Redefining Hospitality

First of all I want to thank everybody for their nice remarks on my posts and by email. Good to hear that you appreciate my effort for posting my experiences on this blog. Second I am really trying to post some photo's on my blog but the connection here is as shitty as it can be, so I will try to send them by email.

Tehran, Tehran want a noisy and crowded city but as many people said that it is an awfull place I don't hate it yet after being here for a day.
So as I described in my last post my plans were to spend a few days in the mountains in a village called Masouleh some 1000 meter up. After a day seeing the village with 3 polish travellers a got settled in a nice cheap room with a nice view as the polish left for Theran.
Sitting and reading while smoking a Gheylan (waterpipe) a young guy came up to me and started talking to me (believe me not uncommon as many people do that here) and he invited me to sit with his family at their table. His brother and parents spoke pretty good english as well and before I knew it I was invited to their vacation home at the Caspian sea coast and spend the next 4 days with Sourena their son in a far nicer village at 4000 meter high, let me re-phrase that; chilling in a nice village overlooking the clouds (as we where above the clouds and sometimes in)

The family also took me on a boatride through an bird protected area and we enjoyed a marvelous sunset. I learned allot from them regarding the government, country and religion in Iran. As they were making jokes about their president as we in holland would make jokes about the hair of mr Wilders. The Caspian sea coast as it sounds maybe amazing it is actually quite dirty as Iran has a serious garbage problem. At night at the coast and the days spending in Jawerdeh (the cloud village) I met many Iranians together with sourena who helped me translate allot. Many people here know Holland from the flowers and football (van nistelrooy, van basten, robben etc) and I get to answer allot of questions about how life is in Holland and how I like Iran and why I am not married yet.
Iran really is a country you could see in two ways; 1 being the strict islamic country as many people picture it from tv (burning flags, women in burkas or public death sentences) or the other way that actually many young people are not muslim, listen to ''forbidden'' western music and have seen all the latest holywood movies and don't agree with their government and many do drink alcohol. Actually the homemade redwine and whisky is not bad.
My main dish what I had the last 5 days were chicken, chicken and more chicken and a little bread as my room mates in Jawerdeh made the best chicken on the bbq for me everynight.

My Farsi is getting better and people here like it allot that I try to study it. I have so many more experiences I want to share with you but maybe it's better to tell it in person.

Today I wondered through Tehran and visited the big bazar, traffic is terrible here and crossing the street for the first time looks like a death wish but now I really enjoy it and I compare it with a free adrenaline rollercoaster ride when the themepark is closed. ;) I actually get used to the almost 40 degrees in the daytime.
Last night I slept in a shitty guesthouse but it was nice to meet some fellow-travellers, and as my dad is arriving in Tehran tonight I found a better one.
The next 2 weeks I travel with him which will be a different experience for a change.

Also I booked my flight back home and the date is ........ the 21st of August flying to Frankfurt, which was the only one available in europe till the 25th of August. My original plan was to stay a week longer but besides the lack of available flights, I also want to enjoy the last week of the summer vacation back home with my friends as from September I will be busy with school and work again.
And as many Iranians really live the day as it comes with friends and family, I experienced and know that besides my passion of travelling, my friends and family I have back home are of great importance to me. But first another 2,5 weeks seeing all the jewels of Iran in the middle and south.

Hope you have a little idea of how Iran is but actually you should come to this great nation to experience it your self.

Hope everything is well.
greets joost

p.s. Yo makkers hoe was het Festival Reggea Geel dit weekend?