Settled

Several things have happened since I last updated this blog.

Trump was actually inaugurated as the President in the United States and has caused pain to millions around the world with his ugly rhetoric and executive orders. I'll only say that America needs a Mockingjay to inspire its people in seeing that The Capitol is run by The Dark Lord and his Death Eaters. 

Now...on to more simple matters.

My eldest daughter turned 12. My second eldest daughter turned 11. I had a birthday party for them and invited several friends with their children to our apartment. It was the first time in a long time that I hosted a party at my own place with new friends. In Texas, I had a party for the kids every year. It was a nice way to focus on crafting decorations and gathering friends and family together. The party went well! I had hoped to cook some classic Iranian food, but due to lack of time and ingredients, I made a few simple meals. Turns out I live a lot farther away then my guests realized. They are all living in Qom, while I am in a nearby town. Still, it was a nice time!

A couple of weeks later, my whole family were invited to a friend's house for lunch. It was interesting to visit another apartment building in Iran. It was slightly different from ours of course, but also had some similarities. Their apartment had a lovely view of Qom and mountains from their balcony! 

I wish I could go out and explore Iran more, but for now, the kids and I stay close to home. You can follow my INSTAGRAM to see the photos I don't publish here on the blog.

I can say that we are definitely settled now. The first week I arrived, some people would casually ask if I'd gotten settled yet. I don't know if there are different definitions of settled, but I know for sure I didn't feel that way for the first few months. It's been 5 months now and thankfully, we are settled nicely! We have a routine. Our furniture and household items have a place and function that work (That is, do cardboard boxes as side tables count as furniture?). My husband bought a study desk, we put up a privacy curtain, a handful of shelves, bought a huge round plastic bucket and fashioned it into a bathtub, and even got a mobile Western style commode to place over the eastern toilet (ha)!  

Our internet and devices are on a stable schedule and easily accessed, so that helps our daily living a lot! We've had no major problems with electricity, plumbing, water, or heat thankfully. At first I really hated the way the shower room (it also has an installed Western toilet and sink) was so small and how the water goes all over the floor, but again, it's something that I've gotten used to now, and doesn't bother me AS MUCH (though it's still annoying of course). 

Another issue that has been resolved is our need for English entertainment. Although I was glad to watch familiar Western shows and movies here in Farsi, nothing beats being able to enjoy a show in your own language. A friend of ours mentioned that he has an extensive collection of popular English films and shows we could use. I was very relieved to be able to watch these during our free time. Since then, we've watched Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Hunger Games--all movies that I wouldn't have even wanted to watch in the U.S. since I was content with my cooking and design shows there (which they don't really have in Farsi either). But I'm glad to now be able to see what all the fuss about such films was about. It's the little things that make life comfortable, you know. 

Speaking of The Hunger Games (haha), the kids daily meals have become established as well. In America, frozen waffles, frozen pizza, pasta with sauce, etc. were quick and easy to give to them. Now in Iran, I spend a lot of time making things from (semi) scratch: pancakes, pizza (without a stove!), pasta sauce, and even popcorn the old fashioned way. We are more easily able to purchase and cook halal meat here so I am cooking with those more often now. We've found some snacks to be as "good as in America," such as "Ramen" noodles, pickles, chocolates--but my children are still very discerning when it comes to other things such as popsicles and pasta sauce. And the cakes here are good, but they all seem to contain nuts inside which my kids don't like. It's true, America has an easier line up of tasty treats! But that's only because it was what we were used to for so long. I personally was sad at first that the chocolate here was not the same as it was in the States, but have found some here that's equally enjoyable. You can find it all here in Iran, you just have to be patient enough to look around since there's not a big box store like Walmart that has everything under one roof. Oh, there're loads of ice cream and sweet shops here though!

One of my younger brothers is set to arrive here in Iran to study soon. I am glad to be able to have another familiar person here! Since he's coming from America, we've asked him to bring a few things along for us. If you're ever traveling to Iran from America, we expats will always appreciate some of the "good stuff" that your bring for us. It saves us the time and effort in having to seek similar things out here. And of course, there is something comforting about a familiar product that comes from the land where you were raised. 

We've been to the Holy shrine of Lady Masumeh (p) a couple more times.  Also, I bought a chador to wear. I feel like a sort of superhero while wearing it, as if putting on armor--yet still feminine. In this bottom photo, I am wearing it while facing toward a mihrab (prayer niche) in the wall of the shrine's courtyard.

It's always a great privilege to be able to visit the shrine and its surrounding courtyards, and I hope to spend more time there just sitting and contemplating the meaning of life.

Until next time, thanks for reading. 

Silver Linings

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

Landed

We've been in Iran for 5 days now. We finally got the internet hooked up yesterday (an ordeal in itself), which has helped the kids and I feel a lot more in control of our environment by being able to connect with others and with the part of the English speaking we've lived with our entire lives.

It has been a surreal culture shock. I had a panic attack the first night. Everyday since I've had that "I want to go back" feeling. Sometimes it feels like I'm stranded on an unknown island with no way off. Still, I have positive moments too. I'm glad we're finally here, that nervousness I had back in America about "moving to Iran" soon has obviously disappeared and there's a sense of relief in knowing we've arrived, we've landed.

The flight from DFW to DUBAI had many, many, many people on it, especially Indian people. I've never seen so many lovely Indian grandmothers in saris waiting to board while sitting in wheelchairs. The 15 hour flight on EMIRATES was enjoyable with plenty of on-screen entertainment and decent enough food and service.

The Dubai airport was quiet and fancy, with shiny GUCCI, CHANEL, and HERMES retail stores. The food there was halal. The McDONALD'S there gave out packaged bananas with every combo meal. We lounged at the airport for 6 hours.

The kids had not slept at all up until then.

Walking with all of our carry ons and backpacks was difficult, as was getting on the plane with all that baggage. We boarded the plane to Tehran. The kids finally got knocked out into a deep sleep then but we had to wake them up when we landed.

At this point we were exhausted and I was suddenly shocked and afraid at the reality that we were now "home" in a land in which I could not understand or speak the language. There was a huge crowd of people waiting to get through the Visa sections. No one cared two flying figs that we were weighed down by all of our luggage and had 3 children, two of which were loudly melting down. We were shuffled from this line to the next back and forth until we were the last group to get through the line.

Then my husband had to find and load all of the 5 suitcases and 5 boxes that arrived in the baggage claim on his own (his friend couldn't make it to help). We got outside to wait for the truck that would load our luggage and drive it an hour towards our apartment in Pardisan. We waited an hour for that truck to arrive. Then we had to wait for the "taxi" that would take us there. The drivers of the truck and the "taxi" were friends of a friend (like that scene from Spongebob, "I knew this guy") so it was difficult to know when they would arrive since they were not professionals.

It was very difficult to stand there waiting so long while my son sobbed from exhaustion all while there were professional taxi drivers asking if we needed a ride. But we were trying to save on cab-fare and already committed to having the help of these friends of friends so we waited. Finally me and my kids got in the "taxi" of the guy (it was just his own car). My husband did not get in immediately and I was terrified that this guy would just take off without my husband. These guys only speak Farsi of course.

Then the hour long drive there was harrowing. No seat belts in the car. The guy driving so fast. The dark of night. The guy speaking Farsi loudly on his phone. The guy pulling over on the side of the road a few times because his friend the truck driver was behind or ahead or lost. The drive seeming to last forever.

The guy gave us some fruit. I took it as if it might be the only thing we would eat in who knows when. We arrived at our complex, still shellshocked. It was nice to be indoors in our own place. Then the next phase of adjustment had to begin.

I had taken photographs and video of every leg of the journey. Unfortunately, most of my footage was deleted when trying to adjust my iPhone here (something about a new SIM card, unlocking my phone, and a hot spot). I definitely love technology but have no idea how it all works.

I was able to make this short and silly video of the first part of our flight.

Stay tuned for more details about our journey...