Grand Ayatollah Khamenei says elected president is all Iranians’ president
Even though I had my last exam long ago it’s been a few stressful and mind filling weeks up until now. There have been a lot of things to plan, to buy, to prepare, to read up on and in other ways finish before I depart. So, I’ve been keeping myself busy in the absence of studies and work, and in between the usual end-of-semester parties. It’s been kind of tricky to try to prepare and puzzle things together, especially since everything is so uncertain and unknown. But it’s been fun! Someone said that planning was half or more of the pleasure of traveling and I must agree with Sara there.
My mind has not just been processing plans, it’s also been processing every possible what-if scenario there is. I’ve been moving from huge excitement, to anguish, to fear, back to excitement, to fear, to excitement and so on. However, in the heat of writing (T-minus ~30h) it feels really good (in spite of the disturbances in the country) and I’m pretty sure that I have prepared for everything that I can/want.
About the unrest: I’ve heard that Facebook and some other sites are cut off. They will hopefully be up and running by the time I get there but I guess it’s better to email if you want to contact me (or comment here). Also my first stop in Iran is Shiraz where it should be calmer than in the capital, so as long as I get in to the country I should be fine.
Once again I got a very telling email from a guy I will eventually meet in Tehran:
Although the outcome of the election, I think these current events makes the rest of the world realize that the people in Iran don’t belong to no “axis of evil” as former president Bush, in the most alienating way, once put it. There will be change, I’m sure.
I’ll see if I get around posting my itinerary before I leave tomorrow.
Notice the new clips: Protests flare in Tehran as opposition disputes votes.
