jeudi 27 mai 2010

Kootoolah

Ok so persians think midgets are the funniest thing ever. I've only seen 2 movies here and each one had the token midget that says dumb stuff and then everyone laughs. It's so bizarre. I told them in America we have a serious show about a midget family and their daily struggles and everyone was like, wait...it's not a comedy???

We went to a super fancy party last night it was really fun. Basically everyone thinks we are silly foreign girls and want to talk to us- which is fine with me. Also my grandma's nurse has now made us her dress up dolls and does our nails, make up and hair for all occasions and also forces us to wear her jewelry.

As far as food goes- a super fancy meal here is at most $10 a person and thats a FANCY meal. I told them $10 a person at a sit down restaurant was cheap in America. Then they asked me how much a fancy meal like that costs in America- I guessed maybe $40 a person and literally I think the people I was talking to almost fainted. They are probably not coming to America anytime soon....

mardi 25 mai 2010

Dibs

Ok so basically I should have lived here all my life. Everyone speaks at the top of their lungs, and if someone is telling a story, someone else will just all the sudden start a conversation with someone else in the original conversation and its no big deal- the two people just talk so loud and I have no idea how people can keep track of whats going on but you all know how much I love loud people who talk fast and use exaggerated hand motions while talking.

Ok so everyone here is so over the top in dress too. I mean seriously I look like a total tourist because I'm wearing like chic clothes that my aunt bought me while all these girls my same age are wearing like jeans, a plain overcoat, but then pounds of make up, their hair all done up, and wearing high heels. Literally I have no idea how they think that looks good but my uncle said since the government represses them this is their way of fighting back basically.

So Maryam and I got into a fight over whether or not Iranian boys are good looking. I say no and she says yes, so every time we see a good looking Iranian we whisper "dibs" and then see how many dibs we get every day. So far I've only dibsed like 3 people and maryam dibs all the skinny tall boys (of course)who look american, which actually isn't that many since Iranian boys are all 5'5''. So I think we can all just say that I was right. And Peter and Paur- no luck on your front, my dar is so off in this country its not even funny.

Also- everyone makes fun of maryam bc she's a vegetarian. Every chance they ge they make a joke about it hahahahha. I love it, slash usually join in. Mar likes it though because it gives her a chance to practice farsi even if it means getting made fun of.

Ok so today we are getting our federally recognized citizenship ID cards (like a drivers liscence)so that if police stop us we look legit. I'm also going to meet all the persian AIESECers today or tomorrow!!!

Ok last thing- yesterday we went to this huge rose garden, and in the middle was a cafe, situated in such a way that the breeze rolls in at just the right amount and you sip tea while looking out at this huge rose garden, with roses as tall as 5 feet. It was seriously incredible. It was like drinking tea in paradise, surrounded by grass and trees greener than anything I've seen, and then red and pink roses all around, the colors were so vivid I couldn't stop looking at them. It only sucks because here you need a permit to take pictures in the streets or in any shop or restaurant so we couldn't take pics. But our cousin is getting a permit next week so we'll be able to.

We're here!

Ok sorry I haven't posted at all and we've been here almost a week but here it is! Internet is slow so I'll be brief and post more often:

I LOVE Iran. Seriously- Tehran is a beautiful city with so many amazing things to see and do. Already we have seen a few museums, met a ton of people and gone sight seeing around the city. Kamran (our long lost cousin) has taken us on many different expeditions, sight seeing, tea drinking at different cafes, and also photography taking (he is studying journalism at U). We see Mehran and Marjan every night and after only 5 days here I already understand a lot of the slang and bigger words people use and I usually know whats going on now. Maryam is also catching on slowly. I feel like I've known them all my life basically everything rocks and the only bad thing is that I have to wear all this clotihng when I go outside. But even that is alright bc marjan bought us swanky clothes from this boutique so we look like rich snobs yesssss. Ok I'll type more tomorrow but my grandma's nurse wants to practice english now so I g2g!

mercredi 19 mai 2010

Leaving Tomorrow!!!

Most of our luggage is packed, and we are almost ready to go to Iran. Apparently my grandma also has a cook at her house as well, so we are going to have it made.

Our uncles came over tonight to give us the presents they had bought for our family members. It was actually really funny because my dad, homi, and kayhan were getting into a debate over who spent more money and who bought for more people. Then my dad comes out of nowhere with this list he had made with people divided into levels. If you bought for someone on a certain level, you had to buy for everyone else on that same level and also everyone on every level underneath them. He informed Homi and Kayhan that they had only bought for people on level 1, while he had bought for everyone through level 3. Triumphant once again, Bizhan.


I won't be able to blog again for a few days since we will be in flight, but expect an update by the end of the weekend :)

mardi 18 mai 2010

T-2 Days Until Take Off!

Hey Everyone! Thanks for checking out my blog! I'm super excited to be able to go to Iran and while I am kind of nervous, I also know its going to be amazing!!!

Basically all that needs to happen between now and take off is packing...which I hate doing. Maryam has been occupying her time by baking non-stop: she has made 4 different desserts now in the last 24 hours. Not sure if she's baking off the stress or just wants me to get super fat before we go to Iran.

Mom is obviously upset that she won't be able to come- but I think she is also secretly excited to have the house to herself for a while with no one messing up the kitchen.

So a little about the trip:

We are staying at our grandma's house, who apparently has a stationary bike we can use which is great bc I refuse to get fat while I'm over there. We already have been invited to about 10 million people's houses so its going to be a very fun trip!

My friends in Iran told me there are a few internet cafes around my grandma's house so I'll be able to update this blog fairly often! I'l also try and update my twitter if I can, you can follow me my twitter name is Meenazia

Those concerned about our safety DON'T WORRY! We are going to be living in a very nice neighborhood and will not be participating in any protests!

So that's all for now! Tell me if you have questions or anything I'll be happy to answer :)