Now that we’ve passed the full moon halfway mark of Ramadan, I thought I’d let you know how we’ve been faring. I also feel a little guilty about all the good Muslims who’ve landed on my previous Ramadan post via google, searching for advice on when is the last time to eat in Ramadan, whether or not shaving is allowed, how to pass the time until sunset, etc. I’m afraid I answered none of those questions, and provided no helpful advice at all for those who were preparing for Ramadan in a religious sense. I still don’t know about the shaving, and I haven’t personally heard the drum that they supposedly go around beating in the wee hours of the morning to remind people to eat for the last time before sunrise.… Read more
Author: Sarah Bringhurst Familia
Mormons Abroad
One of the things Mormons love to say when they travel (whether it’s across the ocean or just to the next town over) is that they’re so thankful that “the Church is the same no matter where you go.” And to a certain extent, it’s true. We all sing the same hymns, although every ward congregation seems to have its particular favorites. We all read the same scriptures. Sunday meetings follow the same general format, with everyone meeting together first, then separating into adults and children, and then further separating the adults by gender and the children by age. Sunday School lesson manuals are standardized and translated into over a hundred languages, and on any given Sunday the whole worldwide Church is studying the same lesson, give or take a week or two depending on how organized the Sunday School teacher happens to be.… Read more
How Much is that Doggie in the Window?
We are not a family in need of a dog. Yes, it’s true that we’ve always kind of wanted one, but we are certainly not at the point of going out and buying a puppy. In fact, we exercised remarkable restraint a few months ago when the half wild dogs on the beach had six cute little roly-poly puppies, and Rambo kept asking us if we wanted one.
Yesterday, though, as we were heading off for our morning time at the beach, we walked out our front gate to so much yelping I thought there must be a dog fight. It turned out to be just one dog, and not a very big one, at that.… Read more
Teaching Math to Children
Sometimes I get so upset about all the problems in the world that I just want to write an endless stream of depressing rants. It’s nice to focus on the positive sometimes too, though. And homeschooling is usually positive for us. Learning happens in the least expected places, and my children are always surprising me. They seem to breathe in knowledge like air. I guess I should have expected it, but children begin as such an extension of oneself that it is a startling delight to see that they’ve developed their own unique ways of looking at the world.
I think four-year-old Dominique expressed it best a few weeks ago when he informed Tony, “I know a lot of things; and not all of them are from you.”… Read more
Institutionalized Sadism
The Assad regime specializes in torture. After every demonstration, security forces round up hundreds of protesters, suspects, and random passers-by. In some areas, they go from house to house, dragging out every young man they find. Once detained, these people can look forward to savage beatings, restraint in stress positions, filth, humiliation, rape, mutilation, or worse. Although they brave bullets every time they go out on the streets to protest, many are more afraid of being detained than shot.
And the reach of the Syrian government is long. Those the regime cannot get at directly, it targets indirectly via threats or actual violence against friends and family in Syria.… Read more
My Favorite Misquotations
Just a few days ago as I was writing a certain post on this blog, I thought of a really good quote I wanted to include. It’s the famous one where the French historian Alexis de Toqueville describes his visit to the United States in search of the true source of “her greatness and genius.” He concludes famously:
“America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.”
The whole gamut of American politicians, from Reagan to Clinton, have loved this quote and embellished their speeches with it. It seems to strike a special chord with us as Americans, because it embodies one of our deepest held beliefs about the foundations and strength of our country.… Read more
Tuga Sunsuits Review
Now that Axa and Dominique have been using their new swimsuits (aka homeschool uniforms) for nearly four months, I thought it might be time to give you a real review.
As I’d hoped, these swimsuits turned out to be pretty great. They claim to be SPF 50, and I can confirm that after four months in the Tunisian sun, my little white boy is as white as ever, although he has a nice tan below the knee, where the swimsuit doesn’t cover. The fabric seems to be good quality. After a couple of hours in salt water every day this summer, the suits are as bright and stretchy as ever.… Read more
Liberty and Justice for All
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Thirty-six short words, but what an idea! As Americans, I think all of us have our special reasons for not taking those words for granted. Some serve in the armed forces, defending those very liberties. Others are first-generation immigrants from countries where such civil liberties do not exist. Here is one of my reasons:
Last night I woke myself in the night, weeping for a man I’d never met.… Read more
My Son, the Inventor
On one of my bad days a few months ago, I was reading an article about the benefits to children of living overseas (you know, just to help me feel better about traumatizing them by dragging them around the world). It mentioned a study in which children who had spent significant time in a country not their own demonstrated more creative problem solving skills. I believe it. Constant exposure to alien ways of thinking, unfamiliar expectations, and situations out of your comfort zone does tend to kick the problem solving machine into high gear. I’ve experienced this myself. For instance, since I’m the designated family chef/epicure, I’ve taught myself things like how to cook with local ingredients, and get by with severely limited kitchen utensils.… Read more
Getting Ready for Ramadan
This will be our first Ramadan in the Middle East. For those who don’t know, Ramadan is the month of fasting in Islam, and begins on August 1st this year. I have mixed feelings about spending Ramadan here. On the one hand, it will be interesting to get a closer look at one of the five pillars of the Muslim faith. As a Mormon, I fast for one Sunday each month. Almost every month as I am preparing to break my fast, I think of my Muslim friends and acquaintances, and how impressed I am that they fast every single day for an entire month (and this month it’s the month of August too!).… Read more