Mike started working for the FAA  in 1961, shortly after we got married. That was a government job, with excellent insurance. I did get tired of all the moving around we did, but the benefits were very good.  Then, a few years later, when he was in Pakistan, the children and I stayed in West Virginia. Fortunately, he was only gone for a few months. I was so happy when he told me he’d completed the project ahead of schedule; that meant he could come home after just three months. That was long enough, I thought.

There was so much planning involved in our move to Iran. I guess military families had more help with housing. Mike was with the FAA, but he had the equivalency of a U.S. Air Force Major, and we did get some help from the U.S. Consulate. We had commissary privileges in Iran; really, I had all the privileges of a military wife. We could order things from JC Penney and Sears, and just pay U.S. postage because we had APO (Army Post Office) privileges.

We had to stay in a hotel at first. It was close by the American Embassy, and the Embassy had a very nice restaurant with familiar American foods the kids liked, so we went there often. My initial focus was on feeding and caring for my children and my husband, while I looked for a house in Teheran.  We had brought $500 with us, but the money ran out so quickly! It was gone in a week or so. We were assigned an Iranian driver, since I didn’t have a car at that point.  N. would come and get us at the Hotel Caspian. He was our driver while we stayed at the Hotel, and we were there for two months, in one room, with our four little girls, and another child on the way. Later, after we moved into our own house, we hired him as a bartender for parties. He liked Scotch, so I would keep him happy with a bottle of Johnnie Walker. It only cost me about $3 a bottle, because I shopped at the Commissary. In a regular store, the best liquor would cost $30 a bottle.  When Mike started with the IIAF (Imperial Iranian Air Force),  he discovered that N.  was a snoop. Mike saw him in a room with a bunch of guys with submachine guns. We knew then, he was a snoop for the Iranian government. We hired him as a bartender, anyway, figuring we had nothing to hide.

Carolyn started kindergarten while we were still living at the Hotel Caspian. The bus would pick her up and drop her off in front of the Hotel.  It was such a relief when we finally found a house. The U.S. Consulate helped  by loaning us furniture  until we could arrange for our own things to be shipped over. Finally, our furniture arrived from the States, then our car, which made me very happy.

The children attended Teheran American School and their tuition was paid as part of our military benefits .  This was one thing I hadn’t considered before moving to a foreign country.  Five years later, when Mike went to work for the IIAF, the children’s tuition was also paid, over and above his salary. Some people didn’t have school tuition included in their contracts; their kids would end up in a regular public school like the Iran Zamin. That was considered a good school too, but we liked TAS. Children could attend TAS as long as one parent was an American citizen. They had excellent teachers; remember, most children attended there for just two years. Teachers had to be flexible and thorough in assessing each child. All our children did well at TAS.  They formed close, enduring friendships with fellow students, teachers and staff that has lasted for many years.

Teachers in TAS had good values, good morals. They were really concerned that the kids adhere to standards of good behavior. Recently, my oldest daughter, Carolyn, told the story of how she deliberately skipped a week of swim practice one time. She was the best swimmer on the team; they’d usually win when she was there. But then her coach wouldn’t let her swim at the next meet, because she’d missed practice. He knew they’d lose, but he put her on the bench anyway. She sat there and watched her team lose. Carolyn learned a valuable lesson that day; she never forgot it.

We look forward to re-connecting with all our TAS friends at the bi-annual reunions of Teheran American School, held here in the States.  Growing up in a foreign country, we all stay close and treasure the memories we share.