Tekawa's positive learning despite bumps in the road

Ocean View is a township that was created for those classified “colored” under the apartheid system. For our homestay weekend we each (in pairs) stayed with a family living in Oceanview.  Liz and I stayed with Aunty Lynette’s family. While we were there we met her husband and one of her kids, Kim who is 21 and lives with her. The house was pretty small, with just a sitting room, bedroom and kitchen. Behind their house is where the bathroom and Kim’s room were (we stayed in Kim’s room for the weekend). When we first arrived Aunty Lynette told us that unfortunately they did not have a shower or bath. When we did need to wash during the weekend Aunty Lynette boiled water for us and brought it to us in a bin about 2 ½ ft x 1 ft and probably about a foot deep. This was very humbling because we were trying to figure out how to wash ourselves for the weekend but this is something her family has to deal with everyday. It really made me think about the kind of effect poverty or lack of resources can have on a persons spirit. While we were there we weren’t very connected to our host family, I think there was a serious lack of communication between us and the family because I got the sense that they did not entirely want to spend much time with us, but perhaps they were feeling the same way about us. Although I did not feel very wanted by my host family what I found beautiful was the sense of community in Oceanview. When Liz and I weren’t with our host family it seemed like there was always another family willing to take us in. We spent quite a lot of time with Andrew and Ethan’s host family and have continued to keep in touch with their host brother. I have to say that my favorite part of the weekend was when Liz and I joined Nathan (the host brother), Andrew, and Ethan for a jam session. I really thought it was beautiful that we could come together, from such different backgrounds, and after knowing each other for such a short period of time and just enjoy each other’s company and create music together. Despite any bumps in the road the homestay was overall a positive learning experience.