Sandra "Darling what are you eating?"
Yieke "Pretzels of course mummy!”
Sandra “Really? What do they taste like”
Yieke “they are nice and crunchy”
My nephew loves his recently discovered "pretzels". My sister tells me that mopane worms aka "pretzels"they are now a regular snack in their household. My son Liam has also taken to baobab powder. When I bought the baobab powder, I thought I would use it took mix in with his smoothies and porridge or cereal. But he has other ideas! He prefers to just dip his finger see into the powder and suck it off his fingers. I think it's more fun that way! "Oh Liam! What a messy face!"
Having a child and living so far away from my home country and all the foods that I grew up eating has ignited a fire within me to make sure my son has that connection with my roots. While flying home often may not be an option at this stage, I still want my child to have that connection with his African heritage.
In this globalised world we live in, I want him to know that his mixed heritage gives him the best of two different cultures. My hope as a mum raising her child in the diaspora is that I equip him with the tools to be able to navigate both worlds with ease.
So here's to more "pretzels" and messy faces!
Snippet of Liam eating mauyu (baobab powder) for the first time: https://youtu.be/xdz1LdqTD-k