Being a foreigner in Pakistan

Ksusha, Bogdan and I went out for a picnic in the park.

Having finished the dinner (and half of the chapter of my book) we saw a group of people, looking like a big middle-class Pakistani family, going straight to our place.

They shake hands with us one by one and then asked to make a video. After the video was made, one of the women put her palm up showing that she wants us to leave signature there. We had no chance to say no, and soon her entire palm was covered with ink.

One of the guys (he seems the eldest and the only one knowing English) started to talk to Bordan: where are you from, where you studied, and how he would go visit his country. Others listened adorably.

Ksusha giving autograth to a local woman

We smiled. Yet I didn't feel comfortable about the whole thing. I am the same human being as you are, and my white skin and English skills are not the reason for giving autograph to you.

We packed our things and went away, before a new group of people could have come to take pictures with us.


Since the times when India was ruled by British, citizens of Subcontinent have had a tendency to rate themselves lower than a "white" person.

It is more obvious in Pakistan where even foreigners, when meeting each other, look surprised - it is not often when I see them around.

Pakistanis do their best to impress foreigners: for instance, in cafes and other public places they are usually over polite, even some hostels in Pakistan are built for foreigners only and local people are not allowed to stay there.

When I go to the shop, market or talk to the ordinary people on the street, they usually think that I come from London. Or United States. All "white" are associated with these two countries. Russia would not even come in their first 5.