Nasreen was recently mentioning to me that she had never been away from her mother from one night before she came to the US. They even sleep together at home, because there is one air-conditioned bedroom so everyone except her father sleeps there. I asked why she had applied for this program, because it was out of character for her to go so far from home, especially for such a long duration. She replied that she never thought she would get selected.
I was also asking when her school holidays usually occur, and somehow she ended up telling me that at home they usually have only three or four days of school each week due to political unrest, demonstrations and rioting. The teachers are forced to cram their usual teaching into much less time than is needed, due to frequent missed days. It was really the first time, after talking so much about the beauty of Karachi, the beaches and parks that they visit, that she shared the unrest and difficulties of life in Pakistan.
It must be incredibly strange to live in a place that is so unpolluted, quiet, never has a single riot or political demonstration, where your parents never pay one bribe, and where it is so COLD.
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