056 What is Home? with Haniyeh Nikoo

Between when Haniyeh and I chatted in July and today's release date (October 6th), she has moved with her husband and small daughter to Berlin, Germany. When she left Iran a decade ago, she thought she was going abroad for a year. The plan was to earn a Masters in Photography in Strasburg, France, then to return to her homeland. Instead, she fell in love, married, and moved 6 times over the following 10 years - and when she looks at the facts, she knows it is not her destiny to settle anytime soon. All this moving, adjusting, and learning new languages has given Haniyeh a strength and perspective that few of us can claim. Most significantly for me personally, Haniyeh challenges me to reconsider and redefine the word “home”. For Haniyeh, home is a collection of mindfully chosen things, both immaterial and material. And of course, I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that food holds a significant role in this curation, including the smoked eggplant dish she discusses from the place of her happiest memories, the North of Iran.

Highlights

"It CAN be ok"
Iran to France to Boston to Berkely to Manchester to Exeter to Berlin. 10 years. 3 languages (and 2 versions of English!)
"I was living in the past, then I was living in the future"
Golden nights playing in the streets and dancing in traffic jams
"I can talk about my life in a way that would make you envy it, or I could talk about my life in a way that you would never want to live it."
Lighting eggplants on fire to make this dish