On the teachers comment, I think Afrah was simply responding to a question Jehan Ara asked. If we read in between the lines and pick on what an 17-year old is saying, we really need to take a step back and take a breath. If teachers IN Pakistan were bad, we’d never see byproducts such as you, Afrah and the hundreds of thousands of other brilliant students that come up. The education, as well as other disciplinary ecosystems here need a lot more time to mature.

We’re proud of everyone who accurately represents who we really are, Afsah.

@Sid – One correction: We aren’t “Pakis”. We’re supposed to be Pakistanis. There is a difference there.

@sid: First off, you are entitled to your own opinion but so is Afrah. What we need is a little tolerance for each other.

I agree with you (and so does Afrah) that there is so much talent in Pakistan and our people are competing at the world level despite the lack of resources. She never denied this. I think what she mentioned was that the professors at MIT are more encouraging and approachable. And I agree with her. I have seen teachers back home who aren’t as cooperative and even discourage students at times . You know it’s true. You have seen it too. I’m not saying that such people don’t exist in ‘amreeka’ but at places like MIT, there is such a good pruning that they get rid of them.

As far as taking care of parents goes, I agree with you again (and so does Afrah). Who wouldn’t? But I believe it’s very contextual. For a farmer, the best his child could do might be to take up ‘khaetibaari’ – doesn’t mean we should all be farming! I think of it as ‘helping’ our parents by making them proud and giving them hope.

I respect your point of view but it was not presented ideally. It just saddens me when I see we can’t make a point without targetting others on a personal level.