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November 2012
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Pardis: The New Generation

Growing Up Iranian in America: "Thanksgiving, The Persian Version"
By: Roxana Hojjatie Contributing Writer Wednesday, 3:30 p.m., school and finally, have a good Thanksgiving Break! The bell finally rang signaling the end of the day and all of my friends ran to the front entrance of the school. Huh. They were more than ready for the turkey, the mashed potatoes, the stuffingmmm. Me, on the other hand, was not ready for the break, not ready at all. Not ready to spend the next week with the whole extended family, meeting cousins I didnt even know existed. And especially not ready for the adas polo, maast, aash, and more of that non-Thanksgiving food. I mean, cant we just be normal for once and have a turkey on the table besides a big bowl of polo? To make matters worse, my American friend was spending the week with us. Cant wait to see that look on her face when she sees the dinner on the table. Oh no you seemy family doesnt eat turkey on Thanksgiving, we eat this green stew called ghormeh sabzi. My parents dont know what a Thanksgiving dinner is. Except if my mom heard me say that, I can guarantee you I will never be having kabob again, and a girls gotta have her kabob. Lets just hope this week goes smoothly Wednesday, 5:00 p.m., my house Its not going smoothly. My parents have already mixed up their English with Farsi when talking to Hannah. And my mom keeps telling Hannah how much shes going to love our Thanksgiving dinner. Hannahs pretty excited to have Iranian food for the first time. But when all our friends our posting Instagram pictures of their mashed potatoes and gravy, shes going to be wishing that she had her good ol American food. Plus, were going to have to post some pictures jooje kabob. Cant wait to see how many likes thats going to get! #ohjoy 6:00 p.m. The doorbell has been ringing nonstop. How many relatives could I possibly have?! #persianprobs A little later Poor Hannah. She has to listen to my mom brag about how Im gonna get in to Stanford and blah blah when she knows Im failing chemistry. 12:00 a.m. Its midnight. That means its Thanksgiving. Happy turkey, I mean, polo day! Lets go hit up the maghazeye Irooni #turnup All day Ive just been cooking and cleaning and cooking and cleaning. But the turkey sure smelled good! (Hah, turkey! Got ya didnt I?) After Thanksgiving dinner Okay. So it wasnt that bad. Hannah really enjoyed telling Khale Zeba about how much she loves her Louis Vuitton purse and how she could totally tell it was real and how she hates it when people carry fake ones. Some other things said: You know guys, Ive been looking at pictures of myself from three years ago and now and Im convinced that my nose has gotten koochiktar. Mommy Joon next time can you not call me during class to ask me what time I had lunch and what I ate. I told you a billion times So Hannahyou know what they say. Persian guys and American girls go well together but like seriously what the heck are we supposed to bubble in as our race? Asian? I mean the Middle East is in Asia! Okay, so maybe some of our dinner conversations were a little bitout there. And honestly, I was only worried because Hannah has been my best friend for three years and every Persian knows the rule: Only bring non-Persian friends, boyfriends, etc. to Persian gatherings if youve known them for more than 4 years. But, she loved it! She had seconds, thirds, even a fourth serving of the food. And when she got in a fight with Ali over the last piece of tadig, I knew shed released her true Persian side. Maybe our dinner lasted way longer than it should have. But I mean, hello, were Persian. Hannah kept telling me for the rest of the weekend about how this was her favorite By: Sara Hojjatie Thanksgiving, and how Pardis: tng Editor she wishes she could be Ever wanted to learn to read Farsi, but never had the chance? Persian, and Can you Pardis, TNG gives you the oppotunity every month to learn new maybe burn me a CD letters and words. of some Iranian music? And maybe introduce Noon: makes Reh: makes me to more of your the n sound. If the r sound. It cousins? Oh, and how at the beginning can attach to the do I make bodem joon? of the word, it letter before it, What can I say? attaches to the but no letter can #persianpride next letter. At the attach after it. end of a sentence, Lets spell words with the it looks like a half letters weve learned so far... circle. By: Kamran Partovi Contributing Writer They rocked the Iranian-American community with their glitz, glam, and gold now the cast members of the hit TV series Shahs of Sunset are coming back, and the drama is at an all-time high! The show, which is produced by Ryan Seacrest, received increasingly positive ratings throughout the course of the first season, and was thus renewed for a second season by Bravo in mid April earlier this year. Just like the previous season, the show will be following the lives of six members of Los Angeles young and affluent IranianAmerican community. According to the shows website, season two finds Reza Farahan in the midst of what he calls a gaylife crisis as he balances his relationship with his boyfriend, his friends, and his family. Mercedes MJ Javid has decided shes going to prove her mother wrong and find a relationship that will last. Mike Shouhed has met the love of his life, but the relationship is jeopardized by his girlfriends non-Jewish background. Meanwhile, Persian Priestess Asa Soltan Rahmati continues to pursue her artistic career and dream of making it big in the music industry amidst a financial crunch. Golnesa GG Gharachedaghi finally starts a business with her sister, but her anger management issues continue to cause problems with the people in her life. While Sammy Younai will not be returning for

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season 2, the Shahs will be joined by Lilly Ghalichi, a wealthy and attractive attorney who is pursuing her own bikini company while juggling with an on-andoff relationship with her boyfriend. As evident from some of the previews on Bravos website, season two is packing even more drama than before, as the tension sometimes escalates into physical confrontations between castmembers. Many members of the Iranian-American community have expressed concern over the shows debatably negative portrayal of Iranian culture and its promotion of stereotypes. Says Tanin Kazemi, a student at New York University, After seeing the original season, I thought it was entertaining but it sort of gave people a bad impression of Iranians. Im excited for the new season because the characters are all so funny, but at the same time many of my American friends make fun of me because they think my family and Iranian friends are just like the people on the show. But not all of us are like that, obviously. Others are not too concerned about the shows effect on stereotypes of the Iranian community. Says Lily Tajaddini, age 17, Its just another form of entertainment, not to be taken seriously. Besides, although its not in the best light, its better than some other stereotypes you see of Iranians in the mainstream media. The new season of Shahs of Sunset premiers on December 2, 2012 at 10:00 pm EST on Bravo.

Parents Say the Most Interesting Things: " Z ar b o l m a s al s "

By: Niloufar Sadroddini contributing writer and Sara Hojjatie Pardis: tng Editor As you may have noticed when you speak to your parents or grandparents, Iranian proverbs, or zarbolmasals play a huge role in the daily conversations of Iranian people. Though they may sometimes seem incoherent and absurd, Iranian proverbs are very meaningful and always give some sort of a life lesson. In order to educate yourself on the common proverbs used by Iranians everywhere, here are a few that you should know in order to speak colloquially with a relative or family friend. The following saying, Az Oon Gooshe Migere, Az Oone Gooshe Dar Mikone, literally translates to, she/he takes it in from one ear, and lets it out from the other ear. Iranian parents frequently use this saying to their children because although they always giving advice to them, they believe that their children do not always listen to their guidance. Another popular zarbolmasal comes from 11th century poet Nasser Khusro, Az Mst Ke Bar Mst, which translates to, It is from us, that which is against us. More philosophical than the previous saying, Khusros words describe situations where things the word Mayazar as a magic word to instigate the rest of the proverb. Written by another renowned Iranian poet, Ferdowsi, the zarbolmasal states, Mayazar Moori Ke Doneh Kesh Ast Ke Jan Darad O Jane Shirin Khoshast. It is truly a mouthful, and the literal translation, Crush not even the tiny ant thats beneath a grain of corn, for she hath life, and sweet life is a boon, does not help much when trying to understand the overall significance of the words. However, it is a very beautiful and meaningful proverb, stating that in life one should not harm anyone, even an ant, because living and breathing is a wondrous thing. Next time you are sitting around sipping tea with your Iranian family members, try using one of these sayingsthey will no doubt be blown away by your advanced knowledge of Iranian language and culture, and it could initiate some interesting conversations.

Farsi Letters of the Month!

HEY YOU!

or: it spells: naan which means: bread

it spells: baaraan which means: rain

Interested in writing for Pardis: The New Generation? Email pardismag@gmail. com and you could be in next months issue!

of our own making return to defeat us. This is similar to the Terminator, where an artificial intelligence network of manmade cyborgs becomes selfaware and tries to exterminate all of mankind. When speaking with any individual who has grown up in Iran, I have been told that one can use