LUMUN IX-The Journey (Part #1)

Yasir Thara

Or just 'THARA'

A1S3

This part contains all the happenings before LUMUN IX began. Enjoy as 'Thara' narrates his account of the crazy yet absolutely fun-filled moments of all that took place. Cheers :)

POOOOOOOOOOOOMPPPPPP!

And the train journey began! A journey rightly claimed as a trip to Lahore or an experience of LUMUN by many, but more specifically, a roller-coaster of fun and emotions with learning at its verge adding to it for us. Bearing in mind the level of competition at LUMUN, cognizant about the foggy and cold weather of Lahore and with sheer determination to win, 20 of us, selected upon the system of meritocracy, accepted the challenge and opened doors to what we all later claimed to be the best experience of our lives.

Before I start describing the course of events, let me list down all the delegates. We had two teams participating. Team A, headed by Moaaz Sidat consisted of the biggest public speaking figures of PAF Chapter A Level namely, Khushhal Nadir Hadi, Ramsha Wasti or ‘WASTI’, Lubaina Ehsan, Zeest Hasan, Usman Baig(AS WALA!!) or ‘BAG’, Abdullah Arain, Raza Abbas, Syed Fares Athar & Hassaan Sadiq or ‘HASSAAN BHAI’. Team A represented Nepal in this conference. Team B, was again a collection of gung-ho MUN-ers with a leader like Rahid Naseeb heading it. Head Delegate was further accompanied by Kiran Bhimani or ‘BHAI-MANI’, Mohammad Saad, Saad Haseeb, Bilal Naqvi, Yasir Thara or ‘THARA’, Ali Mehdi Zaidi or ‘MEHDI’, Sadia Sadiq, Imran Mir and ‘THE GREAT’ Mehraz Khan. We represented the country New Zealand. Ms. Bushra or ‘MISS B’ was our faculty adviser for the event. Oh, and Sadia Sadiq and Hassaan Sadiq are siblings, some of us found that out after LUMUN IX finished. :p

DISCLAIMER: ^All the nicknames mentioned are the names that were generally used to refer to that person, and not a personal offence.

Probably the only picture of the entire PAF Chapter LUMUN IX team :D
On Second thought, Wasti, Raza, Fares, Bilal and Abdullah are missing from the picture.
One can never fit the entire 21 of us in one picture then I guess :p

At the most back (Left to Right): Hassaan Sadiq, Mehraz Khan, Kiran Bhimani, Ms.Bushra, Lubaina Ehsan, Zeest Hassan and Ali Mehdi Zaidi.

The Row at the front (L to R): Rahid Naseeb, Yasir Thara, Saad Haseeb, M.Saad, Moaaz Sidat, Usman Baig, Khushhal Nadir Hadi, Imran Mir.

The girl sitting at the most front: Sadia Sadiq :D

Stage for our departure was rightly set by our parents by quite a few emotional and sentimental hugs, ‘dos and don’ts’  being repeated at the very last moment, prayers to be recited being revised and a bunch of advises being thrown towards us. This was first train journey for many of us (not me though).  

             

This journey was full of unforgettable moments. First memorable moment is dedicated to Kamil Jamshed and Talha Khan from SZABIST who were also with us on the journey and came up with the idea of having a parliamentary debate on the train. Moaaz and Ali Mehdi competed against this SZABIST’s team and what we all witnessed was something we wouldn’t like to hear again ever in our lives. Second highlight of the journey was capturing weird pictures of our companions as they slept; hanging their tongues out or sleeping as if they had never slept for past whole week. Another amazing moment was getting down on Khanewal station in the depth of long winter night at around 3am when fog made a person standing five meters away seem invisible! Plus, the temperature had stooped so low that Usman Baig bought tea from a stall and almost dropped half of it on his way back to train due to all the shivering.  Researching for LUMUN IX, texting with “ahem ahem”, listening to songs, having long chats, playing cards and sightseeing led to a smooth journey to Lahore. 

After an 18 hours long journey, we arrived to Lahore.  As we stepped down to the Lahore’s elegant station’s platform, all what we heard proved to be right about the weather. You see, us Karachi-ites are not used to the harsh winters, we belong to a coastal area J. The fog was same as I described it in Khanewal with our breathe so condensed that they formed a smoking effect. We didn’t even need cigarette and STUFF (yeah the same one which we weren’t allowed to take with us according to MISS B) to create smoke. Oh, and environment was beautiful. It was bright but not sunny and that was the best part! ^_^

We were welcomed warmly by Imran’s elder brother, Arsalan Mir. I believe there is no word in my knowledge which can be used to define the patience, the politeness and the kindness he possessed. How many of us would blindly allow 17 random students to reside in our house for a day and half? None. But he did. He actually allowed 17 insane human beings to make a mess of his delicately decorated bungalow! I still believe that he must have offered thanksgiving prayers once we left. :p. Arsalan bhai’s house became our first resort in Lahore where we spent 24^th December almost researching for LUMUN IX conference which was to begin the next day.  We ordered KFC and McDonalds for lunch but to our amazement, our beloved Bilal Naqvi actually spent 3 hours to order ONLY! He Confirmed the order thrice I guess, annoyed by which our Head Girl replied, “ABAY NAHI KHANA MUJE! :X” This was no less than a laughter-sequel for all of us there and then M. Saad’s double-O-fillet. :p This guy paid Rs. 490 for a single-fillet burger which was smaller than the bun kabab we get along the roadside. :p You can imagine what followed between Saad and Bilal. :p We also got a water bottle. Guess how? Yes, I ordered a Chicky Meal. :p

Mehraz found sleeping after the dinner :D
Yes, Mehraz can sue the Student Blog Team for putting this one up,
 as soon as the term ends xD

Apart from food, there were some other laughable moments too. :D We had no warm water supply on the first day. Arsalan bhai’s geezer ran out of fuel. But having a bath was necessary, and unfortunately ice-cold water was the last resort. They say, Need is the mother of Invention. This was rightly promoted by Imran Mir and Rahid Naseeb. Yes, Imran Mir literally kept on walking from right to left and vice versa passing under the shower twice in every lap. He took 30 minutes alone to ONLY shampoo his hair. :p Rahid Naseeb, to our amusement played Gangnam Style in the bathroom and kept on dancing while having bath. We salute your intelligence guys! Yes, exercise generates heat. JUST BY THE WAY, NO ONE SPIED ON THEM WHEN THEY WENT FOR BATH. THESE STORIES WERE NARRATED BY THEMSLEVES!

And this exercise continued when we went for a brisk walk outside. Rahid Naseeb, who was wearing slippers actually took them off and jogged whereas all of us followed him. After one of his socks got torn, he decided to wear his slippers back. He bowed down to do so and at the very moment BARRRRRKKKKKKK! Yes, a giant, black bull dog barked at us and poor Rahid ran for his life, throwing away his slippers! Fortunately, the dog was inside the bungalow. Entertainment continued when it came to sleeping as well. Hasan Bhai was found driving auto-rickshaw and then a Ferrari while sleeping. No, he wasn’t dreaming. He was SNORING, disturbing the other six in room. Mehraz and Imran came up with a master-plan to curb it but thanks to Sadia, she simply spoiled it. A sister always saves the brother -.-

With a little bit of differences towards the end when M. Saad kept on running behind Wasti to write his position paper, Zeest being angry upon the fact that I had more research than her (we were in the same committee) and Bilal Naqvi with his immature actions, the day passed brilliantly. We finally developed the idea of liberty within ourselves. Threads began to build and we started coming closer to each other. Next day was the day when we had to move to LUMS finally. We only had opening ceremony but more importantly, the accommodation was to be done the next day. Before that a good night’s sleep, or may be a fidgety sleep filled with plans of what to do when LUMUN IX actually starts. Oh, well. We slept J