During this final section of learning, I spent the session talking to Mirwais about the cultural project. My initial goal was to talk about the lives of young adults in Afghanistan and Iran. I wanted to know if the idea of fun was similar to the United States. Going to clubs, restaurants, movies, skating and more are typical ways to blow off steam for young Americans. Prior to meeting with Mirwais, I read a New York Times article about what a young man did in Iran for fun. That example was a bad one, or a less common one I should say, because this man did drugs and drank.
Upon speaking with Mirwais, I learned of what he and his friends do for fun in Afghanistan. The activities are as follows: swimming in lakes, climbing mountains, playing sports, watching television at night, shopping and going to restaurants. I was informed that clubs were not a part of life in Afghanistan and that the popularity of hookah is growing.
I ultimately decided to change my topic to cultural celebrations because I could not find more information about young adult life from reliable sources.
The process was an interesting one nonetheless and I definitely learned more about the culture, which was obviously easier to digest than the language.
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