Tehran at first was overwhelming. I was completely lost in this vast city that seemed like a huge, hostile sea of concrete, cut through by six-lane, traffic congested highways. Barely speaking any Persian, I kept to myself, angry with me and my environment. I must have been quite obnoxious. How to figure out what place would serve what type of food at what time of the day? How to find these places, being tucked away on a huge university campus with over 30 dormitories, surrounded by highways? (Turns out, there were at least five restaurants on site 🙃). How to get from A to B in a system where almost every car could be a taxi and you have to know a square or a landmark building close to your destination — so you could flag down a car, name your landmark while the driver slowly rolling would either fully stop in case it was on their way or utter a "tsk" and drive on. Figure out squatting toilets. Figure out sleeping in a bunk bed room shared with three strangers, of whom one would stay up almost all night and another would get up super early. Reading this now and thinking back, I was definitely spoiled and these "problems" appear so small. But I was seriously considering going back to Switzerland, calling Tehran anti-human and inhospitable. Haha. 

And then? I slowly settled in. In December 2016 I wrote: "At the very beginning, when I was still sinking into an intermediate low more often, I regularly called Tehran a "life-despising moloch" and similar unpleasant things. I have completely revised this opinion after a little over two months. Tehran certainly has its weaknesses (traffic, air pollution and much more), but I feel so comfortable in this city by now that I don't really feel like leaving yet. I realise that only a few people here can experience Tehran the way I do. Namely, going to language school three times a week for three hours, and spending the rest of the time as a curious explorer on the move in the city – and all this without any money worries, thanks to the strong Swiss franc."

What happened in between? I went out and went on extensive walks. Found places I liked, parks to chill in, restaurants with delicious food. And above all, I had made friends. I joined a local floorball club where nobody spoke English, forcing me to make an effort with my Persian. I started speaking the language. I traveled to other parts of the country, making friends on couchsurfing.