My homestay experience in Ocean View
is one I will not soon forget. I was able to spend the weekend with an
incredibly open, warm, and loving family who took me and Alex in as their own.
Our host mom and dad, Gadija and Donovan, lived with their two children,
Caitlyn and Darren, and their aunt and her daughter, Fatima and Jody. They had
a really lovely home in Ocean View, and my stay was a really awesome
experience.
The first thing we did when we got
to Ocean View Thursday night was taking a ballroom dancing lesson with local
kids at their community center. Darren and Caitlyn were there practicing for a
competition coming up that Saturday. I loved dancing with the kids so much! We
learned four dances: the jive, the quickstep, the waltz, and the cha cha, which
was probably my favorite. The kids were amazing dancers, and they were so
enthusiastic and outgoing. They kept wanting to have conversations with me as
we danced, which would make me mess up my footwork. I loved dancing so much
that I want to go to a couple lessons at the UCONN Ballroom Dancing Club when I
get back to school.
On Friday we volunteered at a Sports
Day event for local crèches (preschools). I got the opportunity to be a judge
and record points for each team. The children ran footraces in their age
groups, which started at about 2 and went to 5 or 6. It was so incredibly windy
that day, it looked like some of the kids were going to blow over! Lots of
parents came out to watch and support their kids, so that was cool to see.
After the Sports Day, we had an awesome home-cooked meal at the home of one of
the host moms. So delicious and well-deserved after all that hard work
wrangling children. Friday night, we joined our homestay family and went to go
seen Darren perform in his high school variety show in the neighboring town of
Fishoek. There were lots of musical acts- singing, dancing, playing
instruments- and the students were really talented. I don’t remember kids at my
high school being so musically gifted!
On Saturday we took a trip to the
mall to get food to bring to the Cape Town Carnival that night. The food store
at the mall reminded me of those back at home; it was the biggest supermarket
I’ve been to so far in Cape Town. The ones in Rondebosch are much smaller.
Anyway, we bought burgers and sausages and vegetables and Gadija spent the rest
of the afternoon preparing the food. And she did an amazing job, the food was
so delicious.
We got the opportunity to watch the
Carnival from the balcony of the office building that Fatima works in, and it
had a near-perfect view of the action. The carnival was more like a parade and
featured floats and dancers walking down the road, singing and dancing. Caitlyn
and Darren weren’t able to go because they had their ballroom competition (and
Caitlyn won her division!). However, we were able to go with another host
family and we met up with them in the city. It was a really fun night spent
bonding and laughing with everyone. We had a really great time!
On Sunday we went to church with our
family. Their service was held in a classroom at Ocean View High because the
church hadn’t yet been able to find a permanent place of residency in town. The
congregation was incredibly open and grateful to have us there with them. We
sang along to songs and listened to the Father’s sermon. Gadija was pretty
involved in the service and sang at the front of the room, and it was really
cool to hear her sing. She was so happy that we came to church with her and I
was happy that I went. Sunday afternoon, we had our last meal with the family
and watched a funny movie that the kids wanted to watch. Gadija cooked chicken
pot pie (the first chicken pot pie I have ever eaten) and it was delicious.
Overall, I am thankful for this
opportunity. I have never done something like this before and I can say with
certainty that it was a very valuable experience. There is no better way to
understand a family, a community, and its people than to plunge right in.
Everyone was so open and welcoming, and I felt really special to be able to be
there. I want to say thank you once more to my host family- Gadija, Donovan,
Caitlyn, Darren, Fatima, and Jody- for opening your arms and your home to us. Thank
you so so much!!
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