tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940Thu, 16 Feb 2012 06:57:54 +0000veilquotationFujiAngerCarthageTechnology1st JulyArabicButterflyRamadanQuestionnaireWomenNihongoMovieHijabOrigamitravelPEACETunisiaSocietyParisFoodcastleHistoryVolunteer workFaithStudent's lifeMiscellaneousEventsNihonmicro-financeShintoReligionIslam. womenProcrastinationIslamsportNatureInternetWebsiteWahhabismpoliticspostcrossingTo my guestsCulturemusic日本語ArtScienceterrorismChallengebookFrenchchurchBoudhismCMSmathematicssakuraLiteratureLaTexExtemismhttp://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)Blogger90125noreply@blogger.comnotag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-5207376240462212942Sun, 31 Jul 2011 09:41:00 +00002011-07-31T18:43:23.265+09:00RamadanIslamBoudhismNihonLiteraturebookAs you may already know, this year, Ramadan stretches along August. I wish you a blessed, healthy and fruitful Ramadan!! Ramadan is also the month when the Qur'an was revealed. In honor of this revelation, it is custom to read the Qur'an during Ramadan. Interestingly, the very first word that was revealed is "Read!". I also like to consider Ramadan as the sacred month of reading. Besides http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2011/07/sacred-month-of-reading.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-7659024522453897472Sun, 19 Jun 2011 05:13:00 +00002011-06-19T14:37:41.569+09:00NihonLiteraturebook  <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> I read this book as part of Murakami Challenge organized by Tanabata. Would you like to join the challenge? The requirement is to read at least one book by Murakami.   The title “after the quake” refers to Kobe's earthquake in 1995. The book is a collection of six short stories whose common denominator is the earthquake. http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2011/06/after-quake-by-haruki-murakami.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-5162130748272549483Mon, 13 Jun 2011 09:44:00 +00002011-06-13T18:44:07.977+09:00NihonLiteraturebookBotchan is the first novel written by Natsume Soseki that I have read. One book was enough to be charmed by Soseki's sarcasm and humor. The novel takes us to the end of Meiji Japan. Botchan is the nickname of a young man from Tokyo. He became a school teacher in a small town on the island of Shikoku. Botchan has his flaws; he is rebellious, arrogant, quick-tempered, and in many occasions, he http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2011/06/botchan-by-natsume-soseki.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-82646269408888326Sat, 11 Jun 2011 00:22:00 +00002011-06-11T09:22:29.022+09:00NihonJ'ai crée un nouveau blog en Français: http://fadouaintsukuba.blogspot.com/ http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2011/06/nouveau-blog.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-1002676568497532448Thu, 09 Jun 2011 12:53:00 +00002011-06-09T21:57:08.431+09:00NihonHistorybook This book is an "initiation" to modern Japanese history, in particular from 1853 to 1964. The historical events are nicely outlined to provide the reader with the whole picture of Japanese long struggle to reach the rank of "civilized" countries. However, 200 pages are not enough to gain in depth. As I mentioned, this is an "initiation" in the sense http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2011/06/inventing-japan-by-ian-buruma.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-5891286075731563633Thu, 09 Jun 2011 12:23:00 +00002011-06-09T21:58:01.368+09:00ChallengebookThis book is a collection of poems and short essays written by Semezdin Mehmedinović during the siege of Sarajevo. His writings capture what he sees everyday: death, corpse, killing, famine... In one poem, his wife urges her son to stop playing outside because it is shelling! In another essay, he was watching a dog eating a corpse. Very disturbing but real!  I read this book as part of the "http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2011/06/sarajevo-blues-by-semezdin-mehmedinovic.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-3282455749728349260Thu, 02 Dec 2010 13:05:00 +00002010-12-02T22:24:52.990+09:00NihonMiscellaneousChallengeIn this post, I would like to answer Tanabata's five questions. 1. My favourite Japanese ________________ is ________________ because ____________________________________.My favourite Japanese art is origami because making origami is refreshing and instructive. I do like the challenge of following origami diagrams step by step until obtaining beautiful or useful shape. Below are some of what I http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2010/12/mini-challenge-hello-japan.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-300982309874714880Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:08:00 +00002011-06-09T20:58:41.671+09:00travelFoodNihonHistoryHaving spent an agreeable busy day exploring some of the historical spots of Shizuoka (here and here), I was exhausted and starving. My plan was to try tororojiru (とろろ汁) at Chojiya (丁字屋), a 415 year-old restaurant in Mariko (丸子), Shizuoka city. Click here to visit the multilingual website of Chojiya.  The restaurant is featured in the following Hiroshige's painting titled Mariko. Mariko washttp://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2010/11/shizuoka-trip.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-2921699095271059188Tue, 16 Nov 2010 15:11:00 +00002010-11-17T00:15:32.725+09:00travelNihonArtHistoryYui (由比) is a fishing village on Suruga bay, Shizuoka prefecture. In Japan, Yui is a famous producer of sakura ebi (桜えび) and shirasu (しらす). From the village's JR station, I took a refreshing walk along sakura ebi street along which old style houses are lined up. Tokaido (東海道) is the old road linking Edo (江戸, old name of Tokyo) and Kyoto. It was established and maintaned by Tokugawa shogunate to http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2010/11/shizuoka-trip-yui-tokaido-hiroshige-art.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-2724281372036700077Sun, 14 Nov 2010 15:39:00 +00002010-11-18T00:20:30.748+09:00ShintotravelReligionNihonHistoryLocated on a hill in Shizuoka (静岡) city, Kunozan Toshogu shrine (久能山東照宮) is home to both of the spirit and the grave of the first Tokugawa Shogun (将軍), namely Ieyasu (徳川家康、1543 - 1616). He unified the country, devoted his life to making laws and arranging for its education in the system of Confucian ethics. He established a dynasty of rulers that lasted more than 200 years. After he retired by http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2010/11/shizuoka-trip-kunozan-toshogu-shrine.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-1517156522585385453Sat, 02 Oct 2010 13:11:00 +00002010-10-02T22:18:22.140+09:00SocietyNihonArtCulturebookJapan has plenty of secrets. Japan is wise enough to not reveal its secrets easily. Coming from a very different culture, I really need to work hard, to dig deeper and deeper in order to understand the Japanese culture. The more I understand the more I appreciate, but also the more hidden secrets come up along the way to keep me working! This sounds like an infinite work that would drive me to http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2010/10/appreciations-of-japanese-culture-by.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-5657924513015559609Sat, 25 Sep 2010 23:13:00 +00002010-10-02T21:47:43.388+09:00NihongoCultureArabicbook日本人の友人はアラビア文学のおすすめを頼みました。アラビア文学に興味があってすばらしいと思います。　うれしくていろいろぜひおすすめたいですが、日本語に翻訳されている本があるかどうか分からなかったです。。。  大学図書館やインターネットで少し調べてみると、このタイトルをしか見つかりませんでした： クラシック文学 中世の説話集の「千夜一夜物語」（「アラビアンナイト」とも呼ばれています）：「シンドバッドの冒険」や「アリババと40人の盗賊」や「アレデイン」など物語が入っています。子供頃に楽しく読みました。  ノーベル文学賞を受賞したエジプトの作家のナギーブ・マフフーズ：彼の代表作は「バイナル・カスライン」と言うカイロの家族の物語。テレビドラマも出ました。他のは「泥棒と犬」や「渡り鳥と秋」など。。。 スーダンの作家のアル・タイイブ・サーリフ：彼の代表作は「北へ遷るゆく時」です。http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2010/09/blog-post.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-3383670965822889967Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:30:00 +00002010-08-29T21:28:34.064+09:00NihonLiteraturebookAt the beginning of my learning Japanese language, I was determined to reach an advanced level that would allow me to read Yasunari Kawabata's novels in Japanese. Mon œil!! Too ambitious :). Till this moment, I had reconciled myself to reading Kawabata's books translated into English. In 1968, Kawabata (1899 - 1972) became the first Japanese to receive the Nobel Prize of Literature. Basically, http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2010/07/on-reading-yasunari-kawabata.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-8214804782653241510Sun, 18 Jul 2010 13:41:00 +00002010-07-20T11:36:10.646+09:00FaithReligionNihonLiteratureHistorybookSilence (沈黙) is a historical fiction by the Japanese Catholic author Shusaku Endo (1923 - 1996).   The book is an account of early Christian presence in Japan (middle of the 17th century). Historical ContextIn the middle of the 16th century, the Western traders, namely Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish, stepped ashore Kyushu island, southern Japan. The port of Nagasaki city became a hub of http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2010/07/silence-by-shusaku-endo.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-8507401327435543093Sat, 05 Jun 2010 14:42:00 +00002010-06-06T06:23:20.719+09:00sportNihonTunisiaMovieHistory Many Japanese still assume that a foreigner is アメリカ人 (American). I have been mistaken to be American (naturally), Spanish, Indonesian, Egyptian, British, Turkish... I acknowledge: It is hard to guess our identity. We Tunisians, have inherited various facial features and skin colors which can be misleading. How much Japanese know about my country? Too little... Here, I'm talking about Japanese http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2010/06/do-japanese-know-tunisia.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-1623594086941825780Sat, 05 Jun 2010 11:58:00 +00002010-07-12T09:59:23.159+09:00NihonpoliticsThe Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama resigned on Wednesday, 2nd of June.Hatoyama failed to keep his campaign promise regarding the relocation of US military base Futenma outside Okinawa prefecture. It seems that the broken pledge is not the only reason of the resignation. The accumulation of leadership blunders and the Ozawa scandal are behind Hatoyama's resignation, too. He left in order http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2010/06/japan-has-new-prime-minister.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-3505257776050141902Sat, 15 May 2010 14:42:00 +00002010-05-15T23:43:52.956+09:00castletravelNihonMay parts of the spectacular Himeji castle are closing for renovations until 2014.  I noticed that Japan  doesn't leave her castles, shrine and temples in ruins. They do renovation works, regularly, to revive castles and temples again. I'm glad to be able to visit the castle before they close it. Here are some photos of the beautiful Himeji castle: http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2010/05/himeiji-castle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-7437496516097678196Sat, 15 May 2010 14:18:00 +00002010-05-15T23:44:36.761+09:00NihonsakurapoliticsHistoryShould anyone ask about theSpirit of Yamato (Japan)It is the wild cherry blossom floweringIn the rising sunHaiku by Motoori Norinaga translated by Stuart D. PickenLast month, I enjoyed hanami (花見) at Yasukuni shrine (靖国神社) in Tokyo. The shrine is one of the most popular hanami spots in Tokyo. <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> Leaving aside its http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2010/05/sakura-2010.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-2701247527503337786Wed, 28 Apr 2010 08:31:00 +00002010-04-28T17:42:36.390+09:00PEACEReligionNihonCultureOne of the fascinating aspects that Japan has on me, personally, is the amalgamation of two different religions: (i) Shinto and, (ii) Buddhism. Shinto is usually described as the indigenous or folk religion of Japan. While Shinto is an ancient religion that is rooted in Japan, Buddhism was imported from Asia [1]. Nowadays, any visitor to Japan will notice that these two religions share temples, http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2010/04/fascinating-shinto.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-527438537792327039Thu, 15 Apr 2010 12:36:00 +00002010-04-15T21:38:59.271+09:00OrigamiNihon <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } A:link { so-language: zxx } --> Origami is the Japanese paper fold art. Starting from a square of paper and using only hands, you can make beautiful and impressive models of animals, things... Furthermore, origami is powerful geometrical construction tool and it has various applications in Science. “Between thehttp://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2010/04/between-folds.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-4790291657307963047Tue, 13 Apr 2010 13:51:00 +00002010-04-13T22:51:24.610+09:00QuestionnaireA friend of mine is conducting an interesting research on the role of aromatic plants in curing psychological problems (including stress, depression, anxiety, etc.). I kindly ask you to participate in his online questionnaire: https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dGtQS0w1aGxDTHRiOE5hc2hLanJwNnc6MA The questionnaire is an attempt to make a survey on the “Cross culture attitudes http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2010/04/online-questionnaire.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-7425199225938240421Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:34:00 +00002010-01-22T21:49:01.894+09:00micro-financebookI had a fruitful time reading Prof. Mohammed Yunus's autobiography: “Banker to the Poor”. For those who don't know the author, he is professor of economics from Bangladesh. He received Peace Nobel Prize in 2006 for he introduced a powerful economic tool, namely micro-credit, to help the poor. Here, how the story started: In the 70th, Bangladesh was ravaged by famine. In those difficult years,http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2010/01/banker-to-poor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-8482431252944907402Thu, 07 Jan 2010 05:48:00 +00002010-01-07T14:52:04.213+09:00Student's lifeIf you or any of your friends want to attend an interesting international CS conference, here, there is a little bit of assistance that might make a difference: The ACM has some scholarship money to send women CS students to conferences.  They hand out 20 scholarships to female CS students, each is up to $500. Please, visit http://women.acm.org/scholarships.html for more details about http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2010/01/scholarships-for-female-students-in-cs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-6612757696810299490Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:27:00 +00002010-01-05T22:30:17.623+09:00postcrossingI love to travel and see the world, but I have neither enough money nor enough free time to do so much of that! Instead, I joined postcrossing.com in 2007 and I am receiving postcards from the big world! Sending and receiving written postcards can be a great way to open up to the world, tearn about different countries and cultures, and make sweet penpals :). During new year holidays, I http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2010/01/postcrossing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530746610419940.post-1159607181324820874Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:15:00 +00002009-12-19T21:26:53.985+09:00ArabicbookI grow up reading novels and texts by prominent Egyptian writers and thinkers such as Taha Hussein, Nawal Sadawy, Kacem Amine, Tawfiq Al Hakim, Najib Mahfouz, and many others. I borrowed these books from my father’s collection. Sometimes, I envy my father’s generation that was captivated by illuminating Arabic writers. But… maybe there is a new light of hope with the Egyptian writer Alaa Al http://dreamsandstruggles.blogspot.com/2009/12/novels-in-arabic-by-alaa-al-aswani.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Fadoua)2en-usnonadult