Lindelwa and Yasmin
We woke up to the sun on our faces. The birds chirped beyond the confines of our rooms, and the sun pierced through the cracks of the curtains and lit the wood like a glowing cave. This is when Lindelwa knew that today belongs to Mother Africa, and in South Africa, there was no better way than to cement that reality than a plate full of traditional delicacies. Nothing reminds us Africans like home quite like a good African meal.
At 7 am sharp, we started our day with a scrumptious breakfast consisting of fried eggs, boerewors dipped in gravy and potatoes on the side. We enjoyed our coffee and had lots of laughter – we laugh a lot, every. single. day. At 8:30 am, we met in our groups in the conference room and started working on our research. Ayanda and Yasmin got the energy fl
owing by dancing a provisional salsa/cha-cha-cha dance together. This, too, sparked lots of laughter in the whole group. The positive energy in th
is group surely is something to remember.
Another memorable moment: lunch. Even Yasmin, a convinced vegetarian, was tempted to try the mopani worms in bean sauce. We also enjoyed the sour pap, which is partly-fermented maize porridge. Other menu items: samp and bean stew and manqina (cow’s feet). For dinner, the food was even more out of my personal comfort zone. For example: chicken feet (followed by a discussion if the nails must be removed before preparation, or later, during dinner). Also, participants enjoyed mogodu, a mixture of tripe and intestines, and then there was the show-stopper: sheep heads!
Since we had an international dinner, we ate camarao (shrimps in sauce) and fish prepared in a Mozambican way. Lastly, we had Dutch hutspot (carrot, onions, potato mash) and meatballs. It was so fun to cook and enjoy each other’s foods – each of us was reminded of home. Despite our varying backgrounds, our conversations over dinner blended our different life experiences, making it a wonderful night.
