I’m almost gone.

I love you, but I think I need to see other people.

Brown people, specifically.  In just about 6 hours I’ll be sitting on a plane beginning my 26 hour journey to Karachi, Pakistan.  Don’t feel too sorry for me though, I’m not flying coach.  And I’m flying alone for the trip there.  Upon arrival I’ll be with my sisters, her three kids under 10, an armed guard, my dad, his wife, and a coach driver for 14 days.  I will most certainly not be getting any alone time, and I’m not in the habit of wandering alone on the streets of a country where Daniel Pearl got kidnapped.  So I’m looking forward to some time by myself.

I’ve been packing all week, and making lists in my head of what I want to bring back for a month.  I’m not going to be back in Pakistan for a long time, so I’m pretty conscious of my last opportunity to see people and places on this trip.  Prime on the list is the Khyber Pass, which has long been the only way to get between Pakistan and Afghanistan unless you happen to have a friendly Pashto guide.  When I come home, I’ll be one of the few people you’ve ever met who’s ever been to Afghanistan, even if it’s only for an hour.

I’m going to a Muslim country, so in my last 12 hours I hung out with friends, watched some lascivious television, drank a bottle of wine, ate some bacon.  I wanted to smoke a cigar but never really got the chance.   I could smoke one in Pakistan, but my father’s an oncologist, and I don’t really need to push his buttons.

If I get wifi anytime soon, I’ll post my diaries here and my photos to flickr.  Otherwise you’ll have to wait for my return.