#TravelThursday: Learning a new language

Travelling to a country where they speak a totally different language from yours can be terrifying but you probably only do that when you have a friend that speaks the language or someone there you know.

There is nothing wrong however with learning the basics and here some great ways of doing that.

USE AUDIO RECORDINGS

You can download audio files of the language and listen while you go about your daily business. Before you know it, you will be saying "bonjour" and "ekaro" like... well, you.

DICTIONARY

A language dictionary which compares the language you want to learn and that which you already know is handy before and during yyour trip.

Just know noone looks cool whipping out a book on a busy street to ask questions.

*shrug*

TV

Tv shows and programs in the language you want to learn are also indispensable at this point, so binge on them. Watch, watch, watch and listen. You will be pleasantly surprised how much of it you actually pick up.

LITERATURE

If you prefer to read, literary fiction and language texts. One of my favourites is the "Teach Yourself..." series. I once taught myself Germanbut because i had noone to speak it with i forgot all of it. Which is why the last tip is crucial.

INTERACT DAILY IN THE LANGUAGE

If you don't practise you will forget. Speak the language daily either to someone in person or via skype.

#EventWednesday Palmwine and other local events...

My weekend was, as the cool kids say, 'lit'.

There was Falana, Bono, a wedding and palmwine. But not necessarily in that order.

On sunday I went for the 'Palmwine and Other Local Drinks' exhibition.

You know how you are curious and then decide to do a documentary and exhibition based on that curiousity? O wait. That's almost none of us! Apart from Mode of 'Studio of Mode' though.

She got curious about local drinks in Nigeria and off she went to do a documentary on it, speaking with the people who make (and enjoy) it, and then an exhibition to further s.h.a.r.e that experience.

It was a two day exhibition and was quite illuminating for me. Yes I knew about Kunu, Palmwine and Ogogoro, but I had never given more thought to perhaps how they are tapped / made and the types.

The exhibition took us on that journey, from kunu ( which can be made from various ingredients including tiger nuts, maize and millet ), to palmwine (complete with things used to tap the wine, how palm kernel is used for several other things and the two ways of tapping), to raffia wine, ogogoro and burukutu.

We were able to taste most of these things including the destructive and non destructive palmwine (former destroys the tree in process but is safer while latter is better for the tree but more dangerous), the tiger nuts and kunu, the burukutu and ogogoro. I saw a few people leaving the exhibition a lot 'happier' than when they came in.

It was also nice to not just hear about these things but also see some of the materials used in the process, like a bicycle like I mentioned before, cutlass, ropes and a canoe. There were also some videos of interviews with the tappers and sellers.

It was interesting to enjoy a drink but also enjoy learning about how it got there and why.

For more information, check out www.studioofmode.com

The other things that happened to me last weekend were no less interesting. Infact, weekends are like airports. Empty and boring some times, and then other times, so full and busy you can barely catch a breath!

I saw the artiste, Falana, live at #FalanaUnconvered pop up concert held at Alara, had dinner at Nok, met Bono (bonoooooooooooooooo) at ONE Nigeria's campaign cocktail, and celebrated with Kunbi of April by Kunbi at her glamorous wedding!

Phew!

See more pictures from my long weekend below!

Movie Wednesday: 5 Movies I Recently Saw and What I Think.

Welcome back! There was a three day public holiday here and i didn't even get one day off!
It's all good though. It gave me the opportunity to keep the show light and one of the things we did this week was talk about movies.

I asked callers on my show on Tuesday what the last movie they saw was and it got me thinking about the last couple movies i saw.

Here we go.

Grease

Grease is a 1978 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Randal Kleiser and i totally love it. I could watch it over and over again, i have all the songs in my head, and will sing along and dance. If you happen to be sitting beside me, i will just start telling you the entire plot. I love it that much. 

Fun fact: Olivia Newton-John who played 'Sandy' in Grease was in her 30s when she played the role of a teenager. And oh my! John Travolta was beautiful back then.

Deadpool

For those who are yet to see it, Deadpool is another Marvel Superhero film. The film stars Ryan Reynolds (who also co-produced), and other stars like T.J. Miller and Brianna Hildebrand.

Did i like it? Yes, i would watch it again, because it is really funny, and has some great fight scenes.

However, while i do love Ryan, this is not for me, his best movie.

Talvar

Talvar is an Indian film, 'Talvar' actually means 'sword' in English. The movie was released in 2015, directed by Meghna Gulzar and written by Vishal Bharadwaj. It stars irrfhan Khan, Tabu and a few other heavyweights.

I first watched 'Talvar', it was on a long flight. I'd seen everything else so i was like, okay let's do this. I was enthralled from the get go. 

It's a murder mystery and when it started, I didn't know it was based on a true story but watching it to the end made me want to Google and see what had actually happened. Really sad.

Basically, a young girl is killed and suspects range from her parents to some servants and more. Within the police force itself, there were differing opinions as to who did it and the truth is actually sad! 

The Great Gambler

Another Indian action thriller film. It was released as far back as 1979. 

I first saw it as a kid, and then watched it again recently. And guess what?  The huge crush i had on Amitabh Bachan was still there, after so many years. I think it will be there forever.

The movie is really old, but i will be watching it again soon, since i slept through it this time.

Rebel Without A Cause

Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. One of the classics. Really old, 1955 is as old as it gets.

Yet, i decided to watch it recently because it kept appearing in almost every must watch movie list and i kept hearing about James Dean, the lead actor. 

While i could not connect as much to this, i could still see why it was a big deal back then. 

So there you have it. What movies have you seen recently and what are your thoughts on them? Share in the comment box below.

Samuel Eto'o's Beautiful White Wedding After 9 Years.

When i first saw that headline yesterday, i was sure it was a joke, because i knew Samuel Eto'o, the star Cameroon footballer had been married a while. But guess what? Samuel Eto'o and Georgette Tra Lou have been married since 2007, they have two beautiful girls together Siena and Lynn Eto'o.
So full gist:
Apparently, Eto'o and Georgette decided after nine years to have a white wedding and from the pictures i will be sharing, it was beautiful.
This white wedding of the former Barcelona and Chelsea striker, took place in a church at Stezzano, 25 miles northeast of Milan, Italy on the 14th of June, 2016, just yesterday.

Eto'o who is now 35, was dressed in a beautiful grey three piece suit and and black tie, a cream rose pinned to his lapel and get this: He drove himself to the church in a vintage Fiat car. How is that for fairy tale! His beautiful wife Georgette arrived in a separate vintage Mercedes Excalibur.


Former Barcelona Captain and teammate Carles Puyol was in attendance with his wife to support his friend.


Apparently, he was fulfilling his wife's dream of a fairy tale white wedding, nine years after and he pulled all stops to give her everything. Well the money certainly helped, as a huge crowd turned up at the church steps to watch the celebrity couple.

After 9 years and two children, can i still say happy married life? Well, i can say i wish them more beautiful years to come.

#EventWednesday Olorisupergal turned 6... (Not the girl, the company)

Did i ever tell you guys i lost my voice? Like literally open mouth and no sound. I was quite worried o, and now i understand why people insure the funniest things.

But what does that have to do with Olorisupergal at 6.

Let me jump to the beginning first.

olorisupergal.com marked its sixth year anniversary in Lagos at a get together attended by stars like Gbenga Adeyinka, Tee A and Sisi Yemmie. Thankfully, i did not have to gate crash because i was invited to also host the event and boy was i happy.

Till, i lost my voice. Tried everything (and we need to talk about some great natural remedies for your voice) but it didn't clear in time so i was glad comedian, Gbenga Adeyinka could take over and host it instead. Fun Fact: Do you know the owner of olorisupergal, Tosin Ajibade, once worked for Gbenga?

Olorisupergal has grown from being one of Nigeria’s first blogspot hubs into a full urban lifestyle force in Nigeria. Olorisupergal has produced New Media Conference, a travel website ‘Travel Africa Story’ which will be a year in less than 2 weeks. Travel Africa Story was created out of Tosin Ajibade's passion for travelling with her partner Adekunle Owolabi.

Tosin Ajibade, founder of olorisupergal.com, was named as one of Nigeria’s most influential women in 2015. From news to fashion, arts and culture and lifestyle, Olorisupergal.com is one of Nigeria’s leading hubs for pop culture and urban lifestyle.

Guests at the get together were treated to lots to eat and drink, plus a little insight into how it all began, some of her challenges, and what is to come. I asked her how often she blogged when she first began and she said she didn't start off with a schedule, especially since when she started she would have to look for a business centre, the internet was a lot slower (yes folks, internet used to be a lot slower) and so on but she tends to blog ALL the time because there is always something happening.


I had saved my voice well enough to be able to speak about when i first met Olori- i had just got on radio and she wanted to do an interview. She was tenacious and we did it. One of my first back then.

Was excited to take selfies with everyone from SisiYemmie to DatGuyKofo and DemolaExpoze, and also eat cake. Plus, i got to go with goody bags courtesy TravelAfricaStory, which by the way, is Tosin Ajibade's other 'huzzle'.

Congratulations to her once again!

#EventWednesday Coloured Myself Rad last weekend!

Last weekend i ran.

Okay i lie.
I jogged a little, walked a lot and danced a bit.

But it was all fun and it felt goooood!

It was for the first ever #ColourMeRad5k in Lagos, Nigeria and it kicked off from Bar Beach at 4pm on Sunday January 31st with Freedom Park as the destination.

The turn out was impressive and everyone looked colourful- painted nails, running gear and all.

Colour me Rad is a 5kilometre race and is loosely based on the Hindu Festival of Colours. As such, participants are sprayed with colour at the start, at the final stop and various points in between.

I was ready for all the colours and by the time i got to Freedom Park (last but for a few kids and their parents behind me), i was more colourful than the rainbow.