Arriving in Tehran

Lisa and me (Jonas) arrived on Thursday the 3rd. We were welcomed by Marc, Abusar, Ali and Lisa’s family at the airport. My very first impression of Tehran was the insane traffic. I have experienced various driving styles. The Iranians are among the world elite of kamikaze drivers. Due to the traffic, cheap gas and lots of cars, the city is dirty and loud. It is a huge relief to visit the nearby mountains or one of the beautiful parks.

In comparison to Germany everything you want to do takes a lot of time. It took us some days to get internet and mobile phones started. It would have been impossible without the support of Abusar’s friends and relatives. If we meet somewhere we first have to drink tea with everybody and have a chat before we can start working. To get from one place another always takes 20 min, according to the driver, but then takes up to one hour. Every plan develops very dynamically. Appointments with a fixed time are rare.

But it is fun to enjoy life with Iranians: visiting tea houses, dining out or just sitting somewhere and listening to the omnipresent mobile phone jukebox.