Hi. My name is Sophia and I’m an
alco-
Just kidding
Hi. My name is Sophia and I am embarking on a journey. For my
third and final trimester at BASIS Scottsdale, I will be working on my senior
project. In three short weeks, I will be packing my suitcases with traditional shalwaar
kameez-es (Pakistani clothes that look like this), hopping on a
three-stop flight, and entering—as Aladdin had said—"a
whole new world". I’ll leave behind my eighteen years of American-ness to fully
immerse myself in my parent’s home country: Pakistan.
My project is this:
1) Go to Pakistan
2) Collect folktale stories from people I meet
3) Put those stories in a book
4) and done
5) God, I really wish it was that easy
But in all seriousness, that basically is my project. As a Pakistani American, I have found it extremely difficult to find any sort information regarding the citizens in Pakistan out of the realms of MSNBC or CBS. There just hasn't been any well known exposure on such a developing country. Furthermore, the news I am given is almost never good and almost always generalized. I want to expose the other side of Pakistan--I want to get to know it and I want my friends in America to know it too. So I write this anthology, to collect and share stories from an area we don't know much of anything about.
I will be studying and interning at the University of Punjab, gathering information and working on the anthology with my supervisor. My mentor, the chairman of the History and Pakistan Studies department, will be overseeing my internship and aiding me with the development of this book. More information can be found in my formal proposal linked here.
I really am doing this. This is actually happening! It's a bit hard to believe that, come mid-February, I won't be in this room, on this bed, eating this bowl of cereal anymore. I'll be in my customary Pakistani clothes that my mother always insisted me to wear, hauling some heavy weighted suitcases into checking, saying goodbye to this desert and hello to another.
so...
"Hello"
so...
"Hello"
How exciting?! I admire your courage to go forth and collect Pakistan's tales of ol'. Your ancestors would be so proud!
ReplyDeleteThis is really exciting! I look forward to hearing the stories you have to tell :)
ReplyDeleteThis was a good read, and it's great that you gave the reader a nice overview of your project. I know a lot more about your project now and it sounds really interesting. I just wish I knew what "shalwaar kameez-es" is, and the formatting on your project proposal could be improved to make it more readable. Overall, I liked this post though!
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of culture does Pakistan have? I know it was once part of India, but has the dominance of Islam, and its proximity to the Middle East, changed the culture into a hybrid? I really hope you can do this SRP, and would love to hear the results.
ReplyDeleteI would say it is. A lot of Pakistan is just mix between Indian and Islamic cultures.
DeleteThis seems so fun! I hope your journey goes well!
ReplyDeleteSophia,
ReplyDeleteWhat an incredible project! What sparked the idea for this project? Also, how did you get the idea to travel to Pakistan and what did your parents originally think of it? Most school projects don't usually take you through multiple time zones and continents. Can't wait to see how your trip goes!
Hannah
Lutheran High School, Parker CO
Hi Hannah!
DeleteMost people aren't really aware of the Pakistani culture, and I really just want to open up a new and rich community to new groups of people. I find that discovering and learning about new cultures decreases the chance to form stereotypes, which is what I hope to achieve with this project.
Thanks for popping by!