Madame Latré Sibi Lawson Owanda

In 7th grade French, students recently enjoyed a virtual visit from a native French speaker. Madame Latré Sibi Lawson Owanda, who is from Gabon and now lives in Maine, joined Madame Malm's class via Zoom as part of our exploration of food in the French speaking world.

"We learned that Gabon was a French colony, and that they mark independence from France each year on August 17, which is the biggest holiday of the year. It is celebrated with different foods and dances for different ethnic groups in a massive national festival that lasts for days. "

"We also learned that one similarity between Gabonese food and American food is peanut butter, but that it is used to make sauces in Gabon, so the idea of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is very strange! Maybe like putting ketchup on your toast? Bon appétit!"