Pakistan: Thoughts before I go

When I was eighteen, I attended fashion school in Los Angeles. One of my favorite professors was a middle-aged ex-hippy who had worked in QC (Quality Control) for a large company before retiring to teach at our college. In patternmaking class, she would often entertain us with stories of her QC days. Her company produced cheap T-shirts for large retailers, and she was sent all over the world to inspect the factories they hired to churn out product for them.

One day the question came up as to the best and worst places she had traveled for business. 

Her favorite: Dubai. Her least favorite: Karachi. 

The memory of this day emerged two weeks before I left for Dubai and Karachi. 

In some kind of weird prophecy, I will be visiting the best and worst of my former professor’s QC days. Oh what would I tell her if we were still in contact to this day….

Honestly, Dubai has been on my bucket list since before I even had a bucket list. When I began to get jaded with my job in fashion, I spent some time at the office day-dreaming of where I would go I had the guts to quit my job and travel the world. I decided to make a small list and cost it out. Dubai was at the top of that list. For some reason or another I had in me the wild desire to live luxuriously for only a week in this desert oasis. I still have a copy of my notes from those day-dreaming days, and I had priced my airfare at $1,400, which was exactly what I paid for my ticket this year. 
Now that is a prophecy.

On the other hand, Pakistan, I must admit, was never on my bucket list. Even when I extended my list to include practically every country in the world, Pakistan just didn’t make the cut. Not surprising, considering what the media portrays here in the states. 
However, when I was invited to a wedding in Hyderabad, Pakistan, I jumped at the opportunity to attend. 

Why?

Because I’m crazy with wanderlust.

Because I want to test my limits. I want to go so far out of my comfort zone that the zone no longer exists. I want to question my judgment. I want other people to question my judgment. 

And then I want to surprise them, impress them, inspire them.
No judgments, no fear.