Nostalgia
by MW Cook
A co-worker was asking me about Pakistan the other day. She was very excited as I talked about the country, which was nice because most people just get weirded out when I explain how much fun it is to ride on top of buses and drink questionable water. She visited us and Ruth and I showed her some of the wild videos of Pakistan that my buddy Cuthill has posted on the internet.
It was a little difficult to watch them.
I had no idea how much I missed that country. As I saw scenes of my old apartment and of travelling on the roofs of buses and drinking tea in dirty chai shops, I felt something reach out inside.
Have you ever longed for something without really knowing why you wanted it? I mean, seriously, what is so attractive about Pakistan? It’s dirty, insanely hot and full of all sorts of inconveniences. I could never get coffee, bacon or donuts. It was hard to find friends with similar interests. And it was so hot that I could have boiled a full goat in the sweat I produced in a day. Why do I miss Pakistan so much?
In Pakistan people would often ask me why I liked Pakistan so much. Urdu has a very nice phrase that captures how I feel: dil lagya. The heart has stuck.
My relationship with Pakistan smacks of a bollywood romance. I can give few reasons for my love, but it’s there anyway. My heart has stuck, and I doubt I’ll be able to instick it. Even as I sit here in my comfortable apartment, with my decent job, drinking a wonderful coffee while chatting with like-minded friends, there is still a pull. Like a call from a distant lover.
Am I bring melodramatic? Maybe.
Watch these videos and feel the melodrama with me:
This is second-hand unless you’re reading it at http://www.theilliteratescribe.com
Matt W Cook 