Beware beginners

There is a Persian proverb that says, "Where the eagles' wings are broken what can a tiny mosquito do?" (In Persian: Anja ke oghab par berizad / Az pasheye lagharin che khizad?)

One day you may become a national hereo.  There may be a moment in your life when literally hundreds of millions of people all over the world watch you with awe and admiration.  But if you fail to use the indefinite article "a" properly with your nouns, the sin Iranians frequently commit, you may be slashed for decades.  Here is what the media will say about you:

"Armstrong has faced his share of controversy. For decades he was thought to have flubbed his first words spoken on the moon, by dropping the "a" in speaking of a small step "for man."

It was 37 years later that an Australian expert said high-tech analysis of the static-ridden transmission found the missing adjective, and that history should remember Armstrong saying what he had intended: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

And if you don't believe me go see for yourself: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100803/ts_alt_afp/usspacemoonanniversaryarmstrong_20100803075234
T

Doogh

Sue,
Here is a perfect place for you to learn everything about the "Doogh" and other Persian dishes.  I don't think you or any other American would be able to pronounce the word precisely correctly.  Never mind! It is just the taste that matters.  See the blog and let me know what you think.

T

http://mypersiankitchen.com/doogh/

Can Anyone Help me????

Recently I visited an Iranian market here in Denver and bought some delicious treats. However, there are two things that I just don't know how to use: I bought a jar of Pickled Mangos, or, as it says, Anbeh Torshi. I know what mangos are, but how does one use pickled mangos? The other is a jar of "Yogourt Soda". Why did I buy it? I don't know. Help!
The contents say it has yogurt, salt, carbonated water and flavoring. Now what can I do with this?

Sue

By the way

July 29 was my birthday on calendars.  Real birth, however, is another story.
T

Prudish and Puritanical

Forgive me, Sue.
Whenever your time allows you I would like to ask you to explain two words you have used in your last comment to Sahar. Would you please tell us what you mean by Americans being "prudish and puritanical"?
With a lot of thanks,
T

Miss., Mrs., Ms. and Mr.

Sue,
Thank you very much for explaining so patiently the differences between these titles. If I may, I would like to continue to ask you another question. Is it correct to use any of these titles with first names in the US or England? My suspicion is that it is not accepted in formal English. If my suspicion is correct how common or accepted is using these titles with first names in informal English? I mean should we avoid it altogether?
Thank you for bestowing so much knowledge on us.
T

Hello sue.

I am sahar rahimi.I have a twin sister. Her name is saeede. I,m 21 years old and i,m a university student in music field. I play guiter and piano. I love music and i practice guitar every day. I have a question of you: Do you call every body by the first name or must you be allowed first? In our university we call each other by first names.

HI MIS SUE.

I am saeede. I am 21 years old.I have three sisters and one of them is my twin sister. Her name is sahar.Sahar and i come to english class together. Sahar,s field is music. She loves it very much. My field is operation room. It,s about surgry .in fact my task is help to surgeons. I love this work very much. I try look after patients in an operation room. I hope that can to speak english bether by come to english class. HAVE A GOOD DAY MIS SUE.

Collecting the Light

The Candle in the Window can inspire us as a symbol of hope as well as a hand in the darkness willing to share the warmth of life, itself. In her book, My Grandfather’s Blessings, Rachel Remen, a doctor who has specialized in the treatment of advanced cancer and who has, herself, also lived with a debilitating disease, tells us a story that her grandfather taught her when she was four years old. In the beginning, he said, the world was made of light. But by accident, the light was scattered, and became countless fragments of light that found their lodging in each and every bit of creation. He told her that the highest thing that man can use his life for is to look for this light, search out every possible place it can be—to gather it and mold it in order to repair the universe. Isn’t this a beautiful story? Isn’t this a superb meeting point for a life focus?

Faranak's writing

Dear Sue,
In Iran, students spend 5 years in a primary school, 3 years in a secondary school, 3 years in a high school and 1 year in a pre-university.
Most students are usually out of school in a summer, almost 3 months.
Students at university can take a summer semester and for this semester they can get a few lessons so they usually don't do this.
We don't have a winter holiday, instead of it we have Norooz holiday about 2 or 3 weeks.
Holidays in Iran are a lot, although we fall into this habit and like it, it is not good for us.
I can say about cost of schools,
In recent years, parents must pay during a registration and the cost depends on schools.
We have two types of schools: governmental and nonprofit.
Some costs of governmental schools are paid by parents and some by the government and the total cost of nonprofit schools are paid by parents so these schools get more money.
We have several types of universities: governmental, nonprofit, unattached,...
All universities except governmental ones get money and the costs of some of them are very high and the degree of a governmental university is more creditable than others.