Nina Niese studies Process Engineering and Natural Materials Technology at TUD and completed a practical semester in Iran

Nina Niese

I study Process Engineering and Natural Materials Technology at TUD and have specialized in Wood and Fiber Material Technology. As I was looking for a place to do my practical semester, I heard about a new cooperation between the Chair of Wood and Fiber Material Technology and its counterpart at the University of Tehran. There, the focus was on the development of oil binders from locally available waste materials from agriculture to be used later for ship damage abatement in the Persian Gulf or the Caspian Sea. The technology had already been developed and tested for German coastal waters and was to be transferred to Iran. It was my task to investigate the suitability of materials available in Iran, such as bagasse or rice or grain straw for the production of oil binders. More and more small factories were built in Iran for processing bagasse and pistachio or palm wood into chip and fiberboard.

Looking at the travelers in the baggage check line at the Berlin airport, no one would have thought that this was a direct flight to Tehran. It was only as the plane began its final descent that the women on board began to dig through their luggage and change clothes. That was my cue to pull my scarf over my own head. From then on, the hijab was my constant companion whenever I left the house. During my stay, I lived in student housing at the satellite campus in Karaj, about an hour west of Tehran by car. At the dormitory, it was not difficult to make contacts with the other women. I was quickly invited for tea or on outings and I had someone to talk to for any sort of problem. As I had no knowledge of Farsi whatsoever, this support was particularly helpful, especially at the beginning. However, the people I spoke to often surprised me with their excellent English skills and sometimes even German. But even people with no foreign language skills were very helpful and open.

Because I lived on campus, I only needed two minutes to get to the institute on foot. Most of my work was at the Technical Center and there was usually someone there from 8:30 in the morning. I arranged and organized my workflow independently, so I usually returned to the office early to sort out everything I wanted to do. With my samples prepared at laboratory scale, I could test the suitability of materials that could prove useful.

The university campus in Karaj is part of the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, so many of my housemates came from rural regions and small cities around the country. Sometimes, I accepted an invitation to spend a weekend with their families. I was always very warmly welcomed. They told me about their daily lives, about traditions and family customs, and about life in general in Iran. Often, I would see many carpets covering the floor in the apartments, and there was a generous amount of armchairs and sofas. Some apartments had a dinner table, while in others people simply ate while seated on the floor. For this, a large cloth was spread out for everyone to sit around.

The country is every bit as multi-layered and diverse as its people. Clichés collide with surprises, modernity with tradition, public life with life behind doors and windows. In some places, bypassing of the rules prescribed by society is now even tolerated. Particularly north of Tehran, there are numerous modern shisha bars where young people meet and enjoy an evening set to modern music.

It was a joy to get to know this interesting, yet contradictory country.

This article was published on June 12, 2018, in the 11/2018 Dresden Universitätsjournal. You can download the full issue as a PDF for free here. You can also order the UJ in print or as a PDF from doreen.liesch@tu-dresden.de. More information is available at universitaetsjournal.de.