Yesterday I had not much to do, so I got up early and went to Darakeh. I went with my friend Ali from Shahid Beheshti University via Tajrish, when I got there I realized my boots were going to be too slippery on the ice. Fortunately lots of entrepeneurs were selling metal grips for shoes, so I bought some of those (800 tomans). At first Ali and I were just walking, listening to people set off firecrackers now and again. But then nihilism took over (must have the movies I've been watching) and we just started throwing snowballs at anybody and everybody. In real life I am always lauging at everything but I have also perfected the art of looking nonchalant. It was a good day to revel in my immaturity!

We also pushed snowballs down the mountainside. They should really be called snow wheels, as they don't often form balls. Some went a few hundred feet. Anyway, at one place Ali and I threw snowballs to try to knock down some stalagmites. I gave a free shot at myself at 30 feet to a guy wearing a keffiyeh, and he hit me! Maybe he really WAS from Palestine!!

The best times though, were the two "snow wars" we started. Basically we just start by throwing snowballs at people doing nothing in particular, then they throw some back and hit someone else, and in no time IT'S WAR!! It happened a few times, a couple of times Ali and I were so heavily outnumbered that we had to run for it. At one stall some other guys were throwing snowballs and a stallkeeper started to get angry that customers weren't stopping because it was dangerous for them. One of them threw a snowball at me about 20 feet away and it hit this old guy in the head and he got really cut! He was looking around for about a minute to see who it was. So, wars at Darakeh can quickly involve innocent bystanders. One time I threw snow at people maybe 100 feet down, 100 feet across but I missed and hit a puddle, spraying dirty water on some poor woman's trousers. Sorry if you're reading this. But I also learnt perhaps why everyone has to have a gun in America - poor innocent girls (PIGs) were forced to carry snowballs for self-defence, just because everybody else had one or two!!