Where is Shahin?

Hi all - it's Maggie (Shahin's other (better?) half).

Shahin promised a blog - and here I am to write it.
Unfortunately, Shahin has been temporarily felled by technology and adventure - I'll explain:

Shahin arrived safe and sound in Tehran at the brand new airport - which is conveniently located nearly an hour and a half away from Tehran (makes the airport in Halifax seem accessible by comparison). He spent a few days at his sister's house and went to a bunch of meetings to look into touring The Veil to Iran. The system is a bit byzantine there - so there's all sorts of people to talk to about how, when, where, etc. I'm looking forward to seeing how things progress on this front.

Anyway - once he'd had enough of Tehran (about 3 days) - Shahin flew to Shiraz and the next morning he drove to Abadan. Where he promptly set up house and found out that his request for high-speed internet had not been fulfilled - dial-up only, baby! Hence - felled by technology. It took Shahin nearly two weeks to get high-speed and he couldn't blog.

Fortunately for me, his cell phone works fine, so I got daily updates about the goings on in Abadan - so now I can take up his blogging responsibilities.

By my estimate, it's been about 30 years and one war since Shahin has lived in Abadan (assuming you don't count the 2 wars just over the border in Kuwait and Iraq - to get an idea check out where Kuwait and Basra are located relative to Abadan.) Finally, he's HOME . Here in Nova Scotia, where Shahin and I are both "come-from-aways", there is some magic to being known by "your people" - your parents, grandparents, etc. In Nova Scotia, nobody ever asks if he is Ali Sayadi's son, but in Abadan - his "people" are relevant.

My impression is that Shahin has mostly used the first days in Abadan getting settled and re-acquainted with his home town. I think, most importantly, he has been exploring how the Iran/Iraq war and siege of Abadan affected the people and the city. It must really bring things home when you meet community leaders and find that most of them were injured during the war. Even though Shahin was living in Iran through most of the war (in Shiraz and Tehran), I get the impression that living in Abadan is bringing Shahin a new understanding of the war.

Among other things, Shahin has been volunteering at a community centre teaching a nightly English conversation class - apparently it's very popular. Each night, they have a different topic - restaurants, job interviews, travel, etc. So the group (mostly young adults) get to practice their English and learn about "Western" culture. He's been having a lot of fun here and he's met all sorts of interesting people through this group.

Also, he has been looking into re-building his grandfather's home in nearby Khoramshahr. Again, the system is apparently quite complicated, fortunately, Shahin will be there for a few more weeks, so maybe he can get things underway.

So, of course, as soon as Shahin gets his high-speed hooked up, he left town. That's the adventure part - more about that later....here's a hint - apparently, Shahin is now traveling so close to the Iraq border, the British security forces are able to pick up our fascinating cell phone conversations...