Yo, Iran. It's America. Let Me Holla at You...

"How does world peace by Christmas sound?"

So there's been a lot of buzz in the news lately about Iran and the US finally sitting down to talk and settle some deep seated animosity and cynicism. If you haven't gone and watched the UN General Assembly talks directly you can watch them here and here and get a feel for yourself exactly why people are freaking out (though my boyfriend insists the Persian translation doesn't quite do his words justice...plus the interpreter is completely monotone robotic which doesn't help). Anyways, it's kind of a big deal. We're kind of on speaking terms now, bro.

That's right--Obama called Rouhani, and plans are now being made to try and settle the nuclear weapons issue that's gutting Iran by heavy sanctions and polarizing the two countries in the next 3-6 months. And while I kind of agree with a lot of people that 6 months is a rather short time frame to reconcile years of hatred and injustice on both sides, I would say that with an open mind and willing disposition it at least hopefully won't take another 40 years to reverse. The groundwork is being laid--and despite Israel's skepticism, I remain optimistic.

As Hamid and I sat side by side last week watching as our Presidents' gave their speeches to the General Assembly, it was a weird mix of emotions--shame, pride, hope. I was desperately trying to reflect on all that I had been taught both explicit and implicitly about Iran and gage it against the reactions I saw in his face as he watched his people being framed through the lens of the red, white, and blue. And I could feel his eagerness when Rouhani stood up and talked about the way my countrymen had been treating his homeland through the past several decades and how much he wanted to prove his people's desire for lasting peace. We were anxiously nervous and stubbornly positive that the timing was right to start moving forward as cooperative nations. Though despite these mixed feelings at coming from enemy countries, the first thing we both said when we sat back after watching the speeches was "well...if we can do it, they can do it."

Anyone else get warm fuzzies at this smile?

Yes, I'm biased. Dating an Iranian has completely opened up my eyes to this hostile relationship and the desire for change a lot of Iranians have in putting an end to a repressive government that doesn't reflect their views and desires to interact with the West--especially America. And every day Hamid is helping me to realize that there are actually a lot of progressive and level headed Iranians sitting on the sidelines with clenched teeth and crossed fingers hoping these peaceful talks come to fruition--that it's not the "us" and "them" game our government's like to sometimes frame it as.  That there are are actually a huge amount of Iranian supporters who far drown out the angry protesters at Rouhani opening up a line of dialogue with the US ,an avenue which has been closed for 34 years. Not to mention the many people who sit on the fence between these two cultures as Iranian-Americans who feel particularly invested in reconciling these two politically warring parts of their identity. And then you have Americans who don't want to be international bullies anymore in the Middle East and are pushing our government to mend those relationships and are trying to create new narratives about this strange political "other". And I guess being with Hamid has helped to elevate that level of optimism and awareness about just how many people are wishing this peace-process well on both sides.Which is kind of cool.

So here's to hoping for the best and trying the bottom-up approach.

'murica, out.