When traveling to a foreign place, it can become quite easy to feel stuck on the outside
of a culture that differs largely from the cultures you are personally familiar with. It may feel as
if you are observing people and their interactions from behind a glass wall, restricting you from
meaningfully engaging in any way. Although I somewhat anticipated experiencing near-instant
comfort in the Motherland of Africa, upon arrival I struggled to reconcile the underlying power
dynamics I felt as a privileged student from the United States on a study abroad program. I was
unsure of how to insert myself into certain social situations in a way that was mutually
beneficial to myself and those who I interacted with. Even now, I cannot confidently say that I
am completely comfortable doing so or completely understand how, but I can say that various
excursions thus far have allowed me to immerse myself in meaningful ways that have left the
greatest impacts on my learning and South African experience.
No matter where you go, food is an essential piece of the overall culture. This was
extremely evident when we participated in “Dine with Khayelitsha,” in which we ate dinner in
the home of a family in Khayelitsha. Khayelitsha is a township located in Cape Town, on the
outskirts of the central business district, to which Black people were exiled under the apartheid
regime. There are many negative connotations around townships like Khayelitsha, as they are
assumed to be run-down slums stricken by crime, drugs, and poverty. The Dine with Khayelitsha
program essentially works to deconstruct the preconceived notions that people have about the
township by inviting “outsiders” in, giving tours of the neighborhood, and engaging in great
conversations over a traditional dinner. An experience such as this is one that cannot be
replicated, which is exactly why it is such a significant one. Dine with Khayelitsha gave me more
than a typical tourist encounter, but a real person-to- person interaction in which I was no
longer speculating from the outside.
As the other four students and I sat down in the living room of our friend Luthando’s
family’s home, we were greeted by bright and shining smiles. Mholweni unjani! (meaning hi,
how are you) to which one would respond ndiyaphila! (I’m alive!) We engaged in conversation
and shared many laughs and stories in the short time we were there, before very large pots of
food were put on the table in front of us. The covers were removed and we were invited to
steaming pots of pap, chakalaka, and meat, a typical South African meal that is often recycled
through different meals over the days following the cooking. (For those unfamiliar, pap is a
thick cornmeal base starch, similar to a combination of grits and mashed potatoes, and
chakalaka is a spicy vegetable mix, which often contains beans, carrots, onion, and other
vegetables.) They are typically served together on big trays from which everyone eats and
shares, though at dinner in Khayelitsha, we ate from separate plates. This was not our first
interaction with pap and chakalaka, but it was definitely the best – possibly a distinction
facilitated by the great conversation that accompanied it.
Pap (white) and chakalaka (dark orange on the left). Taken at a meal in Soweto, another township.
Food and conversation can serve as substantial catalysts for inclusivity within spaces. I
find it extremely compelling how, through which, the residents of Khayelitsha willingly opened
their homes, broke down barriers, and allowed those from the outside, in. We engaged in
conversations of all sorts, and ultimately came to see each other simply as humans, rather than
anything else. And what’s most significant to me is that above all of the exclusion that the
residents of Khayelitsha have faced, they remain willing to open their arms and welcome
people into their lives. Through the food and conversation, they enabled me to participate in a
way and gauge an insight I wouldn’t otherwise have experienced simply by viewing. In
Khayelitsha, I no longer felt I was standing on the outside, observing through a glass wall.
Us, sharing a meal of pap and chakalaka, traditional-style, in Soweto!
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