just eat it

My penpal, Minenhle

Today I met Minenhle, my Zulu penpal. She is a beautiful, loud, confident, seventeen-year-old girl who attends Grace College, a local Christian high school where my Zulu professor teaches. We have been writing letters for the past few weeks. My letters are so juvenile. The effort is there, I just don't have the vocabulary or knowledge yet to describe more than when my birthday is, if I like tea or coffee, and how I come from overseas.
The other nine Zulu students and I were nervous meet our penpals. We were picturing ourselves awkwardly sitting one-on-one with our pals trying to pull any Zulu phrases out of our heads! Luckily when we walked in there was very little silence once we were introduced to our new friends. They had cooked some traditional Zulu foods for us and were so excited for us to try it. I think they were more excited to see our reactions to the tastes, but nonetheless they put us at ease. Professor Wynn showed us each of the dishes, which looked tolerable......and then there was the meat. We had been warned! Minenhle wouldn't tell me what the meat was, she was just eager for me to try it. While she laughed, I choked down a spongy, slimy, and chewy "delicacy." There were some strange bumps that gave a wonderful texture to the meat. Two minutes later, after I had finished chewing, I ventured to ask again what I had just swallowed. I was informed that there was now cow tongue floating around in my stomach, and that the "strange bumps" were the taste buds. Yum?
I felt like I was on Fear Factor or Survivor as I watched each of my friends quickly chew through the different foods. Some of the foods were good. I loved this pumpkin dish they made, yet the sour milk "yogurt" drink I wasn't too fond of. After we finished eating, the students showed us around their beautiful campus. It is the nicest school I have seen in South Africa. It was very clean and reminded me of a school you could find in the States. Minenhle showed me each and every room, down to the storage room for the extra sports equipment! Her excitement was contagious and I loved the tour! We took some fun group pictures, and they did some of their favorite traditional Zulu dances. We all practiced our high kicks, it was hysterical.
This had to be one of my favorite experiences since I have been in South Africa. It was so neat to connect and interact with teenagers who could explain South African life from the point of view of a local. I love establishing relationships with people of different cultures and recognizing our similarities and differences. Minenhle and I discussed different holidays and our hobbies. She couldn't believe that on certain holidays we have a table full of food that we choose from! Ha, as soon as I told her she ran to her other friends to explain her new knowledge.
It was such a great afternoon and I am encouraged to know that when I'm back at home in the US, I have a friend somewhere in South Africa.