Diyana Ishak's blog

Editor's note: Diyana Ishak was a fall researcher at FP. She's been blogging for Passport from Iran. This is her final post, but you can find her earlier dispatches here and here.

Last week, we managed to escape the capital and head south to Isfahan and Shiraz, two of Iran's more beautiful and historic cities. Tehranians like to get out of town during the New Year's season, so our creaking Korean plane was almost full for the short flight. (The silly tourist in me kicked in when I became excited by the sight of Ayatollahs on the plane.)

Isfahan is home to stunning examples of classic Persian Islamic architecture, and Persepolis, a UNESCO World Heritage site near Shiraz, easily rivals Athens in ancient splendor. But even these, Iran's best historical sites, simply aren't very well taken cared for. History itself, it seems, has become a victim of Iran's international isolation.

Before I left for my trip, many of my friends and family feared for my safety; one even joked to "watch out for the American strikes." For now, though, Iran is a relatively safe country with low crime rates—not the scary place I've always heard about in the media. And although the world is caught up in the regime's nuclear standoff with the West (my favorite recent sign of defiance: the new 50,000 Rial banknote shows electrons flying around a map of Iran), regular Iranians have little control over what their government does. Most are just trying to get on with their lives in peace. Being here is a reminder that behind each president, each prime minister, each government, there exists a people and a culture—and one that can be full of pleasant surprises.

Editor's note: Diyana Ishak was a fall researcher at FP. She's blogging from Iran this week, as time allows.

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Want to get a real sense of a country's people? Go to a beauty salon.

Last weekend, my Iranian friend drove me, her aunt, and her grandmother to a back alley in central Tehran, where we walked into an apartment that had been converted into a makeshift beauty salon.

The place was chock full of Iranian women primping for the New Year. (The most popular services seemed to be full-face threading and blond highlights.) After much unsuccessful cajoling to get my eyebrows tattooed (another popular trend), I opted for a safer package. While I was getting my hair done and my eyebrows threaded, a coiffured lady in her 60s waxed philosophical about the cultural differences between London and Tehran.

In London, she said, one can get away with anything, but not in Tehran. Here, appearances are incredibly important. Every detail of one's self is scrutinized by others.

An intense physical consciousness is quintessentially Persian, my friend later explained to me. It goes beyond appearances to a strong sense of pride in having what Iranians see as their superior culture and history. You could call Iranians the French of the Middle East.

The analogy applies to politics, too. I asked a middle-aged Iranian man I encountered (not in the beauty salon), "How do you feel about what's happening between Iran and the United States?"

With Gaulle-like prickliness, he answered: "Other countries telling Iran not to develop nuclear weapons is bullying. We do not oppose nuclear technology, even though most Iranians do not agree with the regime. But we have an even deeper mistrust for the United States. When it comes down to it, most Iranians would rather side with Iran than with the United States."

The sentiment seems common here. True, many in Iran are not happy with the regime (according to my friend's exaggerated estimate, 100 percent are fed up), and pine for the cultural freedoms and modern outlook they once enjoyed under the Shah. But ever since former President Khatami's foiled attempt at reform, however, many Iranians have calculated that getting involved in politics just isn't worth the trouble. They're keeping their heads down at the moment, but I sense that Iranians believe they can make their great country again someday. They want to do so themselves, though, not via Western meddling.

Editor's note: Diyana Ishak was a fall researcher at FP. She'll be blogging from Iran this week and next, as time allows.

BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images

I began my trip in Tehran, Iran's capital, described in the tour books as an over-polluted place that one should only go in transit. I've been pleasantly surprised. It does take a day or two to get used to the air, as Tehran is tucked into the slopes of the Elburz Mountains, and the smog tends to sit heavily over the city. The hordes of small, boxy cars running on propane don't help much, either. But the backdrop of snow-capped mountains is really captivating.

The city is bustling now as Iranians prepare for Novruz, their New Year celebrations, which start on the 20th of March. Bowls of goldfish, a traditional purchase for the New Year, line the streets of the bazaars.

Tehran is developing everywhere I turn, with construction cranes towering over new apartment blocks and a relatively new subway system spidering its way into every corner of this sprawling city. The people are as hospitable as you read about, and they are intrigued by any English-speakers.

Women fully covered in black mingle with others—call them muhajababes—who push the interpretation of Islamic dress to the maximum. The latter tend to be young (about three quarters of the population of Iran is under 30). Big hair is all the rage under headscarves these days, as is Western fashion. When I landed at Mehrabad Airport, I cautiously wrapped my scarf tightly around my head, only to be told later by my friend here that I look "too Arab". She then taught me how to wear it loosely like most women do in Tehran.

The semi-enforced dress code is only the most visible sign of just how much people here push the boundaries of Islamic law, even after the ascension of hard line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Behind closed doors, alcohol remains easy to find, and upper-class Iranian youth are still infamous for their wild house parties, where ecstasy use is common.

Earlier today, I followed my friend for her driving lesson—a pretty scary experience given the chaotic traffic system here. Her driving instructor gossiped about her latest student, a very religious woman who wears a full burqa with only her eyes showing. She joked about how the bulky outfit would constrain the woman from turning the steering wheel properly. I wonder what all the other bad drivers' excuses are?

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Ban Ki Moon took office as secretary general of the United Nations yesterday, inheriting an organization sullied by inaction in Darfur and the oil-for-food scandal. But Moon's toughest challenge may be dealing with the UN bureaucracy. His attempt to call his first staff meeting for 8 am today was allegedly denied:

According to a UN source, staff informed him that the Korean-style early start would create too many difficulties and he was forced to reschedule his arrival to 9.30 am.

The former South Korean foreign minister has already made two appointments, naming Indian diplomat Vijay Nambiar as his chief of staff and Haitian journalist Michele Montas as his spokeswoman. Other top positions are coveted by Western states, but they will likely be filled by appointees from developing countries.

Despite a rocky start, Ban is already styling himself as the next Tom Cruise:

You could say that I'm a man on a mission, and my mission could be dubbed 'Operation Restore Trust' - and trust in the organization and trust between member states and the secretariat. I hope this mission is not mission impossible.

Scientists have long known that exercise can reduce the risk of breast cancer, but a new study, funded by Cancer Research UK, has revealed that even doing mundane household chores can really help. The study of over 200,000 women across Europe found that the risk of breast cancer was cut by 30 percent among pre-menopausal women and 20 percent among post-menopausal women for doing such housework as washing, cooking and cleaning. Cancer Research UK's Dr. Lesley Walker said:

This study suggests that being physically active may also help reduce the risk and that something as simple and cheap as doing the housework can help.

I don't, however, recommend asking your wife to do more than her fair share of chores on the grounds that it's good for her health.

"Paris syndrome" is taking hold of about a dozen Japanese each year. And no, we don't mean Paris Hilton. Every year, an average of 12 Japanese tourists in Paris have to be repatriated due to severe culture shock. It seems that the polite and soft-natured Japanese are not able to cope with how the reality of the City of Lights doesn't meet the dream, not to mention the often snobby behavior of Parisians themselves. As the BBC describes,

Many of the visitors come with a deeply romantic vision of Paris - the cobbled streets, as seen in the film Amelie, the beauty of French women or the high cultutre and art at the Louvre. The reality can come as a shock... the experience of their dream city turning into a nightmare can simply be too much... This year alone, the Japanese embassy in Paris has had to repatriate four people with a doctor or nurse on board the plane to help them get over the shock.

C'est la vie!

The U.S. is supposed to be the land of plenty—a cornucopia of earthly delights where immigrants from all over the world can live the American dream. So why are thousands of American residents struggling to eat a decent meal?

A study released yesterday by a Hispanic civil rights group, the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) found that 5 percent of Hispanics living in the U.S. regularly go hungry and a further 20 percent do not have sufficient access to nutritious food. Language, legal and cultural obstacles also lead to hunger and malnutrition within the community. According to Janet Murguia, NCLR President and CEO,

Lack of access to resources is forcing far too many Latino families into choices no one should have to make, such as between having a roof over their heads or putting food on the table... A lack of affordable, nutritious food also have devastating health consequences, such as increasing hunger and obesity, affecting not only the Latino community, but the well-being of our entire nation.

The study also found that many are missing out on food assistance programs, and that confusing changes in the law have made "lawfully-present immigrants" afraid to ask for food stamps. Non-Hispanic blacks are even worse off than Latinos, with 8 percent going hungry and 22 percent lacking access to healthy food.

Becoming a Foreign Service Officer in the U.S. is a painful process. Of the 17 to 20,000 applicants who sit for the Foreign Service exam each year, three quarters fail to move on to the second round of oral interviewing. At the suggestion of McKinsey, however, the State Department is considering introducing new elements to the application process to make it less rigid and ease the search for the "Total Candidate." Alongside the exam, which they will revamp for online seatings, applicants will be asked to submit a "structured résumé" of their work experience, foreign residence, leadership experience and language abilities, among other things. Then, according to the NYT,

[...] on the basis of the test results and résumé, combined in some undisclosed metric, a screening committee will decide who goes on to the oral assessment.

There is concern, however, among Foreign Service vets that adding such factors would mean that the Service would be "dumbed down." But according to one officer,

Testing people on their general knowledge, their ability to parse questions, is a poor standard for bringing people into the Foreign Service [...] You get people who are well educated, and understand the relationship of inflation and interest rates. But the test doesn't measure more important things, like good judgment.