Student exchange program (ATTN: Belize and Honduras)

[Leninist Iran]

Tehran, People's Republic of Iran
Sunday, December 2, 2035

It snowed for the first time this winter, the night before Farzaneh Talebi was scheduled to leave Tehran for Belize and Honduras. By morning, most of the snow had melted away but there were still small patches scattered around. Farzaneh was always a fan of the snow, and it was a nice send off gift as she left for a much hotter climate in Central America. Farzaneh woke up before her alarm could go off, with a feeling of both anxiety and exhilaration. Farzaneh had been planning this meticulously. It was the first time she got to get out of the country and see the world outside of her bubble in Tehran.

She heavily studied Latin American history, learned Spanish as well as she could, and listened to Central American music, but none of it felt like it helped her prepare enough. She didn't know what to expect from a capitalist country, really. She had only one conception of what a capitalist society looked like: The Iranian Republic, which existed when she was a kid.

The Iranian military constantly clashing with the IRGC, money becoming worthless overnight, unemployment skyrocketing, Maoist guerillas cutting off power grids, corruption, starvation, assassinations, protests, strikes. That was her muddled memory of the capitalist world she grew up around as a child. Surely Belize and Honduras weren't as bad as the Iranian Republic, right?

Her mother, Maryam, tore her and her siblings's room apart making sure that Farzaneh had everything she needed for the trip. When all was said and done, Farzaneh had two duffle bags worth of things to carry to the airport.

Maryam woke up Farzaneh's siblings - Her sister Zahra and her brother Mahmoud - to say goodbye to her before she left for the next six months. Zahra was on the verge of tears saying goodbye, while Mahmoud seemed more bothered by being woken up early on the weekend. Farzaneh didn't mind, she knew Mahmoud loved her in his own way.

Akbar - Her dad - carried an additional duffle bag on top of the two Farzaneh was carrying. While Maryam was struggling to come to terms with not seeing Farzaneh for half a year, her father seemed at ease about it. He was actually very proud that Farzaneh was acting as an ambassador of the Iranian people to a foreign country.

After a drive to the airport, exacerbated by rush hour traffic, Maryam and Akbar said their last goodbyes to Farzaneh at the airport terminal. Farzaneh was just excited to finally be on the first leg of her trip, but right then Maryam began breaking down crying. Maryam had never been away from Farzaneh from any long periods of time, and she has already lost one daughter. Farzaneh and Maryam hugged for a full two minutes before Farzaneh had to leave for her plane. A few minutes later, Farzaneh was gone on her way to Belize and Honduras.

Later that afternoon, the Talebi family returned to the airport, the whole family in tow.

The whole family was waiting in the airport terminal to greet their exchange student from Belize and Honduras. Akbar, a burly middle aged man with a large mustache, wearing a polo with a Communist Party of Iran pin, stood taller than any of the family members. Second tallest to him was Mahmoud, who was dressed in all black, wearing black eyeliner against his fathers wishes, and with long black hair down to his shoulders, to the point where some mistake him for a woman. At around the same height as each other, Zahra was dressed in a blouse and skinny jeans, while Maryam was dressed more conservatively in a black dress and a loose veil over over head.

Together, they stood around the airport, keeping an eye out for the new arrival from Belize and Honduras.

[Belize and Honduras]

Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA)

Natalia had just arrived from a 22 hour flight from Belmopan. She dragged herself, carrying all of her possessions. She looked around. She had never expected to see snow in a desert, but it was winter here she figured. She had never been to a desert before, she had just read about them in books and seen them in movies.

Her dark brown hair was ruffled, she had fallen asleep on the plane from Belmopan. When she arrived, she was expecting to see hundreds of palm trees, just like her home in Belize and Honduras, but she was wrong. However, she ignored her thoughts and quickly walked over to Farzeneh and her family.

At home, she learned about Iran through local television, and she was very interested in the nation. Natalia thought she was ready, but she was not. She honestly did not care if Iran was communist, she just wanted to have fun here. All she wanted to be, was to be viewed as normal. Not weird, just normal. “Hello.” she said to her family.

Somehow, she found Tehran more developed than Belmopan. She always believed Belmopan was too cluttered, crowded, and messy, but she found Tehran very organized, with towering skyscrapers. Maybe Natalia was just imaging things. After all, she just got off of an 22 hour flight. She was exhausted.

La Aurora International Airport, Guatemala City

Natalia’s parents, Trisha and Juan Martinez, were waiting at the airport. They just got out of bed, and had drove from the airport hotel to La Aurora. The previous day, they had dropped Natalia off at the airport, for her flight to Tehran. Trisha was very exhausted. She had spent the last few days at home, helping Natalia pack and cleaning the house. She had never had a stranger from another country sleep in her house. Juan, on the other hand, seemed ready. He was excited for the new exchange student from Iran. The previous day, they had just gotten off from a 10 hour ride from Belmopan, because the local airport was closed, due to renovations.
“They should be arriving any time now.” said Trisha.
“Be patient.”
They looked at the sign for the 14th time.
“Ugh, delayed again?” scoffed Trisha.
“Thats Delta Airlines”
“Oh, my bad.”

It was winter down in Guatemala City, but considerably warm. When Natalia was here, she would laugh at all the foreigners wearing coats, expecting it to be cold. Earlier today, Natalia had woken up very early, at 4:00 AM, and ran to her brother’s bed, and woke him up.
“It’s 4 AM”
“I know.”
“So why are you waking me up?”
“Just get up!”
“Fine”
By then, the sun was almost non-existent, during winter, the sun usually rose at around 6:15 AM. However, they could see a bit of light peaking over the nearby mountains.

At around 6:30 AM, when the sun barely rose, they ran across the busy street to the airport. They did not know what the weather would be like in the Middle East, especially Iran so Natalia had randomly stuffed a few sweaters into her bag. Her brother, Brayan, had refused to leave the hotel, so he did not come.
“Plane comes at 7:15, so be quick.”
“I know madre.”
When they finally got to the security, they said their last goodbyes to Natalia before she departed to Iran...