I decided to go to Rasht which is located in the Northern part of Iran, along the Caspian Sea. I heard that my uncle has been sick and as a result, I had to go there. Apart from this, I grew up in Rasht and was enthusiastic to see how everything has changed in this area. Rasht is called "Gate of Europe." The reason is that it connects Iran to Russia and consequently Europe. Similarly, it is covered with a vast jungle. Most of the time, it's rainy, humid and one of the favorite locations for swimming. Most of my Canadian friends think that Iran is arid and has only desert. Whenever I show this part of Iran to them, they say: "Oh! Well, you also have jungles and mountains! Interesting!"
From Tehran to Rasht, it is almost 241 km and takes four hours to get there. To get to Rasht, we have to pass through four different cities. First, Qazvin, second, Loshan, third Manjil, fourth, Rudbar and finally Rasht.

     The journey begins from Tehran. It is written on the bridge, " Do not speed!  Speeding equals death"

This side of Alborz Mountains is arid and without any vegatations. Rasht is situated behind the chain of Alborz Mountains. These mountains have unique characteristic. The south part of Alborz Mountains is arid and without any vegetations. However, due to water vapor from Caspian Sea, the North part has totally different face. It is green and covered with so many trees. We have to go behind the mountains in order to get to Rasht.

                            On the way to Rasht.

                          Wind Farm in Manjil. You can also see the White River Dam.

 A turbine which generates electricity.Manjil is an important city. First, it is so windy and therefore, 21 turbines with capacity of 300 to 660 KWs installed to generate electricity as well as olive gardens and archeological sites. Second, White River, one of the major rivers in the North part of Iran, goes through the city and a dam is built to produce electrical power.

                            Ship-like Manjil's square.

On the way to the town of Rudbar.We passed through two or three dark tunnels. People usually shout, scream, whistle and sing inside the tunnels. Just my luck, this time, everyone was very quiet.

       The town of Rurbar on the steep of the mountain. Rudbar completely destroyed in an earthquake in 1990. Now, it is back on its feet.

The North side of Alborz Mountains covered with so many trees. Thus, Iran is not only arid. It also has various trees!

                             The police officer is giving ticket to a driver for speeding.

It's time to have lunch! We stopped on the shoulder of the road to set our table for my mom's chicken sandwiches.

Drivers especially truck drivers communicate with each other with some special signals. If your car is broken and you are on the shoulder of the road, they honk at you. This means if you need any help or not. If your car is fine and you are just drinking a cup of tea or taking a rest, they again honk. This indicates greeting. In fact, they say:"Hi, how are you?" While eating our lunch, so many truck drivers honked and we waved our hands in return saying, "Thank you. How are you?"

                            Please help yourself!

We finally arrived in Rasht. This is Rasht's Square and the statue belongs to a hero who established a revolutionary movement.

Rasht has changed so much that I didn't remember how streets looked like before. The streets became so narrow, winding and full of cars. As usual, driving condition was awful and even worse than Tehran, the capital of Iran. I also saw the house where I lived when I was a little child. The owner of the house had destroyed it completely and built a modern and chic house. Lastly, I could see my uncle. He was also changed, becoming fatter and having more wrinkles.

                           Muncipulity Building in Rasht.

                           We ran into a car decorated for wedding!

                            Another square in Rasht.

                            Alborz Mountains!

                           Rice Farms in Rasht. Rice and tea are two major products of Rasht.

To be continued...

Previous related blogs:

1-http://my.englishclub.com/profiles/blogs/i-will-take-you-with-me

2-http://my.englishclub.com/profiles/blogs/the-capital-city-at-night

3-http://my.englishclub.com/profiles/blogs/come-with-me-to-the-west-part

P.S. I extremely thank all my kind friends for all the lovely comments on my previous posts. Sorry if I haven't responded to your nice messages. I will do it for sure.

Have you ever dreamed to be a polyglot? You may ask what polyglot means. Polyglot is a person who speaks so many languages, let's say four or five or even more. Mr. Steve Kaufmann is fluent in 10 languages. As such, I was eager to know how he could have learnt so many languages whereas I am still struggling to learn only English. Two minutes after I sent my E-mail requesting him to be my guest blogger, Mr.Kaufmann responded and kindly accepted my offer. You can read his blog here: http://thelinguist.blogs.com/ or watch his videos on youtube: http://youtu.be/GZNYyR7-jUM

He also describes himself on his blog as follows: "I am a grandfather who likes to stay active. I enjoy interacting with people of all nationalities, in their language where possible. My other interests are sports, history and food. I look forward to meeting you all.

Interests:
Language learning, history, sports, food and wine and stimulating conversations."*

                                   I got the picture from Mr.Kaufmann's blog.

Here is what Mr.Kaufmann wrote:

The most important thing for language learning success is the attitude of the learner. I do not believe it is possible to teach a language, only to learn a language. This requires the learner to be independent, to seek out the language, to decide what he or she wants to read and listen to, and to believe that he or she can become a fluent speaker or another language.

Next to the attitude of the learner, the next most important thing is the time the learner is prepared to spend with the language, reading, listening, speaking and writing and reviewing words and phrases. Time in a classroom is not more valuable than time away from the classroom. The only thing that matter is the intensity of the contact with the language.

Finally the learner has to develop the ability to notice what is happening in the language. Teachers can help. Reading a grammar book can help. But in the end, the learner has to start noticing what he or she is reading, the sounds, the structures, and has to start to notice the mistakes that she or he makes. There is nothing wrong with making mistakes, but mistakes should be used to identify what is missing, and to orient the learner towards what he or she has to work on.

Steve Kaufmann

* I got the information from here.

Today, I went to see the west part of Tehran. This is one of the major highways in the west area. It was at 10:30 in the morning and as you see, the traffic is so heavy.

 This is Milad Tower, one of the tallest towers in Iran and the sixth tallest towers in the world after Guangzhu TV, CN Tower in Toronto, Ostankino Tower in Moscow, The Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai and Tokyo Sky Tree, still under construction. (From Wikipedia) It is 435m or 1,427 ft and it has a restaurant on top and is part of Tehran International Trade and Convention center. The restaurant is very expensive as well as the fee for parking. An elevator or staircase take you to the top.

This was my Primary and Elementary School. It brings back both sweet and bitter memories. I'm afraid that the picture is not so good. I took it while I was in the car.

 Most people ask what women wear in Iran. They think we have Burga like Afghani women. This is totally wrong. The typical outfit of women in Iran consists of a scarf and a long overcoat named "Manto." The scarf and Manto comes in different colors and designs. Youths usually wear lighter colors and tight and short Manto. Recently, I have seen that they style their hair and wear too much make ups. Their fashion is really interesting. If I can, I'll take a photo of it in coming blogs.

This is a typical store for selling fruits and vegatables.

Street Art:

 This is a painted face on the wall.

The translation of what is written on the wall is:" God loves me."

To be continued...

Previous related posts:

1-http://my.englishclub.com/profiles/blogs/i-will-take-you-with-me

2-http://my.englishclub.com/profiles/blogs/the-capital-city-at-night

As soon as I arrived in Iran, I was eager to see the capital city, Tehran. I wanted to see how it has changed. So many roads and highways are built that I barely remember how the streets looked like in the first place. I also went to see one of the National Parks, Chitgar, on the west side of Tehran. It was at 10 o'clock at night and a little bit cool. Despite the fact that it was very late, the park was really crowded. People were playing vollyball.

Then, I ate one of the very famous Iranian desserts, Faloodeh. It is made of special noodles and sweet liquid. It is usually eaten with lemon juice. The noodles doesn't have any taste. They are just crispy.

You can see its picture below:

 This is an Iranian dessert called Faloodeh.

To be continued...

Previous related post:

1-http://my.englishclub.com/profiles/blogs/i-will-take-you-with-me

Hi,

My dear friends,

I came back to my home country, Iran for vacation. I wanted to blog every day. However, the internet connection in my place is not so good and every hour, it gets disconnected. I took so many pictures and videos for you to show you how Iran is. Some people think Persians are Arabs and speak Arabic or they get confused when you say Iran. They usually think Iran and Iraq are the same.

First days of my arrival, I just tried to be adapted with new time. I took some pills. Fortunately, the weather was cool and not that much polluted. The capital city, Tehran, where I live got more crowded. It is full of various cars. Driving in this city is like you are playing in an action movie. Lines and signs don't have any meaning for motorists. I also had an accident two days ago, which it didn't hurt me that much. I got a taxi and the taxi driver was terrible. So, we had a collision. Anyway, right now, I'm OK.

I'll tell you more in coming days. Due to Internet connection, I think it's better I conclude my blog here.

Bye for now,

I have been blogging for two years on MYEC and I am going to share how it affected both my English and my spiritual aspect of my life:

My very first blog and the first reaction to it!

I wrote my very first blog on 22 of May, 2008 at 14: 26 pm. I described my first trip to majestic Niagara Falls and put it on a website in which English teachers would correct it. My first writing was full of mistakes and I put it here exactly the way I wrote it with all the errors. You would be surprised how many mistakes I made. Here is my very first blog:

 
A trip to Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls, one of the most powerful falls in the North America, attracts many tourists every year. It is also the capital of honeymooners. This widest fall is located in the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S state of New York, which is not very far from our location. So, on Victoria holiday, our friends and we decided to go there. We started one and half -hour trip at ten o’clock in the morning. Meteorologists broadcasted cloudy weather with some interrupting showers. The scenery was astounding. On the left and right side of Mississauga-Niagara road was covered by grapes’ farms and trees. Trees had beautiful pink and white blossoms and I saw many wineries. Shortly afterwards, Lake Ontario and Erie intensified the beauty of the road. We were surrounded by deep blue water on the way to Niagara. That was so graceful.
After one and a half hour, we arrived to the city called “Niagara-on-the-lake”. It is a really nice small city near the Niagara. There were lots of handicrafts, gardening tools, and outfits stores along the street. The street was decorated by red, yellow, purple tulips. The white carriages took the tourists around the city. The weather was so cold that we could not walk along the street. The wind was blowing severely so we went into the stores. We visited a handicraft store which had handicrafts from around the world such as Africa, Asia, Canada, Pakistan and etc. The prices were too high. I saw paintings from First Nations in Canada. Colourful baskets, marble kitchen utensils, jewelleries, African statues were very in nice shapes and colours which I had not seen before. I saw a sun clock in the gardening store.
We wandered on the major street until twelve and thirty o’clock. We all were very hungry so we decided to go to a Casino that we heard of its fantastic foods. We could see the Niagara fall through the Casino’s huge windows. The Casino was too crowded which was strange in this time of the year. After standing in line, it eventually was our turn to be seated. The buffet Casino restaurant had various delicious foods and desserts including fish, oysters, pizzas, roasted chickens and lambs, stakes with different sauce and etc. A really kind middle-aged waitress brought orange juice, coke and water for us. She constantly collected dirty dishes and asked about what we liked to drink. The interior designs were really nice. The ceramic floors were so shine that I could see my face on it. Many seniors and handicapped came to play. From sixth floor, the waterfall landscape was two times more beautiful. We took some pictures and then, we went around the Casino to see how people play. It was the first time that I had gone to Casino. I had always seen it on the movies. Therefore, it was interesting for me to see the most secured place which had lots of cameras on the ceilings. The ceilings were painted by the waterfall sceneries and angels. I recalled the oil-paintings of the old churches throughout the Europe.
Next, we went to visit the Niagara. Because of the cold weather, we could not take the cruise. I have learned many interesting facts about Niagara. Niagara has two benefits for Canadian government. In addition to tourist attractions, it provides the electricity and water sources for Ontario province. Many daredevils tried to defeat the waterfall. But nobody could succeed except a sixty-three –year-old female who traveled by just a barrel along Niagara.
On the evening, we returned to our home and prepared ourselves for the new week. I had a great time and I am happy that I have visited one of the most wonders of the nature.

An American teacher corrected my essay and I put his words here:

 
“It's not excellent. It's not even good. You started your trip in Canada, but I had to guess that. You didn't say it.
You should space between paragraphs... Words should mean something. "Shortly afterwards" has no meaning in that sentence. "That was so graceful" is also meaningless. Where are you from originally?”

  
This was the very first reaction to what I wrote. I got so upset, disappointed and frustrated. The reason for being upset was not because of criticism. It was because he expected me to be perfect and not to make any mistakes.

Moral consequence: Never ever give up even if someone tells you that you are the dumbest person on earth! Just enjoy the rollercoaster!

MYEC blogging: beyond writing
One year later, I could have a blog on MYEC. So, new adventure began. Blogging on MYEC has had unique advantages for me.

 
First, MYEC is a safe place to write. You don’t need to be perfect and no one blames you for your errors. No one asks you where you are from originally while making mistakes. Moreover, most members and teachers are friendly and try to help you. They correct your blogs voluntarily. They encourage you to write even if you make so many mistakes. Dear Bill kindly corrected most of my blogs. Therefore, this positive atmosphere is encouraging and makes you confident to write.

Second, on MYEC, you have to write even if you don’t have any intention for writing. It happened to me that I didn’t write anything for a while. And, my friends constantly asked me why I didn’t write. I got so many messages from my friends Manuela, Nadiyah, Hanane, Zahra, etc, in this regard [sorry if I don’t mention all the names here, but know that you all are in my heart]. Here you can see one of the emails that dear Manuela sent me asking me to be more positive and active on MYEC.

Sweet Nafis,

Since I received your first message after you came back from Iran, I have been thinking a lot about you. I could feel your deep sadness and though I wanted to write you a mail. I really didn't know which words to use to help you to feel better. Most of the time I am speechless in front of real sadness because I think that, in that case, words are non sense. All I wished to do then was to hug you tightly to make you feel that my heart was connected to yours.

Many times I sat in front of the computer to answer you, but as words were not coming naturally I preferred to wait .The song you downloaded then on your page, Delam Gereft by Fereydoun told me a lot about your state of mind. Though I love this song so much, I am glad to see that you replaced it now by a happiest one. Does it mean you are feeling better? I hope so dear Nafis.

I know how hard it can be to leave the loved ones, but sometimes we have no other choice.... Fortunately, nowadays we have internet to keep in close touch, so I hope you can communicate easily with them.
Life is so good in a country as Canada that I have no doubt you will enjoy being there again. From what I can feel, I know you will make it. You have your dreams and no doubt, you will make them come true.

Sweet Nafis, I wish you to be strong and full of positive energy to go on with your life and your studies. Remember, distance is nothing for the heart that is full of love.

Very tight hug and all my love to you,
Manuela

Writing challenges: to know yourself better 
I have discovered and known myself by writing challenges. I never imagined that I can write stories and people like it. Writing challenges showed me what my talent is or what interests me. I can be a journalist, a writer who writes for kids, a tour leader and a coach life. These are also the subjects that I really like to do. Moreover, I realized that whenever I put my attention on something, no matter how difficult it is, I can finally do it very well.

Moral consequence: writing challenges are another approach to know who you really are!

 

Being featured: somehow a danger
Some of my blogs have been featured and I am quite delightful because of that. However, I think being featured like gambling has a disadvantage. The first time that your blog is featured, you would be so delightful and you feel that you have climbed Mount Everest. As such, you have enough motivation and enthusiasm for writing the next blog. Like a gambler who falls in love with gambling, you fall in love with being featured. However, it takes a little more time for the next blog to be featured. Don’t worry, you’ll finally make it! You lastly get featured for the second time. But, for the third time, it won’t happen at all or it takes many months to happen. This makes you frustrated and may affect your writing. You may lose your enthusiasm because you haven’t got rewarded for a while.

 
Moral consequence: Being featured is not important at all and is not a good goal. Set your goal high in order to be motivated all the time.

Success on TOEFL exam
Blogging helped me to improve my score on writing section of TOEFL exam (The Test of English as a Foreign Language). In the beginning, it took one week to write about something. By blogging, I could reduce this amount of time to three days. And, ultimately, I could write within 30 minutes. We have two kinds of writing tasks on TOEFL exam. One is to listen to a lecture and read about the same subject. Then, test takers have to summarize what they heard and read. Another one is to write about a general topic. So, I had 20 minutes for the first task and 30 minutes for the second one to write. Blogging helped me to be quick at these two tasks.

Furthermore, to write well, you should read almost every day. So, I gradually made progress at my reading skills, remembering new vocabulary, reviewing grammar and writing in general.
Moreover, I realized how I should write to attract readers or what writing styles fit my personality. All these helped me to get 21 on my writing section of TOEFL exam, the score that Toronto University requested.

All in all, blogging has been a great experience for me. First, I was trying not to make any mistakes and therefore, I didn’t write that much. But, now, I have a different idea about it. When you write frequently, without being afraid of making mistakes, you would finally learn how to write. In addition, I could be connected with myself, to find who I am during these two years of blogging on MYEC. My writing still needs to be improved, but when I compare my very first writing with the last one, I feel so proud and get delightful. I have made so much improvement and hope in the near future I can get what I really longed for.

To listen to the vocal version of the blog, please click the play button above!

Why do some discussions get more comments than others? How can we get more comments? In this short note, I am trying to describe first the difference between a blog and forum and then, how we can get more comments on MYEC forum.

The difference between a blog and forum:
To express yourself, to explain or clarify something, to share your thrilling experiences, etc, blogs are great place. You can also write about your favourite subjects or whatever theme you like. However, forums are limited to topics and subtopics. And, according to the topics, one is allowed to post his discussion. Right now, there are three sections on MYEC Forum including General Discussion, English help and Technical Help. As its name illustrates, General Discussion is where we can ask questions about various things. If you have problem regarding listening, speaking, reading and writing in English, you can ask it in English Help. In addition, your technical problems would be answered in Technical Help.

Another important aspect of forum is that we are looking for an answer to our questions. As a result, forums have a question-and-answer format. And, on the contrary to blogs, long posts are not allowed. Sometimes, the discussion may turn into a debate, which is really great to be polite and respect different ideas and opinions. These are two important differences of a blog and forum.

How we can get more comments on MYEC forum:
Now, how we can increase the number of comments on our discussion. We have first to ask ourselves if we are at a right place or not. If you post your discussion in other area unrelated to the topic of the discussion, no one would answer you. So, before posting your discussion, check if you are at the right place. For example, if you post your English speaking problem in technical help, it takes a longer time someone answers you or maybe, many members rarely check that area of the forum. As such, it’s significant to post the discussion at the designated area.

Another thing is to ask yourself these questions; “Why should members answer my question?, “Is my question interesting enough?”, “What I am going to ask is a commonplace problem?” “Am I clear?” “Is my title attracts readers? Some questions are very vivid and no one is interested in answering them. For example, “Do you think listening to radio will improve my English? This is not a good question since it doesn’t attract the members. Most learners know that the more you listen to English, the better it is!

Another way to attract more comments is to reply to the current comments received. Answering to the comments on your discussion shows you value your reader and encourage them to engage in your future discussion. So, it would be great to interact with the readers.

Finally, reading comments is one of the most enjoyable activities and one of the reasons for writing. What do you do to get more response from your reader? Do you have a special method?

  George lives in Washington and wants to order a Pizza. But, due to a harsh snowstorm, phone lines have problem. Here is the rest of the scenario:

George: Hi, I’d like to order a Pizza, please.
Muammar Gadhafi: Hello? This is manor house. Pizza?! What is it? What does it look like?
George: I can’t hear you. There is some interference on the line. Would you speak up a little, please?
Gadhafi: I said what it is. Is it a nuclear power?
George: No, no! First, it’s necessary to knead the dough and then, put meat, green peppers, mushrooms and onions on top of it. Don't you know how to make it?! It's for delivery please. 
Gadhafi: I need pepper gas for the Libyan military corps. Good idea! I don’t have a pen handy. I should write it down.
Aisha: Hi my darling!
George: What’s wrong with the phone line today? It’s a bad line!
Gadhafi: Hi, my dear sweetheart!
Aisha: Is my husband there, please? Who’s speaking?!
Gadhafi: It’s Muammar speaking darling!
Aisha: OUCH! What a coarse language and manner you have! (Hanging up)
Gadhafi: What?
George: It’s really busy in here. But, my address is number one, Washington Street. Hello? Hello? (Receiving some noises, hshssss)
Gadhafi: Hello? Hello? Darling!! where have you gone?!(still talking) 

Imagine, you are a contestant in a game show. Your job is to ask some questions from a man who is in a separate room. You can not see this man but only hearing his voice.If he can not answer your questions correctly, you give him electric shock! The electric shocks start from 20 volts to 400 volts.This is the punishment for a wrong answer! You are also surrounded by so many spectators and an anchor who are encouraging you to keep questioning. In some point, you are OK with giving the shock to the man. But, when you hear he says: "Let me go. I don't want to continue. This electric shock is really hurting! I don't want to answer any questions anymore." Your doubts, responsibilities and values challenge each other. You ask yourself, "Should I go on? The man is suffering from the electric shock given by me." Don't forget that you are on a TV show. Everybody watches you and you know you won't win any money. How far you keep going?

This was a game on a  TV show called, "The game show of death." A group of scientists wanted to know how TV influences us and how much we are obedient and follow the rules despite the fact that we know we hurt others or our action results in someone's death. So, they administered this game show to see how people react in this hard situation; if they keep playing or they revolt against the game's rules Surprisingly, eight out of ten contestants kept asking questions and giving electric shocks to the man. Only very few contestants hesitated to play and finally left the show.

In this documentary film, they interviewed the contestants who kept playing:

The interviewer: why did you play even though you knew the man will die?

The interviewee: I couldn't believe on a TV show death takes place so I kept going. And, in some part, I felt lonely. Spectators wanted me to go on. And, I was under a lot of pressure. 

They also talked with the one who refused to play:

The interviewer: what happened that you didn't play anymore?

The interviewee: I remembered Auschwitz death camp and I felt I am one of the torturer.I couldn't stand the game!

Lastly, the film concluded that we, human beings, only THINK we are independent and make decisions according to our intentions and desires. Many rules have penetrated into our minds and we  unconsciously behave according to them sometimes even without thinking about the consequences of our actions. We are obedient creatures and trust TV so much!      

To listen to the blog, please click the "Play" button above!

“Fire” as one of the four elements of the universe, has been regarded in Iran for many years. Two thousand five hundred years ago, my ancestor’s religion was Zoroastrian. As a result, “Fire” was sacred to them. Some think that they worshipped fire. But, this is totally false. This misunderstanding rises when people suppose the fire they were talking about is similar to the one we know. Fire had thoroughly different meaning for them. Fire is purifying, intellectual illuminating, enlightening through which God gives knowledge and courage.(1) Fire is just the symbol of light, warmth and energy, which resembles God. They knew that the Almighty is much greater than anybody can imagine and cannot be embody only fire. As such, “Fire” was only a symbol. And, they had three grades of sacred Fire: “Fire of justice”, “Fire of fires” and “fire of victory”. The sacred fire wasn’t used for cooking or smoking or any other daily usage. No one could spit on it. It was taken care very carefully in a Fire Temple. There is a Fire Temple in the center of Iran, Yazd, which has been burning for almost two thousand five hundred years without interruption.

Today, we respectfully trace this legacy. Last Tuesday of our Persian calendar is the time when we have Fire Festival celebrating what our ancestors left to us. Many weeks prior to the celebration, youths and teenagers are getting ready providing fireworks and burning materials. Usually this ceremony starts at 6 o’clock in the evening by making bonfires on the street. Every person should jump over the fire and sing a poem; my sickly yellow paleness is yours, your fiery red color is mine.(2) This means that I give the fire all my sorrow, problems, sickness and agony and instead, I receive warmth, light, wisdom, enlightening, and purification. Moreover, we do this in order to get ready for our upcoming New Year, which is on 21th of March. We want fire burns all the sorrow and problems so that in the New Year, we only have bliss, healthiness and light.

Last year, I could go to Iran and celebrate this night with my family, relatives and friends. I saw that our Fire Festival has changed dramatically. It has been so gorgeous and creative than ever before. I saw many radiating lanterns going to the sky brightening the darkness of the night. Despite the terrible news of Japan and heartbreaking scenes of Libya, I hope next year be full of wonderful news and surprises for all the people around the world. So, I would love to conclude this short note with one of the most beautiful prayers of my ancestors:

“Give me, O fire, lively welfare, lively maintenance, lively living, fullness of welfare, fullness of maintenance, fullness of life; Knowledge, sagacity, quickness of tongue, holiness of soul, a good memory, and the understanding that goes on growing and the understanding that is not acquired through learning...
Give me, O fire, however unworthy I am, now and forever, a seat in the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the holy Ones. May I obtain the good reward, a good renown, and long cheerfulness for my soul."

My sources:
1-http://www.pyracantha.com/Z/atarsh.html
2-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaharshanbe_Suri

I took this picture from here.

When and Where I read this book: I have read this book more than six times up to now. I am still enjoying reading it but this time in English. The first time I came to know it, I was a freshman in high school. The book was given to me by my cousin and the title was so mysterious, Daddy Long Legs, written by Jean Webster. The moment I received the book, I started reading it in my rectangular bedroom on the top floor of a high-rise apartment in Iran.

Summary: Jerusha Abbot, which the name is chosen off a stone grave and a phone book, is an orphan girl. She is intelligent and has finished her education with high degree. But, she does not have enough money to go to university. One day, she is informed that a benefactor agreed to support her financially. And, she is supposed to write letters to him in return, reporting her progress. But, there is one stricted rule; she won’t receive any response from the benefactor and won’t see him at all.

Some excerpts from the book:

Dear daddy long legs,

 
I had never seen a picture of the 'Mona
Lisa' and (it's true but you won't believe it) I had never heard of
Sherlock Holmes. Now, I know all of these things and a lot of others besides, but you
can see how much I need to catch up. And oh, but it's fun! I look
forward all day to evening, and then I put an 'engaged' on the door and
get into my nice red bath robe and furry slippers and pile all the
cushions behind me on the couch, and light the brass student lamp at my
elbow, and read and read and read one book isn't enough. I have four
going at once. Just now, they're Tennyson's poems and Vanity Fair and
Kipling's Plain Tales and--don't laugh--Little Women. I find that I am
the only girl in college who wasn't brought up on Little Women. I
haven't told anybody though (that WOULD stamp me as queer). I just
quietly went and bought it with $1.12 of my last month's allowance; and
the next time somebody mentions pickled limes, I'll know what she is
talking about!

(Ten o'clock bell. This is a very interrupted letter.)

Jean Webster recieved literature Noble prize for this book. However, at that time, many people critisized the book since her story initiated from suffarage movement-the movement that wanted equal rights for women. Apart from these biased opinions, what I love about the book is that "Jerusha or Judy" is passionate about life enjoying, touching, smelling, listening, looking every tiny insignificant things in life. She describes her first experience of having a private bedroom in a way that readers feel it is the most vital and prominent possesion. Sometimes the importance of insignificant things is forgotten. Moreover, Judy is free from all social limitations since she was raised in asylum. This makes her, free-spirited, alive and dynamic. That is why everyone who reads the story falls in love with it immediately.  

You can read the book online here if intrested.

                                    This picture is taken by me.

Feburary 4th 2011

Gloomy Friday 

My Dear diary,

 
Which color do you prefer to be? Black or white? I think black is much better than white since a tiny speck of it is noticeable. On the contrary, white is always invisible. So, I am going to be black today. I would like to tear off your white heart and scratch it with black ink.

 
The reason is that I am deeply resented by my friends. They tell me to come to English Club, but when I need them they are invisible. I have been waiting for ages for my friends to come to take part in the discussion area of Audio Speaking Group. If I would like to speak with myself, I can do it at my home without sending my ear-splitting voice throughout the world.

Everybody is busy. This is understandable. I am busy as well. But, do we have enough time for things we yearn to do or do we make time? Waiting for a proper time to come to improve speaking is a big mistake. The time will never ever come. We should make the time for what matters to us. Moreover, as it is said, if not now, when? Some say life is too short. You know what I think. Yes, I agree. Life is too short because you wait sooooooo long to do something.

Are you afraid of speaking? Do you think if you do not speak fluently, it shows you are inadequate? Do you think by being silent you can keep your dignity and glory? Don’t you think this represents that how unconfident and fearful you are? Who am I going to be without taking risk dear Diary?!

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out is to risk involvement,
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return,
To live is to risk dying,
To hope is to risk despair,
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.

– William Arthur Ward (1921-1994)

I am really sorry for this black scratch in your pure white heart. A solitary black color is only able to draw a black filthy exhausting painting. I need some other colours to create a majestic divine painting. Tell me what colour are you? Can you help me?

January 29th 2011
Saturday

 
Today, attainment of information quickly and easily has been very crucial especially if one is a student and there is not enough time probing the information through books, magazines and libraries. So, this link, http://www.rasmussen.edu/student-life/blogs/main/15-educational-search-engines/, provides a great deal of information about 15 educational search engines every student or researcher should know about.

Apart from this, Rasmussen College blog has useful information regarding student life, cooking simple recipes, useful tips for students and teachers and so on.

I found this blog very interesting and helpful. My favourite section is “30 blogs every student needs in their readers”. So, if interested, make a beeline for the blog and delve into it for yourself.

Be fun and free,

Nafis

My diary,

January 26th 2011

Wednesday

Attention please! This is not written by me. I am just delivering the message to you hoping that it radiates your soul!

People are illogical, unreasonable and self-centered; love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives; do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies; succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow; do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnarable; be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shut down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds; think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs; fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight; build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them; help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth; give the world the best you have anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; be happy anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough;give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and spirit; it was never between you and them anyway.

This poem was popularly attributed to Mother Theresa even though it was originally written by Kent.M.Keith in 1968.

The idea behind the poem is that...
It is not about what you do to make others happy...
It is always about what you do for your own spiritual growth in this lifetime.
Caring about what others think about will always draw you in too much chaos and drama...
When in truth every decision you make should be about what brings you personal growth and self-love.

The saying goes...

"How others react to you is their own karma...
How you react to others is your own karma."

With peace,

Nafis

I do not have enough time to do what I really like. I have to do all my chorse and then, do what I really enjoy. So, I tell myself if I finish my works, my gift would be jumping on my chair and diving into English Club to read friends' blogs, comment and study English. This is my gift to myself.

January 19th 2011
Wednesday

The first week after his birth, on a lumber wagon as a bed, Paul Bunyan takes a nap. But, he suddenly rolls and destroys four square miles of a significant timberland. His parents are at their wits end. Not to cause more difficulty, his parents start building a raft and put it on the coast of Maine. Every movement creates a 75 feet tidal wave. Thousands of British sailors are needed and it takes seven hours straight to wake him up. Again, while he tries to stand up, four war ships are crushed. Fortunately, Paul can save sailors whom are about to drown. Because of all misery he creates for the people and living creatures, his parents think that East is too plumb small for their child deciding to move to Minnesota.

Paul Bunyan is a legend in Canadian and United States folklore. He is gigantic and extremely strong. Everything that he chooses to have grows in big proportions like his blue massive bull which he calls him Babe the Blue Ox. He does impossible things. Grand Canyon, Puget Sound, St. Lawrence River and many other natural things are created by him. These unrealistic stories provoke this question; where do they come from?

In fact, these stories originate from Papineau rebellion of 1837. A muscular brave ordinary lumberjack fought fiercely against young English Queen in Saint-Eustache, Quebec, Canada. He could murder many British soldiers and became a chief of a logging camp. Then, people started making up some stories about him. Some also added some new details to previous stories. Such stories are called “Tall tales”.

 According to folklorists, Paul Bunyan was not a folk hero. Rather he was the intentional creation of journalists and advertisers who wanted to promote lumber industry. So, instead of calling it folklore, they think such stories are “Fakelore.”

January 17th 2011

Snowy Monday, -17’c


“English learners do not need to study grammar.” I have seen this sentence quite often on English club and some other English-teaching websites. In my view, English learners need to know grammar. First, imagine you are talking among English native speakers and are making many mistakes grammatically. Don’t you feel humiliated? Second, what would English speakers think? Don’t they think we are destroying their language? Do we like someone ruin our mother tongue language? Isn’t it insulting? Third, be careful not to be beaten up because some do not tolerate your grammatical mistakes. I have heard from my Korean friend that he was kicked because he was not able to talk fluently and making a lot of mistakes made it hard for the salesman to understand him. And, how did the salesman respond? You can imagine the rest!

Apart from this, I found a website dedicated to Economist's journalists to study grammar. We know that they are professional writers. Despite the fact that they are professionals, they are still studying grammar. So, why don’t we study it?

Be Fun and Free,

Nafis

Advice for a student in her/his twenties:

1.       Do not give up your passion. If you prepare yourself to go to university or are studying in a university already, do not overwhelm yourself only by study materials. Your passion is as important as your study giving you motivation, enjoyment, enthusiasm and happiness. I gave up painting because of my studies.I wish I could have learned it completely. If I had, I would have had my own gallery by now. I would also be happier and more fulfilled in my life.
2.       Choose your friend carefully. If you have a friend who is jealous, selfish, arrogant and competitive in a negative way, simply leave her alone. A good or bad friend influences us and, we, finally, become like them. So, try to find a positive and helpful friend.
3.       Take English more seriously. By all the technologies and Internet phenomenon, learning English is a must. I wish I had studied English more.
4.       Do not think about the outcome of your work. If you take a test, do not put all your attention and energy on the result. Thinking about the result of your work actually affects your performance and makes you stressful. “Do your best, mother nature will do the rest” is a very useful quotation in such situations.
5.      Take care of your health. If you do not eat breakfast in the morning, try to allocate some time to have it. After all, nothing is more important than you. I accustomed not to eating anything in the morning. I end up having stomach problem with low performance in my studies. So, sleep well, eat well and take a break some times.

Good luck, 

Nafis

Some think how they can benefit from their relationship and who can gain more. The one who gains more is a winner and the other who gains a little is a loser. Another type of relationship is the one you always have to be careful about what you are saying and what you are doing since the other party may be angry, sad or simply does not like what you are saying or doing. But, such relationships do not last long and usually break down.
 

In a fulfilling relationship, two parties open up their hearts and give, give and give. Since both of them give, both gain. No one is a loser. Both are a giver and a receiver. The relationship is satisfying because no one judges you. Your friend knows everything about you but, he/she does not judge you. You feel you are secure and have someone on whom you can always trust and open up.

In the end, some are like a pond. They do not have anything to give and some are like an ocean. So, they have a lot to give. I rarely find a friend who knows everything about me and does not judge. So, I always dreamed of such deep relationship. It is said that to be the change you want to see in the world. Therefore, it would be great to initiate such fulfilling relationship.

Be fun and free,

Nafis