Given recent history, there is understandable scepticism about Pakistan's thinking and doubts about its next steps.
But the World Bank thinks that, after 2014, the economy, now growing at 9%, can continue by about 5-6% a year.Although there is understandable nervousness about what happens after 2014, there is also optimism and an appetite among better-educated younger Afghans to take responsibility for their country's future.
There is understandable confusion about who is the incumbent.
These are potentially important, but the impact of legal changes is not being felt on the ground, and there is understandable cynicism about promises of future accountability.
There is understandable skepticism about the position that simply trading with China and opening it up to foreign investment will produce a more open society.
There is understandable concern about being left behind by technology, and a desire to drive itself on so it can continue to feed high-quality intelligence to the "customers".
The injection of Troubled Asset Relief Programme funds added more money to the financial system.There is understandable controversy about many aspects of these actions but they had the great advantages of speed and reversibility.
Even so, there is understandable skepticism about public-private partnerships; Wall Street has not re-earned the trust of citizens who saw hard-earned dollars vacuumed out of their retirement accounts and homes.
Inside the stadium itself, things seem to be running relatively smoothly, although there are still more than a few rough edge back of house and there is understandable nervousness about whether everything from the turnstiles to the wi-fi will work as it is supposed to.
There is understandable sensitivity about rewarding people like this when the finances are so tight.
