Yesterday, I experienced my first day in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar, Pakistan. FINALLY! Finally, I got a chance to visit my beautiful Pakhtun Brothers and Sisters …which is the most important part of my purpose of doing fieldwork in the Northern provinces of Pakistan. Pakhtuns are beautiful, hospitable, and warm, complete opposite of the negative image portrayed in the mainstream West.        I began my morning by returning to the very guest house I stayed in last year and having some chai as well as lunch. Some of the workers there recognized me and they welcomed me positively. They also taught me a lovely Pashto phrase, “Dera Dera Mannana”.…

The weekend of American Thanksgiving, I spent some time in Lahore and what a refreshing experience it was. I had some interviews and meetings to tend to in Lahore, and the CEO of the Aga Khan Foundation recommended I do a tour of the work that the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, (part of the Aga Khan network in general), are doing in Lahore to restore monuments, and ultimately to convene communities and improve the economy. I can tell that Lahore is a city designed for old romantics, for lovers, for friendships, for artists/creatives, for the spiritual, for philosophers, writers and poets, …… for dreamers. In just the 3 nights…

“Bara Rabial Awal,” the birth of the Prophet Muhamad, is celebrated in many ways around Pakistan and other Muslim majority countries. It is also a special month of worship, and many Muslims plan Milaads and other celebrations. Over the past few nights, parts of Islamabad and the Red Zone have been lit up with decorative lights. Last night I took a walk for the first time in the evening to check out the government buildings around Constitution Avenue. Even my place of residence, the Parliament Lodges was nicely decorated with lights.   The Parliament Lodges and the Moon  The Parliament House I was informed that this is the tradition, and a…

As I finished off my first month in Islamabad, my second month began with some exciting and interesting developments. On Thursday, I returned to the World Bank and interviewed another individual directly related to a project of my interest. It was initially difficult for me to take some of the bad news about the development program I had been studying for several years, but regardless, it remains important to include as part of my research. Friday was a great way to end the week and start the new month of fieldwork. In the morning I was finally being able to meet a key contact I was hoping to meet here…

It has been a great end of my first month of fieldwork and start to my 5th week in Islamabad. I can feel that I have accomplished a great deal so far since I arrived in Islamabad precisely a month ago. As I make plans for traveling to Lahore and Peshawar, my hope is that I will be closing this week with pretty strong and critical field interviews, and it looks that way so far. This week started out quite eventful, beginning yesterday by returning to the IRM complex, the place of my first interview in Islamabad, but this time to meet individuals from the The Institute of Rural Management…

I am a little behind on my posts. Sometimes I get so exhausted during the day, every interview and meeting requires a lot of prep and mental/emotional energy, but I feel I have a good grasp on my questions depending on each informant. Lately, the nerves have been emerging, as it is time now to make plans for Peshawar. And the decisions need to be made quickly. Every moment of our time in the “field” is critical. Though as I noted in a previous post, obviously we need time to relax and breathe, especially in order to reflect on what fits into the structure of our dissertation, and what may…

There have been some disappointments, but it is important to focus on the positives of this experience so far and just keep making progress. Though I do find it’s very difficult to keep the momentum and spirit up during my time here when some things don’t work out. It is especially challenging once you get used to some of the conditions here. It has been fun in some cases, and in some ways it has become taxing. Because fieldwork is a constant iterative process, where you it seems like finding people, contacting people, researching people, interviewing people, meeting people, and then taking notes, analyzing and transcribing the interviewing is a…