Karachi – My Experience

Kamil Orłowski, a Polish intern in Karachi writes about his pleasant maiden interaction with a local Karachi’ite. A special thanks to Ms. Neha Irfan, for delivering this content to our team.

“Are you from America?”, a stranger asked me at Frere Hall in Karachi. “You look American, you have to be from America!”, he added. That was the beginning of a long conversation between one of Karachi’s inhabitants and a Polish guy in Saddar, the heart of Karachi.

In the first few moments, we resolved his doubts regarding my origin. After that, we started talking about our countries. My new friend was interested in our lives in Poland. Of course, Pakistan is diametrically different from Poland. Therefore, we both had something to learn.

We started talking about the people; our distinct approach to life, yet similar perspectives of the world. We mentioned our discrete facial features, skin color and clothes. Karachi projects great diversity in terms of fashion. He could not believe that people in Poland do not wear traditional outfits. We moved on to weather, which in Pakistan, is ten degrees more than in Poland during the summer. In winter, we have temperatures as low as minus twenty degrees in Poland and snow is a usual thing. Trust me, there’s a lot of snow. We spoke about transport too; it is inconceivable in Poland to move on the street like I have been doing in Karachi. My stranger friend from Karachi laughed and commented, “We can manage it despite the serious traffic.” Last but not the least: food, the best topic. Maybe not during Ramadan, but everyone loves to eat! For me, Pakistani food is spicy. However, it is just the right level of spicy, which brings more pleasure than discomfort.

Soon, we were discussing the politics and problems in our societies. It wasn’t actually an enjoyable subject, because it was filled with difficult issues. Yet, the fact remains that these issues are significant and concern both our countries. These topics included problems related to poverty, corruption and improper implementation of law. Each of these issues seems interconnected like a system of combined vessels. In a modern world, these problems are obviously a part of every country. Perhaps this is a natural phenomenon of the development of humanity or a consequence of the process of globalization?

To refrain from ending my article in a pessimistic tone, I wish to write something more sanguine. At the end of our conversation, we expressed hope to see a ‘better tomorrow’ for our countries and to witness a strengthened bond between Pakistan and Poland in the near future (who knows what may happen, eh?). It is a pleasure to assert that after my first conversation with a non-AIESEC Pakistani citizen, I felt satisfied. Before my arrival I was not sure how the locals would treat me. I have to admit; I was afraid, and my friends also tried to convince me to choose another country. I was glad to realize that my fears were baseless, as the people who I have met here are friendly and curious about the world. Perhaps it is too early to say it, but people from Wroclaw (Poland) and Karachi are similar, except their skin color, of course. Through this interesting conversation, I went a step further in exploring the city of lights. I believe it was a good start to my wonderful adventure in Pakistan and I sure hope I get to meet more people who are ready for long, illuminating conversations.