Use the term silver lining when you want to emphasize the hopeful side of a situation that might seem gloomy on the surface. The common expression "every cloud has a silver lining" means that even the worst events or situations have some positive aspect.
We slept late into the afternoon of our first day here. Then the sun began to set a few hours later, so it was night again. My kids were in a haze, half asleep, half awake, sad, happy, crying, laughing. There wasn't really any other food here other than the uncooked pasta I had sent ahead with my husband when he first left for Iran (the 3 months before). The silver lining was we'd brought some candy, ramen noodles, and instant macaroni packs with us from America, so we cracked those open once here and zapped them in the microwave.
By the second day, our sleeping was still haywire, but we made sure to get up during daylight. I wanted to get out of our place so we drove to the store (in the car my husband just bought from a friend). We weren't accustomed to sitting in a 4 door sedan since we've had a roomy Honda mini-van for the past 11 years in America. Plus the seatbelt buckles in the backseat were buried inside the seats and un-getable! Driving in the backseat without seat belts seems to be a thing here, grrrr.
There's not much to see in our neighborhood of Pardisan (the city next to Qom). Dirt. Buildings. Random people walking here or there. Not much greenery at all. The silver lining is that we are near the holy city of Qom. I look forward to being able to spend time there soon.
We got to the store. It was full of a variety of different things from decorative items, kids' toys, and then a grocery section. I took several photos discreetly (I feel like people might find it suspicious for me to be taking them).
The workers there were not really friendly, but they were also not rude. I tried smiling at a female clerk but she just sort of stared back. My husband mentioned that people here would indeed be able to tell we were foreign to Iran like tourists or something.
I kept trying to compare prices of the items but obviously couldn't because the prices were in Farsi. Most of the items were familiar looking so we grabbed a few things we could use in the next few days. The silver lining was that we didn't have to worry about the ingredients--it was all halal of course! We really got a kick out of this Spongebob ketchup!
We went home after a short while. It was nice to get out but also a relief to be back in our own place. After our tumultuous first night here, being safe and sound in a peaceful and private space felt good.
However, slowly but surely the good time didn't last long as my eldest daughter started losing her cool at not having internet access. My husband had hoped his friend would have had time to set it up while we were still in Texas, but that didn't happen. It was again one of those "I know this guy who knows this guy" who's going to set it up but he hasn't called and/or texted yet, so we're in the dark moments.
Soon I lost my cool too. I needed internet to connect to others! And though we had a television, every show was in Farsi! I was in another world, on another planet. The tension was high, the misery growing.
At some point, we got the internet working. It felt un-real, too good to be true. We started feeling normal again.
I noticed there is an English speaking channel here called PRESS TV (silver lining alert!). It's mostly depressing world news but also has interesting bits and pieces about Iranian life. It was so comforting to just hear English being spoken, to be able to understand. Soon I noticed there were several familiar movies and shows that are broadcasted here in Farsi, e.g. Sense and Sensibility!
The celebration about internet was dampened slightly when we learned that the net is not unlimited with a set price. It's cost is based on amount of time spent using it. And with 5 people here, 4 of whom that are home 24/7 and rely on the net a lot of activities--the costs will add up quickly so inshaaAllah we can manage. We're trying to limit internet use, but it does take getting used to. So many times I've wanted to look up some information on the net, but had to stop myself. The good thing about this is that I spend a lot less time reading comments from online articles! That's a silver lining for sure.
By the way, I know I'm using the term silver lining a bit incorrectly in some of these examples, haha!
Alhamdulillah
InshaaAllah
Salam
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