"Welcome to Tehran,"he said in unaccented English."You are American, yes?" I nodded, still catching my breath. "I hate America," he continued."It is not personal. I like Americans very much. I went to UCLA for four years." (pg. 239)

These are the words from a man Horwitz meets while finding his way in the streets of Tehran. I do not find these words funny, but different because when you meet someone for the first time, it is uncommon to greet them by bashing their country. If say a man from North Korea was meeting you for the first time, I am sure that your first words would not be,"Hi how are you? By the way I hate your country; nothing personal though." I find it strange that this man at first says "I hate America" but then goes on to say things about how he likes Americans as in the people that live in America, and that he attended school there. Today in schools, especially after 9/11, parents and teachers are trying to educate people that just because a select few Middle Eastern men are considered "terrorists" that doesn't mean that the whole Middle East is full of them. As we are being taught that all middle eastern coutries aren't the same, and Chinese and Japanesse aren't the same, on the flip side the same thing is happening. Because of politics and the way our government has gone into war, all Americans are given this label that we are too power hungry. I think that this quote this man said is a great example of how little everyone knows about everyone else.
*ml