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:
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.
There's a clear view from our rooftop terrace of Karachi (which is remarkably flat):
… and we regularly eat together and hang out on the rooftop. It's a pretty chilled, fun atmosphere to come home to.
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:
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!
