From Lahore to Ellensburg - Quratulain Mansur

Abstract:

Quratulain had just found out a few days ago that she was the only Pakistani at Central Washington University. Having spent over two years studying and working in the United Kingdom (UK) where there was a significant number of Pakistanis, it felt a little strange. “I almost felt like the rare and elusive snow leopard, one of the treasured animals of Pakistan,” she said. It had been an interesting journey from the bustling metropolitan of Lahore to quiet, sleepy Ellensburg. She had never thought that she would ever be able to come here. Getting a visa for the USA from Pakistan is very difficult and only a few make it.

Quratulain (Anne) Mansur was very excited when asked if she was interested in writing about herself for "Passages". There was a lot to tell but she didn't where to start. Being an international student from Pakistan, she thought to being by telling a few things about where she was from.

Pakistan is an amazingly beautiful country. It is perhaps a little bigger than Texas but has immense cultural and geographic diversity. It is not all gloom and doom as the world media portrays it. The Northern areas of Pakistan are breathtaking and home to some of the highest mountain ranges like the Himalayas, Karakoram and the Hindu Kush. The Karakoram Range has the second highest peak in the world.

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