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August 24, 2011

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Me? I’m Iranian!…[Reaction]

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Everytime I fly back to Washington D.C. from California, my mom packs me this amazingly delicious sandwich for the flight.  The sandwich has pickles, tomatoes… and kabob.  Literally the perfect sandwich ever.  In fact, I’m sure everyone in that flight is jealous that I have a yummy, free sandwich and they have to pay a ridiculous amount for some worthless “snack box.”  That is… until I open the foil wrapped around the sandwich and the stench of the leftover kabob fills the entire plane.  Then I’m pretty sure the rest of the passengers just want to slap me, especially the ones sitting next to me.  As I sit and eat my sandwich, all they get is the smell of the leftover kabob.  But hey!  I’m Iranian- what do you expect?

Another example: My grandmother came to visit my family and I from Iran several years ago.  Being a shopping maniac, I thought it would be a great idea for her to come with my friends and I to the mall to browse around at Macy’s.   My friends and I wander off to the shoes section and about 20 minutes later, we find my grandmother screaming at the cashier at the makeup counter, “No, von dollar (one dollar), von dollar!!” Unfortunately, my adorable grandmother didn’t realize that unlike in Iran- people don’t “chooneh” at department stores! I remember looking at my friends sheepishly and in an attempt to explain to them, I merely said, “What? We are Iranian! This is what we do.” Has anyone in your family ever done something that ONLY Iranians would do? What do your friends think when you say you are Iranian/Persian?

Join our cohosts tonight as they discuss how others view them for being Iranian.  AND as a special guest, we will be interviewing Maryam Keshavarz, the director of the controversial film: Circumstance.  Tune in tonight!

Follow What do others think when you say you’re Iranian/Persian? on facebook

Iranian Live Talk Show airs on RadioJavan.com every other Wed @ 7PM, every other Fri at 9AM on Radio Bamdad Sacramento, and is available for podcast on Iranican.com.

August 13, 2011

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Why do you think you’re not “Pretty” Enough?

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What is the most frequent plastic surgery Iranians go through?  Nose jobs.  Now, I’ll be the first to admit it, my nose isn’t exactly “cute.” I have a semi-typical Iranian nose… a little on the bigger side, but not too outrageous (I think).  Anyway, for as long as I can remember, my aunt was always advocating for me to get a nose job every time I would go to visit her in Iran.  Even my dad offered to buy me a nose job as my “high school graduation gift.”  These offers and arguments for me to get a nose job often made me feel like I wasn’t pretty enough.  I used to stare at my nose in the mirror and wonder what it would look like if it was a little smaller… Then one day, my aunt in Iran tricked me to go see a plastic surgeon.  Tricked you say– how?  We were going for a cousin of mine who was getting a nose job because she had difficulty breathing through her nose at night, then after her consultation was done, my aunt asked the surgeon what he would recommend for me.  Needless to say, I was mortified.  He asked me to turn my head, inspected my face from every angle and then he said this, “I would recommend that Sarah didn’t get a nose job.  It’s her imperfection that makes her beautiful.”


From then on, I realized something: Without imperfections or flaws, we would all be Barbie- we would all have the same generic, uninteresting look.  But, with our imperfections and flaws, we are unique.  I have never regretted not getting a nose job and in fact, I have come to love my Iranian nose.  It is a symbol of where I came from and who I am.  Of course, there are days where I don’t feel as entirely secure as I am probably making it sound, but regardless, I will never get that nose job.  Join our co-hosts next Wednesday as they discuss the definition of beauty.  Until then, you tell us: What defines beauty?  Was there ever a moment where you felt insecure about the way you looked?

Articles Mentioned:

Iranian Live Talk Show airs on RadioJavan.com every other Wed @ 7PM, every Fri 9AM on Radio Bamdad Sacramento, and is available for podcast every Wed on Iranican.com.

August 5, 2011

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Would you date your friend’s ex?

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He was one of my closest friends, we did everything together: hung out every weekend, went out to lunch during school days, texted all the time… Back in high school, it felt like he was my other half.  We just got along so well.  Then one day, he asked out my best friend and they began dating.  I had always just had a secret crush, but I knew he saw me as a homie and nothing more, so what could I say when he started dating my beautiful best friend? Unfortunately, their dating experience was short-lived and after a few weeks, it ended.  His reason? He finally saw me differently, I was no longer “just a homie,” I was the girl that “got him” and he realized that he did not have anything in common with my best friend.  Sadly, she was heartbroken when they broke up and having always had a secret crush, there was nothing I could do or say to make her understand my side.  So I could never act on my true feelings and tell him that the feeling was reciprocated.  Now… 7 years later, I look back and still wonder, what could have been?
 When is it appropriate to date someone your friend dated? Do you have to ask for permission or is your friend’s ex ALWAYS off limits? Both in the U.S. and Iran, it feels like there aren’t too many fish in the sea… but at the same time, who wants the sloppy seconds! Is timing a factor?  Could I have dated my best friend’s ex the next year? I always wondered: they dated for such a short time and he had always been my friend- in fact, sometimes I feel like she should have asked MY permission! Join our co-hosts on Wednesday as they discuss whether or not it is appropriate to date your friend’s ex– in the meantime, what do you think: Is it appropriate to date your friend’s ex? What if you liked him first?

Link: Iman mentioned Garbage in Karaj

Iranian Live Talk Show airs on RadioJavan.com every other Wed @ 7PM, every Fri 9AM on Radio Bamdad Sacramento, and is available for podcast every Wed on Iranican.com.

August 1, 2011

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If you had one year to live

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It is easy to jump into that usual routine: wake up, shower, go to work (or class), come home, eat dinner, go to bed… repeat.  So often, we forget that we are living and we just let our lives pass us by.  I remember when I was 16 years old and I thought 24 was SO old… now I’m suddenly 24 and I am already worried that one day I’m going to wake up at age 50 and not even realize where the last 26 years of my life went by.  That is a terrifying thought!

Here is what I have decided:  Live everyday like it’s your last.  Realistically, you won’t be able to cross something off your bucket list everyday, but you can still take advantage of the opportunities around you.  Maybe your job is boring, but you can still make it fun: develop new projects within your job that will teach you a new skillset, go out of your way to meet new people and learn about them, and lastly, try to do something different everyday.  I don’t mean drastically different, but maybe take the scenic route home- yeah it might take a little longer, but who knows when you can do that again? Or, instead of making some excuse to go home and just laze around in your bed, go check out that new restaurant your friends have been talking about. Remember that childhood dream of someday becoming a writer (mine), how about start brainstorming right now?  Simply have fun and make your dreams a reality before it’s too late.

If I had one year to live, I would travel across the world to places I’ve never been, but most importantly, I would eat the best local cuisine you can imagine for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  From gourmet pizzas and pastas to khoreshte gheymeh and lubia polo.  I would let my inner “shekamoo” free and just enjoy the best cuisine from every country.

What would YOU do if you had one year to live?  It may be easier to answer the question this way, what would you NOT want to do? This week we are pleased to have Dr. Sadri Khalessi, by profession he teaches Math and Statistics at Stanford University and by passion he is well versed in Iranian and Islamic Literature, Philosophy, and Mysticism.

Researched Links:

Iranian Live Talk Show airs on RadioJavan.com every other Wed @ 7PM, every Fri 9AM on Radio Bamdad Sacramento, and is available for podcast every Wed on Iranican.com.
Call 1-888-RD-JAVAN (1-888-735-2826) Ex 724 to bless us with your voice or write to us below:

July 27, 2011

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Visiting Tirgan 2011 in Toronto

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Iranican’s Iman went to Toronto to do a video report on Tirgan 2011. The video report will be available in the next week or so, we will publish the video here and on our facebook page. For now we get a verbal description of what a $700,000+ festival with over 100,000 attendees was like with co-host Farzad and Nasim, as well as guest Yasaman, and Laila. They also briefly talk about the beautiful city of Toronto.

This radio show, nor this post will do the festival justice in terms of reporting, but it is worth mentioning that Tirgan hosted Radio Javan’s DJ Delbar in a beautiful party with great music for two nights that rocked Toronto’s harbor past 2AM!

Our guest Laila is also an advocates against animal cruelty in Iran and shares with us ways that everyone in Iran and abroad can help dogs in Iran. The website for Vafa is Cal.ir and their facebook page is here. If you are in the United States and want to contribute financially to Vafa, make sure you do so in compliance with OFAC regulations, otherwise you may easily soon be eating fruit cocktails in prison.

Iranian Live Talk Show airs on RadioJavan.com every other Wed @ 7PM, every Fri 9AM on BamdadRadio.com Sacramento, and is available for podcast every Wed on Iranican.com.
Call 1-888-RD-JAVAN (1-888-735-2826) Ex 724 to bless us with your voice or write to us below:

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