Book Excerpt

... our first stop that day was actually in the mountains just outside Hamedan. We visited a half-frozen waterfall in the mountains above town. The scenic view, plus the chance to have my picture taken standing in snow in the Middle East, made for an interesting stop.

It’s also where I got my first chance to talk with some college students. On a short trip from the nearby city they seemed very curious about the sole foreign tourist. After staring for a bit they slowly sidled up to hear what Professor and I were talking about. Professor was obviously used to this. He’d asked me earlier in the car if I minded talking to people we met along the way and, somewhat surprised, I’d told him that was the reason I traveled. He smiled and promised to interpret whatever was said.

When the students approached he wasted no time in starting a conversation. Somewhat shy, they smiled and asked where I was from, and reacted with shocked smiles when I said America. Without a hint of anger or dislike they quickly bid me welcome to Iran and asked why I was there. I said I was in Iran to learn about their country and asked them to teach me something. Their one-word answer brought a chuckle from Professor and gave some insight as to what they thought was important, “dokhtar.” The Farsi word for ‘chick’ or ‘girl’ (also ‘daughter’ but I don’t think that’s what they had in mind …). In a society so restrictive of contact between sexes the first thing they thought to teach revealed the similarities of young men the world over.