🇵🇸🇫🇷 This episode’s guest is Momin, he is Palestinian and found asylum in France, 4 years ago. With Momin, we talked about:  The role of the country’s locals when integrating a new cultureThe commitment it takes to become native speaker of a completely new languageSeeing culture as an evolving mosaic, and continuously adopting new elements along the wayBuilding a home where you are with what you have Happy blending!🥣 . . . The Big Blend’s website: https://www.thebigblend.co/    The Big...

🇯🇵🇫🇷🇰🇷🇬🇧 This month’s guest on The Big Blend is Yoshito, a French and Japanese dad, who works a lot on transmitting literacy. With Yoshito, we talked about:  Lack of literacy creating a gap between a person and their cultureBeing at peace with all our cultures and understanding what we want from themThe importance of relevance and play in transmissionThe parental posture when teaching a heritage cultureA few home-made game ideas to transmit literacy Happy blending!🥣 . . . Yoshito's...

🇺🇸🇫🇷🇱🇧 This episode’s guest is Diane, an expert in the subjects of intercultural language and identity. With Diane, we talked about:  The works of Pierre Bourdieu, Carl Gustav Jung and many othersThe intimate link between language, culture and identityCulture negotiation and “translanguaging”The importance of surrounding ourselves with our cultural references to feel completeThe invisible grief that comes with losing your culture Creating an imaginary homeland through languageCountry policies...

🇯🇵🇹🇷🇰🇷🇫🇷... This episode’s guests are Emily and Aude, two sisters who grew up as expats, relocating every 2 to 3 years with their family.   With them, we talked about: The impact multiple moves can have on individuals in a familyThe meaning of friendship when you move around a lotThe importance of involving the kids in the decision-making process of movingThe balance between solid anchors and rich multiculturalityThe importance of a sister bond as a reassuring stability  Happy...

🇮🇪🇩🇪🇮🇳 This episode’s guest is Sindy Brücher Sharma, a mom whose kids are now fluent in three languages: German, Hindi and English.   With Sindy, we talked about: The importance of a childhood home and what happens when it’s soldThe OPOL strategy - one parent one language - and the dedication it takesThe energy it requires to give three cultures equal importance in the homeThe challenge of continuously searching for content to enrich the vocabulary of your childGrandparents’ views on the...

🇳🇬🇺🇸🇱🇷 This episode’s guest is Ruth E. Van Reken, a pioneer in the subjects of moving around and navigating cultures.    With Ruth, we talked about: Taking the time to grieve when transitioning and accompanying a child through lossDeveloping portable traditions to create a solid family culture and reinforce attachmentNormalizing multiculturality and shifting the paradigmFocusing on where we are alike to celebrate the differences Happy blending! . . . Ruth's website:...

🇸🇦🇱🇧🇨🇦 This episode’s guest is Dima Adra, the writer of Mama Ghannnouj a cookbook that is all about the transmission of recipes and culture.   With Dima, we talked about: Transmitting cultural tastes to your kidsKeeping our cultures’ recipes alive and maintaining the feeling of home they procureGetting started and cooking your home recipes, including the ones that seem complex to reproduce abroadBeing so immersed in a country’s community that it feels like home without having been in the...

🇨🇱🇬🇧🇩🇪🇫🇷 This episode’s guest is Max Wolke, his family is English, German, Chilean, and French. With Max, we talked about: Dialing up or down different cultures depending on the situationFilling in the blanks of family history with timeDeveloping an interest in Politics and opinions thanks to cultural exposure Having family rituals that bring you closer to cultureFriends and colleagues’ cultures rubbing off on youValuing and respecting traditional mono-cultures Happy blending! . . . The Big...

🇦🇺🇫🇷🇩🇪 This episode’s guests are Anna and Tanja, one is Australian and the other one is French. They have a little boy together and they live in Berlin.    With Anna and Tanja we talked about: Building a non-conventional and multicultural familyChoosing a biological donor and defining his role in transmissionThe difficulty to transmit citizenship when you didn’t carry the childCreating a precedent and actually changing the lawThe burden of knowing that our decisions will shape our kid’s...

🇵🇸🇱🇧🇨🇦🇯🇴 This episode’s guest is Marwan, a Palestinian-Lebanese activist and a super dad. With Marwan, we talked about: Feeling Palestinian-Lebanese but having neither passportsTransmitting culture through activismEducating kids about the state of the world & giving them the knowledge to navigate through their multiple culturesManaging different religious beliefs in the home Happy blending! . . . The Big Blend’s website: https://www.thebigblend.co/  The Big Blend’s instagram page:...

🇳🇱🇮🇹🇩🇪🇨🇭This episode’s guest is Ute Limacher Riebold, a language expert, and a multilingual mom herself. With Ute, we talked about: Foreground languages and background languagesGamifying the navigation between languages while preserving monolingual situationsIncluding the kids in the discussions and decisionsSwitching from being “neither, nor” to being “not only, but also” Happy blending!  . . . You can find Ute’s courses and info on her website: https://utesinternationallounge.com/  The Big...

🇪🇸🇬🇧🇫🇷 This episode’s guest is Robin Molinas, he grew up in London with a Spanish dad and a French mom. With Robin, we talked about: Brothers with a similar education developing different attachments to the culturesSpeaking the language vs. having the referencesNot belonging fully to any of the culturesConnecting as human beings through rituals Happy blending! . . . The Big Blend’s website: https://www.thebigblend.co/  The Big Blend’s instagram page:...

🇮🇳🇫🇷 This episode's guest is Leena Radjibaly, a French with very strong Indian origins, today living in Bangalore. With Leena, we talked about:  The gap between the at-home-culture and the outside-of-home-cultureSurrounding yourself with other multicultural peopleTelling your whole story, even if it is complicatedFinding the balance between the two cultures Happy blending!  The Big Blend’s website: https://www.thebigblend.co/  The Big Blend’s instagram page:...

🇱🇧🇫🇷 This episode’s guests are Cynthia Kasparian and Dior Sawaya, two Lebanese moms who have decided to transmit their mother tongue, in a foreign country. With Cynthia and Dior, we talked about: The commitment it takes to speak your mother tongue in a different country Nurturing the imagination in the language, and developing a vocabulary around feelingsPassing down traditions and celebrationsThe complexity of the Arab language and hence, it's transmission Happy blending!  . . . Haref,...

In this episode I tell you all about the genesis of the podcast and the purpose behind it. So make yourself a good cup of blended coffee, (or blended cocktail, depending on the time it is on your side of the world) and come discover the story behind the big blend! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.