This past weekend we traveled to
Ocean View for homestays. We were told not to expect anything like
an American home so I was pleasantly surprised when the house was actually
really nice. I was placed with Auntie Katie. When I walked into her
house the first thing I noticed was all the trophies, plaques and fancy dishes
on the entertainment center around the TV. The bedroom had two twin
beds with matching comforters and a nice wardrobe and dresser. When
I was settling in for the weekend I opened the bedroom window and was
pleasantly surprised again when Lacy, a German Shepard jumped up facing me at
eye level. At first she startled me but she was really sweet and
loved to play ball with me from the window every time I opened it. (And I am
very much so a dog person, I have two dogs in the states that I miss very much
so every time I get to play with a dog it brightens my day immediately.)
Anyways, I remember feeling confused because how much the homestays were
talked up to be so much different than anyplace we have been but I
thought it was a beautiful home. The neighborhood was unlike anywhere that I
have personally lived but it was still nicer than I was lead to believe.
The first night at Aunty Katie’s
house went fast as I was so exhausted and just needed to sleep. Friday,
Valentine’s Day, was such an enjoyable experience for me. We got to spend the
majority of the day with some kids from Ocean View. I got to hang
out with a little girl named Chanica, who was adorable. She quickly warmed up
to me and before you know it she was playing with my hair and asking to ride on
my shoulders. We all colored in hearts and later handed them out to people
throughout Ocean View. I had never done something like this before
but it made me feel good and I can only hope it was able to help bring a real
smile to someone and make them feel better about themselves even if it was just
for a day. We went to a farm and got to play with all the small animals
including rabbits, ducks, and guinea pigs. All the kids got so
excited to be with the animals. Chanica was a little terrified of them so she
would just throw down food and run but the animals where pretty terrified too
so at least the feeling was mutual.
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| Cassie & Chanica |
I really enjoyed spending
Valentine’s Day with the kids. It’s definitely the best I’ve felt on
Valentine’s Day, being able to contribute to so many people’s happiness made me
happy in return. And if the day wasn’t great enough already, I then
got invited to a lesson for ballroom dancing which I have always wanted to
learn so I jumped at the opportunity. Although I spent most of the
time tripping over my own two feet I was still able to manage to learn a few
steps. I now am proud to say I know the basics of the cha-cha, the jive, and
the waltz. Learning to ballroom dance was definitely the perfect was
to end Valentin’s Day.
Saturday was one of the hotter
days we have had while in South Africa, and of course, we decided it would be a
nice day to walk to the beach. A couple minor sunburns and heat
rashes later we were at Long Beach, which also happened to be the coldest water
I have ever attempted to swim in. But it was actually refreshing to
cool down from that walk. The beach itself was beautiful. The
waves were huge and rolling in perfectly. The ocean is always a
really calming place for me to be, everything about it is so relaxing to me and
this beach heightened that feeling for me. I spent the rest of the homestay
relaxing with Aunty Katie and her husband. They were both really sweet but
there was a little bit of a language barrier. Aunty Katie could understand me for the most part but her husband had a lot of trouble so a
lot of conversations were cut short because we couldn’t fully understand each
other. He was always watching cricket or rugby and I would try
asking questions but he usually couldn’t understand me enough to answer
correctly. I found that a little challenging especially because I
really wanted to learn more about cricket. Overall I was really pleased with
the homestay and it is an experience I will never forget.
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