Firoozeh Dumas

Firoozeh was just seven years old when her family moved from Abadan, Iran, to the Los Angeles, California, suburb of Whittier. Firoozeh could only speak Persian but was a quick study and caught on to English quite easily. She became so fluent that she became her mother's interpreter. Nazireh never totally mastered the language, calling everything from her husband to the kitchen table "it." She also had the uncanny ability to speak English with the use of absolutely no verbs. But she had Firoozeh who people declared to be a genius—they were amazed that the tiny girl was fluent in English and Persian.

Firoozeh had more adjustments to make in the new country than just to language. She had to become accustomed to new holidays celebrated in the country. In Iran they celebrated Nowruz, which was their new year. No one had heard of it...