Being around at this time of the year, when many Iranians come back home for a reunion with their loved ones, is one of most wonderful things about living in Tehran. You get to see friends and relatives truly from across the globe. It is enchanting as well as being extremely enlightening. You learn about new books, courses and theories. The visitors make you familiar of new ideas, methods, approaches, songs, films, fashion, life styles - you name it. All in a friendly, relaxed way rather than in boring lectures. I have always felt a little out of date whenever I have spent long periods outside Tehran.

This is also a very busy time here. As per custom, you not only go to see these dear relatives and friends, but you also invite them, and their entourage, for lunch or dinner, at least once. You also get invited, over and over again, by others who are doing exactly the same thing. Some visitors are kind enough to bring others medicines, books, CDs or whatever else that might have been considered necessary, that either they themselves thought of, or were given by another would be visitor to take along. I personally have always troubled my dear ones with orders for books, for which I am extremely grateful, since books are heavy and would cost a fortune if they were to be shipped, assuming that I would get them at all.

These good visitors mainly fall into two categories. Firstly there are those who come mainly to visit loved ones. This group could not be bothered about anything really serious. Instead, they would mainly like to have a good time and hear about the good things so their holiday is not spoiled. At the same time, though, they wish to have some idea of the bad side of life in Iran to feel reassured about their own comfortable lives wherever in this wide wild world they might be living.

The second group are generally more serious and would like to know what is going on-- and in a couple of weeks. They want to see everybody and everything, and to know all there is to know. They amaze me by the number of people they manage to see and the places they visit. I often ask them if they do get what they want. I even wonder aloud if it isn't the quality of a visit rather than its quantity that matters. But somehow they generally seem happy and contented about this.

I have been thinking about it this for many years and have now reached the conclusion that they need to see their distant relatives, school friends or old colleagues not necessarily to see and find out how they or and their families are, but rather how the visitor himself or herself has changed or is doing, etc.

This group mainly consists of professional yuppies who seem to be very concerned about what is going on here. They do not, however, appear to have the will, courage or true wish to give the land a helping hand since not everything here is as they would like it to be. So they prefer to work for those for whom they care less about, but doing what would keep them emotionally at a safe distance.

I must also add that there are, among us here, a bunch who would not lose the chance of meeting an outsider, a visitor, perhaps a close or distant relative or an old friend, to complain of their conditions and what they do. Members of this group believe that all those who are THERE must be doing better than those who are HERE. They must be sitting on pots of money because they earn their income in Dollars or Pounds or Euro. It is no good telling them that they also spend in the same currencies, and they have to work really hard for what they earn, without a mom or dad or uncle to help them out at times of trouble or even give them a hand, because they themselves are so busy doing the same thing. Only a few are exempted from this rule.

Once a few years ago, I went to the airport five times in one week to meet our visiting dear ones and seven times during the following two weeks to see them off. This year, our first visitors have arrived and thankfully we have come to the conclusion that we should go to the airport only if it is necessary, meaning when there is nobody else who could make it. Usually there is always someone who can cope better with lack of sleep and the hours of hanging around at the airport when the planes are late, even after you have called the airport many times to confirm the exact arrival time.

I take this opportunity to welcome all these visitors to their homeland and I hope they will all have a happy and peaceful holiday here near us.