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…