Day 3: Khahesh mikonam, shoma befarmaeed...

The first activity of the day was an informative speech given by guest speaker Alex Patico, who differentiated between the norms of different cultures, focusing mainly on Iran and the United States.  Campers learned about how we can be perceived as positive in our culture while being seen as offensive in another, and how to be aware of the impact of our habits and culture.

After listening to Alex's presentation, the campers went on to learn more about different aspects of the Persian culture through cultural booths.  These booths addressed the topics of Iranian geography, religion, poetry, music, modern youth life in Iran, and the Farsi language. For example, the cultural booth "Music," led by counselors Kayvan Farchadi and Taimoor Zaidi, focused on the classical monophonic and polyphonic styles of music. Campers listened to two different styles of music; one influenced by western culture, the other by a classical Iranian piece, and were given a chance to dig deeper into the music and begin to recognize and appreciate music based on its intrinsic qualities.

After the cultural booths, the campers migrated outdoors for the annual Ta'arof Tournament!  Now in its third year, the Ta'arof Tournament is largely considered one of the highlights of the week, and the campers eagerly gathered round and elected representatives of their counselor groups to compete against eachother for the Ta'arof crown. The purpose of this exercise is to have fun while honing the campers' skills at the art of this classic Persian etiquette, where there is an insistence of offering gifts to the "acquaintance" (another camper).  Amidst the campers cheers and screams of encouragement, rising junior Arman Carter pulled through with a victory and was crowned Ta'arof King 2008 by 2007's Ta'arof Queen, Rassah Ostadhosseini.

After dinner, campers continued the day with a celebration of Shabe Yalda, or Winter Solstice, which is the longest night of the year.  After learning about the cultural significance of Shabe Yalda, and enjoying beautiful musical performances by several of Camp Ayandeh's very own campers, everyone returned to the dorms to find music blaring and an empty lobby, just waiting for campers to show off their dance moves!