Greetings from Tehr@n

Dear All,

Salam and greetings from Tehr@n. This is my third day here, and I am missing home dearly. It has been a while since I traveled, which means that I have spent a lot of time lately in the company of loved ones. And to be away from them, especially during Ramadan is tough on me. This is despite great and gracious hospitality from my Ir@nian hosts here in Tehran.

The guest house where I stay does not have internet connections. The office time is mostly spent on the road travelling from one site to another - meeting people and getting to know the businesses here. It is now 8pm, and I am stealing time at the laptop while my colleagues indulge in conversations in Farsi. No I am not being rude at all.....it is a way of making them feel less guilty for making me feel left out from their conversation.

I appreciate all your wishes for our house warming. I wanted to reply, but oddly enough I could not open the comment box from here. I promise to post more pictures of the house after my return.

A few discoveries during these few days of fasting in Ir@n.
- Most of them are Shiah. They do not observe Teraweeh prayers.
- The Shiah do not rush to break fast at the first word of Adzan. Instead, they waited for the Adzan to be completed.
- For the last three days, I have been having Iftar at the office. Upon enquiring, I was told that almost everyone in Tehran break their fast in the office except for weekends. This is so different from us in Malaysia.
- The menu for the last three days have been the same, and I have had Iftar in two different offices. It is soup which they call "Sof", some kind of cereal porridge called"Halim", leaves of a few kinds, bread, white local cheese, and dates. Yes, no meat! So I was pleasantly surprise today when one of the dishes looked like meat - but alas, they were the feet of lambs. I just could not bring myself to eat them little footsies.

Business wise, the visit has been useful. I have been introduced to so many people in so many different businesses belonging to the group. Everyone have been warm and polite. I understood what have been spoken, I am trying to decipher what have been displayed through their body language, and I will continue to learn and understand what are not spoken.....and the ability to understand all three will be the key to my success in Iran.

On another matter, I despise the way the Columbia University rector welcome abused the President of Ir@n. No matter what - it is simply uncivilized for him to be rude to his guest, an elected President of a sovereign Country. And I am not even politically inclined one way or another....I am just respectful of human dignity and fair treatment.