You Know You Attended School in Pakistan When…

Primary school is like the golden period everyone looks fondly back on; of course, all virtue of significant memory loss and the long stretch of time smoothing things over until only the pleasant moments remain. Schools in Pakistan and the enduring memories in our minds aren’t much different. You know you went to school here when…

1. You had a uniform, and it was hideous

2. Group projects were either pain or salvation

Depending on whether you were the one doing all the work or getting free credit.

3. Your backpack weighed a ton and you had to lug it around everywhere

Back problems, anyone?

4. There were no personal gadgets allowed

And you were too innocent to realize you could sneak them in.

5. The 15 minutes of break were glorious

6. Any class you were caught bunking was automatically P.E class

Got 3 P.E classes a day and no one suspected a thing.

                          7. Actual P.E class was torture                       

8. You knew a cheating expert

Who was wasting his genius in school really.

9. You had a mini-party every time the teacher didn’t turn up

10. And wound the clock a few minutes forward each time

Woah, how time flies when you’re learning!

11. The daily allowance didn’t hurt

12. The chowkidaar knew you by name

Still does.

13. You sometimes had the same teacher for more than a few subjects

14. And years

15. Until she was more like a mentor

16. Or nightmare

Depended on your luck, really.

17. The school mostly refused to listen to anything you had to say

18. Parent-teacher conferences meant a week of good behavior in preparation

And they still ganged up on you.

19. Everyone knew everything there was to know about everyone

20. The social scene was pretty tough to navigate

21. Every time something went wrong, you hoped for a day off

22. ..it rarely happened

Gotta complete that course somehow.

23. Any excuse to get out of class was gold

24. Any excuse to get out of doing homework was great too

“Bijli nahi thi.”

25. Welcomes and Farewells were a matter of life and death

26. And the friends you made will probably last you a lifetime

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