25/03/2026
Nowruz was on March 20th.
Last Friday, we gathered to welcome the new year.
I didn’t share these moments until now.
I hesitated…
wondering how it might feel to show smiles
while our country is hurting,
while so many hearts are heavy.
But this is also our truth.
We were far from home that night.
Far from our parents, our families, our people…
and from a country that lives in our hearts.
And still — we gathered.
We set the Haft-Seen.
We counted down.
We smiled, we danced… we held each other close.
Not because everything is okay.
But because this is who we are.
Because we know, in that exact same moment,
under the roofs of our homes,
our parents were also welcoming the new year…
with one wish in their hearts:
the happiness of their children,
and peace for Iran.
Even through silence, distance, broken connections, no internet and phone call……
love still finds its way.
So we celebrated for them.
For us.
For hope.
For a future we are still holding onto.
That night, many of you came —
familiar faces, new faces,
Iranian and non-Iranian friends,
all sharing the same warmth.
And my Amazing Burmese team in Satipot … my second family here —who also carry their own stories, their own pain from Myanmar their country —
stood beside me and made this night possible.♥️♥️♥️
For a moment, we created a home away from home.
Nowruz is not a place.
It is something we carry within us. 🌱🌷
— Satipot, Koh Phangan
