City of Romance

Hi

Paris, here I come!!

The city of love will play host to the greatest lover of all time towards the end of September inshaAllah. Yes, yours truly. Another work-related opportunity to travel out to the EU and this time I will be going to Paris. And, no, I'm not talking about Paris, Illinois, alright? Paris as in Paris, France. Eifel Tower. The Davinci Code (haha -- the Louvre). Mona Lisa. Disneyland Paris, French women. French fries. Etc...

You can expect to see Google Videos of me in Paris towards the beginning of October. Please try not to hold your breath. But, as a forewarning, the adventures in France will be very, very PG and halal. Why? Two reasons:

1) Ramadhan starts (inshaAllah) around the 23rd of September.

2) My mom really, really, really, really, really wants me to take her. In fact so much so that she's like, "Even if you somehow get married before then, I don't care. You're still taking me!" LOL. Silly goose... ;)

So, as I write this blog, I'm looking up fares for my mom. The very least I could do for my momz is take her someplace nice inshaAllah. That'd be fricken phenomenal, so I hope it'll work out inshaAllah. My plan would be to enjoy France for a couple/few days and then fly to London where we could spend a couple days with family inshaAllah.

Shoot! Just realized something. If I go to Paris and London in about 1.5 months, I will have to get into the shape of my life! If not for the sake of Paris, then at least for London where two of my mom's sisters will surely "line up" the larkees for me! British chick with the accent? HOT! Frick, man. As if ISNA weekend (in just less than a month) wasn't motivation enough!

Note: This is not to say that I need to get into shape, just that I...umm...should get into better shape than what I currently am in now, alright?!

Oh, so regarding point 1 above about the entire Ramadhan thingy: So immediately after realizing that I'll be there during Ramadhan, I looked up "mosque in paris" on Google. I came up with the La Grande Mosquee de Paris (The Grand Mosque of Paris). Click on the link; it's quite nice, mashaAllah. Imagine praying taraweeh (aka "tarabee") over there. You never know, right? [And please note how the masjid's website has an article about Zidane!]

I'd be interested to know what the social/political climate over in France is; specifically for Muslims. Through various media sources, I have learned that the French do not necessarily appreciate Muslims/Arabs. In fact, Arabs/Muslims over there seem to be a sort of second (third?) class citizen out there. You yourself may recall reading articles that called for bans on the hijab. One thing is for certain: the French love themselves and still believe that they are one of the great empires out there today. I wonder just how many statues of Napoleon will I see!! But seriously, so I know that there's that negative portrayal of Muslims in France. Upon seeing my Arabic name and me asking, "Donde esta..." Oh wait, that's Spanish...I meant..."Where is La Grande Mosquee de Paris?" will they have a natural inclination to look down at me? Even putting aside my own religious background, will they nonetheless look down at me for being an American? Then again, while staying in Madrid, I came across two Muslims in a masjid and they spoke (a combination of Spanish and English) to me about how the French people (i.e., not the politicians or media) are a very nice people. My hopes is that their perception and experiences will hold true for me, too, inshaAllah.

Moving on...

So there are a few things I should probably keep in mind when I'm there:
A) Don't wear my England jerseys/shirts.
B) Don't discuss the tragic World Cup.
C) If the World Cup is brought up, tell them how much you love France and Zidane.
D) If the World Cup is NOT brought up, tell them how much you love France and Zidane.
E) Hide the US Passport and feign a British accent, making them think you're a tourist from the UK.
F) If somehow it's made known that you're American, tell them how much you hate the USA's cockyness.
G) Question: Anyone know a good French dictionary?
H) Wait a second, I won't need one. I'll just go up to French women and say, "Do you speak English? No? Perfect..."
I) Wait...upon further consideration...it'll be Ramadhan!! Doh! And my mom might be there, too! Okay...totally disregard point H. :(
J) Hey, "Z" [aka Texas larkee, Prince AH's Number One Fan, Imran Blogger Groupie, etc.]: If your friends are really hot (i.e. Farnaz, Jasmine, your sister -- hey, wasn't she supposed to call me by now!, etc.) why don't you get them married to me? But just to one of them, please. Even I have a threshold of patience... Anyway, a honeymoon in Europe, yo! I'll think of an excuse for my mom... ;)

Okay, so in about a couple months I'll be able to fill y'all in about my personal experiences in France, even if it will be short and limited...

As always, stay tuned!

Au revoir!