FRE 124 the course to take

Why do I have the audacity to advice students of all majors to take this class? I have made it, believe me, it's one of the reasons I have enjoyed my degree at Daystar University.

Can anyone imagine that this is an exam? Yeah I thought so, you think I am just bluffing. I am serious, this course has no written exam, just blog posts and you have your grade.

Enough of the trivial matters. Let me explain why I chose this course. I added this course as a filler to complete my hours. I needed to graduate and I had free electives hours to cover. My late addition not withstanding, thanks to Dr. Wandia, the HOD of Languages and Performing Arts at Daystar University. I didn't know of the fun that was in store for me through the semester.

All foodies in the house, can I hear an an amen. This is the course for you. We cooked and sampled cuisine from different Francophone countries. This course even made some of us better cooks. You can just peruse the different articles on this blog written under cuisine, to get a feel of what I am saying.

This is one of the coolest class you will ever find. Can anyone tell me, when was the last time you took a selfie with your lecturer? At FRE 124, we were so free with our lecturer. Dr. Wandia Njoya took the four of us through the course just the same way she would handle a full class.

Yes that was the whole class. Where are the students to take this class? You do not know what you are missing out on.

Any student claiming to have passed through an African University should have some knowledge of African history. This class gave a wealth of knowledge on Negritude, the colonization of francophone Africa and of course Haiti. After every class, I had the desire to read more African history.
https://books.google.co.ke/books/about/The_Wretched_of_the_Earth.html?id=-XGKFJq4eccC&hl=en
Patrice Lumumba and
Léopold Senghor are part of the interesting topics of discussion.   

We were even nominated for the blog awards by BAKE. This time we did not clinch the title but who knows, maybe if you join this blog might be the next best education blog.

Finally, I am not a linguistic major. My major is Public Relations, which is why I haven't mastered my French. This course is taught in English one gets to learn french on the way as you interact with French terms. Actually regardless of your major, you need some cultural classes because the world is shrinking into a village.

All the best as you make your choice for the coming semesters. Look out for FRE 124. Remember that no pre-requisites are needed to register.

Ousmane Sembène- Moolaadé

Watching this feature film left me with several questions and lessons.

The film was released in 2004, and was the last film directed by Senegalese, Ousmane Sembène before his death in 2007. Sembène is noted as the first African film director to achieve international recognition.

The film is about Female Genital Mutilation- a fictional story that looks so real. I asked whether it was based on a true story, surprisingly, it was fictional. Sembène is a good story teller who brought the ills of FGM without preaching.

Highlights of the film are:

• Women being kept from listening to radio, because they were being taught Western values.
• Colle defying her husband's orders to revoke the Moolaadé-spell that protected the girls who ran to her for protection. She endured the lashes from her husband just to  save the girls.
• The way being a Bilakoro- Uncircumcised girl was considered unclean.
• The coexistence of multiple wives in a polygamous marriage, and the respect they have for each other.
• FGM makes a woman's life miserable not only in childbirth but also during sex with her husband. (Colle cuts her finger to camouflage the bleeding after a night with her husband) 
• It is not so much about the cultural practices. Oppressive cultural practices are about power.

After the film, I did not talk much. I was however thinking of the Maasai of Kenya. Some of them still practice FGM, together with other communities. The reason my thoughts went to the Maa community was because I recently met a son of Maasai, with whom we were considering a relationship. 

In a bid to be sure, I asked him whether his community practiced FGM. His answer was affirmative and he was looking for a partner who could easily adapt to cultural practices. The rest is history, we were like water and oil which could not mix. 

Why I would choose FRE 124 a million times over given the chance

My first day into the FRE 124 class was nerve-wracking...I did not know what to expect from the lecturer or from the students I was to share the class with. It is always an agonizing and anxious experience when you don't know what to expect from a group of individuals you are meeting for the first time trying to make a good lasting first impression. I was particularly early this day hence I had ample time to polish my oral French skills so that in the event I am asked to speak before the class I do not embarrass myself by mumbling words.

The class started off like any other normal class with the casual introductions and the exchange of pleasantries. The lecturer then explained the schedule of how the 15 week long course was to run. The part that interested me most is that there was no written final exam but rather we were going to be graded according to the topical blog posts that we write after every topic covered. Interesting, right? It's been a while since blog posts actually accounted for a grade at the end of a semester. Another interesting fact about this class is that although it is a French introductory class, the class is purely taught in English with occasional translations of French vocabulary that creep in the conversations from time to time. Therefore, in order to join FRE 124 class, one does not necessarily have to be a guru in spoken as well as written French.

Like any other class, FRE 124 included research and presentations. The twist however was that you had to choose a topic that tickles your fancy, carry out extensive research on it only noting the points that captured your attention then share them with the rest of the class. Most presentations were about language, music, festivals and culture with the occasional preparation of dishes from countries that one was researching about. We also occasionally watched interesting films and listened to music in class as part of the course work for the semester. Now a class that actually requires you to watch films and listening to music is not worth missing.

Cooking for the class was a great experience that I will live to cherish. My first dish from Haiti was a combination of starch, vegetables, soup and meat all in one dish. My 'doubting Thomas' instincts compelled me to have someone taste the food first lest I present it to class and give my classmates a free ride to the hospital because of food poisoning. Upon "professional tasting and certification" that the food was fit for human consumption, I confidently took it to class where we all enjoyed eating it.
In terms of cooking, I would encourage anyone reading this to join the class because in most occasions FRE 124 will actually save you lunch money when it's food presentation day. Jokes aside, preparing dishes from African countries gives you an insight of how their food is prepared, why they use certain spices or vegetables and you are also able to learn the eating habits and patterns of the different countries.

Well apart from having the coolest most awesome lecturer in the entire campus (Dr. Wandia this is your cue to blush), we were nominated for the Best Education Blog category in the Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE) Awards. The competition was neck and neck between Strathmore and Daystar but at the end of the day Strathmore beat us to it. I did not sulk when I heard this because being nominated was a milestone in the first place so we have a higher chance of winning next time. Writing the blog posts is also a good opportunity to sharpen one's writing skills as with time one gets a hang on the writing and it becomes more of a basic necessity rather than an imposed obligation.


All in all, I would like to recommend FRE 124 to anyone who loves learning new things and having fun at the same time. FRE 124 gave me the opportunity to make new friends, people that I probably would have never interacted with and I am grateful for that. If you are a shy person who has difficulty expressing themselves, FRE 124 gives you the opportunity to break out of your shell and freely interact with the class as you share your interests. To my classmates Juliet, Mercy, Morris and Armand, thank you all for being my friends throughout the semester always finding time to check-up on one another and for eating my Soup Joumou with the diligence it required. To you Dr. Wandia, thank you for being the awesome lecturer who made FRE 124 a success and for constancy bringing treats to class.        

  

My wake up call to appreciate African films

Kenya has in the recent times witnessed the entry of Nigerian and Ghanaian films in the
entertainment industry. These films have overtaken the popularity of most local productions and have earned massive airplay in most television stations. Luckily, it is up to you to make the choice on whether you want to watch them or not and most of the times...I tend to sail in the 'not' boat. This however changed in an instance in my French class when I watched an acclaimed award-winning film by a renowned African writer, Ousmane Sembene.
At first, I felt skeptical about watching the film from the fact that the lecturer had previously explained that the film was based on Female Genital Mutilation...A subject I have grown to dread talking about let alone watching a film about it, and it's not just a regular film...an African film.
The movie started off with a series of events showcasing the cultural setting of the people in the movie. Everything seemed unique from the architecture, dressing to the language they spoke. What was striking for me in this film was that it was relevant to the lives of African women. It depicted the similarity in roles that are entrusted to African women which include cooking, cleaning, nursing children and the general maintenance of the household. Being set up in traditional African setting, the men were obviously superior to the women and hence they only took up administrative duties.
Moolade, the name given as the title of the movie refers to a season where young girls were circumcised as a form of purification. Just like in the Kenyan communities that practice Female Genital Mutilation believe that a girl of child-bearing age can not get married if she has not been circumcised.

   Despite the fact that the practice led to loss of lives through excessive bleeding, this community still goes on with it ignoring the impeding dangers to the society. It however takes the efforts of one woman who was able to stand firm and safeguard her daughter as well as other young girls who sought sanctuary in her care, to fight the menace to the core and stop it forthwith.

 Despite opposition, Colle Ado (pictured) was able to beat all the odds and bring an end to Female Genital Mutilation in her community. Public flogging and ridicule were just few of the challenges that Colle had to endure so that she could protect the lives of the girls who depended on her. Despite the fact that her daughter was to be married off to the Prince only if she was circumcised, Colle was relentless in what she believed and she was ready to give up all forms of pleasure, riches and luxury that come with her daughter getting married into the royal family.

 The entire film is a classic example of how women are their own enemies judging by the fact that Colle received opposition and threats mostly from fellow women who chose to follow tradition rather that face facts concerning the dangers of Female Genital Mutilation. Despite that, the film also brings out the authoritative nature of women to make decisions and stand firm in what they believe is right no matter what the consequences are. It is also at this time that women redeemed themselves from being subordinate to their husbands and also taking part in leadership as well as decision-making.
To me, the movie was an eye-opener that not all African content is meaningless and too mainstream. There are a lot of new discoveries one can make from watching indigenous movies like Moolade which go back in time to narrate a story in full account. It was also impressive to see a male-inspired creation depicting women with so much power in African communities that seem to have embraced the fact that men are superior to women.