When I arrived, I was very excited. The plane ride was very long. We went from Montreal to Frankfurt, Germany – then stopped again in Bahrain (where we slept overnight), then caught another plane to Karachi. Karachi is the largest city in Pakistan and one of the largest in the world. That fact was obvious when we got into the airport. There was barely any room to move as people jostled and pushed their way around the airport. It was amazing seeing so many people.

I thought it was really cool how the police that were guarding the airport were armed with all kinds of grenades and carried AK-47s. I always knew that the army had a huge influence in Pakistan, but I didn’t know they were so visible in every day life. In Canada, seeing a soldier walking down the street is a rarity. In Pakistan, there’s at least one on every block.

I don’t know why but within the first two days of my stay in Pakistan, I was feeling really homesick. I’m not sure what it was – probably my family (whom I don’t really get along with on my mom’s side) – but it definitely wasn’t the country. I thought it was amazing. I never felt so spiritually attached to a place than there. I knew by being there that this is my homeland. My blood and the soil seemed to be kindred entities.

When I went to my first Friday prayer in Pakistan, I was absolutely stunned. There was a mosque on every corner and they weren’t like the dinky little makeshift mosques that we have here in Montreal. They all have marble floors and beautiful minarets. Palm trees line the courtyards of the mosques and everyone is so serene being there. I was very happy being there. It didn’t seem like it was a chore like it sometimes feels when I’m here in Montreal – I genuinely wanted to be there.

Another interesting story about my Karachi trip was one time when I went to Pizza Hut. It was the only Pizza Hut in Karachi and it had just recently opened. The food was great, tasted like the pizza here. The interesting part of this story, though, is what happened the week after. We were watching the news and apparently someone threw a Molotov cocktail into the restaurant and burnt it down. My family found it somewhat funny, as did I – but at the same time it was shocking to think that we were there only several days ago.

I spent a lot of my time there moping around, though. I wasn’t having a good time because it seemed like no one was ina  good mood and we were stuck at home often. I really wanted to see the city and country more, but I guess it was just a bad time. There were a few deaths in the extended family during my stay so we had to attend some funerals – which didn’t really liven anyone’s mood.

I’m hoping I go next time with my dad’s side of the family who are much more fun and are spread out throughout Pakistan. It should be quite an adventure.