When I was 14 I was walking through Tajrish Bazaar. There was one sports shop that always had soccer pictures. I noticed this time that they had a sports encyclopedia which had Zico on its cover. Although it wasn't specifically for soccer I took an interest anyway. The price was a steep 120 tomans which I quickly paid before having a chance to change my mind. I began reading and rereading through the soccer parts of it like a regular book. It enabled me to learn alot about past and present soccer players (up till the 1982 World Cup), clubs and stadiums, particularly British ones.
"My parents, brother, and I left Iran in 1980, shortly after the revolution. After a brief stay in Italy, we packed all our belongings once again and headed west to the exotic and the unknown: Vancouver. We had recently been accepted as landed immigrants, meaning Canada graciously opened its doors and we gratefully accepted; we arrived at Vancouver International Airport on my 10th birthday, three suitcases and one sewing machine in tow. After respectful but intense questioning at immigration, we were dropped off at a hotel on Robson Street, which was then still a couple years shy of becoming the fashionable tourist hub it is today. We were jetlagged, culture shocked, and hungry, so that first night, my father and brother courageously ventured out into the wild in search of provisions. I fell asleep before they returned. The next morning, I woke up at 5 a.m. and ravenously feasted on a cold Quarter Pounder with cheese and limp French fries that had been left by my beds...

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