Culture Shock? Not!

I must say that part of what I was planning on enjoying about this trip to Iran was watching Neibaur go through major culture shock second-by-second.  I observed none of that, except for some concern he had upon arrival at the airport ”passport control” mostly spawned by not understanding what the guy was saying (the official wanted to make copies of our passports and take our fingerprints–both done with much apology for the inconvenience).  I was so puzzled by Neibaur’s relaxed disposition during the trip that at one point I had to ask him if he even felt like he was in a different country at all, or if it just felt like he was around a lot of Persians (which can sometimes happen in L.A. or New York).  He replied by saying that he did feel like he was in a foreign country but was not overwhelmed by it or affected in a way I thought he would be.  I think that this is partly because of over-preparing, Neibaur’s abundant exposure to Iranian culture in the U.S. and having family there.  Or perhaps he’s just made for a life in foreign policy.