April 13, 2023 | Farvardin 24, 1402
Shamsabad, District 8, Tehran.
Image: Sofreh from the invitation today featuring Persian/Iranian dishes.
Short post. Nothing significant happened today, and the events of the day are personal.
Taarof
Lunch invitation at the Norouzi’s today. Milad and Nava’s Mom was fasting for Ramadan. They prepared such a massive feast, and they taught me a lot about taarof (Persian hospitality)— especially Shirazi style hospitality, which I learned is one of the most intense taarofs in Iran. I was offered several helpings of each delicious dish. I tried to eat slowly, to not empty my plate so quickly, but whilst this is a good antic to follow among Arab or Levantine hosts, it is not good to eat so slow in Iran. Eating fast shows enthusiasm for the dish! Do not be so demure; you want to show enthusiasm to the Persian host. EAT, dude! Bokhor, babaaa! 🙂
They prepared khoresht morgh (chicken stew), ghormeh sabzi (braised greens, kidney beans, and meat), and zereshk pilav/polo (barberries over saffron rice). Before leaving their home, their Mom packed extra food in a container for me to have as dinner. Ahhh homemade food ❤
Shahid Haghani Station
It was a cold day, with thunder rumbling in the distance; after wearing the jacket, my friend poured almonds directly into the pocket (which I would later find very useful). We walked to istigah Khajeh Abdollah-e Ansari (metro station), and took the train to istigah Shahid Haghani. I learned that this was the station where Zhina Mahsa Amini got arrested 7 months ago…
From there, we went to Ab va Otash park (Water & Fire park). My first lesson in Persian for the day was to say it as one word, so I could sound like a native speaker, “Abvaotash!” — did I get it right? We stayed near Tabiat Bridge, and for a long time, I could not peel my eyes away from the view of those majestic mountains.
Afterwards, we walked to The Tehran Book Garden.
I looked for Persian books with harakat (vowel markings), because that is usually where I go wrong when trying to pronounce a new word without visible vowels. I approached a staff member, and tried to formulate a sentence using my broken Persian. But as soon as he detected that I was a khariji (foreigner), he smiled and swapped to English — pretty good English. He must have liked the opportunity to practice it with a native English speaker. Next time I will have a chance to practice Persian with strangers. He could not find me the books I requested, but said I may find something in the early readers’ section.
A fight broke out between two men in the Book Garden. Then we ordered bastani sonnati with ab-havij (traditional ice-cream with carrot juice) from one of the kiosks, and walked back to the metro. Home before dark, and I won’t go hungry tonight. Win. 🙂
Iran, Az Cheshmanam 