"Can You Split the Check Please?" By: Emily Oliver

Since our group of over 100 American college students entered South Africa we’ve experience many different things. From stepping into the shoes of a family in a township to jumping off the highest bungy jump in the world, we all have had amazing experiences. Most of these experiences that we have accomplished have been pleasant over all, but one thing about the South African culture that is not so pleasant is the process of splitting a bill. That is, when a group of people goes into a restaurant to eat at the end of the meal we are not asked “Will that be on separate checks?” but are instead given a receipt with everyone’s order listed on it. We then must go through the process of figuring out who ordered what and paying with Rand or credit… overall it’s a mess. An establishment that will actually split your bill for you is few and far between. While being in Cape Town I have wondered why these people cannot do a simple process that is an everyday practice in America. After speaking with some locals about their process of delivering a bill they said that splitting a bill is not ever an issue with them. We asked, how can you be guaranteed that each party will pay their share of the bill and trusting others to do their part? They responded with, well we all know that if one person pays the bill one time, then the other person will cover it the next time, we just trust one another. This made me think of how untrusting most American people are of one another and how that affects our everyday actions towards one another. Even in the townships that we visited every home was completely open to anyone, no questions asked. These people would allow any child from the community into their homes and help them out in any way possible. I’m not saying that these people were oblivious to scams and crime that could occur; they were just trusting of others. I think over time people have grown untrusting of one another, which then makes us shut those who are different from ourselves out of our lives. My mother in the township, Miss Fila, told us one of the best things in life is meeting people from other cultures and learning about them and their way of life. She said it’s not about changing what you do in your life, but opening up to others in order to learn about their customs and way of life. Opening up to a stranger requires trust, and that is what Miss Fila showed to us. She trusted that we could live in her home, trusted that we could learn about her life without judgment and trusted that we could do our part so she could learn from us. Although splitting the bill between 20 college students may be hectic, in the end we can all pitch in to do our part and learn to trust one another.