How to Find a Friend in Iran

Iran image by Petra Kohlstädt from Fotolia.com

Most people living in the United States will never have the opportunity to travel to Iran, unless they are in the military. If you are interested in Iran and want to learn more about the county and culture, the best way to do this would be to make an Iranian friend. If you can't travel to Iran, find an Iranian who might be interested in becoming an Internet penpal. Many free websites offers places to browse or post ads to find an Iranian Internet penpal.

Learn to speak some Farsi. Farsi is the language that people in Iran speak. You will probably need to make friends with an Iranian person who can read and write some English, but it certainly wouldn't hurt your chances of finding someone to be friends with if you could understand some Farsi as well. You can learn introductory Farsi using free online resources such as Study Persian or Easy Persian. If you want to advance your studies, you'll probably need to enroll in a university course.

Browse advertisements on websites that connect people who are looking for penpals all over the world. Check out Penpal Party and Lingo Zone. You may be able to find an Iranian person who is interested in practicing English with you.

Make a profile for yourself on the websites you are interested in trying. List your job, interests, favorite activities and reasons for looking for a friend in Iran. Specify what languages you know and mention whether you have ever actually been to Iran. Try to make your profile interesting to people who are looking to make new friends, but avoid listing too much private information because this profile will be public.

Search for potential friends who are the same biological sex as you. Iranian culture marks a strong division between personal and public lives, and most Iranian families would not like the idea of a member of the opposite sex being in contact with their family member.

Exchange information to establish a friendship. Share information with your new Iranian friend on what it is like to live and work in the United States compared to Iran. Find subjects to discuss that you are both interested in such as cooking or soccer.