VISIT TO AMSTERDAM

                                                 ‘Visit to Amsterdam- Centraal Station’            This summer, I had the great pleasure of visiting Amsterdam, Holland, one of the most exciting, vital and beautiful cities in the world. The aura of freshness and energy vibrating in the very air are enough to relieve any traveler of exhaustion.            I was actually a passenger in transit through the Amsterdam Schipol Airport. We landed there in the early hours of the morning and decided to take a cursory look at this city that is famed for its beauty and diversity. We were very short on time and had no idea how to go about touring the city within 5 hours. We were then told of and opted for the extensive train transportation system.             We bought our passes from the ticket desk within the airport and then went to board our train. The train was speedy, efficient and comfortable. It took us to our destination in twenty minutes flat, zooming past beautiful greenery, canals, ponds, and people on bikes and in cars. It took us over small, quaint bridges and giant highways that are a quality unique to the modern world. We were exposed to some breath taking views along the way.            The one I remember best is of the sun catching the horizon with a fiery reddish tinge and the beautiful feeling it gave to my heart. It was as if someone was playing a symphony on the violin and my soul felt like flying. The beauty of it was almost heart breaking.            After we reached Amsterdam Centraal Station, an international train station whereby thousands of people travel every day, I came face to face with another magnificent surprise.             What I saw was amazing. Though I have never lived anywhere but in major cities throughout my life, this ‘train station’ was no ordinary place. The colors, sounds, and sheer magnitude of it enthralled all my senses. The locals were friendly people who welcomed all of us foolish tourists who had no idea about where to go or what to do.            Dutch, not English, was spoken locally. Wearing brightly colored jackets in July, people busily went about their business. They dressed in styles suited to fashion magazines, with their glamorous dresses and well-cut suits to the flowing scarves, knee length colored leather boots, huge earrings and necklaces and tiny to baggage-size purses carried by the ladies and the cutting edge hair styles and suits worn by the men. They were a wonder to look at with their beautifully tinted complexions and generally remarkable looks.             Despite being in a hurry, they did not resent helping a complete stranger. At least three of them helped me. We kept getting lost trying to find the entrance and exit to the Amsterdam Centraal Station building. That is in itself is a testament to the enormity of this hubbub of activity.            In spite of the extensive magnitude of the comings and goings of commuters, local and international, the system works like a well oiled machine. No holdups occur and no one is worried about missing their train since so many trains leave for the same destination at regular intervals.            The brightly colored clothes of the people are a great compliment not only to the trains in which they travel, but to the flowers for which Amsterdam is famed.

            Within the station itself, there are shops selling the most wondrous kinds of flowers, from tulips and roses to many others which smell and look fantastic. The heavenly fragrances drifting out of the flower shops throughout the train station are uplifting for any person with an appreciation of beauty. The colors the flowers lend to their surrounding are enough to cause a rise in anyone’s spirits, no matter how tense or depressed they may be. They gave me a sense of being in a peaceful garden under the new morning sun, breathing in exotic aromas, with little water fountains all around me. The memory makes me sigh with longing for just such a place.

            The vastness of Amsterdam Centraal Station is a marvel to behold. It is one of Europe’s largest centers for train commuting. The foreign languages and cultures one sees in this whirlwind of motion are enough to awe any tourist.             Walking for fifteen minutes and not getting any nearer to the entrance brought us to another platform where we saw hundreds of people converging to depart for their destinations. Some carried little briefcases or laptop bags only.            We finally found the entrance to the building and walked out to see more marvels of Amsterdam, with its crisp morning air and dozens of bikers zipping past on side roads alongside clear blue waters. It is a true wonder to behold.            However, my experience of Centraal Station itself was extraordinary and unforgettable.

A MAJOR TURNING POINT- ESSAY

‘A Major Turning Point’The twist of fate that tore me away from the home of my childhood, wherein are rooted many of my most happy memories, wounded me deeply at the time. As grounded as I was in my childish belief that nothing would change the long days of innocent pleasure and carefree play, this episode bore a great shock for me. It made me realize, even at so tender an age, that change is the one constant life offers and that all else is at the mercy of its whims. I was privileged with the ideal family of two loving parents and a younger sister; However, my blissful childhood was about to come to an abrupt and unexpected end. My parents came to the horrifying decision that my sister and I were to continue our education in Pakistan instead of remaining in the U.S. which was ‘Home, sweet home’ for us. I was more than unwilling to leave. My entire life was set up the way I wanted it to be and I was, finally, no longer an outsider.            My parents, however, determined to move back to Pakistan nonetheless, though my father remained in America without us. That year changed me so radically that I stopped being able to identify with the person that I once was. ‘From caterpillar to butterfly’ is not the correct expression for this staggering transition from carefree and innocent child to angst-ridden young adult. It was an experience most similar to having your world turned upside down or being suddenly stranded on a strange and alien world. It radically altered my beliefs and the role I had once created for myself in my mind for the individual I had planned on becoming. In short, I felt forced to become a whole new person in order to adapt to this new life.             Moving thousands of miles did not just modify my geographical location; I felt like I had just arrived on a foreign planet where everyone considered me strange. In the US, I was considered too ‘Pakistani’ and in Pakistan, I came to be considered too ‘Americanized’. The culture clash was a huge shock for me. From wearing the ‘all-American’ shorts and T-shirts, I had to go to wearing clothes that were considered culturally ‘decent’ and covered my whole person in the searing heat. I could no longer address people frankly. I had to learn to address them with the ‘respect’ that their ages and relationships required me to. It was challenging, to say the least. I unknowingly committed many social faux pas in the course of that year.            It was one rude awakening after another. In America, I had been in the habit of spending hours at a time outside. Now, I was forced to stay inside, as it was ‘improper’ for girls to play outdoors. The school that was chosen for me was no less of a mystery to me and came as an extremely unpleasant surprise.            The litter and trash strewn all over the streets, the sheer number of  beggars, the lawless abandon of drivers on unpaved roads and the poverty stricken children to be found at every corner haunted me. The heat I was unaccustomed to living in and the spicy food I had never before consumed were daily drawbacks in that year of change. Added to that were the frequent electricity outages and water issues, which were a constant cause for aggravation. Also, the people who lived there were a different race whose beliefs and practices conflicted many of the ideas ingrained in my mind. Since Urdu was the local language, I could not even communicate with others. I am now able to speak both Urdu and English. Migrating from one societal pole to the other was a great turning point in my life. The effects of that one occasion continue to resonate today in my life and will always do so. I became a better person for it and have learned to value all that I have, and everyone in my life, a great deal more. I also learned that I have a great yearning for consistency- I dislike life-changing alterations. Yet, I am eternally grateful to have been blessed by the most elusive of experiences- a successful adventure. The lessons I have learned as a result of this particular occurrence in my life are ones that will help me for as long as I live.