We bonded with our Pakistani and American colleagues during a tour of the island of Oahu, led by Derek Ferrar, media coordinator for the East-West Center. The former journalist is a human encyclopedia of knowledge about Honolulu and Hawaii's history, including the new tourist hotspots that mark the childhood of President Barack Obama.
We passed the hospital where he was born, his elementary school, and the house where he lived with his grandparents. 
But the real joy was in sharing the beauty of one of America's most beautiful states with visitors from the other side of the globe.
We posed in front of the statue of Kamehameha the Great, held each other down for a photo op at a very windy mountain lookout, admired the ruins of an ancient Hawaiian religious site and mostly enjoyed the spectacular coastal views.
The grand finale was sunset on Waikiki Beach. Enjoy the pictures of this spectacular day in paradise. The sun set on the first part of our journey together. The next phase of the exchange program would send the Pakistanis to Washington DC, New York City and Columbia Missouri, while the Americans headed for Islamabad and Karachi, Pakistan.
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