I just found out that the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has rejected my application to spend the summer studying Farsi in Tehran. I've emailed for clarification, but so far (two days), I've yet to get an additional response. All I've heard, this from the University of Tehran's International Students Office, is:
| "Dear Scott Fisher, We are sorry to inform you that your application has not been approved by the admission office of the ministry of Foreign Affairs." |
Banned due to my nationality? Or did they Google me and find something they didn't like ... ?
For those wondering why anyone would want to send their summer in Iran learning Farsi/Persian, I actually found the place both interesting and surprisingly friendly when I visited last year. Plus, for someone interested in researching U.S. relations with 'rogue nations', Farsi would seem a useful language to pick up.
Scott
P.S. On a separate and highly unrelated note, I have a couple of good friends who went to the University of Texas. Spending the past couple of months working on this University of Tehran application has made me laugh every time I've heard "UT" referred to as a university in Tehran instead of Texas. Maybe I can get them to send me a t-shirt ...
I just got back to Korea after a month in the States and a question occurs to me – are there any airlines in the world worse than U.S. airlines?
To wit:
2 – the number of bags lost during my trip to/in the States. Nothing like showing up back home for the first time in two years, only to have your bag stuck somewhere in Minneapolis, courtesy Northwest Airlines (hereafter, and for eternity, referred to by the far more common name, 'Northworst'). Then, AGAIN, on my way out of the States, they lost the same bag! How shitty of an airline do you have to be to lose the same bag TWICE in ONE MONTH?!?
It was at least easy to register the lost bag. When they asked for a description I simply said it looks the same as it did when you lost it a few weeks ago.
4 – the numbers of times United Airlines changed my schedule
0 – the number of times United actually contacted me to warn about the change in schedule (something even Northworst did). Had I not gone online to confirm my seats, I'd have missed my flight!
1 out of 4 – the number of my flights canceled by United
9 – the number of hours it took Singapore Airlines to get me from Seoul to San Francisco
12 – the number of hours it took United to get me from Florida to Michigan, with no bad weather, nor any explanation for the six hours of delays
4 out of 9 – the number of late/delayed flights during my U.S. trip
0 – the number of apologies offered by Northworst and United for canceling, rescheduling, and delaying my flights, plus losing my bag(s)
$25 – the amount it cost to change my flight dates on Northworst
$0 – the amount it cost to change my flight dates on Singapore
75% - the percentage of an American airline that must be owned by Americans
0% - my satisfaction with this rule
10000000% - the amount I hope this rule is changed, so some of the worst airlines in the world can be taken over and everyone in charge fired
Bonus List:
Some of the odder airlines I've flown, ALL with better customer service than any major American airline:
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Iran Air
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Air Koryo (the official airline of North Korea)
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Philippine Air
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Vietnam Air
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Emirates Air
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Qatar Airways
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Bangkok Airways
