I was born 1980 in London, England. Both my parents are Iranian. We all moved to Toronto, Canada in 1988. I came back to England to study law at Leeds University.

I'm Canadian

I would have to say that I'm Canadian, that's how I view myself. People generally have a hard time pinpointing what country I'm from based upon how I dress and how I act.

Soheil and his friends play beach volleyball in Canada

When I go places they can tell I'm definitely not from Canada or England because I'm not white but they are surprised to see that the cultural norms I have are identical to their behaviour. It usually takes them three or four questions to ask that smoking gun question - just exactly which country are you from?

People that have recently come from Iran, that I've met, see me as still being Iranian in a sense. They try to draw out that when I do speak farsi
I don't speak it like them.

Perhaps sometimes when things get complicated they try to keep on asking me questions in a patronising way. It isn't the best way to make a friend!

My parents have always been the type of people to say that wherever you are living you should try and adopt their norms so I identify better with people from the West.

No inclination to visit Iran

I have no sort of inclination to Iran particularly for the reason that I don't have much family there so there is really no sort of desire to go back there.

Soheil hopes to work in a law firm in England or in Canada

I keep up to date by reading news or seeing what is going on politically there because I do care for it in a sense; but I've never had the desire to really go back there and see what it's all about. There are more places in the world that I'd like to see.

I know that Iran is historically and culturally very rich and diverse but at this stage in my lifetime I don't see that it's an immediate desire to go there and to find out more about my parents past if anything because really I have no past there.

Middle aged

My parents would like me to be a bit more well versed with the culture and the history. They've given me books to read about it. I've read a little about it. I should do more. Maybe when I'm older, let's say when I'm middle aged and I can appreciate it more.

I have to say I'm happy in my own skin as to the way things are. However very seldomly I wonder how, if things were different. If the country itself were any better, how would it have been if I had been brought up in Iran?

However I would only want that if Iran was as developed economically as the West.