The Arrival

Hello everyone!

Well, let us start with apologies. I have compiled this email list out of all my archived addresses over the years: hotmail, university, scraps of paper, business cards, papyrus. So, to all of you whom I have not spoken to in years, I am truly sorry. But, what can I say? Life is like that sometimes. Also, if this message reaches anyone, who doesn't know me at all... well, I apologize for that as well, but I assure you, I'm a nice guy.

The reason I write, is that, as some of you know, I am currently residing in Karachi, Pakistan with the family of my friend Sophie Malik from Queen's.
Everyone is yelling at me, telling me that I must write out my travel experiences, but I have received such missives from other globe-trotters, and know how tedious they can sometimes be. I will attempt to make mine as interesting as I can, but if you would prefer not to receive them, please let me know.

So I have been here just over a week, and all of my experiences are of the regular culture shock genre. When I arrived, I was plagued with a Canadian cold that I came down with the day I left (big kick in the teeth to Steve D. for that one). So, jet lagged, sinus and ear pressure plagued, it was difficult to take it all in. Its amazing though that after only a week, many things have already become par for the course for me.

The first thing that struck me was the traffic. And its not even that its a huge amount of traffic. I was expecting throngs of people, coursing through the streets like water, but that does not seem to be the case. Perhaps in India, I'll let you know. There are certainly people everywhere, it is, afterall, a city of 15 million. Definitely more than I was used to, having spent the summer in small town New Brunswick. Traffic is immediately difficult for me to get my head around since everyone drives on the other side of the road, courtesy of British Imperialism. That I could handle, but you must also imagine driving with absolutely no rules of the road or system whatsoever. Picture a three lane highway that doesn't necessarily have any lines. If the lanes are divided, it isn't of much consequence because if you
car can fit through, than it it a lane for you. At first I was in shock and awe of the living animal that was the traffic. Everyone honks, not so much in anger, but to indicate their presence. This leads to a terrible din, which is only slightly better at night, when everyone flashes their lights. Power is irregular, so street lights often leave main roads in darkness. Amongst all the thousands of Toyota's and
Honda's are the regular amount of donkeys, camels, and horses. They move along just like any other vehicle, and generally get in everyone's way. Pedestrians are a barely tolerated nuisance. No one tries to hit them, but no one slows down either.
Drivers often seem to swerve toward pedestrians, as if to see how close they can come and say, "There, you see how foolish you are to try and cross the road?"

Another thing that struck me, coming from the lush greens of home, was the arid, dusty brownness of everything. Even the people seem to have layers of dust on them. You are obviously in a huge city, but as you drive though, some areas look like crumbling ruins, others like modern office towers. Palm trees line most streets, and add a little bit of green. Otherwise, all of the colour is up to the people, and they do a good job of it. Markets line the side streets offering traditional wares, as well as the bright red hope of Coca Cola. The city busses are owned independantly, and each driver seems to take pride in decorating his vehicle. They are like gypsy caravans, huge spewing magic carpets that transport people
around the city. The busses are smaller than our transit, looking more like those old
Campers and Winnebegos. They are a million colours, with silver and gold, ribbons, and structural add-ons. They have more chrome than a redneck pick-up truck polished for the Calgary Stampede. Given that there are thousands of them, it really adds to the flavour of the streets.

After arriving home from the airport I threw my International Driver's Licence in my drawer and said, well, that's where that's going to stay. But now, after only a week, I feel confident that I could drive if necessity governed. At least, I could in the neighbourhoods I know. The key is, you see, to drive in the total expectation that anyone could do anything at any time. Expect everything and the unexpected never happens. Much like driving in Montreal. Nevertheless, the driver's licence will stay in my desk drawer for some time I'm sure. Well, what I think I'll do is highlight each email around one particular topic. I don't want them to run on too long with I did this and I did that.

So I'll see if I can't put together little cultural observations.
Today's topic was traffic. Did you catch that? Perhaps you were looking the wrong way... I do it all the time.

Love to you all,

Dave