Posts by Edward Mortimer
Oceans Full of Words…
I am now almost in the final week of my John Speak scholarship. I have been enjoying reading in Urdu a lot of late, perusing literally anything I can get my hands on (discarded flyers, road signs, food packaging…you name it). I find reading in any language a very empowering experience. Often I read something…
Read MoreEnjoy the Ride
It’s been a few days since I’ve blogged, and life has not been dull in the interim. It is sad to think my scholarship will come to an end in approximately two weeks, but I intend to make the most of the time remaining, and develop myself as much as possible. Even at this stage…
Read MoreFrom the Summits to the Sea…
As promised here is a photograph I took of one of the Kalashi children last week. The clothes she is wearing are ‘normal’ attire; I can’t imagine what they wear at wedding or birthday celebrations! If you look closely you can see the intricate embroidery in the cap which is adorned with shells, despite the…
Read MoreEdward Mortimer – Final Case Study
My John Speak Scholarship took me to Pakistan for a period of ten months to perfect my command of the Urdu language; widely accepted as the lingua franca of the Indian Subcontinent, a rich blend of Persian, Arabic and Turkish vocabulary with a Hindi grammatical base. Much like the English we speak today it could…
Read MoreGoodbye and Thank You
I have recently returned to the UK, having completed my ten-month John Speak Scholarship. I can sincerely say it was one of the most life-changing experiences I have ever had. I have learnt so much, not just in terms of my language learning and cultural knowledge, but also about myself. Do feel free to get…
Read MoreIt’s All Relative…
As I sat down to write I began to think about how the meaning of the word ‘family’ here in Pakistan (and in South Asian culture in general) is rather different from how it is defined in the West. In Pakistan, if your third-cousin once removed is getting married to a girl from the same…
Read MoreThe White Rabbit
I had the opportunity to visit a Gypsy tribe only last week, and what a fantastic experience it was. The children I saw were dirty, poorly clothed and unable to read and write (probably) and yet they were so beautiful. One girl in particular carried a perfect white rabbit beneath her arms; it was the…
Read MoreAn Aural Extravaganza
Today I thought about the menagerie of sounds that one hears on an average day in Pakistan. There is the ice-cream cart that plays an electronic version of ‘fur-de-lise’ on repeat, I wonder how it doesn’t drive the poor man bonkers. There are the cats and dogs. Nobody owns them (indeed, the average Pakistani is…
Read MoreOur Changing World
It is now drawing closer towards the final month of my scholarship, so I want to make an effort to blog more regularly. I would like to give readers an insight into what life is like here, and the potential ways to strengthen ties between the UK and Pakistan in decades to come. A couple…
Read MoreA Greek Tragedy
Today I met a family originally from the Kailash Valley in Northern Pakistan. They were so kind, and one girl even donned some traditional tribal dress for a photograph. These people are descended from the soldiers of Alexander the Great, who, after waging war through much of Central Asia, reached the Kailash Valley many hundreds…
Read MoreFeeling Humbled
I have been reflecting a lot on education of late, and how the receipt of it (or not as is often the case here) can have such a profound impact on person’s life. But that said I have realised intelligence is not just about ‘what we know’, i.e. naming the World’s ten fastest growing economies,…
Read MoreThe Spice of Life
I was invited by a family to lunch today, and I had a wonderful time. They made ‘peeka’ food in my honour. ‘peeka’ means ‘tasteless’ and is used by Pakistanis to refer to food that doesn’t have any spices in it! I really enjoyed the food; I just hope they didn’t mind it too much.…
Read More