Where to begin?  While waiting for my flight to Islamabad, I met a nice woman from Manchester.  She was going to Pakistan to visit her family for the week.  She took off all of her jewelry before her trip so she wouldn’t be a target for robbery.  The flight was a quick three hours.  When I was stepping off the plane, you walk outside and get on a bus that takes you to baggage claim.  I was able to get off at the VIP baggage area!  Luke met me there with flowers in hand (first bouquet he’s ever given me).  I met two other crew members and someone from the government who took my passport and got it checked by “customs.”  We waited at least two hours for them to check the 12 boxes of equipment.  

Finally, we went outside the airport.  The first thing I see are people everywhere in white linen clothing - some women are wearing black skirts and tops with a burqua covering their hair and most of their face.  It seemed like everyone was staring at me.  But, through the dust and crazy drivers, we quickly walked to the car.  Khizer, the 2nd AC, drove us to the hotel.  On the expressway (highway), people WALK across it.  They just start WALKING across the expressway and expect cars to stop.  Along the shoulder, there was a kid (probably 10 years old) riding on a cart being pulled by a donkey.  I saw motorbikes carrying multiple people - even children and babies - with no helmets.  

When we arrived at the hotel, Luke showed me around.  I met Tom, the director, and his family.  He brought me up to speed on the production, which is very disorganized.  Bottom line is the film will not get done unless production starts communicating with the crew.  I’ve been here three days already and we still haven’t had a meeting.  

Anyway, that first night, Luke and I were invited to a party the Executive Producer was having - it’s was 60s/70s theme.  There were guards at the party with big guns - AK-47s? - and two large gates we had to go through to enter.  Once inside the gates, there were exotic plants and trees, garden lights, buffet tables of food, people gathered around a huge pool, a dance floor and a bar.  There were a lot of “white” people there.  I met a woman from Berkeley, a man from Canada, a guy from San Diego…and lots of other people.  The people I talked to are there for different reasons - working for the US Embassy, planning events, working with people in sociology, etc.  Fastrak - we mingled, we ate some food (I kept it simple and didn’t eat anything spicy), we mingled more, danced latin with someone, and left.  

In the car on the way home, a man, with a large gun, accompanied us.  I was glad he was with us that late - after 1:30A - because it made me feel a *little* safer.  Surprisingly, I’ve felt pretty calm since arriving here.  Stressed about the production, but calm otherwise.  There’s so much more to write about, but that’s it for now.

b.e.d.