South African Consul Visits Ms. Christie-Blick’s Class

Consul Sono, from the South African Consulate in New York City, visited our class in February 2011. Ms. Thami Sono talked to the class about her own country on the other side of the world. The children had worked hard researching South Africa to prepare for her arrival. She was impressed and pleased by how much these young Americans knew about her country and its most famous person, Nelson Mandela.

The students were very interested to hear about Ms. Sono’s life growing up in South Africa under apartheid. They realized it was a very difficult time for her. They were amazed to hear she had grown up in a house without electricity or inside plumbing, and that she had not tasted a chocolate chip cookie until she arrived in the United States just a few years ago. Afterwards, they talked about how hard she must have worked in school to get a better life for herself as an adult.  They found her very inspiring.

The students enjoyed hearing about South Africans, such as their love of sports, especially rugby, and that the South African Springboks is one of the best rugby teams in the whole world. They also loved hearing about "The Big Five" that live in her country – buffalo, lion, leopard, rhinoceros, and elephant – and hope to see them for themselves one day. The video Ms. Sono showed of her country, the descriptions she gave of the beautiful beaches, and knowing that February is summertime in the southern hemisphere, made them all want to hop on a plane!

They were so grateful that she had shared her culture with them that they wanted to share their American culture with her. After her talk, they all enjoyed milk and homemade American chocolate chip cookies as they chatted about going to see giraffes in Kruger National Park, and penguins on the shores of Cape Town. It was an afternoon to remember!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *