Carmelo: response 10

Michelle response:

The major challenge she faces in Austria is the cultural difference. In particular when we she moves into Julie's house, a friend she met in Austria. Julie is nothing like Marjane, she doesnt respect her mother, isnt a virgin and smokes. Marjane on the hand respects not only her parents but also the parents of her friends, she is a virgin and is waiting for marriage and does not smoke. While living in Austria she slowly starts to give into the culture, she cuts her hair and starts wearing makeup and it was not until a party that Julie threw that Marjane saw a half naked man. Even with all these changes Marjane did not forget her Persian root but was slowly moving away from them, she pretended to smoke weed around her friends to fit in, stopped worrying about the war in Iran and wanted to forget all about it. While being at a party she told a guy she was French because she did not want to be known as Iranian but in a few days after it came back to bite her in the rear. In a cafe by the school she heard her classmates talking about how ugly she was because she Iranian and how they couldn't believe she tried to pass off as French. It was at this moment she realized she had to be proud of who she is and stop trying to be something shes not. She is still going through challenges while in Austria but she is now proud of who she is and of her culture and she doesnt let those two things slow her down in trying to make it alone in Austria.