An Arab Expats life in Canada with Adam Wa Mishmish

By Mai Saleh

In my first years as an expat, before having my children, Zakaria and Sami, I used to be like many others who spoke mainly Arabic with many English words scattered in the middle of my sentences, using many English phrases. This was never worrying, as most of my generation had a strong hold in both English and Arabic equally. Some of these reasons were that we spoke to our parents in our mother tongue, and our curriculum in school was strong in teaching both English and Arabic.

While meeting Arabic expats in Canada, I noticed close and beautiful friendships that were built within this Arabic community, and I also saw cooperation, generosity, wanting the best for others and so much more. Unfortunately, however, I also noticed something else; an aversity to many Arab expats to speaking Arabic, even though they speak and understand it when they talk to their parents.

I promised myself that I would do my best not to fall into the same trap or make the same mistakes that many of the people I met had made. I was adamant on making my eldest son fluent in the Arabic language. I thought of solutions, keeping in mind that the Arabic language has a reputation for being difficult. It’s known to be taught in a very traditional, monotonous way that causes boredom, especially when compared to how the English language is taught; in a fun way that attracts young children. I started my journey in searching for a fun Arabic teaching tool, like songs, books, stories, cartoons, animations and toys.

I also used to think, as many of you do, that Arabic books were weak, and the artwork and subjects were unattractive and boring. I was wrong. I found so many special Arabic publishing house and wonderful writers and artists, and I was able to make my son Zakaria love Arabic stories. I was even encouraged to write my first children’s book called; “I am Arab”. A lot of high quality Arabic educational toys also began to appear.

It was much more difficult, however, to find songs and cartoons that were of the quality I wanted. The only high quality, original content I found was “iftah Ya Simsim” and “Siraj”, everything else was translated. While both these options are great, after a while, I felt like I needed more variety and to add more options to my list. I tried very hard to find songs for kids through the internet, but I only found old, aged, albeit beautiful songs that were not appropriate to our children’s taste and nature. One day, I received a message from one of my acquaintance through Instagram, the owner of a project called “Little Bulbul”. She sent me a song called “My Family” by Adam Wa mishmish. I remember this message to this day, and I am very thankful to Little Bulbul for introducing them to me. I won’t hide that I blamed myself for not finding their songs before! Especially since they were from Jordan, like me.

Since then, I began a wonderful new journey teaching Zakaria and then Sami the Arabic language.

Let’s start with Adam Wa Mishmish’s creative melodies. Sometimes, I listen to their songs and only focus on their melodies, which in my opinion are extremely smart, varied, modern and attract young children. As for the lyrics and topics, I found what I wanted, and more. The words are simple, yet deep and have basic vocabulary that every Arab child needs to learn. Their songs sometimes touch upon topics I haven’t even thought of before. The sounds are calm and beautiful and sometimes funny and fun for kids. The monster sounds for example in the “Monsters’” song. And finally, the illustrations and direction are innovative and simple enough to keep the attention of children, instead of distracting them unnecessarily. Adam Wa Mishmish is an all-round balanced and complete project. Every time they release a song, I think, they can’t outdo themselves, yet, they exceed expectations every time.

My measure of success is through my children. They anticipate new songs and get excited when I tell them there’s a new episode. Or, when I drive my car and I listen to my kids as they insist on listening to their songs. Or, when my son, Zakaria returns form school after learning a Solar system song in English, singing it to me, and then singing the Adam Wa Mishmish “Solar System” song in Arabic without me asking him to. Or, when my son Sami runs to a room quickly when he hears the Adam Wa Mishmish theme song as he shakes his body and dances, laughing. Or, when we walk and Zakaria starts to count houses with the tune of the “Numbers” song. Or, when we see a sheep and Sami says, “Baa, Moo, Neeeh” just like the “Animal Sounds” song. Or, when I start preparing food alone, and sing, “I am the Arab Child”. Or when I brush my teeth before I go to bed, and start humming the melody to the “Hygiene” song, and many more examples…

That’s when I started to tell everyone about Adam Wa Mishmish, whether they were in Canada or Jordan, and I am so happy when I see their audience increase over time. The best thing about their team, is how they treat their followers and accept new ideas and work on them and do live performances on their social media channels. The ease of dealing with them encourages people to engage with the project even more.

In the end, insisting and continuing to speak in the Arabic language are two of the most important things for us teach our children Arabic as expats. In all honestly, Adam Wa Mishmish has a very prominent role in making my kids speak Arabic, fluently. I am sure that there are many like me, who have succeeded in teaching their children Arabic. I thank you from all of my heart and beg you not to keep us away from your songs. Yalla! We want a new song please! haha