South African Rand: Answers

$1 = 10R
You can write an equation.
110R / 10 = x
110 divided by 10 is 11.
It cost 11 dollars to go to the Apartheid Museum!

South African Rand

On Ms. Hoffman's trip, she has to think a lot about money. The money in South Africa is called Rand. It costs R110 to go to the Apartheid Museum. But, how much is that in US dollars??  Well, $1 is equal to R10.  Can you figure out how many dollars it was? 

See answers posted tomorrow!

Nelson Mandela

Today Ms. Hoffman got to visit the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa. This was a special place where she learned a lot about the history of South Africa and Nelson Mandela. Have you heard of Nelson Mandela?

Nelson Mandela can be compared to Martin Luther King Jr. in the USA. There are a little bit alike. They are both leaders who fought peacefully for the rights of people with black skin in their communities. In South America, there were problems a bit like the USA. People with black skin and people with white skin were not treated equally in the law. They had to be separated and black people were not treated as well as white people. In Africa, this system was called apartheid. Nelson Mandela was a great leader who spoke out for all people to be equal. In the 1960s, he was sentenced to life in prison - he had to go to jail for the rest of his life. Luckily, his country changed and started to get better. He was released from prion in the 1990s. He continued to work to make South Africa a more equal place. In 1994, he was elected as the first black president of his country. He helped to write a new constitution which guaranteed equality for all people. Click here to see that constitution. Today, only 20 years later, the country is a much more equal place.

Are there any other great leaders you can think of? Anyone who fought for equal rights in your country?

Languages in South Africa

Did you know that there are 11 official languages in South Africa? Most people learn at least 2 of them. Many learn even more. 

The languages are: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu

On this building in Johannesburg you can see the same words in all of the languages!

 

How many languages do you know? How many official languages are in your country?

Getting into the Afterlife

Ms. Hoffman got to learn about some of the religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians. One story was about how they got to travel to the afterlife. It is recorded in this picture.

First, the dead person is asked several questions. These questions are about how they lived their life. Were they good to their neighbors? Were they good to their family? If they answered yes, then the judges would give them an ankh symbol which means long life.

Then their heart was weighed on a scale. It was weighed against a feather. If it was lighter than a feather, then they had lived a good life. If it was heavier, then they had not. It was only then that they could travel to the afterlife.

What does your culture believe happens after someone dies? Is there a life after death?

The Pyramids of Giza

Ms. Hoffman got to visit Egypt where she saw the Pyramids of Giza. They are near the city of Cairo. They are a amazing!  There are many pyramids in Egypt, but some of the best are in Giza. There are 3 of them together. The biggest is the Great Pyramid. It is the tomb of a king, or pharaoh, of ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians believed that their kings were gods. They also believed that they needed a place for eternal life after death. So, when they died, they were buried in the enormous pyramids to keep them safe in the after life. Here are some pictures of the pyramids of Giza.

In your culture, what happens to people when they die? Are they buried in tombs?