New Zealand Day 5: Aukland Fun

Today was our only full day in Aukland, which was such a shame. It was such a cute place filled with educational museums about mouri art to the all abouts of volcanoes to the ancient instinct dinosaur/ bird the Moa. I also learned that the main sport of the kiwis is rugby. Although more people play soccer, rugby is the most popular sport to both watch and play even though it can get a bit rough. 

Overall, my experience with New Zealand can be summed up in 6 words: green, volcanic, mouri, sheep, lord of the rings, kiwi, beautiful! I will miss it, now off to Australia at 3:30am!

New Zealand Day 4: The Drive

Today we drove to Aukland from Rotura. On the long car ride we discussed many different facts about New Zealand. Their national symbol is the silver fern while the national bird is the kivi. People of New Zealand are called kivis as well as the fruit!  The New Zealanders or kiwis have a huge logging endustry, but unlike some other places in the world, they follow the logging with a reforestation process where they harvest and replant trees. The trees take around 18-25 years to fully regrow. New Zealand is the second best reforestation country in the world. Along with having a very impressive logging industry they also have a very impressive relationship with the locals. The indigenes people of New Zealand are called the mouri. They are really well integrated in society and their native language is even taught in school. Surprisingly like Canada they promoted their native people even in the airport. Along side the Maori they also are very proud of their affiliation with Lord of the Rings. On our way to Aukland, we also stopped off at Hobbiton, which is the actual movie set of Hobbit apart of The Lord of the Rings series. I don't know much about the Hobbit, but what I do know is that it was such a cute set. There were dozens of mini hobbit holes and fabulous gardens as well as a life size pub where we could rest up and enjoy some ginger beer. (my new favorite drink, non alcoholic of course:) Once we left, we had another hour or so remaining before reaching the city so of course we ran through some more facts.

We got to Aukland, it was such a beautiful pier town with little restaurants decorated with the New Zealand Christmas tree which is called Potuha takwa. there were so many sail boats around the shore, made sense because they have the highest number of sailboats per capita. We have kept hearing about the relationship between Australian and new Zealand, we learned that it is a rivalry like brother and sister, always there for each other but still have a healthy competition some time or another. See you tomorrow! 

New Zealand Day 3: The Tour

Today we had a jam packed journey throughout Rotorua, New Zealand. Starting with a Māori village, Tapo ra, we witnessed a performance by the locals as well as watching my father try out the moves himself. We also got to check out a really massive geezer but I couldn’t really enjoy it because of its terrible smell of sulfur and silica. After checking out a bubbling grey mud pool, we went to another natural park. We saw vivid lakes of different colors, each deriving from a different mineral. Neon green was sulfur, reddish orange is iron, and white is silica.  According to my mother, this was the best thing she has ever seen, but I was again blinded with the horrid smell of golfer. Then we went to the argodome, where we saw nineteen different types of sheep ranging from merino to black Romney. Finishing off the days adventures, we went to do probably one of the coolest things I have ever done, the org. This is a big ball what you sit in with water at the bottom, when you are pushed down the hill and you roll around in the ball on your way down. Once we got back to the lodge we just crashed and watched some classic Man vs. Wild episodes about New Zealand! 

New Zealand Day 2: The Great Hike

Our second day in New Zealand was probably my favorite day of all. We went on a really nice three and a half hour hike to a waterfall and back. I didn’t think it was worth it until we got to this little pool where my brother and I got to swing on a rope into it. It was one of the coolest things I have ever done. 

New Zealand Day 1: The Arrival

Today was our first day in New Zealand! We arrived here after two days of traveling…ugh. But it was worth it. New Zealand is such a beautiful place and where we were staying was such a cute place. As soon we had lunch and were rejuvenated, we hopped on a helicopter and flew to White Island, a active volcano. It smelled really bad but other than that I guess it was interesting. All I could think about though was not to throw up! 

Inside Cuba!!

This Thanksgiving break my family am I went on a trip, now this is not just any trip, we went to Cuba! As you may already know, Cuba and the United States do not have the best relationship. So granted, our troubles started at the arrivals in the airport. We were checked extra throughly on both arriving and departing, but of course not as bad as the movies. Once we actually got outside of the airport  we met up with the rest of our tour group and headed for the bus. The first thing I noticed was the old cars. Since the last relations with the United States was in 1959, the cars left in Cuba defiantly still represent that era. I have to say that riding in the hot pink convertible was defiantly the highlight of my trip. At first glance the community and houses did not look too impressive, all looking like they were about to fall down. Something you would expect for people who on average get 450 Cuban pesos a month, which is relatively equivalent to 20 dollars a month. But when our tour group brought us to the little towns I could see the inner jems. The houses almost looked San Francisco esc with the colorful frescos and detailing. Although the houses looked as if they were about to crumble, I could still see the beauty and old time vibe in them. 

Since this we were apart tour group, the only way we could go to Cuba, we had to stick to the restrictions of people to people education which involved a lot of social sights as well as some pretty cool hidden treasures. Although some might find learning about Cuba's history interesting, I prefer learning about the people and the unique parts of the city of Havanna.  Besides the infamous cigars, there is much more to Cuba. I learned about the interesting religion which most of the citzens practice which is called Santaria. It is a mix between Christian and Yoruba religions. 

Something I found very interesting was all the restrictions on the citizens. People were not allowed to really use any electronics, even in their own house. I learned that because of this, the country is almost stuck in the past and not caught up on the lastest news and improvements. Since there is no trade with Cuba at all, they have to rely on other countries since they have been growing only certain crops such as sugar and tabacco and are unable to grow others now that the land is very un-diversified. Because of the harsh sanctions on Cuba from the US, even the remittances able to be sent back home is very limited. During the Bush administration is was worse but locals say Obama is not much better. But in general, the country is improving and they said with or with out America's help they will become development and improved slowly but surely. 

Overall, I surprisingly had a really great time. Knowing our family, we had to do some community service there too.. there was a dog that had a tumor and a broken leg so we decided to rescue it and bring it to the animals doctors and pay for its treatment. Thanks to some wonderful locals and doctor, it is being nursed back to help as best as they possibly can because it is a stray dog. So thank you Cuba for such a nice time!

9/11

Yesterday 11 years ago was probably one of the most tragic days of our nation's history. Last year since I was apart of student council, I organized to set up flags all around my school one for each person who died during the 9/11 attacks. I hope to do something like this again in the future.

Two weeks in DC!

For the past two weeks, I have been in Washington, DC for an internship and have enjoyed the luxury of being surrounded by many great memorials and museums. Although I have visited DC many times, both with my mother and my school, there are always new exhibits to see! To start off our sightseeing tour, we dropped into the Peru festival at the American Indian Museum. The community center was decorated with artisanal booths, each featuring a different craft from the Peruvian culture. In the middle of all the booths was a stage where young natives showed off their traditional music and dance. It was a beautiful sight to see. Next we popped into the MLK memorial, which featured an exquisite variety of his most powerful quotes. My favorite was, “We shall overcome because the arch of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” I love this quote because it shows that humanity is always working towards justice no matter how slow or misguided the trip may be. No Nazem trip would be complete without a stop at the best modern art museum in town, The Hirshorn. On the bottom floor every surface was covered with phrases stating powerful questions. This is art! The question that I thought was the most moving was, “Who’s values?” On our next stop, we revisited the topic of the Holocaust at the National Museum. Juxtaposed to the information we gathered though our European travels, it was interesting to learn about the Danish and Bulgarian resistance to the Nazi regime. I gathered that if the people, government, and law enforcers all come together and agree on going against a powerful regime then their opposition will be successful. To end off the day on an optimistic note, we went to the National Zoo to pay a visit to the baby cheetahs that were adorable!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE DC!! WHEN CAN I MOVE HERE?

E Pluribus Unum

It’s no challenge trying to find an American flag and seal in the U.S. State Department. Almost every place you look, you can find our nation’s beautiful seal decorated with these powerful words, “E Pluribus Unum” meaning Out of Many One.

But the reason I went to the State Department was not just to admire the flags and phrases, but to attend a conference,  The Secretary’s Global Diaspora Forum.  As an Iranian American, I was interested to hear from Hillary Clinton about how diaspora communities like mine fit into the diverse American tapestry.

Kris Balderston opened the conference and noted that nowadays the meaning of our nation’s motto has become more and more relavent and in todays words into a similar concept that we are one nation united under the Precepts of what it means to be Americans, working together towards common goals. No matter what country of origin, ethnicity, religion, or gender American citizens belong to, they are all striving towards the same things whether it is education, freedom, or peace. The purpose of this conference is to recognize and connect all the different Diasporas in the United States and provide them with a road map to the future full of success and achievement of common goals. Additionally, the conference encourages building bridges from the Diasporas in the U.S. to their countries of origin, via people to people interactions.

Did you know that over the past 45 years, the number of people living outside  of their county of origin has almost tripled from 76 million to 215 million? How about the fact that the global Diaspora has sent over 351 billion dollars to their families in developing countries which is more than the US government spends on foreign aid? Or how about the fact that the U.S. has the largest global Diaspora members of any country, with 60 million first- or second- generation Americans?  Diaspora communities are very important in our country. Hundreds of thousands of people immigrate to the United States in pursuit of happiness, a better life, and freedom.

Once Balderston had established this context, it was time for the keynote speaker, U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.  “We all believe Diaspora communities have enormous potential to solve issues in their countries of origin,” Clinton said. I believe that there is only so much the government can do to try and fix relationships between countries or resolve problems within other countries, but there is so much more the empathetic Diaspora members can do whether they are Latino-American, Chinese-American, Irish-American, or even Iranian-American.

Though I learned a lot and enjoyed the conference, I was disappointed by the fact that, the lack of the Iranian-American Diaspora’s presence was conspicuously absent at this conference, though there were a few individuals in attendance. Due to the broad and indiscriminate sanctions in place that restrict just about any cooperation or transaction with Iran, many of the lessons preached at the conference were simply not applicable to the Iranian-American community.

However, Ms. Clinton’s speech, while not directed to the Iranian Diaspora per say, could still be applied to Iranian Americans who are working towards greater unity, mentorship, networking. As well as participating in the greatest democracy in the world by voting, the votes would hopefully affect the broad sanction policy that limits even simple interactions like people to people exchanges.

One story shared by Secretary Clinton that really hit home was about her recent trip to Ireland. She said she sat down with two Irish women who had never spoken, not because of their location or another reason, but Solely because of their religious beliefs. One was Protestant and the other was Catholic. When asked what they were most afraid of, their answers were quite surprising. One answered saying she was afraid her husband would go to work and not make it back home. The other woman said she was afraid that her son would not make it back alive from school each morning. Their concerns were the same. Ms. Clinton said, “There has to be a way to reach across the divide of history together and unite them knowing their husbands, sons, daughters, and loved ones would make it home safely.”

Although this is taking place in Ireland, it can apply to a lot of things near and dear to our hearts even more broadly in the Middle East or even throughout the world. It doesn’t matter if we live in Washington DC, Dublin, or even Tehran, we are “wasting the great gift god has given us,” according to Ms. Clinton, by arguing and fighting over topics and issues that are not that important at this point in time.

Instead, as Tara Shoeshine, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs said wisely, “It is the people to people connections, heritage, and feeling very warm and positive towards another cultures that last beyond layers of time.”

Zurich, Switzerland and Lichtenstein

A couple days ago, we arrived in Zurich, Switzerland, the land of tax paradises and clean orderly society. The “never-been-bombed” city was obviously the most civilized and organized place out of all of the other countries. Citizens are happy with their government and say they have a good democracy. They have a good democracy but only about 25%-45% of the population actually votes in regular elections. Or maybe it is because, if they are so satisfied, then why would they go to the polls? They’re happy if things stay just the way they are! The country has three parts: the German part, where we stayed, the French part, and the Italian part. They are all VERY different according to the locals. Not only are their languages different, they also have very distinctive cultures. The Germans are the most punctual, while the Italians are not according to the locals. We also went on a short tour of Lichtenstein, Switzerland’s small neighbor. The miniature country is most known for being a tax haven for people all over the world. A tax haven is a country or jurisdiction that “is the existence of a composite tax structure established deliberately to take advantage of, and exploit, a worldwide demand for opportunities to engage in tax avoidance,” according to The Economist. Something I didn’t know at all was that Lichtenstein is the 2^nd richest county in terms of per capita. No wonder they are rich, the entire population is composed of 56 thousand people and has millions of investors in the private banks. Because of this, the country brings in a lot of money. It is also a kingdom with a very old royal family, which is where the name of the county is derived. Back in Zurich, we visited another modern art museum and then wrapped up the trip over a lovely dinner.

Each of us went over special times that took place during the trip and mommy and I concluded that we really enjoyed hanging out on Bonhofstrasse (awesome shopping street) and Ari and daddy had a lot of fun in Tivoli gardens in Copenhagen. Not to mention our mutual fun times, like all the beaches, art, sad history and happy moments that we all shared! Bye Bye for now! Happy Summer!

Copenhagen, Denmark

Our next stop is Copenhagen, Denmark! Luckily, it was not raining like the past couple places, instead it was warm and sunny. The further we go west, the more "European" I feel like the cities become. Copenhagen is modern, lively and not one bathroom in the airport was without a line. Outside the airport, it was also a very happening place, where new beautifully designed buildings, old churches and town halls decorated the metropolitan city. The whole city seemed to be under construction, with the new metro system being designed, a lot of streets are closed off, but not the pedestrian street. ;) The street was filled with almost all of my favorite stores and cute cafes. Though, it was really weird because the stores closed either at 3 or 5 pm and most were closed on Sunday. We also got to visit some really cool modern art museums with pretty unique exhibits like one by Nahn Vo called "We the People". It was a huge pavilion filled with separated parts of the statue of liberty. There was also an exhibit in another museums about the Nordic countries and how they are similar in some ways and unite through design. Since I had visited all of the Nordic Counties on my trip, it was very interesting to compare their cultures and styles. Overall I had a great time in the Nordic countries and am SO looking forward to the last place, Zurich!

Oslo, Norway

Oslo, Norway is the next stop! Norway is not part of E.U. and has refused entrance twice. They say the reason is that they have been under the rule of Denmark for over 400 years and then Swedes and Nazis, so they don’t want to give their independence up to Brussels too.  Although they are not part of the EU, they still have close ties with most of Europe and especially the other Nordic countries. Some Nordics from different countries can even understand each other’s dialects. The Norwegians say the Danes speak the same language but with a potato in their mouth. As for their politics, their education is totally free as well as their health care. When we asked our guide whether the taxes were high, he said they weren’t “low” J. As a schoolteacher, he says he pays as high as 35% taxes. They seem to negotiate their taxes like the Swiss and some rich pay no taxes at all.

Norway is known for its naval history and especially the Viking age that took place around 800-1050. Vikings traveled all over Europe and plundered, traded and conquered all they could acquire. Vikings are also the direct ancestors of Norwegians, Swedes and Danes. One of their customs was to pack everything in the burial like Egyptians to sail to the next world including food, jewels, and decorations. The Viking era came to an end when Christianity spread through Europe. We also visited the Fram museum where we learned about Norwegian explorers that went to both the north and south poles. Amundsen took his men to the South Pole and brought all of them back, but during his journey, he had to eat his dogs that carried him there. Compared to Robert Falcon Scott, who took tractors and horses on his expedition to the South pole, Amundsen was the first person who successfully went to the South pole. Fridtjof Nansen, on the other hand, was not just an explorer; he also got a Nobel peace prize and basically started cross-country skiing when he skied across Greenland! After the museum, we went to VIgeland Park. It is a masterpiece created by Gustav Vigeland that took basically his whole life. With almost 600 sculptures all made by him and with the help of only three helpers, the part is decorated with statures depicting the different stages and parts of life. Although it was pouring rain, it was a really beautiful place and I got soaking wet! The Nobel peace center was also a great experience because I got to see a very powerful exhibit about Afghanistan and the soldiers and people on both sides of the war. On the flipside, we got to see a gorgeous work of art, which is the Opera House! It looks like an iceburg melting into the sea. You can even climb up onto the roof! The skandivavian cities are really such amazing places full of design!