Q & A: America

students in my Primary 6 class

Last week as I was passing out papers to the students in my P.6 class I noticed that one of the girls has notebooks with President Obama's face on the cover.  I asked her if she likes Obama and she looked at me and said, "I don't know who that man is."  Thinking that I had simply misunderstood her I said, "the man on the cover of your notebook is President Obama, do you know who he is?"  She replied, "His name is President Obama?  He's president of what place?"  

Blink. 

Blink blink.

President Obama's face is ubiquitous in Sudan, it can been seen on notebooks, posters, newspapers, shirts, and even blue jeans in the local market, so I had assumed that most people know that he's the President of the United States.  Man was I wrong.  Not one of my 20 students from the village knew the identity of President Obama, they genuinely thought that he's simply some rich guy who makes notebooks and blue jeans and puts his face on them.

After digesting this information I decided to have a short question and answer session about America and below are some of the very sincere questions that my students asked.

1.  Is President Obama married?  How many wives does he have?  How many children does he have?  Why does he only have two children?

2.  How long will he be president?

3.  If I go to America will my skin become white?

4.  Do people in America eat wild animals?

5.  Do Americans hunt like us?

6.  Is the enemy of Spiderman living in America?

7.  Are there witch doctors in America?

8.  If I go to America will they let me come back to Africa?

9.  Are there green people in America like in the movie "Wizard of Oz?"

10. Is it cold in the dry season in America?

11. Do all the people in America have hair like yours (brown, long and curly)?

12. Are there thieves in America?

13. Do men in America have more than one wife?

14. Do people in America eat sugar cane?

15. Are there Muslims in America?

Needless to say I've added "international studies teacher" to my job description.