17 Feb

12:55 PM

We've just returned from The Forum, an upscale mall just outside of the housing scheme. I bought some turquoise earrings for Melissa; we go the the "authentic" market this afternoon, where there are all sorts of clothes and fabrics. We are presently setting out for the Sind Club, where we are to meet Sheryar for lunch. It's right next to the U.S. Embassy.

4:30 PM

We had lunch at the hoity-toity Sind Club, where Sheryar is a member. That was about as fun as a stuffy colonial business club can be. Then, we were driven to the clothing market. this is the place to get all sorts of t-shirts, jackets, pashmina shawls, trinkets, hookahs, you name it. There were boys on the street selling everything from orange juice to designer watched to sparrows. Shahnaz helped me negotiate for a few things. It was a pretty terse atmosphere when the bargaining was going on.

11:30 PM

Before dinner tonight at the Defence Authority Club, Nida took me to see a talk at The Second Floor, a nonprofit run hub of social activism and creativity, run by Peace Niche (kind of like The Working Centre meets The Artery). There was a discussion and Q&A about geoengineering - using huge technological advances to combat climate change. There was a lively discussion, and a fiery debate at one point. It was so cool to see how Pakistanis feel about these issues, and what topics were of primary concern. The anti-USA sentiment was alive and well here, as well as concern about the effects of globalization on local food production (among other things). These people speak my language.

(snippet: gallery)

Sam Nabi