Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 226

“With Joanna’s encouragement, I went to school for English....

“With Joanna’s encouragement, I went to school for English. When I passed the entrance exam and was admitted to university, she sent me a long sleeved shirt and $500 for my tuition. I couldn’t believe it. Then every month after that she sent me $50 and an issue of Reader’s Digest. Her only condition was that I continue with my studies and write her one letter every two weeks. She would send each of my letters back with notes and corrections. Soon I knew enough English to get certified as a tour guide. Then I learned Spanish as well. And Italian. I spoke with Joanna on the phone just a few weeks ago. She told me how proud she was of me. ‘Your English is perfect,’ she said. I started crying. I told her ‘I have so much business now. I just bought my own apartment. And it was all because of you.’”

(2/2)
(Tehran, Iran)

“I took the entrance exam for engineering when I was 19. I knew...

“I took the entrance exam for engineering when I was 19. I knew immediately that I had failed. When I got my score, I had an anxiety attack and lost control. I began screaming and beating my head against the wall. It got so bad that they took me to the hospital and injected me. When I came home, I just laid in my bedroom for days. One night my father came in to say ‘hello,’ and when he left, I heard him crying in the hallway. He was a driver for foreign tourists, and the next day he invited me to ride along with him. He was picking up a Swiss woman at the airport. Her name was Joanna. When she arrived, we realized that her travel agency had made a mistake. There was nobody to guide her. Joanna mentioned that she wanted to go to the archaeological museum in the morning. So I woke up at 6 AM, and got to the museum as soon as it opened so I could memorize as much information as I could. When Joanna arrived, I did my best to guide her with my limited English. But she was a very smart lady, and she knew that I wasn’t prepared. But she told me: ‘Mohammed, if you improve your English, you can be an amazing tour leader. And I’m going to support you.’”

(½)
(Tehran, Iran)

“My daughter has a heart for animals. She wants to start her...

“My daughter has a heart for animals. She wants to start her own charity to help dogs and cats. But I worry that she will get her heart broken because we have no culture for animals here. Animal lovers are seen as a little strange. But I try to encourage her because I don’t want her to do it secretly. Last year she saw a cat break its leg on the street. And without telling me, she took a taxi all the way to Tehran, just to find a veterinarian.”

(Anzali, Iran)

“I tried to warn her about her last boyfriend, but she didn’t...

“I tried to warn her about her last boyfriend, but she didn’t want to listen. Once I overheard him telling her that she needed to respect him. I knew that was bad news. Then he left his home because he got in an argument with his family. I told her: ‘If he’ll do that to his family, he’ll do it to you too.’ But she didn’t listen. She stopped talking to me for a long time. Then sure enough, he took off and left her. She came back and thanked me. Go on, tell them. Mother was right.”

(Anzali, Iran)

“They do nothing but fight at home. But they stick...

“They do nothing but fight at home. But they stick together when we’re out in the world.”

(Namakabroud, Iran)

“We were married in the traditional way. Our two families knew...

“We were married in the traditional way. Our two families knew each other, so a meeting was arranged. We’d never met. He came to my house with his mother, and we went to a room for two hours and talked. We talked about our expectations, our idea of love, and our plans for the future. I thought about it for two days, then I sent him a text message, saying: ‘Let’s do it.’ And he wrote back: ‘Alright, my dear.’”

(Tabriz, Iran)

“I was twenty-two during World War II. First the English...

“I was twenty-two during World War II. First the English invaded us from the south, then the Russians invaded us from the north. They had a lot more men than us and the city completely ran out of food. I saw many horrible scenes. My job was to distribute bread from the bakery. Crowds would gather and wait for the handouts. One winter night I found a mother sitting against the bakery wall, nursing her child. I went to give her a loaf of bread, but only the child was alive.”

(Tehran, Iran)

“It’s a little complicated. Because he’s my...

“It’s a little complicated. Because he’s my boss.”

(Tehran, Iran)

“My father was always very interested in religion. He wrote...

“My father was always very interested in religion. He wrote some books, but I was never religious myself, so I never bothered reading them. He died when I was 25. During the last months of his life, he lost his memory completely. He didn’t even recognize me. But he still remembered the words of his books. He could still recite the religious poems and songs that he’d written. So my brothers and I would sit in his room and read his books aloud to him. It was the first time I’d read them. I was surprised by how beautiful his poems were. I never knew he was so talented.”

(Tehran, Iran)

“I stayed away from home because my father was a very...

“I stayed away from home because my father was a very domineering man. So I didn’t spend enough time with my mother before she died.”

(Tehran, Iran)