Understanding each other

I had a really cool experience recently. I needed to purchase a child's foam mattress to use a dog bed (much cheaper than buying a specifically made doggie bed here). There's an older part of town that is lined with shops that sell all kinds of household goods at much cheaper prices than the local hypermarkets. I went into one and bought a small mattress at a good price (about $6 US). The shopkeeper asked me where I was from. Now, this can get tricky. Are they going to get upset when they hear where I'm from? Nobody talks about government and politics, but it's always out there dancing in the room.

I smiled, "Can you guess?" That's always good fun for me. It's an excellent game. When I was in a tough spot one time, I claimed to be German when the shopkeeper guessed, "German?" - and it worked - no political discussion followed. {Note to my Dad - brush up on your German. It's great to talk in a language shopkeepers don't know when you're discussing a price.}

Well, on this one day, I knew my surroundings etc....blah blah blah....so when the shopkeeper couldn't guess I told him. He said, "Really? I am from Iran." The political discussion that followed was really very good. Three other shop keepers joined in with lots of laughs following. The general consensus is that Persians and many westerners are actually very much alike. We love our countries, we value education, we pride ourselves in hard work. We demand to be taken seriously by those around us. The things that we see in the news whether it's BBC, CNN or Al Jazeera do not really reflect the people represented by various governments. There is 'government' and then there's 'the people'.

Here's to hoping that cooler heads, open minds, and friendships prevail over less savory alternatives.

Peace.