The perks of having separated parents

 To state the obvious, having separated parents is a really complicated situation, but sometimes it's the best one. Why? Simply because it's better to have separated parents than to see them fighting all the time. Even if sometimes the split between your parents remains a trauma, there are some good things coming with this change. Here is a list of these things:

- more gifts at Christmas:

that point is for the families which celebrate Christmas, so if you don't do that party, there are maybe other parties/ traditions where people exchange gifts in your family. Anyway, when you have separated parents, it means you celebrate christmas twice, and if the parents of your parents are separated, you can celebrate christmas 3 or 4 times a year (that's my case). It also means you can not rest during christmas holidays but honestly, who rest during christmas holidays, or holidays in general ?

-  the ability to know two different universes:

I could have said worlds but no, we're literally talking about universes. If your parents choose to separate, it's for a good reason. So if you end up being in the middle of your separated parents, it means they don't agree anymore on their way of life, which also means that you're going to discover new things. For example,your parents are going to have totally different friends (I'm talking about my experience so don't blame me if it's not your case) which will allow you to discover new habits, new cultures, new food, etc... To sum it up, if you have separated parents, you have two different ways of life, which leads us to the third point, which is....

- being very adaptable:

As I presviously explained, having two houses means having two ways of life. Trust me, this will be a significant asset for many other situations in your life. It means you will not be shocked when a friend present you his family and they don't work like yours at all, it means a move will not disturb you to much, it means your capacity to make big changes in your life may improve...

- spending time alone with one of your parents:

As a child of separated parents, I can tell you it's a very good thing if you can spend time with only one of your parents. It means you can tell them something you wouldn't have said with your other parent. It's also a good opportunity to do things that the other parent wouldn't have liked to do or to discuss stuff that the other parent wouldn't have discussed. Roughly speaking, it gives you more freedom on this point.

- 5th and last point: being an expert of transportations:

Buses, trains, car, plains, car sharing...public and private transportations are no longer a secret for you. If they live in 2 different cities, your parents were first transporting you by car. Then, you started to take the bus or the train. It's precious time that you can use to do your homeworks (lol)  or different things like reading, listening music, etc.. Knowing public transportations also means you're able to pack your stuff for a weekend in five minutes, ten minutes for a week of holidays, and 30 mins for a month of summer break in average, which will be useful for other trips.

To conclude I'd say that no matter how much you suffered during the separation of your parents, it contributed to build the person you are now and that's good because it makes you unique. Don't hesitate to share your experience in the comments section : ) Eva

MY FAVORITE 90's FILMS!!!!

                                               90's FILMS

     

         

Hi there ! So this is my first blog article and I'm so excited to post more blog articles in the future , so my topic is about the 90 's films , I'm very fond of them and you will see why because I'm pretty sure you know them but there's one thing , I'm truely sorry If I didn't mention films that are for you worth mentionning , I didn't watch all the 90's films so I would be pleased if you could recommend me some films that you fond of  found intreseting ;)

Firstly , the movie that watched over and over again when I was little is of course" home alone 1 "it's the story of the McCallisters rushing to the airport to have the christmas in paris but when they get on the plane , Peter and Kate , kevin's parents realize that they  forgot him , he's only eight years old and have the house for himself alone , first he panicks then enjoys the fact that he has a big beautiful house to himself . It's a must-see sweet and funny film and I loved it because it has a christmas vibe to it , it's very cosy and you just feel happy watching it .

      

                

then there's Pulp Fiction , an amazing film with John Travolta , Samuel L .Jackson , Bruce Willis  and Huma Thurman .It's about two hit men who try to retrieve a stolen suitcase from their employer , A paid boxer to lose his fight etc , It's about  unexpected and unrelated people that form comedy events and some horrific consequences . IT's very special but you'll realize how great it is when you see it .

The last one is " You've got mail " with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan , It's a funny love story about the owner of a big bookstore putting out the local small bookstore that happens to be the women that he was emailing , they both don't know in real life who is the person that they're emailing and the way you found out is so emotional , I cried watching it hahaha , It's such a touching and funny film and you can really see the beauty of New York showed in it  .

                      

I hope you enjoyed reading my article , tell me about films that you think are intresting , I will be publishing some articles often so I hope I will get a better writing , see you next time ;) 

Christmas

Hey Charlie!
I hope you spent a wonderful Christmas and that Santa was nice to you. I hope you enjoyed every inch of this party which echoes to so many people love, snow, a warm fire and above all: family. Appreciate every minute you spend with them and enjoy the rest of this year!

Bye Charlie,
Lisa

Hacksaw Ridge

Hi Charlie,

I am writing this article to tell you about a great movie that I just saw a couple weeks ago at the movies. It's called "Hacksaw Ridge" or "Tu ne tueras point" in French. It's a drama film about history by the director Mel Gibson. This story is fascinating because it talks about a true story, the story of Desmond T. Doss during the second world war.
Desmond Doss's father was a former soldier and when he returned from war he had become a violent alcoholic and would beat his wife. Desmond could no longer support his father's attitude towards his mother, so one night when his parents were fighting, he got up and found his dad with a gun in hand aiming his mother. Desmond took the gun and pointed it on his father. He was determined to shoot but his mother dissuaded him from doing so because they were christian and as the old testament said, "Thou shalt not kill". From then on Desmond said that he would no longer touch a firearm.
A couple years later, Desmond fell in love with a nurse named Dorothy Schutte, and they chose to get married. However, Desmond Doss wanted to fight for his country like all the other young men, but unlike the others he refused to carry or use any firearm and refused to work on Saturdays because of his religion. He wanted to serve as a combat medic. During his training people would bully him because they said he was a coward. Even though he had become an outcast he did not give up. Even the captains wanted him out because they thought he was useless and they couldn't take with them to battle a conscientious objector. With his hard work and with the help of his father he was allowed to go to the front.
The scenes in the battle front are very tense and you realize how horrible it was there. Desmond did his job all the way and saved as many people as he could. He even stayed when everyone of his team had left. Without killing anyone he saved 75 wounded people from the battle field. After his service he received the Medal of Honor for bravery. He is a true HERO.

Here is the link to the trailer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BqgHYLvHIE

You have to watch it. Honestly it's probably my favorite movie.

Merry Christmas !

Armenian Cross,
also known as the
Khachkar Cross or
Siroun Cross

Dear Charlie,

I wish you a Merry Christmas!

No, it is not late: today is the day we celebrate Christmas in Armenia! Since half of my family is Armenian (most Armenians follow Christianity, but Armenia has its own church: The Armenian Apostolic Church - Armenia became the first country to establish Christianity as its state religion when the king of Armenia converted to Christianity around 301 AD. Before this, the dominant religion was Zoroastrianism... Alright, I am not going to do a history lesson on Armenia, if you want to know what that is you can go to the BBC website:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/zoroastrian/ - ) and the other half is either Christian or Atheist, I get to celebrate Christmas twice a year! But don't be fooled, this does not mean twice as much of presents -sadly-

"Armenian Christmas," is a culmination of celebrations of events related to Christ's Incarnation. Theophany or Epiphany (Astvadz-a-haytnootyoon in Armenian) means "revelation of God," which is the central theme of the Christmas Season in the Armenian Church. During the "Armenian Christmas" season, the major events that are celebrated are the Nativity of Christ in Bethlehem and His Baptism in the River Jordan. The day of this major feast in the Armenian Church is January 6th. A ceremony called “Blessing of Water” is conducted in the Armenian Church to commemorate Christ’s Baptism.

It is frequently asked as to why Armenians do not celebrate Christmas on December 25th with the rest of the world. Obviously, the exact date of Christ's birth has not been historically established—it is neither recorded in the Gospels. However, historically, all Christian churches celebrated Christ's birth on January 6th until the fourth century. According to Roman Catholic sources, the date was changed from January 6th to December 25th in order to override a pagan feast dedicated to the birth of the Sun which was celebrated on December 25th. At the time Christians used to continue their observance of these pagan festivities. In order to undermine and subdue this pagan practice, the church hierarchy designated December 25th as the official date of Christmas and January 6th as the feast of Epiphany. However, Armenia was not effected by this change for the simple fact that there were no such pagan practices in Armenia, on that date, and the fact that the Armenian Church was not a satellite of the Roman Church. Thus, remaining faithful to the traditions of their forefathers, Armenians have continued to celebrate Christmas on January 6th until today.

I personally am an agnostic atheist (I don't believe in any gods and I don't claim to know for sure that no gods can or do exist), but still I do like Christmas as it is a great occasion to bond with your family and get some presents... Of course haters are going to say that Christmas is not what it used to be, now it is just another capitalist-holiday... well I won't say it is not true but still, I really like Christmas season !

I mean, who does not like being wrapped up in a blanket in front of his TV with hot chocolate or --insert whatever food you love-- , binge-watching The Nightmare Before Christmas, Home Alone, How The Grinch Stole Christmas and --insert your favorite movie of all time-- ... and seeing the snow falling down outside? Also eating tons of food.. have you ever eaten Armenian food? I can tell you it is excellent, wonderful, so tasty and full of colors!! You have to try it !)

Anyway, even if you hate Christmas or if you don't celebrate it, I still wish you a Merry Christmas!

C. 

Post card

Heeeeey Charlie, 

It has been a while since we last spoke!

As far as I know, you are a website, so I will not ask you how it is going. But I, as a human being, am going well. Not excited at all about going back to school, but that's not the point. 

Now that holidays are almost over, I can proudly say I have succeeded in having a great summer, even if I didn't move much. 

For the first time since 2010, I decided to take it easy and to stay home. Oh, I have to admit it was quite hard at first, because I was used to do all that school work and sleep less than 24 hours in a week, but I quickly got to enjoy my new rhythm and became a sort of lazy-fat-cat-with-no-friend-but-food. It was marvellous. 

Thomas being very energic.

Then, in July, I started to hang out with my friends. They had their “Bac” to pass, but as soon as it was over we had all our time to party and do teenager things.

On the 14^th of July we spent our national day at my place, it was a great evening. After that, my mom left for one week, so I was all on my own. I invited my best friend to come over, and we finally didn’t leave each other until the end of the summer. It was awesome, this feeling of independence, full-autonomy and freedom, but also to finally get to discover what a true friendship and collocation is.

After that, in August, I went to my father’s in Marseille. I hadn’t put one foot in town that Paul and Justine were texting me to come over. I was so glad to spend time with them again, in that big city, like if we were back at school. I don’t know how much money I spent in drinks this summer, but it was certainly a huge amount.

We went, my father and I, near Montpellier for a few days, with my little brother and his father. I did karting for the first time of my life, which was really scary at first, but I appeared to be a really good driver and won the race in the end. After that, we went to Arthur H and David Walters show in the Cirque de Mourèze. I didn’t know those artists, but I knew Arthur H’s sister, Izia, whom is really talented, and now I can say it might be genetic because it was really good.  

On the 14^th of August, Justine and I started our voluntary work at the Positiv Festival. The event had an incredible line-up and it was a real chance to be there before everyone, work with the staff and build the whole place. We met wonderful people, lived great shows and had a lot of fun. At the end of the concerts, we got to sleep in stages; I slept in Flume’s and Justine slept in Jabberwocky’s. We didn't have much sleep even if the staff woke us up at noon to help them a few last hours. Then we came back home, where I slept, this time, almost 24hours.

The last thing I did this summer was a family trip in Canet en Roussillon, near Perpignan. I don’t get to see my family a lot, so I’ve learnt to enjoy those moments. We quickly went to Spain, bought lots of food and then came back to our home sweet home.

And that’s it, we’re now a few days apart from school and I don’t really feel the urge to go back to work. 

But I guess it’s not a choice.

See you soon then.