The version of yourself you had to kill to grow. Yolanda Ngwenya.

Some versions of you have to die so another can live. Yolanda Ngwenya names hers.

In this episode of Part Time Human, Yolanda and I trace the versions of herself she's had to leave behind ; the one shaped by an academic home, the one formed abroad in the United States and Berlin, the one that had to reconcile African identity with Christian faith. We talk about what studying abroad does to your sense of home, how culture shock works both ways, and why fashion became her language for telling African stories without apology.

Then midway through, Yolanda turns the interview around. She starts asking the questions and the conversation opens into something more honest about relationships, family dynamics, and what African homes don't say out loud.

A conversation about identity, becoming, and what you carry when you leave.

Topics: African culture, fashion storytelling, studying abroad, Berlin culture, United States travel, Christianity and culture, African identity, relationships, family dynamics.

CHAPTERS

00:00:00 - Intro

00:04:19 - NAMA Nomination and Impostor syndrome ?

00:06:12 - Version of her that had to die

00:14:47 -Culture Shock | Studying abroad

00:26:14 - Family dynamics and inherited traits

00:38:27 - Fate versus predestination

00:46:50 - Stitched in Culture | Fashion as storytelling

00:56:50 - The Most human parts

01:00:14 - Bonus : Yolanda starts asking the questions