteI hope you have such a wonderful time.
ReplyDeleteAhh you're going to have a fantastic time! Enjoy! xxx
ReplyDeleteSo lovely to hear of your trip, it will be lovely to reconnect as a family and build some wonderful memories
ReplyDeleteI hope you have an amazing time, must be so exciting!
ReplyDeleteAw what a lovely time you are going to have, so sweet x
ReplyDeleteI thought the same as Aby above! Ha ha! Seriously though, what an adventure! How is the Urdu learning going? I had a best friend growing up who was from Pakistan and she taught me to write in her language. I wish I'd kept it up. I can't wait to hear what you get up to!
ReplyDeleteOh how exciting!! What an amazing adventure - I can't wait to read all about it! Have a brilliant time!
ReplyDeleteI am so excited for you! I would love to visit and experience the culture.
ReplyDeleteI love the colors of the tunics and the food.
I hope you will take lots of photos and do a write up!
Have fun! We are going in March too! You will love it hopefully!
ReplyDeletehope you have an amazing trip
ReplyDeleteI hope your visit is a brilliant one!
ReplyDeleteHope that you have a great time - how exciting to see family & friends :)
ReplyDeleteComments are moderated and manually approved by me before appearing on the site - please be patient. Abusive language and spam will not be tolerated.