Earthly allegory

1. A dry cool winter season from December to February,
2. A dry hot summer season from March to May,
3. A SW Monsoon season from June to September.
4. NE Monsoon season from October to November.

Most internet guides on Pakistan list these four seasons. I'd like to call the current season fall, and the next winter. As I travelled north on Nov. 3rd, I noticed the leafs turn yellow, orange, and brown. I also saw the first collapsed roof of many along the roads of Pakistan.

My physical condition recently has mirrored many of the country as winter approaches.

Last Wednesday, the cold arrived: sinus congestion, sore eyes, fever, and muscle aches. The cold has also arrived in Islamabad as evident in the frosty reception given to your breath in the early morning. The temperature is a more serious matter in the mountainous north, and the people's own medical conditions make the situation more grave for survival in this season.

Less pleasantly, diarrhea strikes. This is actually a healthy way of purging the system (and a reason to avoid immodium - unless you're in transit). The unfortunate side is the disposal and need to rehydrate the system with clean water, which are not facilities in great condition in these devastated areas. The subsequent physical weakness gnaw at future survival rates.

I've continued to work for all but one class period throughout this condition. Many people in the north continue their lives also despite their collapsed homes, schools, and market sectors. Their is temporary respite for them in visiting the city for supplies, which they bring back to build temporary shelters and care for their families. They continue their lives in "tents" of corrugated metal and light fires despite the lack of insulation of this material.

I found my blanket missing as I left for school this morning. People in Islamabad wrap themselves in blankets, mufflers, and skull caps as they venture outside. Many people in affected areas of Pakistan need warmth. I think I left my blanket in Siana, and they need more. This town on the mountainside experiences the same dips in temperature due to wind chill as many urban dwellers do. The absence of trees or other wind barriers allows the wind to cut across the land carrying, with it the insulating pocket of warm air around your skin.

I grow stronger with each day. The people in Pakistan, especially those in the mountainous north, have already been strong, however. The differences in our conditions becomes evident as I recover with the week; their struggle will be longer and the support for them is more confused. Aid is arriving but enthusiasm is waning with the weather. Finite resources or finite attention in the international community spell out a long winter for these people.

I wish them health and courage as ISOI and many others strategize for the best way to help these people for immediate survival and long-term success after this major earthquake.

P.S. My apologies to my English teachers for butchering this literary term.