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Summer 2006

Countries I have been to:

Algeria
Australia
Austria
Channel Islands
England
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Indonesia
Iran
Italy
Japan
Lebanon
Maldives
Monaco
New Zealand
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Portugal
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Spain
Sri Lanka
Sweden
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Syria
Thailand
United Arab Emirates
USA

Hospitality Club Meeting in Tehran

The moment I heard from my father that we are going to Iran during the Christmas holidays, I immediately started thinking of organizing a Hospitality Club meeting in Tehran. Why? Because this would be a chance to meet locals, learn from them about Iranian culture, get tips and hints for the time in Iran, etc. It was rather difficult from Finland to find an appropriate location for the meeting without ever having been to Iran. Initially I tried to reserve a conference room (or something similar) from the hotel where we would be staying (Hotel Laleh). However, this was not a good idea as locals might feel uncomfortable in a top hotel. (Personally, I would have much more preferred to stay with Hospitality Club members but unfortunately, my parents wanted to stay in a hotel.) Only after some long-time thinking, our local contact person (a tourist guide) suggested a fast-food restaurant in Tehran, Restaurant Boof.

After deciding all details of the meeting and after building the homepage, the invitation was finally sent out to all approximately 300 members of Tehran only two days before the intended meeting day (December 23, 2006) and one day before our departure from Frankfurt airport. I asked for confirmation by e-mail and shortly after the invitation was sent, plenty of replies from Iranian HC members appeared in my inbox.

The meeting was supposed to start at 7 pm but I went there with my parents already at 6.30 in order to see the place in advance and make any preparations if necessary. Shortly after we arrived, the first member arrived, as well. We sat down in a slightly separated part of the restaurant and did not have to wait for a long time until many more HC members appeared at the meeting. During the evening, we were a total of 35 persons! For comparison, one week earlier I had organized an HC meeting in Frankfurt, Germany. Out of the more or less 700 members in Frankfurt 25 members came to the meeting to which the invitation had been sent out much earlier.

As the meeting proceeded, I noticed that the average Iranian HC member is a much more active speaker and has a stronger personality than the members in other countries I have met. This means that everybody (or at least many) tried to control or influence the meeting. Usually, only very extroverted and strong leader-type personalities do this. In the Tehran meeting, however, there were plenty of those. Somebody even suggested appointing a chairperson for the meeting in order to bring order to the discussions. My opinion was to keep the meeting rather informal.

Having a bunch of extroverted people eagerly discussing HC issues together, my contribution to lead the meeting was not necessary, as explained above. As a matter of fact, me being virtually the only one who did not speak Farsi (the language of Iran), soon I needed the kind person sitting next to me to translate the discussion into English. As a result, I was able to follow what was happening.

One of the most experienced HC members suggested playing a little game in order to get to know the persons being present. One person started saying his/her name and the following persons had to repeat all previous names and say his/her own name so that the last person had to repeat everybody’s names by heart. This game was played again by repeating not just the name but also a word that describes something that the person likes especially. Some words said by people: poetry, socializing, traveling, films… I said only two letters: HC :)

After these introducing games, people began to talk about HC. Advantages and disadvantages of the club were discussed, less experienced members asked questions, more experienced members gave tips and hints how to enjoy the club even more (many of these points came up also in the workshop I had established in the HC Mikkeli meeting), and HC experiences in Iran and abroad were exchanged.

I must admit, I admire these people because they were able to establish a perfect atmosphere for an HC meeting! Originally, I had thought about making some kind of a program (such as in the Mikkeli meeting) in order to get people talking about these things (for instance, how to improve HC). I had dropped this because I thought that maybe Iranian members are not too experienced to come up with good ideas. To my big but positive surprise, they were not just very experienced but started automatically talking about these things! Thus, it was a very good and highly productive meeting. I wish it would be as easy in other countries. However, HC meetings in other countries tend to be more like parties where people only drink…

Suddenly, I was told that the restaurant is throwing us out! I insisted that we had called the manager the day before and he had said that we could come but it did not help. I was explained that the reason was that the meeting was getting too big and too formal in terms of a real meeting, not just a gathering of friends. These kinds of meetings are illegal in Iran! I was told, if the police came, we would all be arrested. This was too risky for the restaurant, so they threw us out. This is why everybody was so grateful that I organized a meeting. Usually, nobody wants to take the risk to invite all members to a public place. (Smaller, private gatherings are common, however.) What an interesting way to learn about the habits of a country!

It did not take a long time until we had found a place for the continuation of the meeting. One of the members offered his apartment as a location for the “after party.” So, most of us went with several cars to this place in Northern Tehran. The apartment was very beautiful. We continued to talk in the same manner in the big living room while being served Chai (tea), as always everywhere in Iran. Afterwards, some people even presented their excellent piano skills. The meeting turned into a small party with loud music (there were no neighbors who could report it to the police – loud music is illegal, as well) and some dancing.

It was interesting to observe that in the restaurant, all women were wearing a scarf. As soon as we arrived in the private apartment, all women were dressed exactly the same way, as any woman would dress in a western country. They told me that a scarf is obligatory in all public places but most women do not actually want to wear it. You can see government police officers patrolling everywhere, as I later saw during my trip, in order to ensure that everybody is behaving according to Islamic manners (women wear a scarf and appropriate clothes, no kissing, etc).

Overall, it was a wonderful evening. I met some great people, I found some really good friends, and I definitely want to meet them again. What have I learned from this meeting?

• Do not underestimate the HC members of Iran.
• Try to avoid meetings in public locations in Iran. Instead, invite to a private place.
• Do not advertise the HC to random people in Iran. If the government finds out about the site, it may be filtered out (as are presently “bad” sites, such as anti-Islamic and porn sites).
• Stay always with locals if you have the chance because you learn much more than if you stay in a hotel.
• Do not send the invitation only two days in advance, although still many people might come.
• Ask people to include their HC username when confirming that they are coming to the meeting.
• Go to the meeting place well in advance. Even better, go there the day before to check if it is suitable. If you do not have the chance to check it yourself, ask help from a local member (local volunteer).
• Tell people in the invitation what kind of gathering you are organizing, whether it is formal or informal, if food is served, what topics shall be discussed, what the intended general atmosphere shall be, etc…
• Try to learn at least some of the local language before the meeting in order to be able to say hello to the people in their own language.
• Make sure people get to know each other.
• Try to find out about local habits as much as possible in advance.
• Have some alternative plans and a location for the after party.

Thank you again to everyone in Tehran for the great gathering. I wish you all the best and I hope to see you again in Iran as soon as possible! In the meantime, welcome to my house :)