The Relation Between The Way of Sleeping And The Personality

People who curve their body like an infant while sleeping, are tough but at the same time, very soft and kind in the inside. They might seem a little shy when they first meet some one they don't know, but that shyness will soon be over and they will be ralxed.

People who sleep on the sides with their hands down and parallel to their body, are very social and good at communicating. They trust strangers easily and they like to participate in big meetings. They would also be cheated faster and easier than others.

Some people who sleep on the sides, keep their hands outward. These peopple are playful, but still sceptical, grumbling, and caviller. they might hesitate in making decisions, but once they've made up their mind for doing something, nothing can stop them.

Those who sleep on their back, with their hands parallel to their body, are usually quiet and self-possessed.


Source: Unknown
Translated by: Atousa Gharvan

The Ant-Eater

Some wealthy folks from U.S.A,
Who lived near San Francisco Bay,
Possessed an only child called Roy,
A plump and unattractive boy –
Half-baked, half-witted and half-boiled,
But worst of all, most dreadfully spoiled.
Whatever Roy desired each day,
His father bought him right away –
Toy motorcars, electric trains,
The latest models aeroplanes,
A colour television-set,
A saxophone, a clarinet,
Expensive teddy-bears that talked,
And animals that walked and squawked.
That house contained sufficient toys
To thrill a half a million boys.
(As well as this young Roy would choose,
Two pairs a week of brand new shoes.)
And now he stood there shouting, "What
On earth is there I haven't got?
How hard to think of something new!
The choices are extremely few!"
Then added, as he scratched his ear,
"Hold it! I've got a good idea!
I think the next thing I must get
Should be a most peculiar pet –
The kind that no one else has got –
A giant ANT-EATER! Why not?"
As soon as father heard the news,
He quickly wrote to all the zoos,
"Dear Sirs," he said "My dear keepers,
Do any of you have ant-eaters?"
They answered by return of mail.
"Our ant-eaters are not for sale."
Undaunted, Roy's fond parent hurled
More messages across the world.
At last he found an Indian gent
(He lived near Delhi, in a tent),
Who said that he would sacrifice
His pet for an enormous price
(The price demanded if you please,
Was fifty thousand gold rupees).
The ant-eater arrived half-dead.
It looked at Roy and softly said,
"I'm famished. Do you think you could
Please give me just a little food?
A crust of bread, a bit of meat?
I haven't had a thing to eat
In all the time I was at sea,
For nobody looked after me."
Roy shouted, "No! No bread or meat!
Go and find some ants! They're what you eat!"
The starving creature crawled away.
It searched the garden night and day,
It hunted every inch of ground,
But not single and it found.
"Please give me food!" The creature cried,
"Go and find an ant!" The boy replied.
By chance, upon that very day,
Roy's father's sister came to stay –
A foul old hag of eighty-three
Whose name, it seems, was Dorothy.
She said to Roy come let us sit
Out in the sun and talk a bit."
Roy said, "I don't believe you've met
My new and most unusual pet?"
He pointed down among the stones
Where something lay, all skin and bones.
"Ant-eater!" He yelled. "Don't lie there Yawning!
This is my ant! Come say good-morning!"
(Some people in the U.S.A.
Have troubles with the words they say.
However hard they try, they can't
Pronounce a simple word like AUNT.
Instead of AUNT, they call it ANT,
Instead of CAN'T, they call it KANT.)
Roy yelled, "Come here you so-and-so!
My ant would like to say hello!"
Slowly, the creature raised its head.
D'you mean that that's an ant?" it said.
"Of course!" Cried Roy. "Ant Dorothy!
This ant is over eighty-three."
The creature smiled. Its tummy rumbled.
It licked its starving lips and mumbled,
"A giant ant! By Gosh, a winner!
At last I'll get a decent dinner!
No matter if it's eighty-three
If that's an ant, then it's for me!"
Then, taking very careful aim,
It pounced upon the startled dame.
It grabbed her firmly by the hair
And ate her up right then and there,
Murmuring as it chewed the feet,
"The largest ant I'll ever eat."
Meanwhile our hero Roy had sped
In terror to the pudding-shed.
And tried to make himself obscure
Behind a pile of horse-manure.
But ant-eater came sneaking in
(Already it was much less thin)
And said to Roy, "You little squirt,
I think I'll have you for dessert."

By: Rolad Dahl

Why Should There Be Copyright?

In my opinion copyright is a very good law that prevents people to abuse an artistic work such as a film or a book.
Having copyright, a writer or a film maker can be sure that his/her work will be presented to people without any changes in the quality or in the content. Nowadays all around the world, in many countries, this law is being obeyed and it can be a good help to the society of arts.
When some profiteers break this rule and copy someone's work illegally, they hurt the economical and mental situation of its owner. It also disappoints him/her a lot for doing the future works. But if everybody obeys this rule, the rights of the artistic work's owner will be reserved and every thing will be as it is predicted.
Another point that I can make is that this law will result in products with higher qualities and without any changes. So both the producers and the ones who buy them are satisfied with it.
Totally, it is very good to have this law in a country and check every body to obey it. So there will be more films, books, etc. and we can be sure of the products presented to us.

An Unforgettable Day

I was only a few hours away, sitting in the car, thinking about how it would be to meet him for the first time. I had never been this much stressed for meeting someone. He had been living in Austria for the last 37 years. I was curious. I wanted to know how he looked like and how he behaved. Would he be like me? Would he like me? Did he look forward to meet me? Of course not! Silly me! He didn't even know that I was going to be there. It was supposed to be a surprise. A big one if you ask me. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't understand the passing of time. Suddenly I heard my mom telling me to get out of the car. I didn't want to be the first one to get in the house, so I stood behind my mom and told her to knock. It was my cousin who opened the door; it was his house after all. I went in right after my mom, kissing and hugging my aunts and cousins and their kids. I couldn't believe that they had become this big. I turned around to enter the sitting room and there he was, standing in front of me. Even though I had never seen him before, but he seemed so familiar. It was like looking at my father, only that he was smaller than my father. We stood there staring at each other for a few seconds. Then one of my aunts came and said "Mr. Gh, I present you Atousa, your niece."

Norouz Customs

Khane Tekani - House Cleaning
The first step in getting prepared for Norouz is khane tekani or house cleaning. In the past, Iranians believed that in Norouz their dead relatives would come and visit them. That is the reason why they clean their houses. The word khane means house and tekani means shake. So khane tekani means that you clean your house by shaking it, the way you clean a rug. During the khane tekani, every room in the house is cleaned, the curtains, carpets and rugs are washed, the silverware are polished and old things are renewed. Even the look of the family is renewed by new clothes. The houses will be filled with the smell of flowers such as narcissus and hyacinth, and something which is called esfand and is burned in order to keep the evil spirits away.

Chahar Shanbe Suri - Red Wednesday Bonfire Festival
On the eve of the last Wednesday of the year, Iranian people celebrate chahar shanbe suri. Chahar shanbe means Wednesday and suri means red. The celebration starts early in the evening, when children wrap themselves in white sheets and act like the dead spirits, running around in the streets and banging on pots and pans with spoons. This is called ghashogh-zani or spoon banging. They also go to the neighbors and knock on their doors and ask
for sweets, like in Halloween.
The main event of chahar shanbe suri is making seven little fires on the ground, jumping over them and singing "sorkhi-e to az man, zardi-e to az man", it means "your fiery red color is mine, and my yellow paleness is yours", or better to say you want the fire to take your yellow paleness, sickness and problems, and give you its redness, warmth and energy.
It is believed that in this day wishes will come true. So people who have made wishes hide behind the walls and listen to the passenger's conversations. If the conversations heard are positive, their wish will come true. This is called fal gush, meaning listening to one's fortune.
Finally the celebration ends with fire work and the family gathering for a joyful meal.

Sal Tahvil - New Year's Time
sal tahvil is a very important moment. It is the time for forgiving each other, leaving the differences behind and building relationships. The countdown of sal tahvil is usually followed on radio or television. During the countdown the family gathers around the haft sin wearing the new clothes. When the countdown is finished and New Year has arrived, family members kiss each other and greet each other by saying "sal-e no mobarak" or "eyd-e shoma mobarak", meaning happy new year. Then the gifts, which is usually money placed inside the Koran are exchanged. The older give gifts to the younger ones.
It is also believed that the first visitor in New Year will bring luck with him/herself. So usually the youngest member of the family, who is the most innocent, will be sent outside with sweets and knock and come in and pretend to be a visitor.


Haji Firuz - Persian Wandering Singer
Haji Firuz is a traditional character that wears colorful clothes and by singing and dancing through streets spreads the news of the New Year. He symbolizes the rebirth of the Sumerian god of sacrifice, Domuzi, who was killed at the end of each year and reborn at the beginning of the New Year.


Sofreh Haft Sin - The S's of New Year
Sofreh haft sin is spread for the family to gather around it at Norouz. The word haft means seven, sin is the "s" in alphabet, and sofreh means table-cloth. Sofreh haft sin contains seven special things that star with the "s" sound. In addition to those seven things, one may also place other things that represent renewal, happiness, wealth, good health, and other things which is desired for the new year. These are what a typical sofreh haft sin have:
1) Sabze (spring sprout), is made from wheat or lentil and signifies rebirth and renewal.
2) Senjed (a sweet, dry fruit of a lotus tree), signifies love and affection.
3) Sib (apple) represents health and beauty.
4) Samanou (wheat pudding) represents sweetness and fertility.
5) Serke (vinegar) signifies age and patience.
6) Somagh (crushed sumac berries) represents the spice of life. Some say that it also represents the color of sunrise and with the sun all evil is defeated.
7) Sir (garlic) is a sign of good health.
8) Sekkeh (coin) is a symbol of wealth and prosperity.
9) Sonbol (hyacinth flower) represents life and beauty.
10) Sangak (a kind of bread) represents prosperity for the feasts.
11) Mahi (gold fish) in a clear white bowl represents life.
12) Ayne (mirror) brings light and brightness is the New Year.
13) Sham (candle) is a symbol of fire and energy.
14) Tokhm-e morgh (decorated egg) symbolizes fertility.
15) Koran is for blessings and faith in New Year. Some also put Divan-e Hafez or other books of faith.
16) Esfand (wild rue) keeps the evil eye away and brings on health.

Did-o Bazdid - New Year's visits
The eve of the sal tahvil is usually spent at home with family. But from the day after the did-o bazdid starts. This means to visit and to be visited back. This tradition usually starts with visiting the oldest person of the family like the grandmother or the grandfather, and goes to youngest person. This tradition is a way of paying respect to the family and visiting those we normally can't visit during the year because of being busy.


Sizdah Bedar - The Day 13 Outing
Sizdah bedar is the last holiday of norouz. Sizdah means thirteen and bedar means away or out. Since 13 is an unlucky number, this day is spent outside the house and with the nature. At the end of the celebration of this day, young single women tie the leaves of the sabzeh, symbolizing their wish to get married before the next year's sizdah bedar. When tying the leaves they whisper "sal-e digar, khuneye shohar, bache be baghal", meaning "by next year married with my child in my arms".

The Norwegian Poeple

One in eight Norwegians lives in their country's capital, Oslo. Ask any of them if Oslo is a good place to live in, and you will almost get the same answer from all of them: "Why yes! Just a short half-hour ride on the underground and you can be in the middle of the forest!

If you take a tour out on the underground one Sunday afternoon, you will find out that Norwegians really feel at home in the forest. In winter if you don't go skiing, you can't consider yourself a human. The country has many slalom skiers, but cross-country skiing through the woods, over the frozen lakes, and up and down the hills is most popular.

Necessary things to be taken with on these tours are an orange and something called the matpakke, meaning "food-package". This so called "food-package", consists of two or three slices of buttered bread with cheese or sausage. This package is also taken to work on weekdays as lunch and is eaten in the silence half-hour called lunch-break.
Norwegians aren't used to speak to strangers at the bus stop or at the table next to them in a restaurant. But in the forest and in the summer life is different. People greet and smile to each other, even to strangers. But they also may be nice in towns depending on the weather.

Norway is very long and divided into many parts. People living in different parts are very different from each other, even though there are only four million of them. They have their own regional features in behaving. Some would say that there are more variations between the northern and the southern Norwegians than there are between the Norwegians living in Oslo and other capitals in Europe.
The reason why Norwegians drink alcohol so much is perhaps their shyness. Norwegians don't drink to have fun, but only to get drunk. That's why the sale of wines is strictly controlled and is only sold in special shops with limited opening hours.

Norway has the highest sale of news papers and books than of any other European country. Although most of the books are sold just before Christmas and is used for presents, but at least some of tem has to be read. There are a lot of books written in Norway too- although Ibsen used his first scholarship to buy a one-way ticket to get out of the country and didn't come back before 26 years. But on the other hand Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World, the best-selling book in the world in the 1990's, was written in Norway. And when it comes to newspapers, according to some researches every day, out of 1,000 people, 520 will read a paper and there are 152 daily newspapers in Norway.

Norway has a lot of oil and according to their politicians, it is one of the richest countries in the world. It has a tradition of giving large amounts of money, collected by public request, to humanitarian aid.

Who am I?

This is my fourth entry, and it's going to be about me. I wanted to introduce myself earlier but I just didn't know what to say. Thankfully the first assignment dr. Marandi has given us is to introduce ourselves. So here it goes:

I am Atousa Gh, a 20-year-old iranian girl living in Mehrshahr in Karaj. I am a sophomore in Alzahra university in Tehran and I study English literature. I have lived in Norway for six years, so I know norwegian, and for the moment, I'm trying to learn french.
In order to introduce myself better, I asked some of my friends to help and describe me. They think that I'm happy, lively, naughty, relaxed, a little bit insecure about everything, friendly, stubborn, impatient and funny.

Well, I guess this is it for the intoduction.