Joy ride

“It’s incredulous, but when my cousin came from Canada, the thing that excited him immensely about the traffic on our roads was the minibus. He kept insisting that we take him for a long ride on one. At the end of it he proclaimed that it had been the best experience of his life,” narrated my friend to a bewildered me.

Call me paranoid, but the thing I was dreading most about going to university was travelling in public transport (read minibuses). Yeah, those ultra-decorated, “sloganized” vehicles with piercing horns that were sure to deafen me before the month was over. That is, if I survived that month, since races between buses were supposed to be the order of the day.

I’ve lost count of all the times I had heard that when mounting a bus, be sure to recite all the duas, lest it turn out that you never got off. Four months later, I am still surviving. The level of bus paranoia has drastically reduced. And it is not because I ditched the bus, learnt how to drive and got my own car, all of this in these four months.

I have discovered that travelling in a bus is not half as bad as it is made out to be. In fact, it is an eye-opener to the reality that despite a lot of negative connotations to the phrase “Pakistani people” the same have a real spirit to help each other for whoever needs it. My experiences in buses are the epitome of this statement.

Firstly, there is the concerned attitude of the conductors. They always make the driver stop the bus whenever a lady wants to get off, irrespective of whether there is a bus stop or not. They also ensure that everyone who wants to get off have disembarked before they indicate to the driver to drive on. And, this was the most surprising part, if a lady has too much to carry, they help her with her bags till she disembarks (maybe to rush things, who knows? But I’ll be optimistic here).

If the children are too young, they help them get on and off the bus as well. Yes, there are those as well who whistle unnecessarily and shout out to the other vehicle drivers, but for the most part, it is tolerable.

Another prominent thing about travelling in the bus is the unspoken interaction between the women passengers. The ones who are sitting have no problem serving as human shelves for the luggage of those standing, be it a purse, a shopping bag bursting at the seams, or a paper bag full of samosas.

If a woman boards the bus with a child in tow, or a baby in her arms, one of the women who is sitting is sure to take charge of the children. The more polite ones always give up their seats for the elderly (unfortunately, yours truly is definitely guilty of never doing this commendable act).

Buses are also a place to get some light entertainment. There are numerous occasions when I have witnessed a lady in designer clothes, wearing sunglasses and carrying a designer bag, arguing with the conductor because he asked for another rupee, politely informing her that the fare had increased.

It’s a wonder how reluctant women are to pay another rupee when it’s very evident from their appearance that they can well-afford items that cost way more. The above absolutely does not indicate that the women who complain about travelling in a bus live in another world.

There are some problems: for instance, the most irritating one is the infiltration of men into the women’s compartment when their own section becomes devoid of places to stand. The conductor also sometimes takes undue advantage of an empty seat. Speaking of conductors, some are extremely rude when asking for the fare. Some make a huge fuss if asked to stop the bus when it is racing with another. But overall, I must say that things are not so bleak.

Travelling in a bus has its ups and downs, but we’ve mostly read about the downs, whereas the ups are there alright. My friend’s cousin’s statement is a living proof. It’s another thing he didn’t witness the women’s enclosure.

Preparing for O levels

EDUCATION is one of those areas which have an extensive presence on the Internet. And as the Net increases its technological advances, its searchable databases effectively cater to the needs to the students through a whole host of academic web sites designed to help exclusively in the areas of studies, revision and exam preparation. Whether a school, college or university student, the Internet is the place for students interested in some interactive and multimedia based learning.

No matter which year you are in or what subject you have, you will find an array of helpful matter and expertise of foreign experts on every subject at every level. But the question then arises: how to actually study the mass of information that is there?

Well, it seems the Internet has the solution to that as well by hosting web sites comprising of the general theme of “study skills.” And some of those study skills web sites to be used as reference, especially if you are an O level, AS level or

A level student.

A very comprehensive web site related to the above theme is http://www.howtostudy.org/. It contains a wealth of information on study skills. From the main page if you click on “Resources” it is going to take you to the page where study skills have been explained in detail from “Getting Ready” to “Taking In”, “Processing” and “Output.” Each of the sections has a list of online handouts that can easily be printed out. This web page also has a “Study Skills” section from where you can access the study skills on all the subjects.

http://www.samlearning .com is the web site to access when looking to practice exam style questions related to Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Mathematics, Business Studies, ICT and Geography. Full access to the web site is available only through subscription, but some questions are available for free for you to try out and see where you stand.

A very comprehensive revision guide is given at http://www.examstutor.com/resources/revision/revision_advice/. Though this web site is accessible only on paid subscription, still the section “common room” covers revision advice, exam preparation, revision tools, handling the exam stress, how to anticipate exam content and top 10 exam tips.

Whether you have just begun you’re A level course, or you are nearing your examination, http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/asguru/studyskills/intro.shtml section is the one which you cannot miss. This 18-page Skills’ Section, which you can either access sequentially or use the drop down box to jump to the topic most relevant to you, begins by highlighting how your AS course differs from GCSE and O levels.

You can use this section to understand what type of a learner you are, master the skills of research and time management, learn how to keep yourself motivated, how to structure your essays, how to revise and how to present your work. All in all, a very useful resource.

A one-stop web page for study skills is presented in the form of http://www.darvill.clara.net/revtips.htm, based on the webmaster’s experience with students. It is divided into two sections. In the first one you learn what type of learning works best for you. According to that, you then go on to study in detail how to go about your revision, and finally, how to handle your exams. The relatively graphic-free layout ensures that the page is printer friendly.

Another offer with loads of links related to every topic is available at http://www.lightspan. com. But you have to register for a 30-day trial first after which you will have to pay to continue using this web site. Not a very feasible option when you have so many other web sites that offer the same for free. But still, you can use the material here for 30 days and make the most out of it.

Apart from the subject-oriented sites, you can download the latest O level, AS Level and A level syllabi of all the subjects and specimen papers in PDF format from the http://www.cie.org.uk. This link also has a list of reference books for different subjects. To order past papers, specimen papers, syllabi, mark schemes, option booklets and examiners’ report in hard copy, you can download the forms and get the appropriate instructions from the http://www.britishcouncil.org.pk.

No doubt there are many more of such sites, some with probably more information. And with more young minds coming up with innovative ideas about the designing and content of such web sites, the possibilities of finding a good site, one that suits your needs regarding your subject, are endless. The likes of such links have not only provided a new form of reference material, but also has served to make learning a multimedia oriented experience.