These Walls Can Talk

My neighbors are so loud sometimes.

When we first moved here, I noticed a man's voice yelling loudly at all times of the day and night. I didn't know any of the words he was saying but the language of shouting can be universal, no? Of course it was disturbing so I asked my husband to investigate. Long story short, we realized the family members up there were just typical dramatic talkers, and that our apartment walls were thin! And after watching several Iranian drama shows, "loud conversing" between men and women is a common thing, hahaha. 

The neighbor's across the hall have a very temperamental child who tantrums. Once they were having a birthday party for him. It lasted at least 8 hours. Lots of guests, lots of woohoo-ing, and lots of clapping! Next door to us is a family with a newborn baby. We can hear the child crying the way crying newborns do. I'm sure my family can get too loud at times as well. Sometimes I don't mind the noise because a lively atmosphere is fine. Most of the times, it's quiet during the day. But somedays when my family is all asleep around 11 PM, we can hear the neighbors in all corners making a ruckus. Sometimes sounds like running around, yelling, or even drilling. It's been quiet lately though so who knows why or what or when. That's apartment life.

If this was happening in America, I'd be complaining to my husband who might end up having to complain to the manager. But since we still feel like outsiders here, it's a lot less disturbing for some reason. It's like we're still outside, looking in. I sort of laugh it off and think, "Iranians are so lively and fun." But it does get annoying, yes. It's a good thing I have a pair of super duper ear plugs for sleeping at night! 

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So Spring has sprung and it is hot in Iran. We fortunately have a 'water cooler air conditioner' which keeps us chill when it's working well. There are more flies getting into the apartment which I hate, but it is manageable. And of course flies got in our homes in America. This is just what's new around here. At least it's just house flies and not mosquitoes!

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There is a Presidential Election going on. Compared to the American elections, this one is not dragged out for years with long campaigns. The whole thing has lasted a few months. There have been 3 televised live debates. The candidates criticize each other but it is far more civilized than the mudslinging of the U.S. politics. While driving around, I notice people have put photographs of their choice on their car windows and there are larger posters hanging in public places for both the Presidential and local elections. The election is in a couple of days. Here's a sample of the debate which was shown on the English language Iranian channel PRESS TV:

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Oh, and here's a random clip of LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE in Farsi, which is being shown here also. I love this show! 

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So, while the Elections in Iran are far more dignified than in the States, there is one thing that is far more civilized in the States and that is the DRIVING. It is too scary here for someone who grew up with traffic flowing in a straight line and people waiting to cross the streets at a stop light. Here, "jaywalking" is the only way to get around. Families put their kids on the motorcycles with them, no helmets, just tight arms and good faith. As you are driving or even walking down the sidewalk, you may see a man on a motorbike driving towards you. My husband has been taking driving school here and it is no picnic. It's very strict and emphasizes safety and following the law. There are commercials on TV and posters all around the streets reminding the people to follow the safety rules. Yet, people do not follow the rules. At the same time, though there is a lot of honking of horns, there is not much road rage. I've never seen anyone yell at another. It's just a strange way of life. I will certainly never drive here, and thankfully my husband has nerves of steel, quick motor reflexes, eagle eyes, and lots of patience. Our car has seat belts, and we rarely go for a drive anyhow. There are also plenty of times when the roads are fine and the cars are straight in a row. By the way, the written driving test here is very difficult to pass especially if one's Farsi is not so perfect yet. 

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Ok so that's a short update. Keep in touch. 

Strangeness and Charm

We arrived in Iran with 30 day visas. Part of the process to extend our stay required us to get our blood tested thereby ensuring we weren’t bringing in any infectious diseases into the country. My husband had already taken his a few months before, so it was me and my kids’ turn.

We went to a hospital in Qom. It was a professional and efficient environment and run entirely in Farsi. My husband handled everything so I had no worries.

The waiting room was mixed with both men and women. We easily found 5 seats for our entire family! Then there was a separate men and women’s lab sections. I went in with my girls and my husband took in my son. It didn’t matter that I don’t speak Farsi because all the information they needed was on the forms we had. The wait wasn’t too long, and the ladies who drew our blood were obviously professionals. It hurt, but it was quick. My kids handled it so bravely. Then we were ready to get out of there fast!

We went to a fast food place called BAMA restaurant. Well, we were 20 minutes early for its opening, so we walked a little bit and went into this little store that reminded me of DOLLAR GENERAL in the states.

Then we went into the restaurant. Check it out on Instagram here! It was large and clean and colorful. There was a small play section for little kids (glad my kids are too old for that now though!). The service was fast and the food was really delicious! It felt so liberating to be able to order anything off the menu since it's all halal.

How much in U.S. Dollars? **

Walking down the streets, there are many shops. I was surprised to see several charming window displays of fancy Iranian household objects. My photos don’t capture all the shiny things, but it was so nicely set up that I’d be intimidated with my humble budget just to go inside and browse.

So some of the elegance was lost with these tacky signs, but really captured the strangeness and charm of life in Qom.

The fancy stores are separated by strangely modest alleyways.

Oh, and we had to cross the street. So. It was frightening. The cars were not traveling too fast, but when vehicles are moving towards you at a steady pace and seem to stop only a few inches from your body, it is a STRANGE thing. Here’s a video of the street after we’d safely crossed. Scroll further down to see a snap I took of a couple on a motorcycle, the woman holding onto her baby. It is of course a culture shock to see so many people packed onto motorcycles (the first night here, I saw 3 men speeding down the highway on a motorbike, one was holding a large hookah pipe even). I don't judge the Iranian authorities or the Iranian people for this. I can still recall being a child in America and never having to bother with seat belts. The safety campaign took a while and a lot of money to successfully lobby for better seatbelt laws in the states, so it's just a matter of time and money here too.

Praise God.

Here are some other interesting street scenes from that day:

*Title of post taken from Florence Welch
**Around $12

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