Home Sweet Homestay.

Cultural experience: Check.

This past weekend, I got a lot of taste of home. Or what home is like for one particular family in Oceanview, a colored township near Fish Hoek. Put together by CIEE, almost my whole program invaded the vibrant community on Friday evening to meet our parents for the following 48 hours. We were ushered into the (sole) local high school and left to find our families. Right off the bat I knew I’d love spending time with my mother Niz and her husband Raymond. In their matching green shirts and grins, they peppered me with questions and threatened to send me up on stage for the talent show that was going to be our dinner’s entertainment. I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction! I also got to meet my sister, no not a Kappa, but another American named Kayla from Penn State who’d be staying with the family. Luckily, I quickly learned some important things about homestays…

Don’t judge a township by its talent show.

The program for first night included: Three 12 yr old girls shimmying and shaking to a mash-up of “Womanizer” and various other Britney hits while wearing boas, an almost fatal pyrotechnic routine, a Michael Jackson tribute done impeccably by a 9 yr old boy, opera-singing by one of our R.A.s, two guitarists with original numbers I didn’t know whether to laugh or move my feet to, the high school’s “band”, dancers inspired, and I quote, “by the one and only Foxy Brown”, and the voice of an 11 yr old angel.

After the performances, I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into. I did, however, feel comforted by the warning Laline, a woman I met in our first visit to Oceanview during orientation, gave to Niz to keep me safe and out of trouble, and of course well fed, before we climbed into the car to go pick up the children.

A Boy by Any Other Name Would be just as Sweet.

We sped away from the high school in a hurry in order to pick up Luke, 8, and Noah, 3, from Raymond’s mother’s house. Apparently she called during the night anxious for us to arrive. I soon found out that meant anxious to force feed us sweets and coffee and stories. After a twenty-minute ride, we arrived in a neighboring township teeming with activity on the streets. We went to find the boys and found ourselves in middle of a family reunion. I was immediately pulled into the festivities and introduced around. Naturally, I loved it. What I loved more though was my first few moments with Noah. The little rascal was shy for all of about a split second before calling me auntie and dragging me by hand to the adorable kittens in the corner. The three kitties were so tiny they could fit in the palm of my hand and the pocket of my sweater (yes, I did attempt to steal one for Highstead). Anyways, Noah couldn’t have been cuter and I instantly knew we’d be fast friends.

If you don’t have anything nice to say, still say it.

Once we piled back into the car after extended goodbyes, Noah passed on Niz’s lap and I began to really get to know the family. Granted, my incessant questioning probably is why it happened. The car ride was spent discussing Luke, mainly because he enjoys talking abut himself. He currently plays the trumpet, loves his soccer team, has two best friends, will turn 9yrs old in a week, and his favorite WWE wrestler is John Cena (horrible flashback to my brothers’ trying out clotheslines and asking me to “tap out” in the basement). When we got back to their house, and I use that term loosely, I realized Luke also rocks at chess. He challenged me to a total of ten games during the weekend, six went his way, four went mine. The losses are still raw.

My favorite part of Friday occurred after the boys (Ray included) went to bed. Since Kayla faded fast, Niz and I stayed up until well past 3am talking. She told me about her life, how she’s lived in the same house since she was born. She told me of both her parents deaths when she was 17 and the lack of communication she has with her brother who is 11 yrs older despite the fact he lives one street away. She explained the issues of Oceanview, about the drug use, the paychecks being blown on alcohol, and how no one tries to uplift one another but instead they use their neighbors as stepping-stones. I almost pictured a Lifetime movie with the realities she faces and wishes to overcome, only I know her story and the loose ends that keep her fighting to make her daycare profitable won’t be ties up and the happy ending she wants would mean a whole restructuring of the community she lives in. It was definitely hard to hear her worry about Luke and Noah’s future especially with high level of crime and gang activity going on around them.

After our talk, I climbed into my bunk bed I was sharing with Luke for the weekend and couldn’t wait to wake up…

Take the Road More Traveled

There is a reason people rave about South Africa and Cape Town in particular. I had about a million reasons on Saturday. We woke up to a delicious breakfast (they take their food seriously in Oceanview) and an energetic Noah racing around the house before we set out for Simon’s Town to watch Luke’s soccer game. On the drive there, Ray told us about the forced removals of colored family’s from Simon’s Town to Oceanview under apartheid and pointed out the houses some his friends used to live in. The ocean front property was definitely a far cry away from the concrete slabs they now call home. When we reached the field, with a scenic backdrop of the Atlantic, I couldn’t help but already feel like part of the family. We set up shop on the sidelines, started cheering and delighted in the match so much we stayed for the following one. 

Champions

It was a perfect jumpstart to our fabulous day of:

Playing with penguins at Boulders Beach. Otherwise known as peng-guns by Noah.

Driving the coast to Chapel’s peak

-       Having a picnic lunch at llundudno beach. Which turned into a cricket match, which turned into me being teased mercilessly for my lack of knowledge on the sport, which turned into Noah tackling me on the sand and me secretly wishing the day could last forever.

Rebel Without a Cause

Watching the sunset at Signal Hill. A Cape Town must.

  Eating a family dinner of fish n’ chips in Fish Hoek

-    Learning some Afrikaans before pillow talk with Luke about why he hates school and subsequently trying to convince him its worth it

The early bird catches the cyclists.

Every year the Cape Argus Cyclist tour comes through Oceanview and the community celebrates it as a “National Drinking Day”. Since according to Niz, it’s just another excuse for the people to forget their problems and pretend drinking all day is okay (she obviously hasn’t visited colleges in the states), we forwent the drinking and woke up early on Sunday just to watch and cheer on the cyclists. While everyone braai’d around us, I subtly stalked Noah, knowing I had to leave him later in the day. His thrills came from the helicopters that flew overhead. Oh, and the sticks on the side of the road.

We were back at the house by 2 in time to pack up, eat lunch, have the best dessert I’ve ever eaten(a typical colored dish of shortbread, caramel, chocolate, and pudding), exchange numbers, and head out. I had a bittersweet goodbye with Noah, mainly because of the melted chocolate on his face, and got on the bus.

It’s true what they say, There’s No Place like Home.