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Generation
Naghshe Jahan in Isfahan, Iran
By: Sara Hojjatie Pardis: TNG Editor Isfahan was one of the most beautiful cities that I have ever visited during my lifetime. The mosques were breathtaking and the bazaars were colorful and what you would expect from the movies. This photo shows the magnificient Imam mosque located in Naghsh-i Jahan Square. The inside of the mosque is even more beautiful than the outside, with intricate aqua-blue mosaic tiles covering the walls and ceilings. The mosque was built during the Savafid period and is considered one of the masterpieces of Persian architecture. Traveling to Isfahan should be a priority when visiting Iran.

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Summer Travel: Where in Iran is Pardis: TNG?

Torqabeh near Mashad, Iran
By: Andia Shamsai Staff Writer This photo was taken in one of the beautiful rural areas of Iran, the city of Torqabeh, located on the outskits of the city of Mashad. It is one of my favorite places to eat and relax on the surprisingly comfortable beds with exotic carpets. My cousins and I traveled here for the first time after a long day of shopping and food. Right as I walked in, I could smell the fresh air and irresistible food, including Shishlik, which is basically grilled lamb and T-bone accompanied by rice. The peaceful setting is ideal for any traveler looking to take the perfect photos and lounge around on the Persian rugs.

Persepolis near Shiraz, Iran

By: Kamran Partovi Staff Writer The ruins of Persepolis, one of the ancient capitals of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, are considered by many as one of the most magnificent sights in Iran and even the entire Middle East. The city was built around 515 B.C.E. under the reign of Darius the Great and his son Xerxes. Persepolis was considered the ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire, where lavish celebrations were held. The city was burned to the ground by Alexander the Great in 330 B.C.E. after his conquest of the Persian Empire. The site is known for colossal palaces and columned halls in addition to impressive relief artwork.

Tips for When you Travel

By: Sara Hojjatie

Farsi Letters of the Month!

By: Sara Hojjatie Pardis: tng Editor Pardis, TNG give you the oppotunity every month to learn new Farsi letters and words. Kheh: This letter Heh: This is one looks exactly like of the four types the letter above of "heh"s in Farsi. but has a dot at the They each make top of it. It makes the "h" sound, and the "kh" sound (it this particular may be difficult to letter can attach make the sound at to a letter before first, we don't have and/or after it. it in English!). This letter can attach to a letter before and/ or after it. for example: or:

1. Be sure to wear comfortable clothes and closed-toe shoes, just in case the plane is kept cold. Flying to anywhere in Asia or the Middle East normally requires traveling for close to 12 hours! 2. Bring a toothbrush in your carry-on (and if you wear contacts, your case, solution, and glasses) to freshen up in the airport between flights, it will make traveling a lot more confortable! 3. If you're bringing a laptop and/or your smartphone, pack the chargers in your carry-on but also make sure to fully charge them the night before you fly. Turn the brightness on your phone down so that your music and games can last the entire trip.

Borje Milad in Tehran, Iran

By: Roxana Hojjatie Staff Writer Borje Milad, or Milad Tower, is hard to miss when exploring Tehran. The tower is 1,427 feet tall, and actually the 21st tallest freestanding structure in the world. I remember being able to point it out from the plane window when first arriving to Tehran. I was lucky to visit the beautiful tower in the summer of 2011. Inside, there were many gift shops and mini-museums on each of the many floors. It took numerous escalators and an elevator to get to the very top of the tower. The elevator ride made me nauseous, but the breathtaking view of the houses, soccer fields, the airport, and mountains surrounding Tehran made it worth it. The tower is incredibly hard to miss, especially at night, where it lights up the whole city of Tehran with its vibrant colors. This photo shows the view from the top of the tower.

which means talk

it spells: harf

it spells: khosgel which means pretty

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www.Facebook.com/ PardisTheNewGeneration

Pardis:The New
Hey Readers! Looking for a Great Opportunity?
Pardis: TNG has a great staff that is continuously growing. We are looking for new writers, editors, and web site developers to become a part of our team. - Do you love to read newspaper and online articles about current events, such as Buzzfeed or Reddit? - Do you feel that you have a talent at catching grammar mistakes and find yourself contantly correcting other people's grammar in your head? - Do you enjoy developing websites or have a talent at coding or programming?

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Pardis: The New Generation Staff

Sara Hojjatie Editor Kamran Partovi Staff Writer Andia Shamsai Staff Writer Niloufar Sadroddini Staff Writer Roxana Hojjatie Staff Writer Kameron Akbarzadeh Staff Writer

If any of these sound like you, email pardisgeneration@gmail.com with a cover letter, your resume, and why you feel that you'd be a great addition to the team!

HEY YOU! Are you interested in being a contributing writer for

Pardis: TNG? Email "pardisgeneration@gmail.com" with an article idea and you could be in next months issue!

- Do you have an interest in journalism either as a future internship or as a hobby? - Are you interseted in establishing a network with Iranian-American students with high goals and ambitions?

How a Movie About a Big Fish Relates to My Life, and Yours

By: Sara Hojjatie Pardis: TNG Editor As I sat on the United Airlines flight on my way back from a trip to Turkey this summer, I decided to pass the time by engaging in one of the many movies the flights offers its passengers. In an extremely difficult decision between Life of Pi and Get Smart, both of which I had yet to watch, a different film labeled under "classics" caught my eye. Big Fish was a movie I had viewed long ago. I only remembered that the movie stirred me emotionally to the point of tears when only in the fourth grade, and I have always found that I can tell a quality movie when it does this. Therefore, I decided to watch it again in hopes of being reminded of the film's exceptionality. This film is about a young man named Will Bloom who wishes to figure out the truth about his dying father, Edward Bloom's, life after having been told doubtfully true tall tales about his experiences. Frustrated that he believed the fictional stories well into his teenage years, the son is angered at the fact that his father refuses to acknowledge the false nature of his tales. I won't spoil the ending of the movie for you in hopes that you decide to watch the film yourself. But I will bring attention to how the stories in the movie provide substance to director Tim Burton's cinematic masterpiece. One of the father's first stories goes back to when he is eighteen years old. Edward Bloom is the town's hotshot, a charming high school athlete and hero. One day, giant arrives in his small Alabama town and angers the townspeople at the destruction he causes and Edward volunteers to talk with the giant to try and reason with him. After a very heroic attempt to lure the giant out of his cave, Edward finds the giant Karl to be sincere, harmless, and without a place to go. The boy suggests, "Maybe you're not too big for this town, maybe this town is just too small for you," a innuendo suggesting a change of perspective and displaying Tim Burton's literary ingenuity. Because Edward claims his ambitions lie far beyond the small town, the giant and the young man embark for the big city together. The tale continues as the two reach a fork in the road, one leading the long easy way to the big city and the other a haunted forest shortcut taken by a scarce few. Edward decides to be brave and travel through the snakes, spiders, and fog and promises to meet Karl where the two paths meet. However, after the forest Edward finds himself at a picturesque small town that is creepily cookie-cutter perfect. The story continues throughout the film as the setting jumps from the father's past to the present setting of him at his deathbed. The uniqueness and creativity of these stories make them permanently embedded in the audience's minds, displaying the power of the story. In the end, the film did emotionally stir me again as I was moved to tears again (embarrassing I know, I attempted to hide it the best that I could). However, it reminded me of the stories told by my parents that fascinated me as a child. Every person has a storysome journey that explains their personality, responses, and how the person got to where he or she is today. In fact, every act of communication is a story in disguise. As my mother or father would reveal the various chapters of their lives, such as college experiences or moving to the United States, I would mentally take note of my desire to record these stories into a book. The tale of how my mother lived in Turkey for six months waiting for a visa to enter the United States is a thriller full of suspense and plot twists in itself. When my father grew up in a rural city in Iran, how he and his four brothers passed the time without a television or radio make heartwarming and sincere tales. My aunt, a prominent physician in the U.S. attended medical school in a rural town in India where she once encountered a monkey in her front yard and had to look out for a tiger that had entered the town's borders from the surrounding jungle. These stories are timeless in their personality, excitement, and life lessons that can be learned from them. It is of the greatest importance to record and retell the stories of the past in order to make the spirit of our older loved one's endure. It does not have to be a fictional, exciting tall tale to be passed down the generations; sometimes real-life occurrences prove to be just as remarkable and fascinating. What Big Fish lacked in relevance to my life is the portrayal of a cultural gap between the parents and the child. Sometimes it is difficult for first-generation children to reach a common ground with immigrant parents due to culture as well as generation differences. This problem is exemplified in literary works such as The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan or The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, both of which are exceptional novels that I recommend young Iranian-Americans read for cultural identity exploration. The large issue for first-generation children is finding peace between the expectations of the society in which they grow up and the directions from their parents ideals which stem from a culturally distinct society. Though the journey to finding a common ground in such situations is normally filled with highs and lows, which can be seen in literature such as Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas and Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, the I believe best way to mediate these differences is for the child and the parent to communicate by sharing experiences and opinions. Most of us being first-generation Iranian-Americans, we do not have to look very far for a good bed-time story. Our parents' experiences leaving Iran to enter the United States are interesting and long enough to provide an exciting memory to unfold every night. Good, bad, and sometimes downright unbelievable, the experiences that our family members were required to undergo are paramount in understanding them. In order to establish a greater bond with our parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, we must take the time to sit down and hear their stories. My advice is simply that you do soyou may find yourself with the desire to put the pieces of your parents' lives together like Will Bloom. (Photo courtesy of www.imdb.com)