Kind Request to all readers

Please Please Please stop emailing me with your requests to follow up your admissions to the various universities in Qum. I don't mind answering questions on my experiences in Qum and in the university system here, but I have no time to chase applications.

For information on the various universities and a more serious take on life in Qum, check out http://www.studyinqum.com/Home/StudyingInQum/WhatAndWhereYouStudy

Kashan Pics

Trip to Kashan

The Husband and I took a trip out to Kashan, which is about an hour away from Qum.

Our first stop was Niasur, which is famous for it's rosewater. They make a rosewater for EVERYTHING (losing weight, for hot weather, cold weather, something with garlic...). Rosewater from this place is taken to Makkah every year to wash the Kaabah with too! Niasur has a 'waterfall' which is more like a little stream travelling downwards, but nevertheless the Iranians seem to be proud of it! The surrounding park was complete with a prayer area, snack kiosks and even a bakery! Iranians don't do too well without their constant supply of noon and chai (bread and tea)!!

After our brief stop here, we carried on to Kashan. Even though spring hasn't really began, Kashan was green! A real change from the desert that is Qum. We visited Bagh e Fin - some amazingly beautiful gardens. The gardens also contained a small exhibit about Amir Kabir - a well loved prime minister of Iran. I think his picture is the turkish looking bloke that you often see on persian pottery!

We had hoped to have lunch at Delpazir - a restaurant recommended to us by friends and the Lonely Planet. Our driver called for the address, but the restaurant had been closed for 2 years! We ended up at the 'Aabshaa restaurant' (waterfall restaurant) - our outdoor restaurant had a mini waterfall in it!

There are a couple of the Holy Imam's children buried in Kashan (Imamzadehs) but both the shrines were closed!

Will post some pics soon.

Student ID card

I started university 5 months ago.... I finally got my ID card today!! And as with everything in Iran, it was not a straight forward process.

I was directed to the office where I had my initial entrance interview (3rd floor building on one side of the campus). I got there, to be told that my card is waiting for me on the 3rd floor of the building adjacent to where my classes take place! So I trek back across campus and picked up my card, only to be told that my Parsiyan card is waiting for me in the office where I was originally told to go! Well, hopefully I lost a couple of pounds treking across the campus!

The Parsiyan card is given to all students and has money put on it every couple of months... the Iranian New Year (Nowrooz) is coming up, so there's a $50 bonus deposited into the accounts :-)

Getting the Parsiyan card - yet another headache. We had to look for our names on the list. You'd think that it would be organised alphabetically or by country, but no, just 500 random names... and about 15 people crowded around trying to find their names too! After finding our names, we had to write down the number next to it. The women in the office take this number and give you a form. We filled out our forms and handed them back to yet another woman, who looked for our cards . A fourth woman then checked the forms and gave us our cards.

How long did this all take?
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AN HOUR! It's frustrating sometimes that nothing in this country is straight forward. What was even more hilarious that the pin number was stapled to the envelope!

We never imagined that something so simple would take us so long...