Shahid sahib picked me up early for class, and I ended up figuring out the Sindhi keyboard issue before my class began. Things were looking up. I got Solangi sahib’s phone number.There was a weekly meeting and discussion on Shah Latif’s poetry at Shahid sahib’s place, in the evening so I head there. I understood the first part of the discussion in Sindhi, but once we started on the passage of the day, I was completely lost, so I just read my Urdu translation to myself and bided my time.At the end we all said goodbye, then Solangi sahib and I went inside to start typing. I thought this would be great. We could more or less paste passages, relieving Solangi sahib of a lot of the tedious work. Once we got started though, we hit many more road blocks. For one, each addition of the poetry includes and excludes different Surs (chapters), so we found a pdf version with the chapter we needed.Then we noticed that there were different numbers of verses and a different order. This is apparently common. So how do you find the corresponding verses? The original Sindhi language is old and challenging for people today. The Urdu verses are a poetic translation of the meaning. We spent hours trying to find the first verse. I really appreciate the enormous help, but I also felt very disheartened at how difficult each step is. We could not find it, but Solangi sahib called an expert friend who knows the verses and is familiar with this translation. That he offered to give us two hours of his time the next day, was hugely generous. That Solangi sahib is still undeterred and willing to trudge on with this is also incredibly kind. Everyone is busy with their lives and responsibilities. Who am I to come here with my weird projects, and yet people help me.I had already spent two months on finding puppeteers. The only reason it took so long, is because my first puppeteer contact did not want to connect me to any other puppeteers in Multan, so I instead of going there right away, I needed to find another contact. None of the arts organizations that I was able to speak to had any numbers and the one that did, does not give them out. What a mess.I can’t tell you how many leads I have followed. I filled a notebook with contacts and leads trying in every way I could to find puppeteers. Then when I found them, there was the challenge of sifting through people who were real puppeteers, and those just looking to make a bit of money as I was paying people to show their work. There was the whole dance of trying to not get cheated and get the info you need. It was physically and mentally draining, and none of this had to do with the enormous task of adapting the source material, which I had undertaken before even coming here.So, every step of the way, I struggle to make plans and backup plans, and find the right people, with help from so many friends, and yet despite that, I hit so many brick walls along the way. The creative aspect was understandably challenging, but so many of these other steps really should not have taken this long or been this challenging, but that is how my work in Pakistan has been. I am tired of reading the news back in the US, here in Pakistan and around the world about all the horrible tragedies and crimes that make my “suffering” pale in comparison.The puppeteers and Jogis often tell me that their prayers are with me. For that and all the people trying to help, I am endlessly grateful. I couldn’t sleep most of the night, as I weighed options, tried to figure out ways to keep moving forward and reminded myself that this can be done and is worth doing.