ananzelda lagrange is one of them. you were a typist at the time?orter: when mr. mandela became president after 27 years in prison she was a young typist who met the president in the hallway. he began speaking to her in her own language, afrikaans, the language of the whites who had long kept mandela in prison. >> at first i couldn't figure out what language he was speaking. >> because you were so overwheleld? >> i was completely overwhelmed. he put his hand on my shoulder, he shook my other hand, and he saw that i was very emotional. he said to me, no, no, calm down. >> reporter: mandela taught himself the language of the whites while in prison famously saying, if you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. if you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart. it was a lesson learned by that young typist during that first meeting in the hall. >> it was a life-changing experience, really. that first day. >> reporter: david muir, abc news, johannesburg, south africa. >> what an amazing man. >> you can't even wrap your