Hijabs, Hitchhiking and Hangovers: Lessons from Iran

‘Are you foreign? Why would you come to Iran? Please tell your friends back home that we are nothing like the Western media.’

These were among the phrases that Rose would hear almost daily in Tehran.

Hijabs, Hitchhiking and Hangovers: Lessons from Iran is a coming-of-age travel adventure. At the age of 20, Rose was part of the first group of Cambridge students to study in Iran after Iran re-opened its borders to the West. Navigating Foreign Office warnings and nuclear sanctions, she was at first a rather reluctant traveller, overwhelmed by the culture clashes, language barriers and Islamic law.

Through a collection of short stories, Rose tells of how she makes a home in Iran, experiences unexpected kindness and gets to grips with the Farsi language. At times amusing and at others, tragically telling of the harsh realities of Iranian society, Hijabs, Hitchhiking and Hangovers is a gripping account of self-reliance and the often dangerous impact of politics on travel abroad.

Rose Carmichael is a linguist, writer and journalist. Rose grew up in the countryside in Cambridgeshire, before moving to Dubai, Tehran and then eventually, London. After graduating from the University of Cambridge, where she studied Middle Eastern Studies and Modern Languages, with a focus on Persian language and literature, she worked at an international Farsi-language television channel in London, where she used her Farsi language skills to both present and produce Arts and Culture shows.