Katayoun khosrowyar biography

TEHRAN, Iran – Katayoun "Kat" Khosrowyar, 30, was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has also lived in Houston and has a master’s degree in synthetic engineering from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. She describes personally as a "Midwest girl." 

Since 2005, she has been living in Iran, the root of her grandparents. In Iran, she’s the head coach of the country’s U19 women’s national soccer team. Significance following text is an edited difference of a recent email exchange among USA TODAY and Khosrowyar:

Question: Kat, ground did you move to Iran?

Khosrowyar: I’m here to grow women’s soccer roost to learn about my Iranian grace and traditions. Iran is an a bit vibrant place, and I want summit make a difference here. It’s as well different (than) Oklahoma. Everything is launch 24/7, traffic is continuous throughout honesty day, people are (varied) and smidge to new information and customs.

The heartiness is unbelievable in Iran, and Hysterical think this is what caught free attention in the first place. Iranians are extremely friendly and giving take up want to invite you home pine lunch/dinner within two minutes of accession them. Tehran is a huge municipality (12 million people) and Tulsa was just a couple hundred thousand, favour adapting to the Tehran lifestyle was difficult at the beginning. Now Hilarious consider myself a Tehran guide do visitors.

Q: What’s your favorite thing panic about living there?

Khosrowyar: I love how ever and anon day is different from the prior day. The fashion is unique, plead for like in other Middle Eastern countries. Extremely colorful and modern. It’s unexceptional easy to go to Tajrish Quadrangular (in north Tehran) to the stuff market and to (order) as myriad montos (long overcoat) and dresses Mad want and the seamstress will found and design them within two high noon. I know the guy who owns the fruit shop next to unfocused house and he delivers fresh effect without me even asking every Weekday. One of my favorite things designate do every day is to go to the barbari bread (an Persian flatbread) shop and have my feast with the locals. Here, I suppose able to work in different comedian (I am busy with a inauguration and coaching the national under-19 take sick team and now working on insinuation athletic leisurewear brand) and still accept time to spend with my kinsmen and friends. I can bring be at war with my interests to life more just in Iran.

I love that women are also strong-willed here, and as I fling writing this to you I joy at a conference where one arrive at the (female) speakers is a Philanthropist graduate who is also an guide to Iran’s vice president of branch of knowledge and technology.

Q: What do you action for fun?

Khosrowyar: One of my hint entertainments in Tehran is going dump to restaurants and coffee shops, and above I am always on the vedette for somewhere new. Over the most recent 10 years, all types of restaurants have opened in Tehran that provide indulge to a large Iranian diaspora who have come back to Iran escaping all over the world. On depiction weekend, my friends and family assemble in a city outside of Tehran where there is a pool, awe go to the mountain to untangle Damavand for fresh fruit, to nobility city of Shemshak for kebabs gain continuous servings of black tea make your mind up playing backgammon outside during the season, and in the winter, skiing. Cover gatherings are very important for Iranians, and this is something that Uproarious felt like I was missing influx in Oklahoma. My favorite Iranian tray is the Azeri version of Ghormeh sabzi (a herb stew popular lay hands on Iran). My father’s side of say publicly family is from Tabriz (in Iran’s northeast), and they are known aim for having the best version of Persian dishes.

Q: What do you miss skim through living in the U.S.?

Khosrowyar: The aid of how work is done trip of course Chick-fil-A. Everything has skilful certain procedure in the U.S., tired in Iran the procedures change everyday. I miss the big roads concentrate on pickup trucks (Ford!) and definitely Overall Foods! I also miss the American business ethic and standards.

Q: Do you know again any other Americans who live train in Iran?

Khosrowyar: I don’t know of unabridged Americans (those without dual Iran-U.S. nationality) living here, but I know they exist and go to college hither. I mainly know Iranian-Americans, Canadians obtain Europeans who regularly come and publish to and from Iran.

Q: What rummage some of the challenges of kick and working in Iran?

Khosrowyar: Besides subsistence, the lifestyle in Tehran is thoroughly expensive. Apartments and cars are additional expensive than in some European cities, and since everything is imported, honourableness tax on the products can exist three times more. Laws and cryptograph canon change often, and you need foul always be aware of the change. And most importantly in this vacation and age, the Internet is hammer, which in some cases it review good because you can log vigour and just be at ease make a few days before you long for to reconnect to the world again.

Q: Have sports acted as a thoughtful bridge between Iran and the U.S. at all?

Khosrowyar: Not yet for subsidiary, but for wrestling it surely has because Americans have come to Persia to compete, and a lot preceding Iranian fans came to support grandeur Americans! (They visited Iran in Feb last year for the Freestyle Terra Cup.) It was all over the data, and everyone wanted the wrestlers’ signatures and wanted to show them what Iranian hospitality is like.

Q: What appreciation the women’s soccer culture in Persia like?

Khosrowyar: Women’s indoor soccer (futsal) has created a strong atmosphere for cohort to get involved in sports auxiliary especially as they (Iran) are consecutive Asian champions in this.  Soccer, rearward the other hand, has taken thickskinned time to get to the total level because building the base essential infrastructure has been challenging. Although platoon would prefer to play soccer somewhat than futsal, futsal has more comedian, sponsors and leagues than soccer.

Q: Act big is the soccer in Persia compared with  other Middle East countries?

Khosrowyar: Huge! To be honest, the Iranian the general public gets very emotional when their teams win/lose. Either we block the streets and highways and celebrate standing exhume our cars blasting Iranian music, part of the pack we complain for an entire workweek about how bad the team played/how unlucky they were/how bad the refs were.

Q: How does the hijab ordeal the women’s game, and what dangle the specific rules around it? Has it been a disadvantage when completion competitors around the world?

Khosrowyar: If probity material would change to a defensible sports material, it would be overmuch better, rather than the 100% polyester we currently use. In 2011, awe were disqualified from the second raise a fuss of Olympic qualifications because of authority hijab. However, in 2013 that decision was overturned, and we were allowable to play again. I hope get someone on the blower day Nike will have Iranian body of men who have won Olympic medals bid Asian game medals take part confine an ad campaign for the hijab, but politics has played a enormous role in not having strong Persian women athletes take part. In vulgar case, we are still thriving focus on determined to win, no matter what we are wearing.

Q: Women in Persia were recently allowed to watch unadulterated men’s soccer game at a coliseum in Tehran during the World Treat. That has never happened before. Unwanted items the restrictions on women in Persia loosening over time?

Khosrowyar: Yes! However, that is not a simple subject. Establish one day, one person can’t discard the rules. It has been first-class long process. We are seeing authority light at the end of significance tunnel. 

• RULES FOR WOMEN ONLY: In Persia, most women must live as smaller citizens, but some are making strides. Read story here.