Celebrating Eid al-Fitr in Bamako

"Célébrer l'Aïd el-Fitr à Bamako"
French C1 writing exercise

Malian Fatoumata tells us about the joyous chaos that is her family's Eid al-Fitr celebration.

Pay attention to the hints!

Some vocabulary you may want to look up before or during this exercise: "to trust [someone]", "one hasn't lived until... (exp.)", "to experience [something]", "pure madness", "the Eid al-Fitr", "as we say back home (exp.)", "exhausted", "Ramadan", "from the moment we ...", "to get one's hair braided", "to slip into [an outfit]", "custom-made (clothes)", "starchy (clothes)", "to stand up on one's own", "the place of worship", "to drop by [someone]'s house", "to ask for forgiveness", "a past slight", "ginger juice", "to flow freely (drink) (exp.)", "to end up in a food coma", "to set (sun)", "despite...", "a whirlwind of ...", "wouldn't trade [something] for anything in the world (exp.)".

I’ll give you some sentences to translate into French

  • I’ll show you where you make mistakes
  • I’ll keep track of what you need to practise
  • Change my choices if you want
Start the exercise
How the test works

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Trust me, you haven't lived until you've experienced the pure madness of (the) Eid al-Fitr, or (the) Korité, as we say back home, at my grandmother's place in Bamako. Even though we're all exhausted after the month of Ramadan, the atmosphere is electric from the moment we wake up. My sisters and I spend hours getting our hair braided before slipping into our custom-made bazin boubous, which are so starchy (that) they could practically stand up on their own! Once the men get back from the place of worship, the real marathon begins. We spend the entire afternoon dropping by every auntie's and (every) neighbour's house, to exchange the traditional Sambi-Sambi and ask for forgiveness for any past slights. Between the massive platters of djenkoumé and the ginger juice flowing freely, I usually end up in a food coma before the sun even sets. Despite the heat and the chaos, it's a magnificent whirlwind of colours and laughter that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

I'll be right with you...