ABSTRACT
In the evenings, in the small bedroom of a cheap and dirty hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan, my boyfriend Hugo and I talk about the future. It is 1993 and we have both recently graduated from college. We are traveling, experiencing other cultures. Holland annoys me: our snug and petty lives there, our easy political correctness, our circle of friends who all think and feel the same about everything. Should we have a child? We know other couples who already have children. When I visit them and see their worn-out faces or hear about their daily concerns I don’t envy them. So we have decided, Hugo and I, to apply for a job with a medical relief organization, and we expect to be posted to a mission soon. Will we stay together? Will our life turn into one big holiday? No, surely not. There will be loads of work to do.
