Paired Essay

Brad Simpson
Intercultural Communication
Paired Essay

My partner I got paired with was apart of a program called SUSI where foreign students get to travel to America colleges through the embassy. I met with him in the lobby of Pound Hall where they were staying. His name was Mzingaye but he goes by Mzee and he is from Zimbabwe. He spoke Ndebele and Shona and had a pretty different accent from what I am used to hearing everyday so I had to have him keep repeating his answers. He is Christen but his father and rest of his family are Sabatha where they worship Christ on Saturday. We talked about everything comparing my culture to his.
We first talked about what happens when a baby is born in his culture. He told me that the immediate family is notified when the birth is going to happen and to meet to gather together to celebrate the new life of their family member. Once the baby is birthed, there is a huge celebration with family and friends to show their gratitude. Next came deaths, where they would call family and friends to gather at the deceased family’s house. They cook lots of food for the guests and everyone helps as well. They all bring money for appreation and use it to fund the funeral. The family picks the burial site which is either a community site or a separate family site.
Next, we talked about weddings and how someone proposed. He said the man first buys an object of meaning and presents it to his woman of interest. Then
both families have two meetings. The first meeting is to organize the final meeting and basically a rehearsal. In the second meeting, the mans family talks about the man to the girls father about his character and what she means to him. Then the father of the girl demands a price for the girl usually cows or money. If he really likes the man then the cost will be low but if he doesn’t like him then the cost will be higher. That is called Lobola where you pay the father for appreciation. After the two meetings is the weeding then a big celebration after with family and friends of the newly weds.
Finally, I asked him what he and his friends like to do for fun in his country. He explained how schooling and work were played out in his community. After the week’s work and school is done, they get a free day as the call it where they have that whole day off to themselves. Their main choice of recreations was to go to bars and clubs. The drinking age there is 18, which means right out of high school, you can drink. He also explained how it was very common that underage drinking was a norm. During the day of their free day, they have a Brai. This basically means a cookout where everyone brings food and drinks to gather at someone’s house. Usually it is family and friends and a lot of dancing happens there.
It was a great experience talking to Mzee because everything was completely new to me from his experiences.