I firstly apologize for not posting as regularly as I should. Of course the course load of academia has caught up with me. I have much more to right about and will get to it eventually. My homestay in ocean view actually happened two weekends ago now so bear with me.
CIEE organizes a homestay for a weekend in the township of Ocean View. I think I have spoken about Ocean View previously, but it is an all colored community that was forcibly removed from their land during apartheid. I knew that staying in this homestay would be very different from my normal lifestyle as a middle class American. However, I was bothered by different aspects of my stay than I thought that I thought would bother me. I am glad for a very eye-opening experience. I learned that I need to respect people for who they are and not judge based on values that I uphold and find important. It is important to know that everyone is a creation of God; we should accept them for who they are and the gifts they bring to society.
The first night we all had dinner together and ironically watched the same program that we had seen previously in the Peninsula tour. I met my host mom (Carmen) and my host dad (Darrel). They were very nice but I found it hard to maintain a conversation with these complete strangers. For every family, two CIEE members were assigned, so I also met the other person from CIEE who was staying with me. Anyways, dinner consisted of riani (don’t think I spelled that correctly), a rice dish that is pretty traditional for this community. It was very good.
On the way home, we stopped by Darrel’s parents in order to pick up Tristan (age 9) and Haley (age 5). Before they got in the car, Carmen and Darrel warned us that they were a handful. I think that really they are like any other kids. Haley especially has a free and independent spirit. Tristan loves to play soccer and Haley loves to be crazy (typical for a 5 year old). Their house was small but cozy. They were in the process of remodeling (for about 2 years now. A contractor didn’t uphold his contract ) to give each of the kids their own room. They showed us the renovations that were happening and were really excited because the construction is in its final stages. Due to the remodeling, we all slept in the same room. The other CIEE girl (Ari) and I slept in the two bunk beds. Ironically, I had the Barbie bed. T
he rest of the family slept on the queen sized bed right next to the bunk beds. I felt a little awkward to be given a bed to myself when I knew that the rest of the family was cramped and squished. I really value what they gave to me.
On Saturday, Ari and I went with Carmen to work. She worked at the public library in Ocean View. I thought that it gave me a very interesting perspective and a chance to work on some homework. The library was pretty small but the pride and joy according to Carmen were the five PC’s that were connected to the internet. The library was one of the few places that people could go in that town to get internet. In fact, for the first time, many people were gaining access to e-mail and a world beyond anything they had ever imagined. When I was there I witnessed the library in use. Quite a number of people ventured through in the three-hour stint that I was there. Some people were being tutored. Little kids were reading books. People were using the computers. I always love to see libraries being used.
After work, Carmen took us to the mall where we met up with Darrel. It was interesting because I rode my first ever Golden Arrow bus. It is just one of the public transit busses but I had never felt comfortable enough to ride due to safety concerns. Anyways, it
was an experience. We ate a nice lunch out and did some shopping at the grocery store. It seemed like the grocery store was a very social place. At almost every bend, Carmen and Darrel found someone that they knew and were speaking with them.
On that note, I was surprised at the amount of people that they knew and were friends with within their community. Frequently, driving around the neighborhood, we would honk at people that they knew. I swear it was once per block. Finally we rented some movies and enjoyed a night in watching movies.
Sunday, we were going to go to church, but because we hadn’t had a chance to go sightseeing we did that instead. They took us to Simon’s T
own, which was the town that most of them lived before moving to Ocean View. We toured the town. It was very pleasant. We also toured the coast. We saw penguins on the beach and baboons in the road. One or two came right up to the car. It was a little scary.
The whole weekend was very pleasant. I was thrown off by some of the family dynamics but I realized that I shouldn’t let them distort my memory of the family. They showed me a very nice time and showed me an authentic look into the life of a family in Ocean View. I am very gracious to them for the experience that they gave to Ari and me.
CIEE organizes a homestay for a weekend in the township of Ocean View. I think I have spoken about Ocean View previously, but it is an all colored community that was forcibly removed from their land during apartheid. I knew that staying in this homestay would be very different from my normal lifestyle as a middle class American. However, I was bothered by different aspects of my stay than I thought that I thought would bother me. I am glad for a very eye-opening experience. I learned that I need to respect people for who they are and not judge based on values that I uphold and find important. It is important to know that everyone is a creation of God; we should accept them for who they are and the gifts they bring to society.
The first night we all had dinner together and ironically watched the same program that we had seen previously in the Peninsula tour. I met my host mom (Carmen) and my host dad (Darrel). They were very nice but I found it hard to maintain a conversation with these complete strangers. For every family, two CIEE members were assigned, so I also met the other person from CIEE who was staying with me. Anyways, dinner consisted of riani (don’t think I spelled that correctly), a rice dish that is pretty traditional for this community. It was very good.
On the way home, we stopped by Darrel’s parents in order to pick up Tristan (age 9) and Haley (age 5). Before they got in the car, Carmen and Darrel warned us that they were a handful. I think that really they are like any other kids. Haley especially has a free and independent spirit. Tristan loves to play soccer and Haley loves to be crazy (typical for a 5 year old). Their house was small but cozy. They were in the process of remodeling (for about 2 years now. A contractor didn’t uphold his contract ) to give each of the kids their own room. They showed us the renovations that were happening and were really excited because the construction is in its final stages. Due to the remodeling, we all slept in the same room. The other CIEE girl (Ari) and I slept in the two bunk beds. Ironically, I had the Barbie bed. T
he rest of the family slept on the queen sized bed right next to the bunk beds. I felt a little awkward to be given a bed to myself when I knew that the rest of the family was cramped and squished. I really value what they gave to me.On Saturday, Ari and I went with Carmen to work. She worked at the public library in Ocean View. I thought that it gave me a very interesting perspective and a chance to work on some homework. The library was pretty small but the pride and joy according to Carmen were the five PC’s that were connected to the internet. The library was one of the few places that people could go in that town to get internet. In fact, for the first time, many people were gaining access to e-mail and a world beyond anything they had ever imagined. When I was there I witnessed the library in use. Quite a number of people ventured through in the three-hour stint that I was there. Some people were being tutored. Little kids were reading books. People were using the computers. I always love to see libraries being used.
After work, Carmen took us to the mall where we met up with Darrel. It was interesting because I rode my first ever Golden Arrow bus. It is just one of the public transit busses but I had never felt comfortable enough to ride due to safety concerns. Anyways, it
was an experience. We ate a nice lunch out and did some shopping at the grocery store. It seemed like the grocery store was a very social place. At almost every bend, Carmen and Darrel found someone that they knew and were speaking with them.On that note, I was surprised at the amount of people that they knew and were friends with within their community. Frequently, driving around the neighborhood, we would honk at people that they knew. I swear it was once per block. Finally we rented some movies and enjoyed a night in watching movies.
Sunday, we were going to go to church, but because we hadn’t had a chance to go sightseeing we did that instead. They took us to Simon’s T
own, which was the town that most of them lived before moving to Ocean View. We toured the town. It was very pleasant. We also toured the coast. We saw penguins on the beach and baboons in the road. One or two came right up to the car. It was a little scary.The whole weekend was very pleasant. I was thrown off by some of the family dynamics but I realized that I shouldn’t let them distort my memory of the family. They showed me a very nice time and showed me an authentic look into the life of a family in Ocean View. I am very gracious to them for the experience that they gave to Ari and me.
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