Man, how did you get her?

14-12-04

We went back to the market today. We saw lots and lots of cupra, chappals, and jewies. Another uni approached Appa and was dressed as a woman. He kept calling her “Mona Lisa,” and saying, “Mona Lisa, don’t break my heart!”

When we returned, our suitcase had arrived. We wrapped all the gifts and gave them to the children. They were so excited about the barbies and remote control air planes. We all sat out on the patio and the sky was so blue and the weather so perfect. The overall atmosphere and sense of family was tremendous.

One observation that sticks out is last night’s meeting with N’s childhood friend. N was asking his friend how he had come to be married with his wife. Because the way marriages are traditionally arranged, or at least involve the family input, the question became, “How did you get her?” His friend’s reply was, “She is a good friend of my sister.” There was nothing wrong with this response. It was just strange to hear about this girl as if she wasn’t sitting right there and as if the marriage were a business transaction.

And, this morning the birds were chirping so loudly, N and I commented that we don’t normally hear such loud birds back home. Then I realized how strange it is to have such an abundance of birds in such a major metropolitan area (Karachi). The difference could be that American neighborhoods has employed methods of major clear-cutting and in Karachi, the city was built up around the nature, so some of the trees are very, very old and the birds are still plentiful? Who knows.