My aunt Parvone is one of the kindest, sweetest, most patient women I know. We often refer to her as “Madare Hame” , Everyone's Mother. She married at 17 years old to her first cousin, Hamid. He was 8 years her senior. Parvone grew up wearing hijab and was hounded by her grandmother to cover her hair, not show too much skin. At her wedding, her scarf was considered ‘too thin’ and she had to replace it with a thicker veil. Two children, a house and years of international travel later, Parvone considers herself ‘Bi Hijab” Without Hijab. Wow, how does her grandmother feel about this now?

BONUS EPISODE IN FARSI

Introducing the 16 year old Parnian. She feels she has been handling the pandemic pretty well considering Iran is being cover run with the Delta Variant. When classes area online, her teacher relies on WhatsApp and Telegram applications for communication. When not in school, Parnian loves wearing make up and painting her nails. We did this interview in her bedroom and I can vouch for her nail polish collection. She literally has three shelves made up of every color you can imagine! Did you know, Iranians schools do not allow girls to wear nail polish or make up in class? You can't even pluck your eye brows or wax your mustache. Can you imagine? The ladies have to suck that part up until they graduate.

English Episode! Introducing Mohammad, a bilingual film lover and at 24 years old he is studying for his Masters in Biomechanical Engineering. (Well, if that doesn’t make me question where I am in life, I don’t know what will) His mother is a nurse who was working in the front lines at the height of the COVID pandemic. Mohammad tells us the perks of growing up with a medical caretaker. Can anyone say “affordable healthcare!”

Follow Mohammad on Instagram

@thembusy1

@The.Normal.Family

First Farsi episode! But wait - if you are learning Farsi stick around. My cousin Saleheh met her husband through an arranged marriage. In a world where you're not really supposed to date - how do you get married? She talks about the emotional steps taken to wed her future husband, what happened when he lost their wedding rings and that all this was managed without serving alcohol at the wedding party...that's right. A dry wedding.

Meet my cousin Sara. Her mom forced her to attend English classes as a child. Of course, being a rule-following daughter, she begrudgingly obliged. However, now she appreciates the liberties of being bilingual. Currently Sara is a working woman in the city of Qom. In this episode, she deep dives into what it is like getting a nose job when you are afraid of doctors…also dentists...and anyone in the medical field.

Meet my Aunt Mahboobeh. She grew up with four brothers, a swimming pool and a pomegranate tree. Guess what, whenever she needed to take a shower, she had to use the public bathroom. Yup, that means pay per use. Married at 23, Mahboobeh began traveling the world with her husband. She had three kids, each one born in a different country from the next. Wow, how do you manage all the citizenships?

The meaning behind "Aren't You Hot In That"

Finally explained!