Conference Weekend, Our Way

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Last Saturday and Sunday were “Conference Weekend” for millions of Mormons around the world. Every April and October, we gather together to listen to counsel from the current Prophet, the Twelve Apostles, and other Church leaders, as well as beautiful music by the world-famous Tabernacle Choir, in what is known as General Conference.

Watching Conference overseas, though, can be a bit of a challenge. My first experience with this was when I was in Syria in 2001. A friend who owned a business offered to let us come sit in his office and watch Conference streaming on the internet. Considering the fact that our only other option would have been spending a fortune to sit for eight hours watching it in an internet cafe with loud music blaring in the background, we took him up on the offer.… Read more

“Repent Harlequin” and the Jelly Beans

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Some professor somewhere must have told his class to read Harlan Ellison’s classic short story, “Repent Harlequin, said the Ticktockman.” Because my blog has gotten quite a few hits lately from people in search of literary analyses of the story. It is true that a few months ago I did a post in which I borrowed the name of the story, which does just happen to be one of my favorite posts ever. Unfortunately, my post has no relation to the actual story, except insofar as the incident related therein was the closest I ever came to being the inimitable Harlequin myself.… Read more

Return of the Pink People

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

The one thing more gloriously beautiful than Tunisia in the winter is Tunisia in the spring. A profusion of flowers covers every field and patch of earth, and cascades down from whitewashed walls. The fragrance of orange blossoms drifts in the light breeze. Today I took a morning walk out on the beach, and could not think of a place in the world I would prefer to be. The Mediterranean sparkled in a thousand touches of sunlight. The sand stretched away in a gold curve, ending at the stone-walled fort of the Medina. And the water lapped my feet like the ripples of a gigantic, placid lake.… Read more

Casteluzzo Academy 2011, Term 1

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

I’ve been meaning to post our curriculum for months, but between one thing and another, we are almost finished with it, and I am just now getting around to posting about it. Better late than never, though!

This was our first term using the Ambleside Online curriculum, since it begins at age 6. And we love it even more than I had anticipated. If you’d like the unadulterated version of the curriculum, you can find it on the official AmblesideOnline.org website. Here is my own version, adapted for us:

History – Our Island Story (H.E. Marshall) is Ambleside’s history spine for the early years.… Read more

Shifting Providence

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

“Fool,” cried the witch. “You will suffer greatly for this when I have conquered your world!”

Tony’s latest read-aloud for the children is The Magician’s Nephew. I’ve read the Chronicles of Narnia countless times, and just like with the Lord of the Rings, whenever I read them, I seem to identify with a different character. This time around, the one who impressed me the most was Jadis. Yes, Jadis, the proud, ruthless queen of mighty Charn, and the future White Witch of Narnia. You might think that the arch-villainess of the series is an odd choice for a heroine, especially given my current obsession with the deposition of dictators.… Read more

Tunisian Food Revisited

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

photo credit

Well, perhaps I was a bit hasty in my first blush assessment of Tunisian food. I think I can partially blame it on moving here directly from Italy. Sudden withdrawal from the consistently elegant simplicity of Italian food is bound to cause some degree of culinary culture shock, no matter which cuisine replaces it. However, during the past month, my perception of Tunisian food has undergone something of a rehabilitation.

First, there’s the fish. The Roman mosaics are full of fish, whether they’re appearing in Neptune’s train or being caught in nets by down-to-earth fisherman in little boats.… Read more

Philippines Travelogue Postscript: Hong Kong

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

I just can’t stop writing about this trip. As promised, here is the exciting final conclusion to our Philippines trip: our layover in Hong Kong. (If you missed any episodes in the Philippines series, you can find them all together here.)

As the vintage double-decker bus wound up the wooded peak, we considered our state of affairs with a mixture of dismay and wild anticipation. We were on our way to the top of Victoria Peak, number one on every list of Hong Kong Island’s numerous attractions. That we had no money to get back down to the airport for our flight home, which left in a mere three hours, had not concerned us much when we boarded the bus.… Read more

Success (and a little embarrassment) at the Turkish Bath

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Photo credit

I’ve only been once to a Turkish bath, or hammam as they are called in Arabic. I don’t know that I’ll ever go again, but it was certainly an experience. The hammam I attended was the Hammam al-Nasri, located in a 14th century building in the charming old city of Aleppo, Syria. I don’t remember every single detail, but there are certain parts that really stick out. After disrobing and putting on a special towel, I was ushered into the steam room, where I was soon surrounded by billowing white clouds, which rendered it impossible to see anything more than a few feet away.… Read more

Am I Guilty of Collaboration with the Regime?

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

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Bashar al-Assad, sometime doctor, now autocratic ruler of Syria, has killed at least 50 people during the past week, and probably far more. In their hearts, I think the Syrian people knew that they would pay a heavy price for freedom. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons it has taken so long for protests to take off there, even though Syria is high on the list of the most repressive governments in the world. Emergency laws, in place for the past fifty years, allow the government to censor, arrest, torture, intimidate, and suspend most constitutional rights. And Syria has a lingering nightmare always in the back of its mind.… Read more

A Trip to Old Carthage

Sarah Bringhurst Familia


After completing our tour of the Bardo Museum, we still had an afternoon left, so we set off to visit the ruins of Carthage. Carthage is, in fact, still inhabited. We go there every Sunday to visit our friends who work at the embassy. It is now a posh suburb of Tunis, resplendent with nice villas and palm trees. But back in the day, it was the domain of Dido (who is called Elissa here, and appears on coins and bills, cell phone commercials, and anywhere else an imperiously beautiful woman is needed). Because the Romans sacked and took possession of the city at the conclusion of the third Punic War, most of the sites now are Roman.… Read more