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The sun is high in the sky and the trees have begun to bloom here in the hills of Iran. Grass is sprouting up on hillsides everywhere. We continue to roll along on the greatest Iranian road trip of all time; five trekkers in a bus barreling to all corners of this marvelous country..

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As Iran rolls by our window we see some things we expected and others that we did not expect. Occasionally we see graffiti in English that says "Down with the USA." Yes, we expected this; we were afraid of this. The U.S. embassy warned us about traveling in Iran, and in fact they encouraged us to avoid it altogether. It is funny to think about how scared we were when we first arrived here, because these were the only things we knew to expect.

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But now we have been in Iran for several weeks, and the unexpected pleasures far outweigh the expected fears. I have been approached many times in the streets by Iranians eager to practice their English and learn more about this interesting group of world trekkers

When we hear of Iran in the news it may seem like all Iranians are the same; that they all hate America and fully support the Islamic revolution. But I have learned here that it is not that simple. The only thing that all Iranians share, the only thing that all Americans share, is that we want to be happy.

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I hope that we are bringing Iran to life for you, and that we can answer all the questions that rise in your minds. Please write to me if you have any specific questions about life here in Iran. I will miss this country and its people when we leave, and I do hope to return someday.

RELEVANT LINKS http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/980727/27basi.htm This is an article about Iran's vice squads. http://www.salamiran.org/ This Web site provides general information on Iran.

Brian