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Reflections on a Wandering Life.....

Saturday, July 30, 2005

I had breakfast today with Peter. More correctly, I had breakfast; he had beer. Peter is a retired electrician from Scotland, who is bicycling around the world. He was born in Uganda of Pakistani parents. I suppose if you saw a picture of him, you would say he looks Pakistani, because both of his parents come from Pakistan. But when you talk with him, it's just not possible to picture him as Pakistani, because his speech and mannerisms are so distinctly Scottish. He looks like a Scotsman with a tan. When I asked him why he never got married, he said,

"Problem never came up."

When I asked him why he was traveling, he said,

"Cheaper than staying home."

He has just come through the country of Kyrgyzstan, so I told him I had heard a lot about it, and asked him what he thought.

"More horses than Texas."

He is on his way to Pakistan. Riding a bike is a very slow, but also a much less expensive way to travel. Peter told me that he often stops at a farm house to get something to eat. He will give the family a little money, and they are happy to help him. He has relatives in Pakistan, so he obviously has an interest in stopping in that country. But one must wonder how he will fit in to a society where he will look like everyone around him, but couldn't be more different.

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