Inja hastam! (I’m here!)

Salaam from Iran!

After about 22 hours of travel (door to door) we arrived safe, sound and exhausted at Nima’s aunt’s house at about 5:00am Friday morning, which is 8:30pm Thursday evening New York time. As I’m writing, we've barely been here 12 hours, and there is so much to say that I don’t even know where to start!

First off, the flights were long but hassle-free. I was able to sleep for the entire first leg of the trip, from JFK to Heathrow, while Nima watched movies and played computer backgammon on the in-seat tv screen. After a four-plus hour layover, we got to our gate and watched the lounge fill up with Iranians waiting to board the Iran Air flight to Tehran. There were a lot of different types of people waiting to board the plane, older people traveling alone, couples traveling together, and families with children of all ages.

When we were airborne, we studied some Farsi and had the best airplane food I’ve ever eaten! It was Iranian food after all and it was a nice little warm up for what I’ll be eating over the next few weeks. Something that was really interesting about the flight on Iran Air, was that it was the most social flight I’ve ever been on. People who were not traveling together and had never met before were engaged in conversation and enjoying each other’s company. Everyone was so kind and interested in one another. On other flights I’ve been on in the past, people seem to go out of their way to avoid conversation with their neighbors. That may seem unimportant, but it really changed the entire feel of the flight and the time passed quickly.

Towards the end of the six-hour flight, Nima’s mother Ann and I started to get ready for our arrival in Tehran. We put on some make-up (most of you know I am not a make-up person…but I figured I’d give it a shot since most of the women in Iran are really into it!) and made sure we had our scarves ready! As the flight attendants announced our final descent, all of the women on board calmly put on either hijab (head scarves) with long jackets, or full chadors, in order to be appropriately dressed for arrival. I had painstakingly ironed my scarf that Ann had brought back as a gift from Nima’s aunt Tal’at the last time they were in Iran, because I thought that would make for easy situating when it was time to wear it. I thought I was all ready to go and then, of course, the scarf wasn’t sitting right. I couldn’t get it to stay flat on my head and I was struggling to get it to stay on with out strangling myself. It was making me nuts! Nima, Ann and Ahmad assured me that it was fine, and that it looked great, and since I couldn’t seem to do anything about it I decided to let it go. I now realize I had absolutely nothing to worry about.

We exited the plane into Khomeini International Airport and slowly made our way to the passport line. I had anticipated seeing lots of the large, intimidating images of Ayatollah Khomeini plastered everywhere. I’ve never really seen one in person, and because I can’t think of another way to describe how I feel, I just think it is a little overwhelming to see large pictures of leaders (religious or not) posted around. Anyway, as it turned out, I didn’t see a single one! In fact, the airport – which is huge and very new – was one of the most laid back, easy-going airports I’ve ever been in. I couldn’t help thinking that I was now in a country many people in America, like Hillary Clinton for example, describe as a heavily-monitored “military state,” meanwhile I didn’t see one police officer or military person patrolling the airport. Security, in the way we would recognize it in a US, didn’t seem to be much of a concern. The person sitting at the passport desk took the passports, asked if it was my first time in Iran, and stamped all four of our passports and sent us on our way.

As we were walking to the baggage claim, we heard shouts of “Dāyi! Dāyi! Ahn! Ahn!” (which means “Uncle! Uncle! Ann! Ann!”) We looked up and saw one of Ahmad’s nephews, Mohammad Reza waving and coming down the stairs into the baggage claim area. As our eyes scanned the huge crowd waiting behind the partition separating arriving passengers and those picking people up at the airport, we realized that there were nine other people there waiting for us! Every time I looked over, there were five women in chadors just staring at me, giggling, and excitedly waving. It was so unreal. I didn’t even know them, yet I found myself waving back as if I were greeting old familiar family members. This surprised me, since I usually don’t like meeting new people and it is often difficult for me to feel immediately comfortable in new settings. But seeing their excitement just brought me right in and I immediately moved past the nervousness about meeting them and was able to just feel the thrill and curiosity about who everyone was and what they were going to think of me!

After passing through customs (which literally consisted of putting our bags through an x-ray machine that no one was monitoring), we made our way as quickly as possible to go meet the family that was waiting for us! I was received with open arms and kisses and hugs by all of the women. To my surprise and without hesitation, two of the men (who are not supposed to touch me due to religious and cultural reasons) even shook my hand right there and then, in front of everyone! I was not expecting this at all, and to have it happen before any actual interaction was really incredible. Not only did they shake my hand, but they did it in front of older (more traditional) family members and also in the middle of a crowded airport! It may seem like a minor thing, but actually it was a really courageous gesture of affection towards me and, because I expected the exact opposite, it was even more meaningful and important. In contrast, as thrilled as Nima’s female cousins were to see him again (everyone had tears in their eyes), they stopped short of physical contact. This made the handshakes I instantly received even more amazing.

We finally made it out of the airport and into the three different cars that would take us all to Nima’s aunt Tal’at’s house. As we walked to the car, one of the female cousins, Maryam, kept grabbing hold of my arm and kind of giggling with excitement. Everyone was so genuinely excited to see me and I think they were in just as much shock and disbelief that I was actually there as I was. Nima and I drove in Mohammad Reza’s car with Maryam and Maliheh (Mohammad Reza’s aunt and mother, respectively), none of whom speak much English, so we all did our best to make small talk with our limited conversational abilities. The months and months of Farsi lessons and flashcard quizzes during our flight seemed to fly out the window as Nima and I bumbled around to find words we knew how to say and verbs we could try to conjugate. No one seemed to mind.

On the half-hour drive from the airport, we got a little tour of Tehran as Maryam pointed out different squares and universities on the way to the house. Beautifully colored lights lined the dark streets and lit up the tunnels and bridges all the way from the airport to the apartment (in Namju, one of the older neighborhoods in the center of the city). The green, white, and red of Iran’s flag were prominently featured everywhere. It was breathtakingly beautiful and a really amazing way to be introduced to this incredible city.

As we neared our destination, we stopped quickly to pick up a steaming pot of halim, which is an Iranian breakfast food made with meat, sugar, wheat, butter, coconut, cinnamon, and other spices, all of which are slowly stewed into a consistency like Maypo. And yes, the halim store was open at 5am. Welcome to Tehran.

We finally arrived at the house and were greeted by the welcome scent of esfand, incense being carried to the door by another eagerly waiting relative. We took off our shoes (as you must), dropped off our bags in the downstairs apartment we are staying in and headed upstairs. Nima’s aunt was waiting with open arms and I was finally able to put a face to this person I’ve heard so much about (and even spoke to on the phone once, sort of). She was so happy to meet me. She welcomed me to the family with many hugs and kisses and was so impressed when I told her (in well-practiced Farsi) that I was very happy to finally meet her.

Cha’i (tea, obviously) and gaz (delicious pistachio marshmallow like candy) were immediately placed in front of us and it was then, for the first time, I was able to really look around and realize where I was. I had arrived in Iran, I was meeting the family, and somehow, for some reason, I felt completely at ease and comfortable.

It was really amazing to meet such welcoming, loving people who were so happy to see all of us. Life is definitely different here (more details on that in future blog posts), but it all feels totally natural. I’ve never been so far away from home, or spent so much time with so many people I’ve never met and a language I barely understand, but it already feels like family and we haven’t even been here a full day!

I have so much more that I want to share, but I have to find the time to write it first! I’ll try to post more in the next few days.

Talk to you soon!