Advantages of being an academic

I'm at Abu Dhabi airport on my way back from Pakistan (yes, yes, I still have to post about Pakistan Natural History Museum). At the Islamabad airport, as expected there are numerous places where they check passports, and luggage is often checked quite thoroughly. The first guy inside the terminal asked my profession, and I told him that I'm a professor and I teach at a college in the US. He said several positive words about astronomy and other things and asked us to go straight through. Then, the drugs control called, and when I told him  that I was a professor, he went on and on about his gratitude to his own teachers. In fact, he said that he wouldn't be at his job, and the person that he is, without the teachers he's had over the course of his life. It was really great to hear that and loved his positive approach. We often hear negative things about Pakistan, but the place and the people are of course much more complex. I just wanted to post a few words about this wonderful experience at the Islamabad airport.