Islamabad - first part

November - December 07

A lot of time has passed, I have learnt something here … I was slightly wrong with my statement that I love Pakistan, now I know, I love Chitral … besides the troubles there, the life in the Kalash to valleys was paradise. Here in Islamabad, oh well, I am rather not the negative type, but there is not a lot of nice things to tell, except the few souls which give me the necessary energy not to just catch an aircraft.
The culture in Islamabad – well, what am I talking… there is no culture in Islamabad. The better part acts as if the western way of life is the one to be followed, everything is so western and "civilized" and is miraculous, everything is available … Nonsense. They have forgotten their own old culture or want to forget it and thus it seems, as if they float somewhere in midair, without roots and, nevertheless, not yet reached. Everything available, Islamabad the western city? One maybe finds a lot here, but only after searching 1000 shops and then with a lot of luck one might somewhere find what he/she was looking for… However, there is not guarantee and only because whipped cream was once in a shop it doesn’t mean it will be there the next day again…
The costs for everything are at least twice as high as elsewhere and especially if the vendor sees a “white face” as they call it, the wanted item will suddenly be astronomically costly. Those white people all have so much money here… haha, I don’t belong to those… I neither work for a western company or NGO but just for a Pakistani organization. It’s fine for me, otherwise I wouldn’t have my visa… My boss has helped me a lot after all problems in Chitral, but slowly I believe that he exaggerates a little concerning his efforts, so that I work for him without complaining about bad accommodation, food and working hours – oh and bad salary of course.
For a while everything went well. For the week-ends I mostly went to Peshawar to see Col Khushwaqt whom I had already visited in Mastuj and who himself is now in the warm South for winter. Sitting in his nice garden with him, enjoying the relaxing feeling and calmness gave me the peace and energy that I missed so much in Islamabad.
In Islamabad the best hours where on Adil’s stud. In the beginning it was quite bad, I knew nobody and sat either in the office or in my room - that is exactly next to the office, accessible even through the toilet. Haha Sometimes I think that if I couldn’t go to Chitral anymore or just with troubles, then I don’t wanna remain in Pakistan. Chitral is the reason why I love Pakistan.

My room is not really the best here, but I have lived in worse lodgings. I have a string bed, a cupboard, a bookshelf, an armchair and a small table. Well, at least my room. I am happy that I have my own key and noone needs to be bothered when I leave the house or come back. The room is on the lower floor of my boss’s house, just beside the office. There is no access door to his private house but one has to get on the street, round the block and from to the front in the house. For 4 days I even had TV, until the new cook complained that he would quit if there is no TV for him, so I give him mine. First I thought we could share it, it should be on an accessible place for both as the cable was long enough to move it from one room to the other, but when I meet friends for some days out of Islamabad I found the TV gone forever from my room. Well, TV has never been my favorite time pass anyway… but I miss to sit on the porch like in the Kalash valley, with clear view on the river from which I also hear the relaxing sound of constant flow during the nights, beautiful nature, life as it used to be, playing card with friends in the evenings or listening to the rhythm of sitar and songs.

In the beginning I didn’t even have hot water here; I had to go up to my boss’s place, but later the boiler started its duty… The walls are constantly humid and all pieces of furniture grow fungus and smell moldy. My mum had given me the nice suggestion, to wash it with alcohol, but very strong one… well… it’s the wrong country for that. Spirit is rare to find and if no one would give it away for cleaning… Then after long long time someone told me that medical spirit was available in the chemist's shops, which I purchased for less than a dollar. No notion whether it has helped, I do not see the pieces of furniture now any more …, however, let’s narrate it step by step. Every day I have visitors - from mongoose, cats, to frogs, centipedes, gigantic grasshoppers, pigeons and an army of insects - the room is not really on the ground floor, rather a little lower even and especially after rainfall those poor creatures search shelter under my wings.
Once a poor gecko had hidden in a door frame - unfortunately, I didn’t see it and closed the door … One day later I had to strip its remains off like a plastic skin.
My boss believes, that because of living with the Kalash for more than a year, I have to feel like paradise here with all the facilities… but for me it is the other way around. I had loved the Kalash and the way they live so peacefully and in harmony with nature. Here in the capital - if I must be here – at least I want to have it a little more comfort. It had taken me quite a while to talk to my boss about that; I am fairly stupid in that behalf. I hate to ask someone for things when he/she had already facilitated me to a certain extend. My friends here tell me constantly that no other Westerner would have spent even a day in that room for working and living purpose but haughtily and confidently (as Europeans are , ha-ha) expected and asked for something else...