Dumas starts the chapter by introducing her Uncle Nematollah, a man who in a culture of arranged marriages, selected his own wife three times. After his second divorce, he came to America to stay with Firoozeh's family. The biggest bond that Nematollah and Kazem shared was their love for food.
In Iran, all their food was fresh and made from scratch. Preparing meals took half the day and depended on what was in season. In Iran, their servant Zahra prepared all the food. In America, they were able to buy pre-packaged, convenient food.
After sampling almost everything that could be bought in a supermarket, the family started exploring the world of American fast food. They fell in love with Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza. The result of this was extreme weight gain for Nematollah. So, as many Americans do, he decided to try to lose weight with diet pills. When the diet pills failed, he went with a powder, when that failed he started scouring the television infomercials, looking for something that could help him. Finally, he found a contraption called a body shaper, which allowed him to do scissor kicks all day. Once that worked its magic, he headed back to Iran.
Notes: This is the first chapter in which we meet a member of Firoozeh's extended family. That is an important aspect of the rest of the book, especially the latter chapters.
In Iran, having servants is common, even for the middle class. The fact Firoozeh's family had servants did not mean they were wealthy, simply that they were well-off.
Firoozeh's family came to America before the political issues that made Iran relevant to most Americans. Because of this, the majority of people Firoozeh encountered had no idea where she was from. In Iran, she had been forced to learn world geography, but it did not seem that many Americans had the same requirement.
Most of the children Firoozeh encountered were not as interested in the location of Iran as they were the lifestyle. They wanted to know about riding camels, living in tents, and crossing the Sahara. Most were disappointed upon learning her family owned a Chevrolet.
Kazem used every question about Iran as an opportunity to educate about the petroleum industry. Firoozeh did not take as kindly to the questions, tiring of her classmates constantly asking about her homeland, even though the majority of questions were asked with kindness.
Many people they encountered were extremely kind to Firoozeh. From sharing food to a family bringing her a Halloween costume to ensure she would not be the only child without, the kindness they were shown made heading back to Iran at the end of the two years all the harder. Before they left, Firoozeh's mother gave Persian handicrafts to everyone who had been kind to them.
Notes: Firoozeh's family was fortunate to have come to America before the Iranian revolution and the prejudice that came against Persians.
Firoozeh is not dark-skinned as many middle easterners are imagined as, but rather is very white. Many times people would ask whether her and her mother were European. In Whittier, California they did not look foreign due to the large Mexican population, many of which shared a similar skin-tone and features. When the family moved to Newport Beach, they stood out much more drastically against the predominantly blonde population. People were constantly getting confused about where Firoozeh was from, mixing up Iran with places like Alaska and Peru.
While living in Newport Beach, the Iranian Revolution took place, and a group of Americans were taken hostage. Because of this, many Americans automatically were opposed to anyone from Iran. To avoid being stereotyped, Firoozeh's mother would claim to be from Russia or Turkey.
When Firoozeh moved to Berkeley, she met many people who actually knew something about Iran. They would either be thrilled to meet her or horrified. It was in Berkeley that she met Francois who later became her husband. Meeting him showed her just how much she had been negatively stereotyped, especially in contrast with all the positive stereotypes that many Americans hold about people from France.
Celis, Christine. "TheBestNotes on Funny in Farsi".
TheBestNotes.com.
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