Day 82 X-Mas in Iran?

SYNOPSIS:   Too much chatting into the early morning hours… I had to catch up with my work today, so I will tell you a bit about the people I met since I did nothing much else but sit at the computer.  And I had an idea:  How about trying to come here with a group of 15 students?  What do you think?  Amazing young people from all over the world.  There is a price to pay for chatting until the 1 AM twice in a row when you are on a work-related travel schedule.  I should know better.  If I miss as much as a day, I fall behind, after two days, I am beyond hope.  But it was just so much fun!   So, today was catch-up day.  What better place could there be than this peaceful, green, and secluded court yard.  I did not mind at all.  Finally, all of my photos are in order again and the blogs are up to date.  What a relief.Since I have not much to tell, I will briefly mention some of the people I met here.  Not that you would care too much, but they are an inspiration and I want to remember them.  And ultimately, they are responsible for my idea – to try to come to Iran with 15 WCC students!  If we don’t even try, we would never know if it could be done, right?There is Sarah, from Italy, who has been here for over a month.  Actually, she has been on the road since she was 16 working and traveling and living without any grand plan.  She is 20 now and has been earning her keep here with kitchen work.  She sleeps on the roof.  There are Sean and Alpha from Canada, who also have been in Yazd for a month.  They are on a politically motivated quest.  Actually, Alpha is from Hawai.  There is Fred from Germany who worked in Pakistan and with a Pakistan-style brightly colored VW bug he is on his way back to Germany, slowly, making a few detours.  There are Sasha from Holland, Christopher from Denmark, Leah from Austria, Miriam and Simon from the UK (she really is Iranian and he really is Dutch).  There are Nicholas and Moses from Hong Kong, Jarbos and his wife Caroline and Benjamin and his wife Nora from Switzerland, Katherine from the UK (but she really is Australian), there is Adrian from Australia, and there is Pega from Germany and Armin from the U.S.  (but really both of them are Ex-Pat Iranians).And this morning there were Phil and Joe arriving from the UK and I could keep on going…  You get the picture.  Everyone here speaks one or more languages and almost everyone has a multi-cultural background.  Conversations are either in English or German.   Sometimes, there are two tables forming with either of the languages spoken.  What a climate of cultural exchange and what interesting people!If they are all here, why should a few WCC students not also be here?!  Getting a visa for Iran with an American passport is a lot harder and more expensive than with any other passport.  However, it is not impossible.  Americans are usually assigned a guide, but with about 15 people we could afford one.   Shall we try?  Well, I am willing to give it a shot if anyone else out there thinks it is a good idea. Christmas break would be a good time. This is what happens when you sit around all day typing.  Crazy ideas start to pop into your head…Even though I did nothing much else but typing, the day went by fast.  I can see how being in this courtyard can become addictive.  I am almost thankful that quite a few people are leaving today and tomorrow to move on to Teheran, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, or Turkey…  It will be a bit quieter here for a few days and at least I will be in bed on time, unless more interesting young people arrive to chat with late into the night…Good night.