Early Retrospection

In about three weeks it will be time for us to return to India - my visa to Iran will no longer be valid, or extendable (as they so generously did a third and final time this past week).
In looking back on my blog entries from the past two months, I realize I've not necessarily done a great job of sharing what's been going on on a daily basis...but then, I'm not really a "Today we did such and such" kind of girl.
My childhood diaries were never direct accounts of particular instances, and were rarely day-of entries.
Rather, they were an odd mix of little poems, observations (usually offered in hindsight), and meandering thoughts on whatever was in my head at the time.
Some things, I guess, don't change.

Certainly, I've had my share of good days and bad (mostly good) - but hot summer days are not scarf-friendly days...and I find them more and more difficult to endure - often not leaving the house in favor of avoiding the entire issue altogether. But this is Iran, and there are laws that must be respected - and so I continue to work my way toward accepting them as best I can (one excellent solution I've found is being constantly on the lookout for new scarves made with kinder, lighter fabrics - and my collection has thusly tripled since we've been here, nothing to complain about there.)
The language barrier continues to fluctuate between being absolutely devastating and not-such-a-big-deal.
I still find that I am a constant source of amusement for both friends and family as I learn more and more how to converse (and understand conversation).
Apparently, I sound something like a five year old girl - not because of my vocabulary anymore...but my accent and presentation.

Our impending move back to India promises at least a much more colorful set of entries (as there is much to complain and/or marvel about in India's lovely dirty chaos...and writing is often the only outlet for these things should I want to avoid daily nervous breakdowns.) And I imagine most of my writing on Iran will come once we've gone from here and I can look back at my experiences in order to put them better to paper - as has always been the case.

I dare say that my way of travelling also contributes to the lack of posts.
I am, of course, fascinated by and in admiration of my surroundings, wherever that may be (even in India, for that matter) but because I have always chosen to stay in a country for an extended period of time rather than as a quickie-tourist I tend to settle in and view things much as I would anywhere else. When you know you've planned to be somewhere upwards of three to six months the survival-insticnt necessitates handling things in such a way so as to avoid complete and total discombobulation.
The tourist attractions are still - well, touristy (and fun) but it's the flavor of a country as a whole experience that I'm most interested in and attracted to and as far as I'm concerned seeing a city or country in two days, or even two weeks, is not the same thing as being in it, not even close.
It's the overall impressions and intricacies that ultimately make it into my writing: what do the streets look like at two in the morning? What does it smell like after a rain? Where can I find the best something-to-eat and which will be my favorite cravings to fulfill after the first four weeks (at this point it's definitely the cream puffs I've previously mentioned, Heeva mushroom cheeseburgers, and kebabs - either kubideh from the delivery place or pan fried at home by my mother-in-law...with smoked rice.)
And so on....

I've been in Iran for almost two months and I still don't completely understand it - one minute I'll be queasily pondering one of the popular foods, on the lunch table recently, next to the Coca cola and salad (sheep's facial meat - including eye muscles - cooked in heavy broth) and the next moment Metallica is the focus of everyone's attention as they slide across the big screen television, guitars in hand, next in line after The Who and before Depeche Mode for "Greatest Legends of All Time" - and I have to place myself all over again.
I am in Iran.
It is different here.
But really, how different can it be when you still have things like Metallica and Coke?

Anyway, these things don't really matter in the end - none of it, none of what I think or write or feel ultimately matters except to say that it is my life, this inter-continental life...and I write what I can manage when the thoughts or impressions are there.
I live in a strange dichotomy - or trichotomy....depending on how you look at it.
Hopefully I'll do a much better job of writing about it in the future...