You finally made it to your host family in South Africa!
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Conclusion 1 - You finally are united with your host family! Their last name is Bok and they are descendants of Dutch settlers. Mr. Bok is a policeman, who worked through the times when apartheid was enforced and still works now in post-apartheid times. There is one daughter about your age in the family; her name is Mahree. In your journal, write about finally getting to be with your hosts, and jot down three questions you intend to ask Mr. Bok about his experiences working in the two very different political eras of South Africa.(Think: if apartheid was still being enforced, would you be able to stay as a guest with the Bok family?)
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Conclusion 2 - You are finally united with your host family! Their last name is Biko. There are two kids in the family, a 17 year-old and a 12 year-old, and they are the grandchildren of Steven Biko. Biko...Biko...that name sounds familiar for some reason. Then you remember that he was an activist during the apartheid era. His story, unfortunately, has a very sad ending. (http://bit.ly/1VdpOqr) Think about the pride his family must have in Steven Biko’s service to the Black Consciousness Movement. In your journal, record your thoughts on human rights struggles in South Africa and any similarities you see in American culture, past or present.
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Conclusion 3 - You are finally united with your host family! There are three kids in the family, two of them are older, but one of them is just your age. You can’t wait to talk about the similarities and differences of teen life in your cultures. Oh, and by the way, their family name is Mandela…as in Nelson and Winnie were their grandparents! You have so many questions to ask them about their grandfather and the changes he helped bring about in South African society. When they take you to their home, you see several framed letters written by Nelson Mandela during the years he spent in prison. They are very moving! You want to remember his words forever, so you ask if you may copy a few of his thoughts and add them to your journal. The family agrees. Pick a quote (http://bit.ly/25PxQts) from one of his letters, copy it into your journal, and explain why those words are significant to you.
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