Sydney at Last!

Arriving in Sydney was like a dream come true! I still can’t believe that I am here and with my Aunt and cousins. It has been years that I said I was come and I never got the chance to, now here I am. I had some issues at the airport but it wasn’t enough to get me upset because I was to excited to see everyone. One of my bags didn’t show up and naturally it was the one with all the “good” items in it. The other problem that I ran into was in customs, they decided to hold me there and question me for a while but in the end I was free to go.

My cousin Sara waited for over an hour, poor thing, but we reunited and talked about how much we missed each since leaving Scotland. We went straight to Sara’s sister’s house for Christmas dinner. I was so excited that I didn’t feel how tiered I was after a 16 hour flight. I just couldn’t believe that I was finally at Samira’s house and with everyone. My Aunt and Uncle came and I was so happy to hug them. We opened gifts, I was definitely not expecting this, but they all got me stuff and I was so excited for each one! After gifts we ate a delicious feast and then it happened, the jet-lag hit me! I could have put my head right there on the table and passed out. I went straight to my cousins bed and slept for a good 3 hours. I woke up refreshed and ready to go.

The past two days have been great, we have all been together and catching up. I am happy just to be with everyone even if we are at home. My sweet cousins keep asking what I want to do but I am truly happy doing whatever just as long as we are together.

I am excited about the weeks to come but something tells me that it will be hardest to leave Sydney!

This is the last stop!

Tonight I left Iran and to my surprise I left with mixed feelings. I really thought I would be ready to leave but the truth is that I could have stayed another month. I just thought that after one month I would have soaked in all that I could and I would be ready for something different. Even though I did most of what I wanted and I had an amazing time, I just wasn't at my limit yet. I think another few weeks would have done the trick!
My parents were nervous about me leaving and going through customs and catching the right flight. They kept saying that the airport can be a bit confusing and to just make sure I go to the right gate. Once I went in, it was a breeze! I was at my gate in no time, with no problems and my luggage was at the target weight! Once we finally boarded at 5am I could start to relax and try to get some sleep. As we were taking off I kept thinking about what a great time I had and I couldn't believe that my time in Iran was over. I was sitting there looking out the window and the next thing I knew the flight attendant came over and handed me some tissues, I looked at him confused for a second and then realized I had tears rolling down my face. I didn't think I would be sad leaving Iran, but I couldn't help think, when will I be back?
I tried hard to wipe my tears and stop crying but they just kept coming. I can't believe how emotional I have been at some points of this trip. I am wondering what the heck is going on because I am not this much of a crier and here I am going to Sydney and I can't stop crying! Really what is up with this?
Anyway once we there in the air my sweet flight attendant took good care of me and put a smile on my face! After I got about an few hours away that smile was getting bigger and bigger thinking about landing in Sydney. I am so excited to see my family in Sydney! I can't believe that I am heading to my last stop. All this time and preparation and it is almost coming to an end. I have loved every second but can't help to think that it flew by so fast. I have one month left before I head home!

A Warm Get Away!

Tears filled my eyes as I said goodbye to my aunt and family yesterday in Isfahan. As much as I told myself don’t cry, when the time came and my aunt hugged me, I couldn’t hold it in and neither could she. Mainly because we just don’t know when the time will come to see each other again. As time goes on she is getting older and it has become harder for Iranians to get a visa to come to America.

My uncle and I had a long ride back to Tehran but we finally made it after 7 hours! It was a bit longer because of traffic due to a few days that everyone was on holiday. I also had to part with my uncle once we reach Tehran, which surprisingly I was sad to leave him! He teared up as he hugged me a million times and I guess it was the first time I was sad to say bye to him. We just aren’t that close for me to get sad, who knows maybe I was just emotional from all the goodbyes.

My cousin picked me up from the station and we headed home to my other uncle’s house that I have been staying with during my time here. This is again my dad’s side of the family and the family I parted with is my mom’s side...just to clarify.

It was good to see everyone again. I spoke with my parents today and they are both doing well. My dad said that other than missing me, life is good and my mom is getting better every day that goes by.

My cousins and I decided since I have a week left to get out of Tehran for a few days and go to the island of Kish. During the colder months a lot of people travel to Kish for a warm get away, it is located in the Persian Gulf. I am excited for I have never been there, it is somewhere new for me to see and I hear it is a bit more lenient in the rules of the country. We are leaving tomorrow at 6am and will return on Wednesday in the afternoon. I, of course, will not be taking my Mac but I will have my journal handy for a quick entry and to post when I return! Until then...ciao!

Finally...I miss home...I think...

I miss home. I was waiting for when I would finally say that; I miss home. Oddly enough if I had a ticket back home right now I am not ready to take it. As much as I miss home I’m not ready to go back. The truth is that I really thought at some point on this journey things would become more clear for me. I thought I would know what I want to do when I go back home or where I want to go. I have no clue if I even want to return to Atlanta. I just thought being away would give me answers. I am now about to head to my last destination and I still don’t have any answers.

I do know that I miss my family more than anything. I would love to hug my mom and dad right now, it’s like an instant recharge. I miss seeing friends and the small things that I really wasn’t sure I would miss. And as much as I tell myself not to miss these things because I will have them before I know it, a person can’t help how they feel. I guess I just miss familiarity.

I keep thinking about all my old coworkers and how busy it is this time of year. I have been having dreams about work...I don’t know if that means I miss it or if it means that I am relieved to not be there. I think about all my friends and what they are up to, I miss just calling someone up and meeting for a coffee. I miss Christmas and all the hype that goes along with it; it’s my favorite time of year and I love everything from the repetitive songs to the crowded malls.

One would think that I am traveling around the world having the time of my life and that I don’t miss anything, but the truth is I miss it all. I called my brother tonight just to hear his voice, we had a great talk and although we aren't big talkers on the phone I just wanted to be on the phone with him to feel closer. Soon I will leave Iran and feel the same way about here. I want to remember and enjoy every moment of being here. I want not to miss home in order to be in the present. I wish I could blink and be home for a day and then return...wouldn’t that be lovely!

Where did Time Go?

Today my uncle arrived in Isfahan. Although he has been absent in much of my life I still couldn’t wait to see him and hear all things he remembers about me from when I was a little girl. He reminisces about the times when me and my cousins were young and we all loved to play with him as he was our favorite uncle then. Needless to say he has been through many different phases in his life and that has been the reason for the distance between us. The beauty of life is that things change and so has he.

Today is a holiday in Iran so everyone came to my aunt’s house for lunch and we spent the day together. It has actually been one of my favorite days so far; we ate lunch, played cards and hung out. In the afternoon we went to my cousins house and prepared for dinner. We decided to get a bit dressed up and take some family photos. We laughed and joked around until we couldn’t breath, it was a wonderful night. At some point my parents called and we put them on speaker so they could talk to everyone, I wish they were here and I know they do as well.

I only have one more full day in Isfahan, I can’t believe how fast time goes. I was happy to have 10 days here and now I only have one day left. I feel like I am just getting comfortable here, my cousins and I are constantly laughing and joking with each other. We are just getting to that point where we are enjoying each other and now I have to go. This is the part of traveling I hate; leaving.

Traveling has two extremes, you have the joy of arriving and seeing everyone, on the other side once the end of your trip is near you have the fear of saying goodbye and leaving. It is hard for those of us that live so far apart, who knows when we will see each other again and if we will see each other again. You get to an age where you realize that time is limited and goodbye’s become harder and harder. I don’t want to say bye to my aunt, I don’t feel like my time with her was enough. Oddly enough I feel like I could stay here for another month. I can only hope that I will be back sooner than later!

Pics of Isfahan

Me!!

Madoon Shah

Poleh Khajoo

Good Times

Isfahan has been wonderful so far. I have been staying with my aunt and everyday my cousin and her sons come over and we go out. It's been relaxing being here, a bit on a slower pace than Tehran. I have already seen so much of the city when I was little that there isn't a particular place I want to go or see. I just want to spend time with my family and hear all about their lives.
My aunt and I decided to go to Yazd, a city in the desert, for a 2 day visit. This was part of the original plan when my mom was coming but I figured I would stick with it and go. After all it's time to be with my aunt and see another city. Yazd is beautiful, it's close to the desert and the buildings are all build out of a special mud that resembles the desert. We went all over and saw all the major sites. In the evening we went to my cousins house for a quick visit and got to see more family. If you haven't guessed I have a huge family :) This is my first cousin on my mom's side and since we were there we got to see them as well. It was a nice visit and I am happy I got to see everyone.
Today my cousin and I went for some shopping in the large square's bazaar. If weight was not a problem I would have bought the entire place. Either way I will have to come back for a shopping trip with an extra suitcase! After our shopping we went for lunch at a great restaurant and of course, we pigged out.
Tomorrow my Uncle comes to see me and we will be together for a few days before I return to Tehran.

Memories of a Wonderful Time

People in Iran find it interesting that I love it here. They wonder why seeing that I am coming from America and my response has been that this is where my family is and it is where my family is from. Although now most of my family has left Iran, I still have enough to visit. I think I love it here because it really reminds me of so much of my childhood. When we were kids we would visit Iran every 2 to 3 years, but we would spend 2 months here. Some of my fondest memories have been with my cousins during those summers being crazy and playing all day.

Within the last week, my uncle and cousins and I have talked about so many memories and all of us have different ones. It’s actually interesting to see what each of us remember about the same time. One thing we all have in common is that it was a great time!

On Friday we all went to my uncle’s villa about an hour outside of Tehran. We spent the day there. We walked through his garden which is full of every kind of tree and plant you can think of, we visited all the chickens and helped one that was sick, he ended up dying the next day :( For lunch we cooked kabob’s outside on the grill. It was such a fun and relaxing day. Once we ate we all sat around, talked and played cards. Once again we reminisced about the time we spent at my great uncle’s villa in my dad’s home town.

That was a time to remember, there were about 20 of us there, his garden was huge or at least it was to me being a small kid. At the very end of his garden there was a river that we spent hours playing in and along the edge. I remember the river having a very fast current, every once in a while one of us would lose a sandal and watch it go down stream. The rest of the time we were catching crabs and filling buckets full of them. We would then go back into my uncle’s garden and race our crabs seeing who’s would win. This took up hours of our days and while the kids were having fun all the adults were sitting drinking tea and playing cards or backgammon and talking. There was a beautiful sitting area hidden in the far back right corner of my uncle’s garden, this is were all the parents would sit and have fun.

I remember all the ladies in the kitchen preparing lunch and then we would set a huge cloth down (called a sofreh) on the floor and all 20 of us would sit around and eat a huge feast. In the evenings there was a ritual. After dinner my uncle, being the comedian that he is would go put on his “special” dancing pants and the fun would begin. He would dance and joke around getting everyone hyper. I even remember all the songs that he wold play. By the end of the night after the dancing was done we would sit around while one person played the Tar and another would sing. I loved this time. It is probably one of the best childhood memories that I have.

Off to Isfahan!

Today I left Tehran to come to Isfahan. I haven’t seem my aunt and cousin, from my mom’s side yet so I am super excited. My Aunt was suppose to come to my brother’s wedding 2 years ago but due to health reasons she was not able to make it. Needless to say I couldn’t wait to give her the biggest hug.

My cousin’s son meet me in Tehran and we rode the bus together to Isfahan. We had a great ride and got to catch up. I was actually really surprised with the transportation, the buses are super nice, it is like flying in first class. The seats all recline into a bed, you have a foot rest and they play movies the entire way. The drive went by fast and before I knew it I was at my aunt’s door.

I was fine at first when I saw everyone and we started hugging and kissing, but when I got to my aunt I couldn’t help but burst out in tears. I don’t know if I was just so excited to see her, if it had been too long or if some of the emotions of hugging her reminded me of my mom’s absence. It was probably the combination of it all, either way we were both hugging, crying and smiling all at the same time.

I will stay with my aunt for 10 days and the last few days my mom’s brother will come and we will all be together. Being here is nice, our days have been filled with talking about every detail of our lives and looking at photo’s. Today we will go shopping in the largest square in Iran, which is the 2ND largest square in the world! It is great fun as you can see the workers hammering designs into iron pieces that they will soon sell, there are, of course, tons of jewelry stores and beautiful buildings to see! Isfahan is a beautiful city, they have beautiful palaces and two famous bridges that are gorgeous to walk across and light up in the evenings.

That's life!

Sadly I found out yesterday that my mom is unable to join me in Iran. I kept thinking that she would be okay and would be able to fly but she went to the doctor and since she is still having lots of pain he advised her not to fly. I guess I was just hoping so hard that everything would work out. Me being in Iran for one month is really a rare occasion and who knows when I can come back and for how long. I keep wishing that we could change the way things are or a miracle will happen and she will be here tomorrow. What a great surprise that would be!

At the same time, her health is most important and I really want her to heal and be back on her feet. I think the pressure of it all was the worst part for her. She has been having pain but wanting to get better in order to come. At the same time she has anxiety that if she flies, she may have pain or something may happen. On top of all this, I know that she really didn’t want to let me down, after all this part of my trip was planned especially for us to be together and travel. I feel so bad for her and hope that she isn’t upset about this turn of events.

We of all people know that life is unexpected and you may plan something for months and then when the time comes something happens and changes everything. This is life, I have to believe that everything happens for a reason and this did as well. Nothing good comes out of looking back and wishing things were different. She is unable to come so we can only say that sometime in the future we will make this trip happen!

As sad as I am, I am here in Iran after so long and I am going to enjoy every second of it!

I have been looking forward to this trip and to seeing my family. To be honest this is a great learning experience for me, because I have never been here alone so I am learning how to be independent here and connecting with my family even more.

Anyway it is what it is and I have to remember when obstacles like this happen, life could be worse. I am thankful to be here and that super thankful that my mom is going to get better!

So much to do, So much to see and So much to eat!

So far my week in Iran has been amazing! Since my mom is not here yet my schedule got changed around a bit. For now I am staying with my uncle and cousins in Tehran until she arrives. It has actually worked out because I don’t get to spend a lot of time with my dad’s side of the family since they can’t come visit us, so this week has been great.

Every morning I wake up to the sound of my uncle making breakfast and music. He puts the TV station on MTV for me and they play everything from Persian dance to Usher. My uncle is very cute, he sets the table everyday and if I get up to help he looks at me like I am crazy. He bought about 5 different kinds of cheese for me and sets each one out. I have lots of choices as to what to eat and of course I want to try a bit of each. We eat breakfast together and talk about all sorts of things. He keeps telling that if I want something to tell him and they will get it. When I arrived the frig was stocked with all sorts of goodies, from Twix and candies to every kind of drink I could ever want.

My days have been filled with different places to see, hiking and shopping. My cousin and his wife have so many places they want to take me and show me. Two days we went hiking for a few hours, another day my cousin’s wife and I went to one of the biggest bazar’s in Tehran. We spent about 6 hours there getting lost. It truly is a place to see. Once you have entered the bazar it is nearly impossible to know where you are going. There are alleys upon alleys of shops. They sell everything from toys, to make-up to Persian rugs. Each good has there own section and the stores are next to one another sharing a wall.

The Bazar has it’s own culture. There are people everywhere, they push and rush past you if you are to slow. There are workers coming through with large dolly’s carrying goods from one location to another. If you don’t move they will hit you and keep going, it is up to you to know that you should get out of the way, after all they are working and have to keep going. Every so often you will see a motorcycle come through in the middle of all the people and try to find a way out.

The people are all shopping and looking for good deals. It is very common for you to be asking a store owner for a price and another person just walks up and starts asking them to look at something. This is all part of the package, there is no use in getting upset or wondering why the person just interrupted you, you just have to ask you question louder and be persistent. Once you decide on something you ask the price and then the fun starts. The owner will tell you one price and you tell your price. This usually goes on for a few minutes and in the end you agree on something that hopefully both people are happy with. No one ever says ok to the original price and pays it, there is always a better deal. This is part of the culture, people are trying to make deals and sell you all they can. The bazar was great fun and I got a few pieces I liked.

In Iran lunch is the biggest meal. Usually around 1 or 2pm everyone shuts down what they are doing and heads home. Feasts are cooked and everyone is at home with their families. If you go on the streets around that time you will usually see very few people out. Because people eat such big lunches they have siesta afterwards until about 5pm and then head back to work for a few more hours. It used to be that everyone did this but now I am seeing some places are still active during the lunch hours and people go out. Either way it has been an easy tradition to get used to :)

I have had some amazing food! My first day we had a huge feast for lunch which was a few different kinds of kabob and rice. I ate until I couldn’t move. Because I am with all my cousins in the evenings, we usually get together and go out for some walking or shopping then we go out for dinner. Usually dinners are small and at home but the restaurants here are so amazing we have been going to at a different one every night. Some nights we had pasta, another pizza and another steak and seafood.

As you can tell my days are full of seeing sights and eating the most delicious foods. I love it here and I am having an amazing time so far. My cousins are great, we are the same age which is nice. They have been wonderful hosts and of course they don’t even let me get my wallet out. Even if I want to buy a ring or clothes they are paying for it all. It doesn’t help that I am not super aware of all the currency so they quickly pay and we are gone.

Tomorrow we are going to my uncle’s villa about an hour outside of Tehran and we will spend the day there. I find out wether or not my mom can come tomorrow after her doctors appointment so I am keeping my fingers crossed that she will make it and be ok.