After the awards ceremony Ammar & I went to a cafe where his cousin & a few friends met us. We smoked sheesha, ate, and had "mocktails"- alcohol is banned in the country. I heard very differing perpectives on local & global politics from Pakistanis who each had their own take on the world. None of them seemed particular fanatic about Islam, and one even said that the Q'uran does not prohibit drinking (though the law does), but going to Mosque to pray while drunk violates the law of Islam. Interesting. Maybe that's how Musharraf himself justifies his love for alcohol.
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This is day 3, yesterday's (see above) did not post for some reason or another.
Today I went to meet with WWF- Pakistan. A young intern, Jawaria, will serve as an interpreter for my interviews with any who don't speak English. She has vibrant green eyes, not often seen here (I haven't ascertained whether they are contact lenses or not) and is a few years older than me. She graduated with a degree in Enviromental Science at a university in Beruit. Her boss, Hammad, is the Director of Freshwater & Toxins at WWF (which oddly is the acronym for World Wide Fund for Nature, not World Wildlife Fund as in the US, but they ARE the same org- panda & all) gave me tons of direction for the research project, as well as reports to read up on background info & contacts of potential interviewees. Hammad offered to give me a desk at the WWF office to do my work while in Lahore, & is even having me fill out an internship form to make things official. =) He is a very pleasant fellow to be around & I am happy to be working with him. Oh! He also, it turns out, was on the same flight as me from Delhi to Lahore a few days ago. I didn't notice him, but apparently I stuck out like a sore thumb in the airport & on the plane, so he couldn't have missed me.
Which reminds me.. I met a guy in the airport who is from LA & is a lawyer & photographer. He did a work of art, which some call a coffee table book, a compilation of photos he took in Vietnam. After selling 5000 copies he decided to do another one, this time in Kashmir. Scott planned on taking photos on the Indian side of Kashmir, but he was contacted by the Consulate General of Pakistan who requested that he come to the Pakistani side as well. So, they gave him a budget of $10,000 to come & take photos. The guy sorted of adopted me as his daughter at the airport & we talked on the flight. Once we arrived, government people were waiting to greet him & sped both of us through the immigration & customs processes. They also got my giant, heavy bag (mostly from books & equipment) for me- sweet! Once I saw Ammar waiting for me & we were about leave, these guys surrounded us & waned to know who Ammar was & where he was taking me. We had to explain that I was with him all along & that neither they, nor Scott were responsible for me. However, the govt is giving Scott a paid visit to Wagah to watch the Closing of the Border Ceremony (about 35 minutes from Lahore), and he has invited Ammar & I to join. So tomorrow evening after Ammar gets out of school (where he teaches) & I finish working at WWF for the day, we'll meet him at the Holiday Inn where the govt people will drive us to Wagah, then we'll have dinner. This guy actually had tea with the former president of Pakistan today- he's got all kinds of clout & connections. And he said he's got my back if I ever need a lawyer. Too bad I didn't know him that time I was wrongly thrown in jail for a night..
After discussing the project with Hammad & Jawaria, Jawaria invited me to stay at the office for a special lunch, in celebration of the birthday of one of her colleagues. Although I have seen a ton of McDonalds & Pizza Hut franchises in both India & here & Pakistan, among others, & was not surprised by their presence, it felt strange eating Pizza Hut pizza here, especially at the WWF- an org working on several fronts involving sustainability, conservation, improving the lives of the poor, and supporting the local economy. But here lies one more contradiction, a plentiful phenomenon present in every society. Many of the WWF interns/employees were very welcoming, but a few young ladies, older than me by a few years at least, acted as 12 year olds, staring with smirks on their faces & occasionally giggling. I hope they don't think I'm too much of a spectacle for them to complete their work as I continue coming into the office for reading materials & such.
I spent some time talking to Ammar's parents today, who said I should call them Auntie & Uncle, & they'll refer to me as Beti (daughter). Auntie wants to take me to get some lighter local clothes, because the material of the silwar camis I have is too thick for this heat. Even though the monsoons have come early, no doubt as a result of climate change (Ram, a local & Maymester guide we had in India, said he had never in his life seen rains at this time of year), it is still unbearably hot. It even gets up to 44 C.
On another note, Ammar still hasn't told his parents his American name is Simon.
The house in which I'm residing is in an area called the Defence Housing Authority, a really nice neighborhood. It's a new thing for me, being waited on by the cook & the servant, but they are pleasant people & have already taught me a few Urdu words, though they don't speak much English. Today at breakfast I asked the servant woman (her name escapes me), "Kya ye?" as I held up the fork. In a matter of minutes she taught me the names of everything on the table. I learned canta (fork), cheeni (sugar), makhan (butter), churi (knife), & chamach (spoon) and a few others which my memory has failed to retain. Tomorrow I'll try to use these words & pick up a few more.
On this note, I will end this blog posting. Tomorrow awaits us all.
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