Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation11 Mai 2022

Interview | Growing Up Irooni- Caspian Chef discusses returning to his Iranian roots after decades of assimilation

In this Growing Up Irooni we talk to Omid Roustaei, better known as the Caspian Chef. In this conversation, we discuss the process of coming to the United States on his own and figuring out his own path for assimilating into American culture as a means of survival. Omid has has a very rich and varied path, first studying biotech engineering, and then becoming a personal chef and yoga teacher, to pursuing a career in psychotherapy, to returning to cooking and his Iranian roots only in the past few years.This was one of the most fascinating conversations I've had- and we really go into some territory that I think will resonate with so many of us- life is certainly not linear, and we can see that in Omid's story. We talk about career and pursuing your dreams- he first went down the ‘traditional Iranian path' of becoming a biotech engineer and worked in that field for a while, before pivoting to the perhaps more American notion of pursuing his passion- cooking and psychotherapy. We also talked about the process of assimilation as a coping mechanism- what it means to arrive in a country and need to fit in. And finally, what led Omid back to the path of rediscovering his Iranian roots- from cooking Persian food, to becoming reacquainted with the Persian language, and to ultimately seek out and become part of the Iranian diaspora community again.I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did!

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Episoder(223)

Speak Lesson 55 | The Etiquette of Being Hosted

If you’re around Iranians often, chances are you’ll be invited to their homes. Iranians love hosting, and it’s common to invite someone over as soon as you meet them. So, let’s learn some of the langu...

3 Mai 201612min

Speak Lesson 54 | Common Persian Sayings and Expressions

In this lesson, we learn common Persian sayings that often don't make sense in English. Expressions, idioms- these are what make a language unique! We also learn some common Persian insults.

20 Apr 201611min

Speak Lesson 53 | Respect in the Persian Culture

Respect is a big deal in Persian culture- respect for your family, respect for elders, among other things. We've learned about tārof- but this type of etiquette is just one aspect of showing respect f...

23 Mar 201611min

Speak Lesson 52 | Navigating 'Tā'arof' in Different Social Situations

In this lesson, we continue our discussion of the Persian concept of 'tārof'- we learn different situation in which 'tārof' comes into play, and how to successfully navigate through these situations. ...

9 Mar 201615min

Speak Lesson 51 | Introducing 'Ta'arof'

In this lesson, we talk about one of the most important concepts when it comes to learning about Persian culture- the concept of tārof. Tārof is basically the code of etiquette Iranians use in all soc...

24 Feb 201614min