Sweet Lemons—Life in Iran

Among the many delicious fruits in Iran, the most surprising is thesweet lemon—a fruit that looks like a lemon but tastes deceptivelysweet, like a mild orange—a fruit that symbolizes the many surprises,paradoxes, or complexities of life in Iran as we experienced it.

A few of these paradoxes include a seven-thousand-year-oldculture and architecture existing with modern-day skyscrapers andtraffic; turban-clad Islamic clerics with cell phones in hand; chador-cladwomen with active professional involvement; designer jeansand shoes underneath coats and chadors; tissue boxes in homesand offices with cultural taboos about blowing one's nose in public;a dislike of Western culture but enjoyment of American movies,cartoons, music, and toys; hesitancy to engage in political dialoguewith eagerness to engage in conversations about faith, education, andculture; Superman, Batman, and princesses in Iranian stores togetherwith Islamic children's books and toys; high regard for the Iranianeducational system with many youth studying abroad or dreamingof studying abroad; frequent statements of love for the Americanpeople with statements against the American government; and twoAmericans (us!) warmly welcomed to study in the conservativeIslamic city of Qom, a city that houses few other American personnelor interests.

Making the Decision to Live in Iran

Our journey to Iran began in 1969, after we had completed fouryears of medical work in Nigeria, West Africa, during the BiafranCivil War. The experience of living in Nigeria grew in us a deepappreciation for other cultures, history, and people groups, and whenwe left Nigeria in 1969, we decided we would engage once again incross-cultural service when our children were grown and able tolive on their own. The opportunity to do this came in 2001, when wereceived a phone call from the director of human resources at theMCC headquarters in Akron, Pennsylvania.

We had been applying to various service organizations,volunteering our gifts to be used where needed, and had begun tolearn Spanish, assuming we would be going to a Spanish-speakingcountry. In fact, we were working our way through the Rosetta StoneSpanish program when the phone call from MCC rang a differentopportunity.

The human resources person on the other end asked if we wouldconsider an assignment in the student-exchange program developedjust a few years earlier in Iran. As we learned about this program, webecame deeply drawn to the possibility of living among the IranianMuslims, building friendships and relationships, partnering indialogue, and learning about the traditions and faiths of others. Aftermuch thought and discernment, we signed a three-year commitmentto participate with MCC in this student-exchange program to liveand learn in Iran.

Preparing to Cross the Boundaries

We were not unaware of the various challenges we would face in thisjourney to Iran. Obtaining student visas and learning the Persianlanguage and customs were two such challenges.

The challenge of obtaining student visas to Iran led us todiscover new places as we waited for our very first student visas tobe approved by the Iranian government. While we waited, we flewto the Philippine Islands for a week of meetings, expecting to pickup our visas at the Iranian embassy that same week. After arrivingin Manila we discovered the visas were not yet ready, which enabledus to enjoy three weeks discovering a new country and its culture,continue our language study, and anxiously wait. That day finallyarrived and the excitement was memorable as our eyes were glued toour passports and we watched that yellow student visa being stampedinto the empty, waiting page.

For the language-learning part, we studied with an Iranianstudent at Indiana University, spent two weeks at the BostonLanguage Institute in intensive-language immersion, and purchaseda Persian language program and various books to study.

Learning the Persian language was difficult, and our age—wewere in our sixties at the time—did nothing to help us. The alphabet,similar to Arabic, was unrecognizable, and reading and writing fromright to left was awkward. Our mouths and tongues struggled topronounce the harsh kh sound found in so many Persian words, andthe absence of vowels in the written script meant that our ears had tobe trained to hear the various vowel sounds. However, dialogue witha diversity of Iranians and reading Persian poetry became possibleonly because of this language training. When we finally arrived inIran, we felt accomplished to be able to speak and write a few basicsentences in Persian.

In addition to language training, we spent time learning aboutIranian culture and customs to prepare for our journey to Iran.For this learning, it was important to spend time with our Iraniancounterparts in the student-exchange program, two Iranian familiesliving in Toronto. When we visited these families in Toronto, wewere warmly welcomed by fragrant Persian foods and hospitality.In addition, one of the women, Masumeh, helped me (Evie) preparefor life as a woman in Iran—a life that included proper dress andcustom.

Masumeh took me to her bedroom, pulled out several scarves,and carefully taught me how to put on the scarf so that none of myhair would show. The scarves were beautiful and colorful, and as Itried on each one, Masumeh would comment whether it was foldedright or came far enough down my forehead.

She also introduced me to the chador and mantow I would wearto cover my body. The chador is literally translated as tent in Persian.It is approximately nine yards of fabric, usually black, that coversthe body but leaves the face and hands exposed. The mantow is along, tunic-style coat. She informed me that only my face and handsshould show when out in public. She pulled several lightweight coatsfrom her closet and had me try them on. When she noticed they weretoo long and too wide, she quickly pulled out her sewing machine,sat on the floor, and adjusted the length and width.

How pleased she looked when I modeled the coat and scarf forher. I laughed to see myself in such attire and asked her to take apicture so I could show my friends and family how I would dress inIran. Throughout the "modeling" session we were laughing together,and I knew then that I would enjoy the company of Iranian women!

Before leaving the room, Masumeh packed several scarves andcoats for me to take to Iran. She also reminded me not to shake handswith men unless they first offered their hand, and she encouragedme to buy shoes that could be removed easily before entering homes,mosques, or office settings, as is the custom in Iran. Later in theevening, her preschool son taught me the Persian names for colors,and by the end of the evening, I had learned a...