Hi everyone! For the next few weeks we will be reading Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas. It is a story of a young girl who has moved to America from Iran with her family. It is a book that not only tells her story, but also shows what it is like to be part of two cultures that can sometimes clash with each other.
Today in class, we explored our preconceived thoughts of the Iranian people and culture:
Before reading these chapters, what did you know about Iran, Iranian culture, and/or the Iranian people? What have you learned so far that is the same/different from what you knew? If you didn't know anything about Iran previously, what did you find interesting about their culture? Or, write about your general thoughts of the chapters, and some things that stood out to you. You do not have to answer all of the questions.
Your response should be about one large paragraph (5+ sentences)in length, and I also want you to respond to at least two of your classmates' posts. Responses should be 3+ sentences and should be more than "I agree" or "that is interesting." Responses should contribute to and stimulate the discussion.
Before reading, I knew that the Iranian people followed the Q'ran. They not only followed the Q'ran, but they lived by it religiously. I also knew that women in Iran are not treated equal to men. The women have to wear burkas that cover their whole body from head to toe, not showing any skin accept the face and hands. Iranians also have mosques in which they go to pray. The country of Iran is also rich in oil. Iran has a government that is sort of like a dictatorship also.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching videos about Iran I learned that a lot of Iranian people like the United States. I thought it was cool to see how much they admire the U.S. I also learned that Iran rations their gas even though they are a oil rich/ producing country. They also limit the gas to 26/27 gallons per month. It was interesting to learn that Iran has a lot of interest in nuclear weapons too. Another interesting fact that stood out to me was that most Iranians are not Muslim, but in fact a large portion or Iranians are Christian.
I do not know much about Iran, however, I do know that Iran is in the Middle East. I also know that Iran is rich with oil. In spite of this, the people of Iran can only use a small amount of oil every month.
ReplyDeleteI thought that Iranians were only Muslims, however, in today's discussions, there are actually more Iranians who are Christians. The Iranian people aren't very equal because men have more freedom to do things compared to women. The women of Iran have to wear burka to cover themselves.
I learned that many Iranians (est. 69%) want to stop the nuclear war against the United States while some Iranians (est. 29%) want to continue the nuclear war against the United States.
Before reading this story I already knew a few facts but after we discussed I learned that my facts do not apply to all people. I had thoughts of their weapons and people but I didn’t think that they liked the US. I knew that they followed the quran but I didn’t know that 75 percent of the muslims were christians. I learned that after our in class discussion. I learned even more after the discussion and I got to see the two sides of the iranians, the nice and the not so nice.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know anything about the Iran, Iranian culture, or the Iranian people at all. I knew that America was involved in it somehow. Other than that, I heard that there were terrorism, and muslums in the country. I have learned that Iranian culture is not so different from the American culture. I find it interesting that they only get 26 gallons of gas to use every month. The people would probably be forced to find some other transportation to get around.
ReplyDelete@Shue Shiane:
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because I didn't know a lot about Iran before we started either. When I thought of Iran the first thing that came to my mind was my friend's Declaration of Independence paper and presentation on Iran. I also learned a lot of the information that you learned today about Iran also.
Originally, I assumed that the majority of Iranian's hated America, but that was proved wrong. Instead, they follow the American Dream which isn't as accurate as it was years ago. I knew beforehand that there were a lot of Muslim's in Iran but that's not to say they all were. There is always going to be exceptions. So far in the story, I like that it's realistic in the way it portrays how difficult it is to live in the U.S. without knowing English. I haven't gotten very far though...
ReplyDeleteJust reading the first couple of pages I could tell that Firoozeh was going to have some rough time in school. Even though she didn't know much English, she tried her best. I thought it was weird when she got mad at her mom for not knowing where Iran is located. The first chapter kinda told me about the rules in Iran for the women. Knowing the rule with female education, I thought Firoozeh would know also.
ReplyDeleteat Shue Shiane:
ReplyDeleteI also didnt know alot about Iran. All I knew was that they have oil, they didnt like us(so i thought before the videos), and that we had people their. But after watching the videos, and reading some of the book i realize that a lot of them like us and they have the somewhat the same culture as us.
@listentothemusica When Ms. Mallet told us to brainstorm about Iran I also assumed that iranians hated america but i guess i was wrong about that. I also agree that living in the United States would be quite Very difficult if English were not a language that was spoken in the family. I thought it was a bit sad how the girl and her mom got lost but i thought it was quite heroic of the lady to save them.
ReplyDeleteI can honestly say that I really had no clue about Iranian...anything before I read this story. Although it did not really talk about it specifically, the experiences that she talks about are very similar to the ones we talked about in class. The fact that she was relatively young when she came here makes her memories innocent and clear. They relate to everyday situations that we all dealt with, its just that hers involve a language barrier. They were funny and easy to follow, yet still well written.
ReplyDelete@Maizoua
ReplyDeleteI also think it is interesting with the 26 gallons a month. In my opinion, I'm a huge fan of driving, so I would not like to be getting only 26 gallons a month. Even though they can use other transportation like bike and walk it still hard for the people that live far from the town.
@Mz:
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you're saying because not a lot of people don't know about Iran. It is indeed very interesting that Iran only lets their people use about 26 gallons of oil when they are so rich with it.
Before the reading, I can honestly say that I knew very little about Iran, Iranian culture, and/or the Iranian people. Most of my knowledge derived from the evening news and the media's dedication to delivering only the most accurate, unbiased, and utterly depressing stories. I knew a little of Iranian culture, but hardly enough to seem all that impressive; women are not given opportunities equivalent to those of men and they are forced to fully cloth themselves, from head to toe, in fabric. Most Iranians follow the Muslim faith. Also, just as most Americans of this day and age, I could not help but associate Iran with it's neighbors, including Iraq and Afghanistan, and thus, the war on terror. Through this reading, I hope to better understand Iranians and their culture.
ReplyDelete@Toua
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree with you on that one. On the one hand, she should have known and understanding with her mom but also it had to be really embarrassing. If you're new to a country and you're struggling just to communicate, then you're going to want to make a good impression. the way I see it, is you're not only representing yourself but also your heritage...
Before we started discussing today in class, i didnt know very much about Iran. But after reading the first chapter of the book; I have learned alot more. I learned that before the age of 17 women leaving in Iran have sutors asking for them already. I also learned that they can be married at the age of 17. I felt bad for the girl and her mother because neither one of them spoke english but the girls mother made them both go to school.
ReplyDelete@подсолнух
ReplyDeleteI agree that a lot of the stuff that we hear is very one-sided, we don't get a lot of different views when it comes to the middle east. The idea of separating the different countries is hard to think of. We have always just thought of them as one, even though they are not.
@serpenyő:
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more in regards to the author's writing style. The way she depicts things can only be described as through the eyes of a child, while at the same time, her use of such vivid and impressive descriptions keeps one interested. The author uses a humor that makes for a very pleasant read. I am surprised how much I am enjoying this reading.
Before reading these chapters I knew that Iran was rich in oil and that there was a war going on with a lot of innocent people getting killed. I didn't know that Iranian people have gas rations and that they started riots in order to protest them. I also learned from reading the first few chapters of the book that women don't really get an education in Iran. I felt bad for the family because they weren't able to speak English and the father didn't know current version of English.
ReplyDelete@Ann
ReplyDeleteI also thought it was interesting to learn that most Iranians are Christians. What I didn't know before class discussion today was that Iran was ran by a dictator. Although that's not a good thing it does explain the harsh rules there and the gas rationing.
@ Shue Shine
I agree with you on the fact that I didn't know much about Iran before we started this project. I just never even thought about what they were going through in life or what they were missing out on compared to us. I also think that it was great of you to remember the numbers for the stopping of the nuclear war because it's important for us to remember that not everyone there wants to be in a war, in fact the majority of people want to get out of it.
Before reading this book or learning what we learned I class I didn't know that much about Iran. So after class I found out that the Iranians really like the American people, but not so much our government. I also learned that Iran has a limit of only having 27 gallons of gasolinea month. Even though they are rich in oil, I kind if thought that was weird.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the first chapter, I saw that in the book Firoozeh and her family have a hard time adapting to the culture change. And she feels like an outcast, but on top of that she doesn't understand what they are saying and she has her mother going to school with her. To me I think is such a handful, so I give her props to trying her hardest.