Monthly Archive for November, 2007

Random thoughts on living in Pakistan

Published on November 20, 2007 in General. 4 Comments Tags: , .

It's been three weeks now, and I'm still loving Pakistan, warts and all. It's 2am, and I'm not in the right frame of mind to write a long, rambling post, but I thought I'd jot down some observations from the past few weeks.

  • There are people who are outraged by what is happening in this country. There are those who are not happy, but accept the situation. Then there are those who are numb, who are indifferent to what is happening around them. I find this array of attitudes difficult to deal with.
  • Many people shy away from talking about the state of emergency and politics. Yet, some of the most amazing conversations I have had here have revolved around the emergency and the political situation. I crave to understand how Pakistan arrived at this situation, and why people feel the way they do.
  • It's incredibly easy to label actions as black and white, but the reality is closer to grey…
  • I have had incredible conversations about the role of women in Islam, which has opened my eyes.
  • I miss the hugs of my friends back home. Personal contact is not common here, and I miss the warmth a simple hug conveys.
  • The more I travel, the more I find myself acting like a chameleon. I tend to integrate quite easily, losing myself in the culture and forgetting about those back home. I'm not sure if this is good or bad.
  • We eat. A lot. Most activities revolve around food, which keeps me happy!
  • We lose power in the apartment ("MC mansion") every few days, and the water has run out a few times, but you get used to it.
  • I feel quite sheltered. I live in a posh area of Karachi (Zamzama) and can afford to buy nice food. I am surrounded by people from all corners of the globe, who are open and welcoming. I also live with locals who can speak Urdu. The summation of this is that I haven't had to push myself to meet new people, to speak to locals and learn the language, which is different to my previous experiences in travelling. I'm looking forward to my trip to India for that reason – pushing my own boundaries.

Some snapshots of the past week:

Face in the crowd
Michael
Sunday Markets
Saaim
Zafirah

Two weeks in Pakistan

Published on November 9, 2007 in General. 3 Comments Tags: , , .

I still have to pinch myself to make me realise that I'm in Pakistan. On Monday, I'll have been here for two weeks… and what an intense two weeks it's been!

I spent my first week at an AIESEC Pakistan national conference, with an amazing delegation from across Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. I had an amazing, challenging experience running and facilitating a number of sessions at conference, supported by the rest of the incredible MC and faci team:

MC and faci team

Conference was a bit of a double-whammy: being my first time facilitating sessions at a conference this size and communicating with people from another culture. I've learnt a great deal on how I communicate with others, and how I can better engage an audience in the process.

The past (just under a) week has been spent in the Karachi. I've settled into the "MC mansion" in Zamzamar, where the MC and interns live in two apartments.

AIESEC Pakistan MC Mansion

There's a clear view from our rooftop terrace of Karachi (which is remarkably flat):

View from the MC Mansion

… and we regularly eat together and hang out on the rooftop. It's a pretty chilled, fun atmosphere to come home to.

Eating on the roof

I've had many, many questions about the current state of emergency in Pakistan and the effect it's had on our lives. Pretty much… next to nothing. I've seen no protests (although there were supposed to be some today in Karachi), and life seems to carry on. Traffic flows, people work, eat and shop, trucks, cars and auto-rickshaws work their way along the roads. It appears to be purely a political situation, which, while depressing, hasn't put us in any danger. Most people don't seem concerned by it ("it's just another emergency"). I've yet to make up my mind on whether this is good or bad.

I started work in the AIESEC MC office on Tuesday. This week involved getting up to speed on the local reality of exchange in Pakistan and working out exactly what I'm going to do over the next 2 months. It's certainly going to be tough and tight to fit everything in. The best part of working in the office is the 3 cups of chai we get delivered routinely throughout the day:

Chai

Heaven. :)

More observations to come over the next few weeks, as I explore more of the country. In other news, I've been selected as a faci for IDC 2007 in Jamshedpur, India, so I'll be heading over there at the end of the month! I can't wait!