Iran Calling

Iran has finally come calling; well atleast metaphorically. I got contacted by a student in Iran who's interested in learning English, so it seems that language exchange portal isn't a complete waste, you just need to put across your offer in some detail and those interested will contact you. Ali is a university student based in Mashhad and is studying history, and wants to improve his English speaking skills so he's more comfortable with the language in holding conversations.

Mashhad, Iran

I was a little apprehensive when he wrote to me initially, since few people actually make an effort to go beyond saying 'I'd like to improve my English'. I repeatedly grilled him saying that he had to 'show' me that he wanted to really learn, not just say it but actually prove it. So we then did a Skype call. He was in his university hostel with his roommates and seemed surprised that we were having the call. You'd have expected that we'd exchange pleasantries and talk about other things first, but I just got down to the purpose of the call, asking him outright to explain 'how' interested he was in improving his skills. Perhaps a bit rushed you might say, but I wanted to put across how seriously I take my teaching and time, I'm a really sweet person!

We've established a modus operandi of Skype two times a week for quarter of an hour. Majority of that time we'll be spending on his learning, while mine relate mostly to written submissions and corrections. I'm not going to start talking fluent Persian, but it's meant as a strong preparatory for when I go to Iran and join a short term program.

On other fronts, I've tried to get in touch with the Iranian Embassies in India and Switzerland through email, but I haven't herd from them; maybe I've sent it to the wrong department so I think I'll have to just pick up the phone - something I learned from writing to the universities in Iran, always always always follow up with a phone call.

The most important and worrying thing for me though, is accommodation and knowing people in Tehran. Housing there is like in any big city, a major hassle and with the right circumstances, an absolute impossibility. This is why it's important to know people who already live there, not only to help you find a place, but to make sure you don't get swindled. 

If you're interested, there's an ongoing discussion among people who are interested to go there to learn the language, including myself. This is the forum link.   

Time to get more coffee!