game of your dream

We had a football game between UC Berkeley and UCLA today.  Typically, these games have quite an impact on everything in town, most importantly transportation and parking become almost impossible.  How lively it is to fight for winning, to have a favorite team, and to show your support for something you relate to.  Today, while [...]

walking through the streets of cambridge

I spent a week in the UK and returned a few days ago.  I got to travel around a bit and see London, Cambridge, and Oxford.  It was a lovely trip and I had a wonderful time, ignoring the incredibly high cost of everything in Europe.  London is a crowded city which reminded me of [...]

tale of “change”!

My aunt sent me this letter to share with our blog readers.  It is about hope and change and has a strong message for all of us, whether you are from New York City, Tehran, Tokyo, Cairo, London, or Los Angeles, even though the topic is on the existing situation in the United States.  Enjoy reading it and send [...]

kuoban

A friend sent me this clip from a performance by Kuoban ensemble (formerly 40-daf) in Tehran.  It is a combination of Kurdish and Luri music. We recently had a trip to Sanandaj in Kurdestan.  The nature, people, music, and costumes are breath-taking and fascinating.  Delightful yet traditional, proud, and strong. Enjoy:
 

ignorance!

On the way to a conference last week, I was faced with a more or less challenging situation: an intense dialogue among a few colleagues about the significance of different cultures in world history and development.  This is a complex topic and it’s hard to make simple conclusions on the matter.  I want to write about this [...]

baby with 2 faces

I was speechless when I read the news.  I only hope this baby’s parents will allow doctors to check her internal organs and make sure surgery is not needed for her health.  It is interesting how different communities look at an event/outcome from different angles based on old beliefs/traditions and that an extremely negative situation in one society may [...]

international dance

Last week, on Sunday morning while the streets of New York City showed small signs of spring but cold winter winds could still freeze my bones early in the morning, we got on the bus to go to Manhattan for a special event.  The Iranian community in New York (and many other parts of the [...]

norooz

It is this time of the year again; I feel the nature’s longing for spring, I feel its heart beat for spring, its open arms to welcome spring as the trees, flowers, and every living creature (on the northern hemisphere) show their excitement for the New Year and are once again filled with life, waiting [...]

freedom

Last week the Pakistani government denied access to YouTube for a short period because some of the content was deemed offensive.  According to the BBC article, reports said the content included religious cartoons that already caused worldwide outrage.  Once those questionable videos were removed, YouTube was back up in Pakistan.  But regardless of one’s opinion, it brings [...]

khaastegar

It was a cold day in late February, a Friday afternoon busy with homework and exams during high school.  My aunt had a “khaastegar” (translated to a suitor) that night!  Well, in Iran like many other countries, when a man is introduced to a girl or her family (either independently or through family or friends) and [...]

power of colors

On our way to Iran from San Francisco, we stopped in Amsterdam to change planes.  Shawhin and I got our coffee and orange juice (I’m the coffee person and he’s the healthy one) and we were on our way to find the gate for the KLM flight to Tehran.  It turned out finding the gate [...]

babak’s castle

I bought a calendar with lots of beautiful pictures from different parts of Iran during our last trip in September.  This morning when I came to school, I turned the page and found myself stunned by the power of the image in front of me.  I had discovered an astonishing scene in east Azerbaijan (a [...]

homeland

I left Iran when I was 16 years old, after getting my high school diploma in math and physics. The name of my high school was (is) Kooshesh (which translates to “hard work” or “effort”) and it was located in Jordan Street, at the intersection of Ghobadian and Jordan Ave. It seems like a different [...]

prayer beads

Shideh, thanks for the post. The images are beautiful.  One of the pictures that caught my attention:  the one of the three men sitting with prayer beads dangling from their wrists.  The image reminded me of one of my father’s friends, Mihan.  He was from Iran; his wife was American and they and their two children [...]