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November 07, 2003
Tidbits (updated)
Here are some observations that don't seem to fit into any category, but that I wanted to share anyway.
1. It is a fact of life here that people believe in conspiracy theories. No matter how educated the person, most believe, for instance, that America was behind september 11th so it could blame the muslim world. How else, they say, could a country that powerful allow someone to fly into those buildings and hit them in just a way for them to come down? Recently one man told me that the bombings in Saudi Arabia were also part of a "plan" to take over that part of the world, and indeed, I saw that expressed in the paper today by a government official from Jordan. Another man said that all the forest fires in America were obviously planned by developers who want that land. There is, I think, a general sense of victimhood here that allows people to imagine that governments, particularly ones as powerful as America's, constantly are trying to make plots against people. When you consider that our CIA did in fact overthrow Mossadeq here, it's hard to debate with people.
The irony is that the same people who say things like that about the US also love the country. They will say--we love the American people, just not your government. They seem not to understand that our government IS our people, or at least it's supposed to be.
2. Most every road sign, and many store signs, are in English. English writing is on the back of Iranian money. Billboards are almost always in English. All of this surprised me, since I thought for sure that the government here could easily get rid of English if it wanted to. But it seems to be one area in which they've capitulated. English existed here from the British empire days, and it persists. Children still learn it beginning in 7th grade (a plan to change that to eighth grade, I heard, was protested.) And there seems to be a general acceptance that to get ahead, one must learn English. Consequently, I really haven't had to hire a translator. The problem? I'm not practicing my Farsi enough!
2a. American products are available many places, despite the embargo. You can find Coca Cola, Pepsi, Kellogg's--even Starbucks. Right near here is a big sign for HP....
3. Traffic lights could work, if they wanted them to. Instead, they're always blinking. Sometimes yellow, sometimes red, sometimes green and red at the same time! There must be a metaphor in that somewhere. And yet things seem to move in some sort of controlled chaos. The two big traffic jams I've seen were actually caused by policemen manually operating the traffic lights. They would leave them on green for five, six, ten minutes at a time! Seems to work better when people just fend for themselves, using a system of increasingly urgent beeps of the horn to indicate their needs and location.
I had one funny conversation with a driver, who said he liked America because of our democracy. "Don't you have a democracy here?" I prodded. "Only driving," he responded. I laughed. That's actually true. Everyone is on the same level when driving in Tehran, duking it out no matter the type of car or driver.
4. Speaking of cars, there generally seem to be just a few types: the ubiquitous oil belching Paykan, the new "Pride"-- a KIA compact for the middle class, and Peugots and Nissan "Patrols" for the richer. Occasionally you'll see an old Chevrolet or a Volkswagen. Ten years ago, 30,000 cars were being produced here. This year it will be 750,000. And still there's only an average of one car per 4 people. You can see where this is headed...
5. If there's one thing that all Iranians I've met seem to share, it's their mutual dislike of both Afghans and Arabs. The former have been described to me even by educated people as having some sort of genetic defect that makes them live "as if 500 years ago." As for Arabs, there's an intense dislike of the overlay of Arab culture into the language, religion and politics. Everyone here, for instance, has to learn Arabic. One of my friends was living in the states and came back just as the revolution occurred. She failed her Arabic test so many times that finally she said she had to write a plaintive note to her professor saying that she was a young mother and couldn't he just give her special dispensation to pass?
It's ironic to me that there is this dislike of Arab culture, since it's absolutely part of the political and religious life that so many in the Western world associate with Iran. If there's one stereotype that I think people have of Iran, it's that it's part of the Arab world. The Iranians are very quick to dispel that and point to their Persian, Turkic and Azeri roots. Away from the mosque areas, one feels that more. But enter the religious world, and one can feel the Arab overlay.
6. The food here is great. I particularly like fesunjun khoresht, which is a sweet and sour meat dish with walnut and pomegranate flavor. It's hard to find--mostly it's made in homes. Azam's brother in law laughed any time I wanted to find it in a restaurant. "That's truck driver food," he would say, equating it to stew, which it essentially is. He preferred to find us some kabob, but this didn't have the rich flavors of the khoresht.
I also like bademjun khoresht, which is made from eggplants, as well as the excellent pastries here....I'm afraid I won't come home very thin!
People here drink tea several times a day. I'm not used to that, but have grown used to it. Now if I don't have it I feel tired...
7. Money here is worthless. In fact, it's so bad that they knock a zero off the bills. So for instance, 10,000 rials is actually 1,000 tomans. The prices are in tomans, but you're carrying rials, so you have to think fast sometimes. Here's an example of the inflation: 30 years ago 5,000 tomans was $700. Today it's $6.00. Much of the time, the smaller bills are so worn they fall apart in your hands.
8. It probably bears mentioning because we take it for granted, but folks, there are no bars here--no nightclubs. So basically, people get together at family and friends' houses, making those connections all important. It can get claustrophobic, I would think, just hanging out with the same people. In fact, many cousins get married to each other. I guess after spending so much time together, you know one another quite well.
People may date for years here, but they don't call themselves boyfriend and girlfriend. Two of my friends share that status, but I'm not supposed to say anything to anyone. No hand holding with anyone but your spouse is allowed in public, although I haven't seen anyone checking that. However, everyone, husbands and wives included, is prohibited from kissing in public. This is obeyed. It used to be that even just walking with a person from the opposite sex could get you stopped by the police so they could see your marriage license.
9. Everyone uses cell phones, much more than in the US. Reception is sometimes cut off, but the range of reception, including in the mountains, is much better than the US. People seem to talk more quietly into the phones than we do, too, or perhaps the background noise pollution is so great you can't hear them!
Posted by MJF at November 7, 2003 03:12 PM
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Comments
hi marcia,
while i was reading your description of iranians culture likes and dislikes of neighboring cultures. It reminds me of in-state rivalries like the vandals vs. broncos...north idaho/eastern idaho vs. the great state of Ada!
your observations of food made me hungry!
peter
Posted by: Peter Morrill at November 7, 2003 10:13 PM