Pink Cloud

Alireza Mahmoudi Iranmehr

On that cold morning of 23 December 1981, I only wanted to look at the cloud that had turned pink at sunrise. We were climbing a hill in single file and I was looking upwards, when suddenly a hail of bullets pierced my chest. I fell on my back. My lungs grew hot and filled with blood and three minutes later, while still looking at the pink and orange cloud, I died. I never saw the man who had fired at me from behind a rock at the top of the hill. Maybe he was only a twenty-yearold soldier because, if he had been around a bit, he wouldnt have picked a private from our column, which included three warrant officers and two lieutenants.

My father always hoped that Id go to Australia like my brother, who is a doctor. But maybe I didnt have the talent for it. At the end of the summer just after Id finished high school, Tehrans airport was bombed. The war had begun. My mother locked me up in the house for nine months.

She used to buy me the paper every day and, now and then, a book. Finally, one day. Id had enough and arranged to meet Parvaneh in the park. Id known Parvaneh since our second year in high school and in our fourth year, wed promised to remain true to each other forever. She had pretty, orange hair and wore shiny, copper lipstick. In our third year in high school, the last time I ever visited her house furtively, one afternoon I saw her hair. Translators note Parveneh, a womans name, means butterfly in Farsi.

I still hadnt given Parvaneh the gift-wrapped bottle of perfume that Id bought her on the way, nor the letter Id been trying to write to her during the nine months that Id been locked up at home, when the volunteer patrols picked us up. Even while they were making us get into the back of the station wagon. I still didnt understand what was going on. And later I just kept looking at my fingernails so that my eyes wouldnt catch Parvanehs.

They handed her over to her family with a fuss and took me to a detention centre in the south of the city, but I didnt know exactly where. When they made Parvaneh get out of the back of the station wagon in front of her house, one of the neighbours opened their window and looked at us. The neighbour was still standing there when we left. In my cell, someone had carved a big heart on the wall with something sharp. The heart had turned out a bit lopsided. For two days, I stretched out my legs and looked at the door. In the end, they came and took me to a police station out of town. The station had brick walls topped with barbed wire. There, I boarded a bus with a lot of men whose heads had been shaved, and we set off to a training garrison. Sixteen hours later, when we got off the bus in front of the garrison gate, a sergeant made us line up and then had us run around the garrison so many times that I was still limping a week later. We were all fugitive conscripts. One night, after theyd given us some watery stew, they made us line up again and handed out uniforms that were as loose as sacks.

The last time I saw my mother and father was the moment when the bus went around Freedom Square on the way to the garrison. The two of them were standing by one of the flowerbeds in the square and when they saw me, they waved. The other soldiers with their shaved heads all waved back at them through the windows. My parents laughed, moved closer and waved at all of us: and we half-rose in our seats and waved back at them. I dont know how they knew our bus would be passing Freedom Square at that time. Five months later, when the bullets pierced my

Islamic Republic of Iran

1. The official name of Iran is the Islamic Republic of Iran. It became an Islamic Republic in 1979 when the monarchy was overthrown and religious clerics assumed political power under supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini.

2. Irans capital and largest city, Tehran, has some of the worst air pollution in the world. An estimated 27 people die a day from pollution-related diseases.

3. Nearly half of Iran has an arid desert climate. It receives less than 4 inches of precipitation each year.

4. The Persian Gulf holds 60% of the worlds oil reserves. Iran alone has reserves of 125 billion barrels of oil, or 10% of the worlds total reserves. Iran pumps nearly 4 million barrels of oil each day.

5. Iran controls 50% of the Caspian Sea caviar market. The eggs of the Caspian beluga sturgeon can fetch up to $160 per ounce. The beluga sturgeon was swimming in lakes at the time of dinosaurs, but the sturgeon, which can live to be 100 years old, are rapidly disappearing.

6. Iran is one of the worlds oldest continuous civilizations, with settlements dating back to 4000 B.C.

7. Approximately 70% of Irans population is under the age of 30.

8. Most homes in Iran do not have tables and chairs. Instead, people sit on cushions on the floor to eat their meals.

9. Consumption of alcohol is illegal in Iran.

10. Before getting married, women are expected to go to the doctor and give the groom paperwork indicating that the womans hymen is intact upon marriage.

11. Human trafficking (sex trafficking and forced labor) is a huge problem in Iran. The government is doing nothing to right the wrong.

12. A womans voice is only worth half that of a mans (literally). In court, a womans voice is not as powerful as a mans. In a will, if both men and women are expected to receive land, the woman receives half of whatever the man receives.

13. There is an Instagram called Rich Kids of Tehran where people are photographed drinking expensive champagne and partying with bikini clad girls and in expensive sports cars. Its the Iran they dont want you to see, and these people have not been caught yet.

14. If a girl in Iran is sexually abused or harassed, blame typically falls on the girls mother for not protecting her daughter, instead of falling on the offender.

15. In Iran, females over the age of nine must wear a hijab in public. Additionally, religious rules do not allow women to wear bathing suits when men are present.

16. The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) banned the hijab in 2007, which prevented the Iranian Womens soccer team from playing in the 2012 Olympics qualifier game.

Meaning of the Flag: TheflagofIranwas officially adopted on July 29, 1980. The colors of theflagdate to the mid-18th century; green represents Islam; white represents peace, and red means courage. The centered symbol is said to symbolize the five principles of Islam.

Persian Rug

A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings: A Tale For Children

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

On the third day of rain they had killed so many crabs inside the house that Pelayo had to cross his drenched courtyard and throw them into the sea, because the newborn child had a temperature all night and they thought it was due to the stench. The world had been sad since Tuesday. Sea and sky were a single ash-gray thing and the sands of the beach, which on March nights glimmered like powdered light, had become a stew of mud and rotten shellfish. The light was so weak at noon that when Pelayo was coming back to the house after throwing away the crabs, it was hard for him to see what it was that was moving and groaning in the rear of the courtyard. He had to go very close to see that it was an old man, a very old man, lying face down in the mud, who, in spite of his tremendous efforts, couldn't get up, impeded by his enormous wings.

Frightened by that nightmare, Pelayo ran to get Elisenda, his wife, who was putting compresses on the sick child, and he took her to the rear of the courtyard. They both looked at the fallen body with a mute stupor. He was dressed like a ragpicker. There were only a few faded hairs left on his bald skull and very few teeth in his mouth, and his pitiful condition of a drenched great-grandfather took away and sense of grandeur he might have had. His huge buzzard wings, dirty and half-plucked were forever entangled in the mud. They looked at him so long and so closely that Pelayo and Elisenda very soon overcame their surprise and in the end found him familiar. Then they dared speak to him, and he answered in an incomprehensible dialect with a strong sailor's voice. That was how they skipped over the inconvenience of the wings and quite intelligently concluded that he was a lonely castaway from some foreign ship wrecked by the storm. And yet, they called in a neighbor woman who knew everything about life and death to see him, and all she needed was one look to show them their mistake.

"He's an angel," she told them. "He must have been coming for the child, but the poor fellow is so old that the rain knocked him down."

On the following day everyone knew that a flesh-and-blood angel was held captive in Pelayo's house. Against the judgment of the wise neighbor woman, for whom angels in those times were the fugitive survivors of a spiritual conspiracy, they did not have the heart to club him to death. Pelayo watched over him all afternoon from the kitchen, armed with his bailiff's club, and before going to bed he dragged him out of the mud and locked him up with the hens in the wire chicken coop. In the middle of the night, when the rain stopped, Pelayo and Elisenda were still killing crabs. A short time afterward the child woke up without a fever and with a desire to eat. Then they felt magnanimous and decided to put the angel on a raft with fresh water and provisions for three days and leave him to his fate on the high seas. But when they went out into the courtyard with the first light of dawn, they found the whole neighborhood in front of the chicken coop having fun with the angel, without the slightest reverence, tossing him things to eat through the openings in the wire as if weren't a supernatural creature but a circus animal.

Father Gonzaga arrived before seven o'clock, alarmed at the strange news. By that time onlookers less frivolous than those at dawn had already arrived and they were making all kinds of conjectures concerning the captive's future. The simplest among them thought that he should

Columbia

1. Columbia does not have seasons; it is near the equator and has sunlight throughout the year.

2. Experts believe that 3000 different species of butterflies are found in Columbia.

3. Columbia produces 60% of the worlds most expensive emeralds.

4. Notorious drug lord, Pablo Esobar, reportedly offered to pay Columbias national debt of $10 billion to improve his reputation and get out of trouble.

5. In 1991, Columbias second city Medellin was the murder capital of the world with 17 murders every day.

6. Colombian women dont hesitate to change their bodies if they are dissatisfied. The country is the fifth most popular hub for cosmetic surgery.

7. Colombians put cheese in their hot chocolate.

8. The typical school year runs from February to November. Registration fees and yearly fees need to be paid for public schools but its still less than private schools.

9. Soccer is Columbias main sport. Tennis and mountain climbing are also very popular.

10. Columbias literacy rate is over 90%.

11. Columbia is named after Christopher Columbus.

12. Columbia is part of something called the Ring of Fire which is a group of countries on the Pacific Ocean that are prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

13. Columbia accounts for 70% of cut flowers imported to the United States.

Meaning of the Flag: Yellow: represents all the gold found in theColombianland. Blue: represents the seasonColombia'sshores, the rivers that run through, and the sky above. Red: represents the blood spilled forColombia's independence.

Dancing in Colombia by Fernando Botero

God Sees the Truth, but Waits

Leo Tolstoy

In the town of Vladimir lived a young merchant named Ivan Dmitrich Aksionov. He had two shops and a house of his own.

Aksionov was a handsome, fair-haired, curly-headed fellow, full of fun, and very fond of singing. When quite a young man he had been given to drink, and was riotous when he had had too much; but after he married he gave up drinking, except now and then.

One summer Aksionov was going to the Nizhny Fair, and as he bade good-bye to his family, his wife said to him, "Ivan Dmitrich, do not start to-day; I have had a bad dream about you."

Aksionov laughed, and said, "You are afraid that when I get to the fair I shall go on a spree."

His wife replied: "I do not know what I am afraid of; all I know is that I had a bad dream. I dreamt you returned from the town, and when you took off your cap I saw that your hair was quite grey."

Aksionov laughed. "That's a lucky sign," said he. "See if I don't sell out all my goods, and bring you some presents from the fair."

So he said good-bye to his family, and drove away.

When he had travelled half-way, he met a merchant whom he knew, and they put up at the same inn for the night. They had some tea together, and then went to bed in adjoining rooms.

It was not Aksionov's habit to sleep late, and, wishing to travel while it was still cool, he aroused his driver before dawn, and told him to put in the horses.

Then he made his way across to the landlord of the inn (who lived in a cottage at the back), paid his bill, and continued his journey.

When he had gone about twenty-five miles, he stopped for the horses to be fed. Aksionov rested awhile in the passage of the inn, then he stepped out into the porch, and, ordering a samovar to be heated, got out his guitar and began to play.

Suddenly a troika drove up with tinkling bells and an official alighted, followed by two soldiers. He came to Aksionov and began to question him, asking him who he was and whence he came. Aksionov answered him fully, and said, "Won't you have some tea with me?" But the official went on cross-questioning him and asking him. "Where did you spend last night? Were you alone, or with a fellow-merchant? Did you see the other merchant this morning? Why did you leave the inn before dawn?"

Aksionov wondered why he was asked all these questions, but he described all that had happened, and then added, "Why do you cross-question me as if I were a thief or a robber? I am travelling on business of my own, and there is no need to question me."

Then the official, calling the soldiers, said, "I am the police-officer of this district, and I question you because the merchant with whom you spent last night has been found with his throat cut. We must search your things."

They entered the house. The soldiers and the police-officer unstrapped Aksionov's luggage and searched it. Suddenly the officer drew a knife out of a bag, crying, "Whose knife is this?"

Aksionov looked, and seeing a blood-stained knife taken from his bag, he was frightened.

"How is it there is blood on this knife?"

Aksionov tried to answer, but could hardly utter a word, and only stammered: "I--don't know--not mine." Then the police-officer said: "This morning the merchant was found in bed with his throat cut. You are the only person who could have done it. The house was locked from inside, and no one else was there. Here is this blood-stained knife in your bag and your face and manner betray you! Tell me how you killed him, and how much money you stole?"

Russia

Interesting Facts:

1. Russia is bigger than Pluto.

2. On average, each Russian consumes 18 litres (4.8 US gal) of alcohol per year, doubling what experts consider dangerous.

3. In 1908 the Imperial Russian Olympic Team arrived in London 12 days too late for the games because they were not using the Gregorian calendar yet. The last duel in Paris was fought April 21st 1967. Again, the point of contention was not an affair of the heart fought over by two young bucks. The participants were two staid politicians in the French hotbed of disagreement: the National Assembly (victorianparis.wordpress.com).

4. The U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia for just US$7.2 million in 1867.Google the Bloody Trunk Affair in 1890. Youre welcome.

5. Japan and Russia still haven't signed a peace treaty to end World War II due to the Kuril Islands dispute.

6. Russia did not recognize beer as an alcoholic beverage until 2013.

7. There was a "Beard Tax" in Russia, during Peter the Great's Reign, paid by anyone who had a beard.

8. 25% Russians die before reaching the age of 55, compared to just 1% in the U.S., and Vodka is to blame.

9. Apple is worth more than the value of the entire Russian stock market.

10. Russia has over 8400 nuclear weapons, more than any other country.

11. There are approximately 10 million more women in Russia than there are men. The imbalance was initially believed to the result of so many men dying during World War II.

12. The House of Romanov is a Russian royal and imperial family that was the second dynasty, after the Rurik dynasty, to rule over Russia, which reigned from 1613 until the abdication of Czar Nicholas II on March 15, 1917, as a result of the February Revolution.

13. Russia covers 1/7th of the total land of our planet and neighbors more countries than any other country on earth, but it has only the ninth largest population.

14. Russia is multinational and multicultural. Russia has got more than 100 nationalities.

15. Russia adopted equal rights before USA. In 1918, Russian women were granted suffrage. US has only granted the voting rights to women in 1920.

Meaning of Flag: TheflagofRussiais a tricolorflagconsisting of three equal horizontal fields: white on the top, blue in the middle and red on the bottom. Theflagwas first used as an ensign for Russianmerchant ships and became official as theflagof the Tsardom ofRussiain 1696.

Sadko, Ilya Yefimovich Repin

The Kiss

by Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893)

My Little Darling: So you are crying from morning until night and from night until morning, because your husband leaves you; you do not know what to do and so you ask your old aunt for advice; you must consider her quite an expert. I don't know as much as you think I do, and yet I am not entirely ignorant of the art of loving, or, rather, of making one's self loved, in which you are a little lacking. I can admit that at my age.

You say that you are all attention, love, kisses and caresses for him. Perhaps that is the very trouble; I think you kiss him too much.

My dear, we have in our hands the most terrible power in the world: LOVE.

Man is gifted with physical strength, and he exercises force. Woman is gifted with charm, and she rules with caresses. It is our weapon, formidable and invincible, but we should know how to use it.

Know well that we are the mistresses of the world! To tell the history of Love from the beginning of the world would be to tell the history of man himself: Everything springs from it, the arts, great events, customs, wars, the overthrow of empires.

In the Bible you find Delila, Judith; in fables we find Omphale, Helen; in history the Sabines, Cleopatra and many others.

Therefore we reign supreme, all-powerful. But, like kings, we must make use of delicate diplomacy.

Love, my dear, is made up of imperceptible sensations. We know that it is as strong as death, but also as frail as glass. The slightest shock breaks it, and our power crumbles, and we are never able to raise it again.

We have the power of making ourselves adored, but we lack one tiny thing, the understanding of the various kinds of caresses. In embraces we lose the sentiment of delicacy, while the man over whom we rule remains master of himself, capable of judging the foolishness of certain words. Take care, my dear; that is the defect in our armor. It is our Achilles' heel.

Do you know whence comes our real power? From the kiss, the kiss alone! When we know how to hold out and give up our lips we can become queens.

The kiss is only a preface, however, but a charming preface. More charming than the realization itself. A preface which can always be read over again, whereas one cannot always read over the book.

Yes, the meeting of lips is the most perfect, the most divine sensation given to human beings, the supreme limit of happiness: It is in the kiss alone that one sometimes seems to feel this union of souls after which we strive, the intermingling of hearts, as it were.

Do you remember the verses of Sully-Prudhomme:

Caresses are nothing but anxious bliss,

Vain attempts of love to unite souls through a kiss.

One caress alone gives this deep sensation of two beings welded into one --it is the kiss. No violent delirium of complete possession is worth this trembling approach of the lips, this first moist and fresh contact, and then the long, lingering, motionless rapture.

Therefore, my dear, the kiss is our strongest weapon, but we must take care not to dull it. Do not forget that its value is only relative, purely conventional. It continually changes according to

Victorian France

Interesting Facts:

16. An undersea cable was laid beneath the Atlantic Ocean, making it possible for Europeans to communicate nearly instantly with Americans.

17. The first practical and widely used sewing machine was invented by Barthlemy Thimonnier, a French tailor, in 1829.

18. In the Middle Ages [dueling] was a legitimate procedure to settle a personal dispute. Yet as time went by, an excess of testosterone combined with personal pride made it the prime cause of death among young nobles, who felt obliged to fight for the slightest personal offence. Between 1608 and 1723 at least eight royal orders were issued banning duels, but all of them were in vain. In 1837, an order was issued that classified a duel as an attempt at murder, which was punished as a criminal offence. However, the social pressure remained strong and the image of a hero executing a mortal dance to avenge an insult had an irresistible pull (victorianparis.wordpress.com).

19. The last duel in Paris was fought April 21st 1967. Again, the point of contention was not an affair of the heart fought over by two young bucks. The participants were two staid politicians in the French hotbed of disagreement: the National Assembly (victorianparis.wordpress.com).

20. Jean Braud is one of the most famous Parisian painters ever. He was born in Russia, but his family was French. When his father died in 1858, Berauds mother took the family back to France. He grew up to be a skilled painter of Parisian life. Braud's paintings often included truth-based humour and mockery of late 19th-century Parisian life, along with frequent appearances of biblical characters in then contemporary situations (Wikipedia).

21. Google the Bloody Trunk Affair in 1890. Youre welcome.

22. Freak shows were a great source of entertainment in Victorian Era France. For example, a bored Parisian might go see Captain Constentenus, tattooed at the order of Yakoob Beg, the Chief of the Tartarshis body [was] decorated with 2 million needle jabs and 325 animal figures (victorianparis.wordpress.com).

23. Paris of the 19th century was home to a boisterous and hard-working female corporation. Nearly one hundred thousand washerwomen worked either in the brick-and-mortar laundries across the city, or in the bateaux-lavoirs wooden constructions floating on the river. They labored twelve to fifteen hours a day, six days a week, with no sick leave or paid vacation. Once a year though, Paris treated them like royalty. During the feasts of Mid-Lent, the streets of Paris exploded with the frenzy of carnival, whose principal actors were the washerwomen. With great pomp and circumstance, the women of each lavoir elected a queen and the new sovereigns, escorted by masks, paraded on the boulevards in elaborate floats. Much drinking and merry-making accompanied the procession. In the 1890s city authorities decided to nominate the Queen of Queensthe best of all the locally elected queensto represent the spirit of the feast. This custom survived into the 20th century when it was interrupted by the WWII and was never fully revived (victorianparis.wordpress.com).

24. Though gasoliers now lighted ballroom and drawing-room in place of the crystal chandeliers and silver sconces, candles and oil lamps were still set in dangerous proximity to flimsy shawls, sleeves and skirts, and the chronicles of the nineteenth century are full of stories of dreadful deaths by fire of how the Duchess de Maill was burned to death at her friends fireside; how the Archduchess Mathilde, discovered smoking, attempted to hide the surreptitious cigarette in her petticoat and went up in flames; how a French actress was incinerated on stage; and how Queen Victorias daughter, the Princess Royal, narrowly escaped death by the same agency (victorianparis.wordpress.com).

25. In the Victorian times, Paris suffered an overwhelming criminality 48 times stronger than that of today. Eight thousand policemen faced some 30 thousand mobile gang members in addition to other criminals. Known for their fierceness, the gangs were called Apaches. Moving only in groups, these young men from disadvantaged neighborhoods employed swindle, street robbery and pimping. They were recognizable by the doe eye, a small tattoo around the eyes and their attire consisted of bell pants, a half-opened jacket revealing a jersey or a crumpled shirt, cap on head, and meticulously polished shoes.

Meaning of the Flag: Blue and red are associated with the Virgin Mary, the patroness ofFrance, and were the colors of the oriflamme. The colors of the French flagmay also represent the three main estates of the Ancient Rgime (the clergy: white, the nobility: red and the bourgeoisie: blue).

The Ball at the Moulin de la Galette, Pierre-Auguste Renoir

In the Plantation

Oyet Sisto Ocen

I still recall its sweetness when he gave it to us. Uncle Tom found us playing in the banana plantations. We were searching for nsenene, the grasshopper which appeared seasonally when it rained in our village. We searched for them on the ground and in the folds of the banana leaves.

The first time we tasted it was when aunt brought it back from Kampala, Nakato and Kato come and get some sweets, shed cried.

We were plucking the legs and wings off nsenenein the backyard of our grass-thatched hut. The sweets were different colours. I unwrapped the white vuvera, polythene paper, from one and threw it in my mouth. I felt thesticky honey sweetness fill my mouth and I swallowed.

We ran past Joes house to reach Katumbas house so that he could taste the nsenene. Kato was panting. We wanted to tell Katumba the news quickly and run back home. Mummy didnt want us playing with Katumba. She said he had bad manners; he liked playing with his male part in front of us.

Katumba, our aunt came from Kampala, Kato told him, from the cool shade where he was seated. He wasplucking the wings and the legs of nsenene. The wind was blowing the bananas leaves lightly, swaying them from side to side. She brought for us some sweet. Katumba dropped the saucepan he was holding. Kato broke the sweet, which looked like a small stone, into two halves with his teeth and gave one to Katumba, Eat. They had been good friends in spite of mummys restriction. Katumba threw hishalf into his mouth. Then he opened his mouth, his lips moulded, formed to look like a hallway. He was missing two lower teeth which left a path for us to see his tongue rotating. It made us laugh. Its sweet, like ripe banana, said Katumba laughing. Yes, Aunt Janet said it makes childrens teeth grow, said Kato. When Katumba heard this he started rubbing asmall remnant of the sweet on his pink gums whichmade us laugh more. We ran through the long trail of the banana plantation which connected our home with that of Katumbas. It was owned by Mr.Mukasa the old man. He planted oranges and pawpaw trees at the side of his plantation. We always stole from his trees when we emptied our fruit trees.

Mummy didnt encourage stealing so we only did it when she was away. When we reached home, we found aunt was telling mummy about the city. She told mummy that Uncle Toms business had made him one of the richest men in the city. He had so much money he could buy the whole village and its contents.

That morning aunt brought out the metal she brought from the city. It was for piercing ears. Aunt insisted for our ears to be pierced so that we did not fall prey to child sacrifices. But daddy was against the piercing of the boys ears, he said t made them look like rouges. So aunt and mummy pierced my ears and not Katos. It was painful, but aunt said when it heals, I would put on glittering earrings which would dangle tomy shoulders which would make me look beautiful.

Africa

1. There are 54 countries in Africa.

2. Over 25% of ALL languages are spoken only in Africa with over 2,000 recognized languages spoken on the continent.

3. Almost 40% of adults in Africa are illiterate 2/3 are women.

4. Over 25 million people are HIV-positive on the continent and over 17 million have died of the disease already.

5. There are fewer people with internet connections in the entire continent of Africa than there are just in New York City.

6. Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and the second largest freshwater lake in the world.

7. Water scarcity impacts the lives of over 300 million Africans; 75% of Africans rely on groundwater as their primary source of drinking water.

8. Africa had 8 of the 11 major biomes and the largest remaining populations of lions, elephants, rhinos, cheetahs, hyenas, leopards, and more.

9. Giraffes, zebras, gorillas, hippopotamuses, chimps, and wildebeests in the wild are unique to the continent and only found here.

10. The San People of Southern Africa today use the same set of tools that were found in a cave, dating to 44,000 years ago.

11. 41% of children in Africa aged 5 - 14 are involved in child labor.

12. People in Africa have to walk an average of 3.7 miles to collect water.

13. Between 1525 and 1866, 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Americas.

14. 96 elephants are killed every day in Africa.

15. South Africans can LEGALLY attach flamethrowers to cars to repel carjackers.

The termPan-Africancolors refers to two different sets of three colors:red,gold(not yellow) andgreen(inspired by the flag of Ethiopia), and red,black and green. They are used inflags and other emblems of various countries and territories inAfrica and theAmericasto represent Pan-Africanistideology. The Rastafarianmovement and many Pan-African organizations also often employ the colors for their activities.

The Maasai by David Ndambuki

"The Pomegranate"

By Kawabata Yasunari

In the high wind that night the pomegranate tree was stripped of its leaves.

The leaves lay in a circle around the base.

Kimiko was startled to see it naked in the morning, and wondered at the flawlessness of the circle. She would have expected the wind to disturb it.

There was a pomegranate, a very fine one, left behind in the tree.

"Just come and look at it," she called to her mother.

"I had forgotten." Her mother glanced up at the tree and went back to the kitchen.

It made Kimiko think of their loneliness. The pomegranate over the veranda too seemed lonely and forgotten.

Two weeks or so before, her seven-year-old nephew had come visiting, and had noticed the pomegranates immediately. He had scrambled up into the tree. Kimiko had felt that she was in the presence of life.

"There is a big one up above," she called from the veranda.

"But if I pick it I can't get back down."

It was true. To climb down with pomegranates in both hands would not be easy. Kimiko smiled. He was a dear.

Until he had come the house had forgotten the pomegranate. And until now they had forgotten it again.

Then the fruit had been hidden in the leaves. Now it stood clear against the sky.

There was strength in the fruit and in the circle of leaves at the base. Kimiko went and knocked it down with a bamboo pole.

It was so ripe that the seeds seemed to force it open. They glistened in the sunlight when she laid it on the veranda, and the sun seemed to go on through them.

She felt somehow apologetic.

Upstairs with her sewing at about ten, she heard Keikichi's voice. Though the door was unlocked, he seemed to have come around to the garden. There was urgency in his voice. "Kimiko, Kimiko!" her mother called. "Keikichi is here."

Japan

1. Horse meat is extremely popular in Japan.

2. Sometimes their trains get so packed that people who work there cram people into the cars.

3. Mt. Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan, is an active volcano.

4. More than 70% of Japan consists of mountains, including more than 200 volcanoes.

5. Coffee is very popular and Japan imports approximately 85% of Jamaicas annual coffee production.

6. Japans literacy rate is almost 100%.

7. On average there are around 1,500 earthquakes every year in Japan.

8. In Japan, it is not uncommon to eat rice at every meal, including breakfast.

9. The average life expectancy is one of the highest in the world. Japanese people live an average of 4 years longer than Americans.

10. Geisha means person of the arts and the first geisha were actually men.

11. In Ancient japan, it was customary for women to blacken their teeth with dye. The American style of smiling was seen as exposing too much bone.

12. In addition to blackening teeth, small eyes, a round puffy face, and a plump body were once considered attractive features.

13. Some Japanese companies conduct morning exercise sessions for workers to prepare them for the day.

14. In Japan non-smoking areas are difficult to find in all restaurants. Most of Japans politicians have interest in the tobacco industry and anti-smoking laws are almost non-existent.

15. The Tsukiji market in Tokyo is the worlds largest fish market.

Meaning of the Flag: TheJapanese Flagis a white banner whose center contains a red circle; this circle represents the sun. TheJapanese flagis called Hinomaru, which means "circle of the sun." In English it is sometimes called the "rising sun."

Genji Emaki Sekiya by Kose Kanaoka

The Cabuliwallah

Rabindranath Tagore

My five-year-old daughter Mini cannot live without chattering. I really believe that in all her life she has not wasted a minute in silence. Her mother is often vexed at this, and would like to stop her prattle, but I would not. For Mini to be quiet is unnatural, and I cannot bear it long. And so my own talk with her is always lively.

One morning, for instance, when I was in the midst of the seventeenth chapter of my new novel, my little Mini stole into the room, and putting her hand into mine, said: "Father! Ramdayal, the door-keeper, calls a kak a kauwa!

He doesn't know anything, does he?"

Before I could explain to her the difference between one language and another in this world, she had embarked on the full tide of another subject. "What do you think, Father? Bhola says there is an elephant in the clouds, blowing water out of his trunk, and that is why it rains!"

And then, darting off anew, while I sat still, trying to think of some reply to this: "Father! what relation is mother to you?"

With a grave face I contrived to say: "Go and play with Bhola, Mini! I am busy!"

The window of my room overlooks the road. The child had seated herself at my feet near my table, and was playing softly, drumming on her knees. I was hard at work on my seventeenth chapter, in which Pratap Singh, the hero, has just caught Kanchanlata, the heroine, in his arms, and is about to escape with her by the third storey window of the castle, when suddenly Mini left her play, and ran to the window, crying: "A Cabuliwallah! A Cabuliwallah!' And indeed, in the street below, there was a Cabuliwallah, walking slowly along. He wore the loose, soiled clothing of his people, and a tall turban; he carried a bag on his back, and boxes of grapes in his hand.

I cannot tell what my daughter's feelings were when she saw this man, but she began to call him loudly. "Ah!" thought I, "he will come in, and my seventeenth chapter will never be finished!" At that very moment the Cabuliwallah turned, and looked up at the child. When she saw this, she was overcome by terror, and running to her mother's protection disappeared. She had a blind belief that inside the bag, which the big man carried, there were perhaps two or three other children like herself. The peddler meanwhile entered my doorway and greeted me with a smile.

So precarious was the position of my hero and my heroine, that my first impulse was to stop and buy something, since Mini had called the man to the house. I made some small purchases, and we began to talk about Abdur Rahman, the Russians, the English, and the Frontier Policy.

As he was about to leave, he asked: "And where is the little girl, Sir?"

And then, thinking that Mini must get rid of her false fear, I had her brought out.

She stood by my chair, and looked at the Cabuliwallah and his bag. He offered her nuts and raisins, but she would not be tempted, and only clung the closer to me, with all her doubts increased.

This was their first meeting.

India

Interesting Facts

1. India is the world's largest, oldest, continuous civilization.

2. India has never invaded another country.

3. India invented the number system. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.

4. The Vishnu Temple in the city of Tirupathi built in the 10th century, is the world's largest religious pilgrimage destination. Larger than either Rome or Mecca, an average of 30,000 visitors donate $6 million (US) to the temple every day.

5. India is the world's largest democracy, with 1.2 billion people

6. India's Hindu calendar has 6 seasons: spring, summer, monsoon, autumn, winter and prevernal.

7. It is illegal to take Indian currency (rupees) out of India.

8. Breathing the air in Mumbai, India, for just one day is equivalent to smoking 100 cigarettes.

9. India has more mobile phones than toilets.

10. One woman dies every hour in India because of dowry-related crimes.

11. 70% of all the world's spices come from India.

12. India has the largest slave population in the modern world with over 14 million slaves.

13. India has more population than the entire Western Hemisphere of Earth.

14. In India, there is a vigilante group called the "Love Commandos" that offers protection from harassment to couples from different castes who fall in love.

15. Between 100,000 and 500,000 abortions per year continue to be performed in India solely because the fetus is female.

Meaning of Flag: The NationalflagofIndiais a horizontal tricolor of deep saffron (kesari) at the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion. The ratio of width of theflagto its length is two to three. In the center of the white band is a navy blue wheel which represents the chakra.

Jatayu Vadham, Raja Ravi Verma

Stop the Sun

Gary Paulsen

Terry Erickson was a tall boy; 13, starting to fill out with muscle but still a little awkward. He was on the edge of being a good athlete, which meant a lot to him. He felt it coming too slowly, though, and that bothered him. But what bothered him even more was when his fathers eyes went away. Usually it happened when it didnt cause any particular trouble. Sometimes during a meal his fathers fork would stop halfway to his mouth, just stop, and there would be a long pause while his eyes went away, far away. After several minutes his mother would reach over and take the fork and put it gently down on his plate, and they would go back to eating -or try to go back to eating -normally.

They knew what caused it. When it first started, Terry had asked his mother in private what it was, what was causing the strange behavior. It's from the war, his mother had said. The doctors at the veterans hospital call it the Vietnam syndrome.

Will it go away? They dont know. Sometimes it goes away. Sometimes it doesn't. They are trying to help him. But what happened? What actually caused it? I told you, Vietnam.

But there had to be something, Terry persisted. Something made him like that. Not just Vietnam. Billys father was there, and he doesnt act that way. Thats enough questions, his mother said sternly. He doesnt talk about it, and I dont ask. Neither will you. Do you understand?

But, Mom. Thats enough.

And he stopped pushing it. But it bothered him whenever it happened. When something bothered him, he liked to stay with it until he understood it, and he understood no part of this.

Words. His father had trouble, and they gave him words like Vietnam syndrome. He knew almost nothing of the war, and when he tried to find out about it, he kept hitting walls. Once he went to the school library and asked for anything they might have that could help him understand the war and how it affected his father. They gave him a dry history that described French involvement, Communist involvement, American involvement.. But it told him nothing of the war. It was all numbers, cold numbers, and nothing of what had happened. There just didnt seem to be anything that could help him.

Another time he stayed after class and tried to talk to Mr. Carlson, who taught history. But some part of Terry was embarrassed. He didnt want to say why he wanted to know about Vietnam, so he couldnt be specific. What do you want to know about Vietnam, Terry? Mr. Carlson had asked. It was a big war.

Terry had looked at him, and something had started up in his mind, but he didnt let it out. He shrugged. I just want to know what it was like. I know somebody who was in it.

A friend? Yessir. A good friend.

Vietnam Era United States

Interesting Facts:

1. The Vietnam War began in 1954 and officially ended in 1973.

2. In 1963 both the President of the United States and the President of South Vietnam were shot and killed.

3. It wasnt only the U.S. and South Vietnam who fought in the Vietnam War. Australia and New Zealand also fought in Vietnam, but the largest contingent of anti-Communist forces came from South Korea.

4. More than three-quarters of the men who fought in Vietnam volunteered to join the military. Of the roughly 8.7 million troops who served in the military between 1965 and 1973, only 1.8 million were drafted.

5. The U.S. suffered over 47,000 killed in action plus another 11,000 noncombat deaths; over 150,000 were wounded and 10,000 missing.

6. On June 27, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York Citys Greenwich Village. The bars patrons, sick of being subjected to harassment and discrimination, fought back: For five days, rioters took to the streets in protest.

7. In 1964, President Johnson developed a set of programs that would give poor people a hand up, not a handout. These included Medicare and Medicaid, which helped elderly and low-income people pay for health care; Head Start, which prepared young children for school; and a Job Corps that trained unskilled workers for jobs in the deindustrializing economy.

8. The struggle for civil rights had defined the 60s ever since four black students sat down at a whites-only lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, in February 1960 and refused to leave. Their movement spread: Hundreds of demonstrators went back to that lunch counter every day, and tens of thousands clogged segregated restaurants and shops across the upper South.

9. In general, the federal government stayed out of the civil rights struggle until 1964, when President Johnson pushed a Civil Rights Act through Congress that prohibited discrimination in public places, gave the Justice Department permission to sue states that discriminated against women and minorities and promised equal opportunities in the workplace to all.

10. Female activists demanded more rights for women, whose roles in society began to change. The birth control pill and other contraceptives were introduced, making it possible for women to plan their careers and have babies when they wanted them.

Meaning of Flag: The 50 stars represent the number of states. 13 stripes represent the 13 colonies. The colors of theflaghave meaningas well: Red symbolizes Hardiness and Valor. White symbolizes Purity and Innocence. Blue represents Vigilance, Perseverance and Justice.

Napalm Girl, Nick Ut.

Culture Stations

Name of Region or Country ______________________________________________________________

What is the meaning of their flag __________________________________________________________

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Read the list of facts provided. Rank the top five facts YOU find most interesting from most interesting (1) to least (5). Paraphrase if necessary.

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What does the piece of art provided tell you about the region? What is most noticeable about the artwork?

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Read the first page of the story provided.

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What do you think will happen throughout?

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How do you think the story will end?

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Who are some of the main characters? What do the characters names tell you about the story?

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