As a Ph.D. student, my primary job is to carry out research and then to report on them. A quick way of reporting my results is through scientific conferences. That means leaving Canada for a country, mainly in Europe or the states. This is when my acquaintance with Ahmadinejad comes into play.

A few months ago I had a paper in a conference in Spain. That was when my prof started to realize that in fact some people do need to apply before they go places. Unfortunately, we only had a couple of months and so I couldn’t do all the paperwork.

Then, I submitted a paper to a conference in Ireland. This time I was quick. However, it took them two months to issue a reentry visa for me. I guess I couldn’t do it faster either. Just thinking about someone who has lived in the same city as Ahmadinejad would freak out any person. Sometimes I check out our apartment before I turn on the light. Who knows? Maybe I’m in some level a terrorist and I don’t know.

So, I got the visa and called the Ireland Embassy. The lady asked where my passport had been issued. “Iran”. She did not even look it up, “Your passport should be sent to Ireland. We suggest you do not book your flight. It might take about three months before the visa arrives.” To make me forget the trip, the requirements section in the application package also insisted that I should have a temporary residence permit valid for at least six months after I come back. I guess no one has told them that I apply for the study permit every year. I hate it when people do not understand terrorists.

Spain and Ireland went away. My prof asked me over the phone why I was apologizing and said he did not think that I have done anything wrong. He humbly asked me to prepare the presentation, which he so honorably accepted to give for me. The bad news is, I have a paper in Scotland and another one in Mexico. At least I hope Mexicans understand terrorists.

p.s. I am not even thinking about the paper in Washington D.C.