Preparing for the Homestay weekend,
I really wasn’t sure what to expect. Chantel, the (inspiring) program
coordinator, told us not to expect the luxuries we have at home, and also
reminded us that this was a community formed during Apartheid, when black and
coloured citizens were forcibly removed from classified white areas with little
notice and few belongings into crowded townships such as Ocean View where we’d
be staying. The townships all over Cape Town span from informal settlements,
basically makeshift one room shacks with no plumbing or electricity, to nicer
but still very basic homes very crowded together. We’ve seen plenty since being
here, and most of the people we work with at our internships all live in the townships,
but getting the chance to live with a host family for 4 days would be a whole
new experience!
From the moment we arrived in Ocean
View, the sense of community was overwhelming. While people have very little,
they live with open doors and open hearts, always looking to take care of each
other, and bless and help one another (or any of us visitors). When Sarah
and I got to our Host family’s house, we were not just welcomed into their
home, but welcomed into their family. And I’ve got to say, one hug from Thelma
(our host mom) is potentially the most welcoming feeling in the world. Their house
was very small, and there is literally not an inch of space between their house
and all the houses surrounding them, but I was surprised to see they had a big
TV hanging on the common room wall. But despite the TV, the small common room
was most of the house, with a small kitchen area, bathroom but no shower, and
two small bedrooms fitting bunk beds. This is so much less than what I’ve
become accustomed to. And with no car, they spend endless hours sitting in this
small house, which is particularly hot without any air conditioning. But
because of this, they are forced to spend hours and hours together as a family,
as well as get to know their neighbors and everyone in the close packed
community.
After the first night of getting to
know our family, and playing cards on the floor with their son Xavier (who
hates to lose as much as I do), we said goodbye for the day to spend our
Valentine’s day at the crèche (a community preschool). We had a perfect day
playing with the kids, making Valentines Day cards, handing them out to people
in the community, and finally walking the kids to a nearby farm to play with
the animals. My favorite moment was Tina and I bringing out our camp counselor
side and teaching the kids BOOM CHICKA BOOM!
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| Katrina taking time out to get her hair styled at the crèche |
On Saturday, with temperatures of
almost 100 degrees, sitting in the house was getting pretty rough. So Thelma
decided we better take a trip to the beach! We walked for a bit then squeezed
into a good old minibus, casually fist pumping with Xavier and his cousin to
the Miley Cyrus remixes blasting the whole way. Fish Hoek beach was
surprisingly close, and one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever laid my
eyes on. We swam for hours, had a nice race along the beach with Xavier, and
even played jump rope with a huge piece of seaweed – so successful day.
Exhausted and sweaty, we headed back to find a minibus home. Trying to wash off
in the small bath was not easy, and it definitely made me appreciate my shower
at home. But they shared everything they had with us to make us feel as at home
as possible. At night, we all sat together, in the middle of Africa and watched
a Madea movie. It was so surreal, listening to everyone belly laugh to Madea
the same way my aunt would back home in her little apartment in Pennsylvania.
Sunday afternoon came much too
fast, and when Lantor told us to get out he was sick of having us here I
could’ve swore I saw a small tear..? Ok maybe it was just mine. But I hope to
visit our new friends again before I leave, hear how Xavier is doing with
school and soccer, learn a new magic trick (Lantor and Xavier were quite the
duo), and just get to know them even better. They left us with the invitation
to come back whenever, but not just in a polite way, in a way that genuinely
meant it would not be weird at all for us to come and live with them randomly
for a week. I’m so thankful for this weekend and all the amazing people that
are starting to make lasting places in my heart, and I’m starting to realize
just how hard it’s going to be to leave.
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