Unexpected Encounters with History and Cuisine

By Alessia ’26 (Nutrition and Dietetics) and Heidi ’25 (Ethics, Culture, and Society)

Sunrise over the Old Prison Compound

We started our morning bright and early, with an "8:30 for 9"leave time. For breakfast we shared toast, various fruits and other cereals with tea, juice and some much needed coffee. 

Eventually, one van pulled up and while waiting for the other we practiced our cheerleading skills by spelling “Jail” (Gaol in British English) and performing stunts. Gwen also taught us to play the circle game Ninja, however this game quickly became a liability after Eryn chopped Heidi’s arm clean off (just kidding. It’s still attached but it felt like it might come off). 

Once both vans arrived we divided into two groups and were off to some mystery destinations. Our first stop was the Pietermaritzburg train station where there is a Gandhi memorial statue and small museum. The station is just around the corner from where we are staying.

In 1893, Mahatma Gandhi performed an act of protest at this train station by attempting to sit in the first class cars, when persons of color were required to sit in the back of the train cars. He was thrown from the train carriage and spent the night in the train station. There is now a room in the station that has been transformed into a museum that walks you through Gandhi’s life and impact on nonviolent protesting in South Africa.

The Pietermaritzburg station has been called the birthplace of Satyagraha (literally: holding on to truth), Gandhi's philosophical approach to nonviolent resistance. His removal from the train is identified as one of the catalysts for his beliefs on social justice. Much of his work was geared towards Indians in South Africa and in other countries across the world. It is important to note Gandhi's legacy is complicated in South Africa. His philosophy inspired many social movements in the 20th century including Martin Luther King, Jr.'s approach to social change in the civil rights movement and protest against the apartheid state in South Africa. At the same time, recent scholars have invited deeper, critical reflection on Gandhi’s contributions because of his own racism against Black South Africans, as he saw this class as “lower than” or less deserving of rights in comparison to white South Africans and Indians (BBC, 2019).

The next site we visited was a Nelson Mandela commemoration at the Arya Samaj Hall in Imbali outside of Zibukezulu High School. This site was the location of the All-In-Africa conference in March of 1961, which was his first public speech in 5 years and his last speech before he was imprisoned at Robben Island. In this speech he called for economic sanctions against the apartheid government. This speech led to the popularization of the phrase "Amandla Ngawethu!" (power to the people). He pushed for mass action of voters to change the government, saying “ONE man, one vote, is the key to our future.” Outside of the hall is a statue of a voter’s tick, an X, which when looked at from the side says “VOTE.” Mandela was captured just over a year later in Howick (The Witness, 2008).

After leaving these two historical sites around Pietermaritzburg, we drove into a village outside of the city and went to a preschool called Siyabonga. Upon arrival, Anthony, Sabrina, Heidi, and Alessia were immediately distracted by our first pet-able cat on our visit here. How exciting!

Come see "The Little Five" in South Africa!

[Editor's note: After spending two weeks with this group, one can be forgiven for assuming that domestic cats are, in fact, one of the "Big Five" game animals people all over the world come to South Africa to see.]

Once we mustered up the courage to say goodbye to our new kitty friend, we made our way into the preschool classroom, where we were introduced to a little bit about the Siyabonga school and the mission around their work from Pat. We then were greeted by the preschool class with songs about what they were learning as well as traditional Zulu songs and dance! 

We followed this greeting with a quick tea break and then a tour of the school/center. We looked at one of the R Classrooms (Readiness, age 5), the computer lab, and the social worker’s office. The computer lab is used for students in Grade 1 to 12 in the community who are supported by Siyabonga, providing access to this for assignments, applications, and general technology literacy. The social worker is on site, doing both work with the school and in the community to identify needs. The director of the center, Mafika, told us that the social worker is a confidential source which is good to have for both students and staff. 

We then continued to one of the organization projects in the sewing room. They have several women who sew tote bags, purses, smaller pouches, as well as some men who do leather work. These products are sold and the funds are used for the workers themselves to support them but also towards the organization itself.

We ended our visit with traditional Zulu foods prepared graciously for us by the kitchen staff at the preschool. The table had (in English) steamed bread, spinach, steamed pumpkin, beans and corn, steamed taro, sweet potatoes, couscous and beans, and most importantly, chicken feet and ox intestine. Our meal started with a ceremonial sipping of a traditional Zulu beer (umqombothi) made with maize, sorghum, and yeast. 

Alessia: Being the Wisconsinite I am, heard the word beer and was already game to try it. I’ll describe the beer as interesting- Imagine if Guinness beer and Kefir yogurt drink had a baby. It was tangy, dark, foamy, and had an almost creamy mouthfeel. 6.5/10, I liked it for a few sips, but I don’t think I could finish a glass of it

Heidi: I don’t like beer, but Alessia encouraged me to try this. It definitely was not good, but not the worst I’ve tried. It also was a once in a lifetime experience so I’m glad I tried it even though it took me several minutes to recover. 2/10.  

After the passing of the beer, we began eating. Anthony, Erin, Amelia, and Alessia all went for the chicken foot. We will now quote Anthony, who went in for multiple bites. 

“It tastes like chicken, it feels like soft rubber. Not chewy rubber, it was tender, but still rubber. Like you’re biting into fat but it’s not hard. Very tender. Tastes exactly like chicken” 

Anthony also used the foot as a spoon for the beans. Disturbing to see but we’d expect nothing less from him.  Eryn describes the chicken foot as really fatty chicken. Alessia blocked the experience out of her mind but was able to get one bite in. The foot made it on to Heidi’s plate, but didn’t get any farther than that. 

One of the ladies working for the school said that “the Zulu use all parts of the chicken- feet, head, intestines, skin- the chicken is not safe with us” she joked. 

Back to Adventurous Anthony (aka garbage disposal) with the Ox intestine: hard, feels like rough roofing. You eat the soft gray inside part. When you bite it, it’s very tender and full of flavor... In the beginning I was like this is delicious and at the end I was like wow I’m never doing that again. It was soft and buttery, but impossible to finish because it got so chewy."

Heidi’s favorite food was the pumpkin and white yam, and Alessia’s favorite was the beans and corn and steamed bread. We sat across from Bishop Komo - one of the Project Gateway board members and a local pastor who has assisted with our visits since 2018. He was super helpful helping us with the pronunciation of the foods- I (Alessia) absolutely nailed the “clicks” in the Zulu pronunciations of the letters Q, C, and X. So much so that Bishop Komo asked if I have ever spoken any African languages before. Unfortunately I had to admit that I had a 3-day Zulu Duolingo streak back in January and haven’t made another attempt to learn Zulu since. 

After leaving Siyabonga and making our way back to Project Gateway, we had a quick lunch and break before going to the Gateway Christian School aftercare program with the intentions of learning the rules to netball during their after school program. However, we got pulled into many different activities with the kids such as handshakes, braiding hair, Snapchat filters, chatting, soccer, and a jump rope.

Heidi’s experience at the school consisted of hanging out with a Year 5 girl, who was intrigued by life in America and most importantly the snow. She was incredibly curious, with dreams of being an entrepreneur. She wants to own a spa, hair salon, and be a teacher. While eager to leave school and grow up, she told me about her favorite subjects in school (Zulu, math, and English). We played with Snapchat filters, and she filmed a few vlogs on my phone. It was enlightening to hear about her dreams for her own success. Having just graduated, I’m now in a position to fulfill my 11 year-old self’s dreams. While 11-year-old me would probably be disappointed I didn’t end up a lawyer, I hope to take the curiosity and determination I had as a child into my adult life.. 

Alessia:

I went in with the intention of absolutely crushing some kids in soccer, but I ended up being the one getting crushed instead. I was able to redeem myself in discussions about the age old debate of who’s a better player, Messi or Ronaldo (it’s Messi). Eventually I ended up making a good ref and ended my time at the school teaching them some handshake games as well as some very in depth conversations about our favorite fruits. 

After returning back to our home base from the school, we napped, showered, and decomposed before sitting down for a delicious chicken biryani, a traditional Indian dish that, like our first stop at the Gandhi exhibit, reminds us of the influence of Indian culture in eastern South Africa. The dish consists of lentils, rice, chicken, and an Indian inspired spice blend. This was Alessia’s favorite dinner since arriving at Project Gateway. Side dishes included mashed squash and salad, with fruit cocktail and vanilla ice cream to end the meal. 

We ended our night together with a quick debrief about today. Then we separated to go our own ways and the now familiar evening routines of showering, sleeping, playing cards, soaking up some sweet sweet WiFi in the "common room." For Heidi and I, tonight included endless cups of the South African specialty, rooibos tea (and an accidental caffeinated black tea. Send good thoughts for my sleep tonight -H). Alessia and Sheryl have also successfully completed their side quest of seeing the southern cross- a constellation only visible in the southern hemisphere! 

End of day reflection from Heidi:

Today was an interesting day that brought up some thoughts of our role in South Africa. Our first experience at the preschool left me with some feelings of discomfort. It felt as if we were viewers rather than active participants in the discussion and experiences. Being an observer felt as though we were just there to look and walk through the school rather than further understand the role of the school within the community. (This felt different than our time at Project Gateway's school and earlier at Goedgedacht.)

It is difficult to put into words. While I am grateful for the experience, I feel it’s important to reflect critically on how we interact with people we meet and how traveling in as a group of university students blurs the line between learners and tourists / potential funders. This is likely something that I need to dwell on for a few more days before being able to fully and coherently discuss my thoughts. Overall today was a good day, filled with good interactions and the reminder of childhood curiosity and the endless dreams that are held within the hands of young kids.