Start here and tell something about yourself

haha! i remember your post on soulreaper facebook page about chest hair  

welcome Hogata!  

welcome Hogata, true disciple of the Chesthair!

Mehdy yeah i noticed a fondness of tennis on your part, Federer in particular, right? i wonder what experiences made you change your mind about permanently leaving Iran. i find it really interesting... i think it's great that you found the place where you truly want to live, even if you had to go away for a few years to realise it was your "old" home

and of course, Ant1! and Marcel! good to see you people here as well

i agree, i'm happy to see you all back here too.  

This is great!

hogata wrote:

Oh, and totally in love with Mehdy, my hubby Wink

Oh honey, you do know that I am head over toes in love with you too. You are the best wife ever.   

tapsi wrote:

Mehdy yeah i noticed a fondness of tennis on your part, Federer in particular, right? :Di wonder what experiences made you change your mind about permanently leaving Iran. i find it really interesting... i think it's great that you found the place where you truly want to live, even if you had to go away for a few years to realise it was your "old" home :

I have been trying to answer to this question several times to my friends in Iran already and there is no easy way to explain it. Immigrat

The first thing is obviously the security of have a job with a decent salary. I have been back for only 6-7 weeks now, but I am gonna lecture at the State University of Isfahan which is among the top 3 universities in the country. If I didn't want to go to Tehran, there was a good opportunity to be employed by the university as well. But I am the only one among the postgrads at the university where I did my Ph.D who has had such a job opportunity. Working in a post office, and teaching at primary school has been the best jobs that other postgrads have been able to find in their own countries, even the New Zealanders.

The second one is the expectations that one has from life and living in another country and meeting lots of people from all corners of the world made me realize that the quality of life that I have experienced in Iran (excluding the crazy crazy driving which even makes crossing the street on the zebra crossing a HUGE challenge and I absolutely hate it) is above average compared to many other countries. Cheap electricity, and cheap fuel has made it possible to easily warm up our houses in the winter and cool it down during the summer so that one wouldn't feel too cold or too hot INSIDE the house. I used to think this is normal for everyone in the developed countries. But I then realiezed this is a luxury that not a big percent of the population can afford.

The third one is definitely the weather. We have four distinct seasons here, and the weather is consistently cold or hot during each season. Hot summer, mild spring and fall, and cold winter. I enjoy this kind of weather, but when you experience "four seasons in a day" as the weather in most of NZ was referred to, it gets my irritated.

Finally the last thing which convinced me to come back was the language and the people. Even though I was quite good in English and had no problems for communicating with others, it is quite hard to talk in a language other than your mother's tongue every day all day. Also it made me realize that language is way bigger than a communication vehicle, it is part of your identity and deeply rooted in HOW you communicate even in other languages. When I was there I realized I couldn't get the mastery I have over Persian, for instance how many ways can you say the sentences "I like you" or "I enjoy being with you," in your own language and in a second or foreign language? There are people who can do it, but I am not one of them. Even if I could get all that mastery and write a novel in English, it would be really tough to find a publisher for it (as was the case for my Irish writer friend), whereas I easily published my own novel here.
New Zealand has some of the friendliest people I have ever seen and I never felt like a stranger or immigrant there, but it would take a long time for me there to find the friends and connections which I have here. For instance I have several friends among writers, critics, theater directors, actors, etc. It would take years and years to find the equivalent of those people there and I was unwilling to invest that amount of time.

Sorry for writing this long reply, but I tried to write a comprehensive answer.

thank you for the explanation, Mehdy

i think i understand your decision, all of these are valid points, and even the seemingly small ones like the weather can influence the quality of life to a great extent... i think it is great that you know so clearly what you want and have the opportunity to reach it. i really hope that you will have great professional success and novels novels novels even if we can only read them once they get translated to english! it's just so good that there seems to be no disappointment and bitterness behind your decision, and i'm glad you went home to opportunities and what appears to be a rich and bright future

it's often like that: staying abroad for some time makes you see the qualities of your own country.
wish you all the best in your homeland mehdy.

Mehdy, there is a really big insight for me in your post, thanks for sharing your own perceptions and experiences. It's obvious one has individual expectations and certain need of quality from life.
I hope you can find what you're seeking for in your homeland!


and welcome to all again! Nice to see so many of you! x

tapsi wrote:

thank you for the explanation, Mehdy

i think i understand your decision, all of these are valid points, and even the seemingly small ones like the weather can influence the quality of life to a great extent... i think it is great that you know so clearly what you want and have the opportunity to reach it. i really hope that you will have great professional success and novels novels novels :)even if we can only read them once they get translated to english! it's just so good that there seems to be no disappointment and bitterness behind your decision, and i'm glad you went home to opportunities and what appears to be a rich and bright future

Thanks a lot Agnes. There is absolutely no bitterness, and I am quite happy to be back. Now I appreciate all those small things which I didn't even notice in the past.

bastet wrote:

it's often like that: staying abroad for some time makes you see the qualities of your own country.
wish you all the best in your homeland mehdy. Smile

Thanks a lot Irene. I do believe that if a government wants to make something compulsory for everyone, it should definitely be Overseas Experience. Living abroad for at least two years creates a win-win situation, because if you love the country you have immigrated to, you decide to live there for good, and if you think your own country is better you get back to and decide to live there. So I 100% agree with you.

Nätulcién wrote:

Mehdy, there is a really big insight for me in your post, thanks for sharing your own perceptions and experiences. It's obvious one has individual expectations and certain need of quality from life.
I hope you can find what you're seeking for in your homeland!

Thanks a lot for your comment. Yes, life is all about expectations and what you think it has to offer. I am happy that my reply has had a big insight for you. I am not sure what the general population in Turkey thinks about immigration, but when I was there in 2010 I found it that some of the intellectuals there are thinking of moving to another country.

I also need to add that what I said in the previous post was the good side of life here in its Janus-like face. The bad side is definitely the bizarre and backward government which believes has the right to find fault with every aspect of your life, for instance, what you wear, what you drink and whom you sleep with. So I had to balance out between the advantages and disadvantages and when I did that I found out that I still want to get back and be among the people who live and think like me.

hello you all presumably know me xxx

hi welcome aboard!
you gotta tell a bit about your life story

hehe i am keeping it more private these days, necessarily xxx

Hiii, nice to see you on board  


Welcome Dan! x

welcome, danny.

You missed us, right?
the forum is family, welcome Dan   

pagan wrote:

hehe i am keeping it more private these days, necessarily xxx

Aint fame a bitch.LOL

Hi, I am back again... a German- teacher from Poland, always ready for a good joke , lazing about and appreciating beautiful music and hot girls

hey hey, welcome! hope you like this place

Hi everyone here !

hey Angel interesting nickname. how you came about this place? tell us little about yourself, only if you like that is.


welcome. forum is on pause temporally I hope

Glad you like the name, I've become a mama 4 months ago and I'm crazy about my son-thinking to give him that name I was looking for the soul reaper forum and found this link !

on google?



congratulation on your first born! babies rock! unless when they poo

actually on safari

i doubt i'll have another but i guess i shouldn't worry about that since i feel very happy and blessed to have my little angel !


babies need a lot of time and good energy..

hello angel! welcome here.

hello Irene !