From the majestic concrete jungle of Dubai to an unpaved village of Pakistan

           

           We have been slow to stay on top of our blogging efforts.  Like all routines, it is sometimes challenging to get started and maintain consistency on a continual basis. So here is a little review from our first week during our travels in Asia. 

Our plane flight from San Francisco to Dubai was a mere 15 ½ hour adventure as we saw the sun set and rise in a sporadic 45 minute period of time while we were flying somewhere over Greenland, between the hours of 10:30 and 11:30 p.m. West Coast time. 

Dubai was a whirlwind of colossal and grand architecture, supreme urban planning, out-of-this-world stores with $5,000 chocolate cakes, $3,000 handbags, 8 foot sharks living in the largest indoor aquarium in the world, and of course the famed “Ski Dubai” indoor mountain.  Different?  Yes, indeed.  Cool to visit, very much so.  Hot?  My oh my, yes it was, especially coming from “summer” in San Francisco.  We spent two nights in Dubai and were off to Pakistan.

We have been here in Pakistan for exactly a week now.  Since the moment we walked off the plane we have been greeted with smiles, warmth, and an unwavering appreciation for physically being in Pakistan, and showing an interest in helping support the students and teachers of Pakistan.  It is a humbling feeling to meet people you do not know, and constantly be told, “Thank you so much for coming to help.  Taking the time out of your life to be here means so much to me, and to all the people of Pakistan.”  This are simple words, and a simple message, one that is hard to really understand the full weight of when thinking about it in the context of living in the U.S.  There is so much we take for granted every day as Americans, so much privilege, so many comforts that are inherently part of our daily lives.  However, as many people know, feel, and often experience when traveling in places far from home, our eyes can be opened very wide, sometimes quite quickly.  

During our first couple of days in Karachi we had an opportunity to meet two political and economic advisors from the U.S. Consulate.  One of them was named Daniel, went by Dan, and professed to have one time in his life been a Danny, but now has grown out of it…These men were both thrilled and very curious to learn about the work we will be doing while out here.  Later that evening we had the opportunity to see two of India’s best-known musicians, Alka Yagnik and Kumar Sanu perform in front of 4,000 people at an outdoor venue in downtown Karachi. 

After getting a bit acclimated to Pakistani food, weather, and comforts of the city life, we embarked on an epic car drive deep into the Sindh Province to the town of Mirpukhas.  What was supposed to be a 4 hour drive turned into an 8 hour adventure fueled by unbelievably awful and unusually chaotic traffic jams, and a foreverly memorable side of the road “karahi dhaba”, a roadside off the grid butcher shop where we had dinner, commonly used and enjoyed by truck drivers.  Sanitation there was not.  Street dogs there were plenty.   Yes, there was a man sitting on a pillow rolling out balls of naan (flat bread) dough and throwing them into a furiously  hot underground oven.  Yes, there was the shop owner sitting on a tree stump butchering freshly skinned goats and chickens with his machete.  Yes, we ate our meal out of 500 degree cast iron woks, and it was a deliciously memorable experience. 

Morning Assembly at school!!

Monday morning we visited two schools in Mirpukhas, both being developed under the leadership of the FI Foundation.  The moment we stepped onto the school grounds, it was clear to both of us we were entering schools similar in physical appearance to ones we have seen on television, in National Geographic, and through other forms of media.  However, although the facilities are minimal, these students share the same inherent qualities many children all throughout the world have.  They were curious as to who we were.  They were incredibly respectful, shy to make eye contact and show their smile at first, though quick to warm up to us with just the slightest prompt and engagement of curiosity from us.  We were able to visit every classroom in each school, and had a wonderful experience teaching an elementary school class.  There are many subtle differences we noticed in the way students act and behave in this part of the world.  We left both of the schools feeling incredibly energized, motivated, and eager to help support these students.  It was intense to be in such a foreign environment being treated with the utmost respect and appreciation by students and teachers alike. 

Skyline in Dubai

Marisa cruising the Dubai Subway with two of her past students, Alisha and Mishal.

"Dubai Summer Fun and More" - Something about this seems out of place.... 

Not your typical "skiing" in the Sierras image.

Ski Dubai Snow Park.  Not something one would expect to find in the desert, let alone in the world's largest indoor mall. 

Stretching exercises in the ocean during sunset in Dubai. 

The marina in Dubai. 

What a lovely photo.

Look for this on the cover of the August, 2012 GQ cover. 

Burj Kalifa in Dubai, the tallest building in the world. 

Tuk tuks are a way of life all throughout Asia.  

"Little Hearts Grammar School".  There was something very strange, and yet incredibly awesome about this banner hanging over an elementary school we drove by on our way from Karachi to Mirpukhas.  

A toll plaza on the way to Mirpukhas.

What if SF Muni allowed people to sit on the top of the buses like in this photo???  It's much more efficient to travel this way....

Danny, looking good in his top siders and clean white T.  

Smoking on the job is not totally sanitary....however when goat and chicken carcases are hanging over the cash register, not too many rules apply. 

A serious oven set up.

Feasting with the family!

Truck drivers in Pakistan take their truck decorations very seriously.

We have so much more to share about our first couple of days at the schools here in Mirpukhas.  Unfortunately, just as I was warming up on giving a more detailed account of our travels, it is far past our bedtimes and blog time is done for now.  We plan to maintain a more consistent updating routine, and look forward to continue to share about this awesome experience.  Although the prime minister was ousted today, onward and upward our adventure continues.