24 hours after leaving down the bamboo ladder at Pilu's house, piling my bag and sarangi into a cycle rickshaw and then into a taxi, waiting in an endless and chaotically unstructured line first for boarding passes then for security (one elderly couple waiting behind me had been at the airport for 8 hours, their flight was running 6 hours late due to the security check line suffering from the airport remodelling effort restrictions), a flight to Milan and then another to Rome....I called to the Pakistani Export shop of a friend I met in Korea about 5 years ago. It happened that this friend, Fayyaz Bhai was actually again in Korea with Qadus Bhai (my very first friend in Korea, aside from my roommate and co-saving grace, Brad), but Fayyaz's brother gave me directions to take a train from the airport and his other brother met me on the platform. They gave me a take-out plate of the best Indian food to be found in all of Rome, and then the younger brother journeyed with me out to the Colloseum and a walk along ancient sites, and then for the best cappacino I have had in many, many years. A half hour more sitting around at the shop as the older brother internet-ed his life away and the younger brother hid in the back, then I was dropped back at the train, and got to the airport for the flight on to Brussels where a tired and somewhat sick Daniel was awaiting.
My Pakistani friends and their random shops around the world really are wonderful in these times of urgent need to both pass some time and eat well. What a blessing!
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