Welcome / Bienvenue / Hosgeldiniz

Assalamu alaykom, Hi, Bonjour, Merhaba, and everything else in between. Welcome to our blog about the multlingual and cutlural adventures that our family experiences while living in Paris, France.

I am an American ; my husband is Turkish ; although we do not speak each other’s languages, our common language is French. My husband (Y) speaks three mother tongues : Turkish, Kurdish, and Zaza. We are also a Muslim family striving towards learning Islamic Arabic and as non-native speakers, the pronunciation is often difficult, but we are up to the challenge. So, we are on the track to learn six languages.

We have two kids : F (girl, 3) and Z (boy, 2).

We homeschool (école à la maison or instruction en famille) and we enjoy exploring and discovering at home and our world around us.

I am always asked why I homeschool instead of sending my oldest to French preschool (maternelle), so here are my top 5 reasons :

1. Islamic responsability – as Muslim parents, it is our responsability to show, encourage and teach our kids how to become responsable Muslims and adults

Homeschool Mission Statement :

We begin with Bismillah (In the Name of God), Responsable for our children’s education, we will strive to love, teach, correct, and encourage our children on a daily basis in a clear and simple manner to become pious, wise Muslims who will strive to uphold Islamic values and have a strong relationship with God.

We also believe that learning pariculary fro the Quran and SUnnah will encrouage a lifelong adventure of seeking knowledge. We believe in facing each day with minds open to knowledge and hearts open to love. We believe in the freedom to wonder, to ask, to explore, to imagine, to create.

We believe that every one of us has special talents and that the talents of each of us help all of us. We belive that success means doing our best, being our best and feeling proud of our effort.

2. Overcrowding in maternelle – we live in an area where there are 3 maternelle (preschools) and two primary schools all right next to each other and still there are not teachers and place available for all the kids ! Plus, islamic school is rather expensive too.

3. Multi-languages – Since we are currently learning four languages – English, French, Turkish, and Arabic – I have decided that it is best at the moment to learn in an at-home setting, and switch between the languages (for example every two weeks we will have class in either English or French – I’ll write more about this later)

4. Hands-on discovery and learning through play, games, and exploration based on the child’s interests

5. Enjoyable – I’ve always wanted to be a teacher and I am very happy to be my kids first teacher. I’ve found it very enjoyable so far to see all my hardwork pay off (the benefits outweigh the time planning, prepping and presenting)

Now your turn :

• Introduce yourself, how many languages do you speak or would like to learn?
• What adventures would you like to hear about ?
• If you homeschool, what are you reasons for homeschooling ?

Ramadan Mubarak

Today marks the beginning of Ramadan and it will end inshaAllah (God-willing) July 5. The fast starts at 4:24 am and ends 9:55ish pm.

You may or may not know that I am a revert ( convert) to Islam since around July 2011,  my husband is Muslim and is from Turkey, since people always ask I'll just go ahead and clarify that he did not have an influence on my decision to convert,  inshaAllah I will post a story about my conversion at a later date.

Today, I am going to share what Ramadan is, some of the reasons Muslims fast, and a few tips on how you can participate or help Muslims in your area.

Ramadan is one of the five pillars which a Muslim must adhere to. Ramadan takes place every year in the Islamic month of Ramadan, it's date changes every year but it is usually 11 to 12 days earlier than the previous year. Fasting or sawm, the Arabic word for it, means no food or drink, smoking or abstinence from sunrise to sunset ; it is obligatory for every person from puberty and beyond exept those who are sick, pregnant / breastfeeding or on a journey. Young children are invited to participate a few hours, half a day or all day if they would like, but it is not obligatory for them.

Ramadan is also a time to fast from yelling, getting angry, fighting, staying away from negative energy and actions. It is a time for spiritual renewal and a time to reconnect with God through various actions such as reading the whole Quran, seeking His forgiveness, constantly supplicating and praying to Him, and giving zakat ( charity or donation, another pillar of Islam) to the poor.

This year, I will be unable to fast because I am still breastfeeding my son, Z, but I have a list of goals I hope to accomplish such as reading and listening to the Quran on a daily basis, reflecting on different subjects of Islam, reading some books as well as spending extra time with my children.

A few tips for you :
- Just as young children sometimes like to be involved or imitate their paretns I encourage you to try to fast for a few hours or half a day.
- make something for the Muslims in your communtiy like a fruit or veggie platter - mosques usually provide 2 meals (suhoor - morning meal and iftar - evening meal)
- host an Iftar halal ( meaning no pork or alcohol and meat slaughtered in the correct way) meal at your house
- donate to an Islamic organization ( Islamic Relief) to help Muslims around the world who are struggling and often do not have enough to break their fast.
- give thoughtful notes or words of encouragement
 - read A Ramadan Guide for Non-Muslims and 8 things I wish Non-Muslims knew about Ramadan 
- or watch this video, some parts come from the Mosque in Paris

Since my daughter, F, is now able to understand a little bit more,  we are going to learn about Ramadan for the next four weeks and have a week dedicated to the Eid. We will be using these books to have a more in-depth, but child friendly way to understanding about Ramadan.

Please do not hesiate to check these books out or comment below if you would like more information or have tips to share with others.

Flood Warning !

I am not sure how many of you have been following the recent events that are happening in France for the past month or so, but it seems to me that France or the French government is digging itself a hole and now it's literally flooding. What I mean by digging a hole is that the country has literally been on strike for the past month and it looks like they won't be stopping anytime soon. Everything you can imagine from air transportation to train/metro transportation to oil refinieries - (gas stations literally had to close last week all over France because there was no gas to sell) to protests in the streets to truck and water transport,  all due to proposed labor laws which will greatly affect most French workers. I will discuss my thoughts on these strikes in a post later this week.

Last year, I shared this picture on Facebook, look at how spring-like it looks in Jardin des Plantes.

Un jour, une photo. Aujourd'hui "Spring in Paris in Jardin des Plantes" par Mickaël Voyphong http://on.fb.me/1h5krYo .

and this is what it looks like this year, it has literally rained every day all day for a week ! 

©Mairie de Paris/JB Gurliat

©Mairie de Paris/JB Gurliat

©Mairie de Paris/JB Gurliat
there is a sign that says "crue" 1910, that is where the flood was in 1910

©Mairie de Paris/JB Gurliat
 

As you can see Paris, is literally almost under water !

And actually, I thought that the flooding was only in certain suburbs of the city but then someone told me today that the schools in the neighborhood next to mine were closed due to flodding since Wednesday.  I read today that the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay were closing doors because they needed to get their valuable pieces out of the basement before flooding destroyed them. Even certain RER trains have to close due to the flood and it's making it even more difficult to get around because the SNCF (the train company in charge of most of these trains) has decided to go on strike indefinetly due to the proposed labour law and the upcoming European Soccer Cup.

So, if your a tourist or an expat like us, you're screwed, you literally have to stay put. At my house, we've been having fun making lines with tape on the floor and doing different activities or preparing different treats for the upcoming Ramadan season.

If you are planning a trip to Paris soon, the weather forecast says to expect more rain, so, don't forget your umbrella and rain coat.

Starting back up or not

I've been debating back and forth with myself if I was going to keep blogging about my family and mine's adventures in France or if I was just going to stop posting.

I have decided to start back up again with God-willing a few posts a week, I can't guarantee it but I'm going to try my best. It's been awhile since I last wrote, November 2014, to be precise, and a lot of good things (we will try to avoid thinking about the negative things) have happened since then, therefore lots of posts to be written.

Future blog posts will include :
- our multi-lingual family adventure of homeschooling preschool and "tot" school for Fatima and Zekeriya (we welcomed a baby boy in February 2015)

- a glimpse into our daily routine (cooking, cleaning, crafts, sewing, time management, 2 children under 2 etc)

 - how the French deal with certain issues (you know the French way of doing things, which are often backwards and annoying from the rest of the world),

- reflections on the world around us

pine cone flowers

Z playing in puddles

F learning the alphabet

Chocolate Funfetti Cupcakes

Hope you will join in on our adventures !

Put on Hold

Once again I have not wrote on my blog for over three months :( !!The blog hasn't been forgotten just put on hold for awhile. I have lots of things going on right now, but I do hope to write about these things soon.

These include :

• I am currently teaching ESL lessons to 3-14 years old at a local mosque every Wednesday. So the preparation for these classes takes up time.
• Expecting baby number 2 again in February 2015, so being pregnant and having a 1year old running around all the time doesn't give me a whole lot of free time!
• Still working as a music manager for two groups, this as well takes up a lot of time
• Striving to be a better Muslim through studying different subjects and teaching others
• Plus the usual household responsibilities and endless errands and the what seems like weekly appointments

I hope to get back on track soon and find time to sit and write about my experiences, adventures, successes, failures and ideas!