Ramin NaserNasir's Chance Chat on Yahoo Messenger with a Mexican Man and Learning Spanish

The virtual world can sometimes become the setting for astonishing events that change the course of people's lives. Ramin NaserNasir recounts an interesting story from the peak days of Yahoo Messenger, when a chance chat with a Mexican man led to José Guadalupe Jiménez Coronado teaching him Spanish.

The virtual world sometimes becomes a platform for amazing events that change the path of people's lives. Ramin Nasernasir tells about an interesting story during the heyday of Yahoo Messenger and a casual chat with a Mexican man that led to him being taught Spanish by Jose Guadalupe Jimenez Coronado.

According to Ambassador Arjan Ramin Naser Nasir; actor and translator who wrote the novel "Purgatory" written by Thomas Elway Martineth; One of the most important and influential writers of Latin America, recently published with his translation by Cheshme, told of a strange story, similar to a fairy tale, that led him to be taught Spanish by José Guadalupe Jimenez Coronado.

Recalling the popular days of using Yahoo Messenger, Naser Nasir defined this memory as follows: "This story goes back to around 2001 or 2002; When Yahoo Messenger and Internet chat rooms were very popular and we spent a lot of time in those spaces. I, among other things, entered chat rooms with the motivation to practice English and not let it be forgotten, learn new things and meet people from other parts of the world. I was interested to know how a person lives in another corner of the world, what kind of culture he has and how he looks at the world. I used to travel a lot at that time and I always wanted to travel to Egypt; A wish that has not been fulfilled until today and is still one of my wishes. One day, while I was aimlessly on Yahoo Messenger, I entered a chat room that, as far as I can remember, was about music. In that period, due to the not so good relations between Iran and Egypt, the travel of Iranian citizens to Egypt faced restrictions and usually an invitation or an invitation to an event or festival was needed to travel. In the same atmosphere of the conversation, this simple but not very serious thought came to my mind that maybe I could meet an Egyptian person who would one day invite me to his country. In fact, without any special planning and just as a passing thought, I had raised such a possibility in my mind. At that time, I had no idea that this seemingly aimless presence in an Internet chat room could lead to acquaintances that would later shape a new direction in my life."

"Actually, since I was just passing the time," he continued, "I thought it wouldn't hurt to see if I could find an Egyptian as well." Naturally, I first looked for names that sounded Arabic among the user IDs, so that I might be able to determine whether the owner was Egyptian or not. In the meantime, an identifier caught my attention, which seemed to me to be Arabic: "Alkitran-13 MG" or something like that. I sent him a message and asked if he is Egyptian or from another Arab country? He replied that he was Mexican and asked me who I was. I also introduced myself and said that I am Iranian. The reality was that at that time, my information about Mexico was very limited, however, Mexico was a country that intrigued me, just as Iran did for him. Anyway, Iran has always been in the center of attention of the international media for years. However, unfortunately, the image presented in many media has mostly been associated with negative news. On the other hand, Mexicans were more or less familiar with news and narratives related to Iran due to their neighborhood with the United States and being influenced by the American media environment. He (Jose Guadalupe Jimenez Coronado) asked me about Iran and what he had heard, and I was also curious about Mexico. In this way, a conversation took place that lasted about fifteen to thirty minutes. In the end, one of us suggested that we add each other to our friends list on Yahoo Messenger so that we can talk to each other in the future. Back then, it was possible to add people to your friends list and reconnect with them later. Finally, we both agreed and added each other to our friends list."

Naser Nasir added: "The interesting point was that despite the big time difference between Iran and Mexico, the times we were on the Internet overlapped to some extent. Usually, he was online late at night Iran time, which was morning in Mexico. Due to his work conditions, he was often in the office environment and his computer was on. So, when I logged into Yahoo Messenger, I sometimes saw that he was online too. Our relationship started with the usual greetings, but gradually and without having a specific plan, a friendship was formed between us. What accelerated this friendship was the many similarities between our spirits and lifestyles. Our social conditions, family relationships and even our sense of humor were very similar. This cultural proximity made us feel close to each other very soon; So that within a month or two, we had almost learned about the details of each other's lives and families. He even introduced me to his family. I remember once a birthday party was held in their family. He took his computer to the venue of the celebration and, using a webcam, shared me in the ceremony as well. In this way, what was initially just a casual conversation on the internet gradually turned into a close friendship and a relationship beyond a virtual acquaintance. It seemed to me that now that we talk to each other for about half an hour to an hour every day, it is better that this communication is useful. On the other hand, after a while, the common topics and questions we had about each other were somewhat limited. Therefore, I suggested that we teach each other the language. As I mentioned earlier, direct and purely educational language learning is a bit boring for me. For this reason, I preferred to do it through a topic that would appeal to both of us. I asked him what he was interested in and when he said poetry, I suggested that we read famous Mexican poems together and that he teach me Spanish through these poems. He also accepted this proposal and we started the work in the same way."

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From Ramin Naser Nasir's accidental meeting with a Mexican man in Yahoo Messenger and learning Spanish...