Guguletu Homestay

      So we did a home stay last weekend and it was quite the experience. No one in our group really knew what we were stepping in to other than that we wouldn't be alone, which was a huge relief to us all. We were excited yet apprehensive all at the same time! Our pre-homestay instructions included "Meet down the street and don't bring any valuables or money." That's about all we got so we didn't. We got picked up by our travel agency at about 4 o'clock and headed for Tambo Village, the upper class of Guguletu.
      One of our tour guides gave us some instructions on the way about Tambo Village explaining to us that the village has only been there for about 10 years. It started after the people were tired of living in shacks and requested to be relocated by the government and this is where they ended up and with better housing. He also told us that the Mamas were very excited that we were coming and that their economy depends on us coming to visit and that they've been doing home stays every week or so for the past 6 years. He also explained to us that anything and everything our Mamas gave us to eat and drink we had to clean our plates and empty our cups or else it would be seen as disrespectful. We were in for a full weekend!
      Our bus pulled up and all 19 of us piled out only to be welcomed by herds of children waiting to play with us. Immediately we got a rugby game going and it was on for at least an hour and half. We played so much and it was a blast! I could not have enjoyed it any more. I love playing with kids! Then, Mama Nokhaya came to pick me and Anna up and we were off to our new home for the weekend. Let me take a moment to describe Mama- she was a large and in charge woman who had reared three children already. One daughter has a 4 year old son, one son is currently on drugs, and the other daughter lives with her grandmother. Her husband works in the Eastern Cape to keep food on the table for Mama. The house was very nice for a house in South Africa- it had a television and 2 bedrooms. So, we got there and immediately she put us to work peeling potatoes, cutting butternut, and slicing onions. Before we knew it, there were two youngsters standing at the door asking us to come next door and play with them. Mama told us that she would finish up dinner and to go on.
      We went next door to play with a house of nine kids for the next two hours while Mama finished preparing our dinner. Her daughter came to fetch us and when we arrived, there were full plates of chicken, pap, mashed butternut, cabbage, potatoes and onions. It was delicious but we got scolded for trying to use a fork haha. Mama doesn't run her house that way and we proceeded to eat with our God-made utensils! It was quite the experience. Next, Mama had more than a few friends over and we danced the night away until it was time for bed and Anna and I shared a bed.
      The next morning we got up at a reasonable hour and had porridge and tea for breakfast. Porridge is an interesting dish because it's simply pap that isn't finished cooking with sugar in it. But it wasn't too shabby considering we were hungry! After breakfast, we woke Mama and said our goodbyes because we had to go to church at half past nine. She was sad to see us go but we were ready to get on our way. Church was a blast! Definitely the highlight of my home stay. The kids danced all around the church. We got to sing in Xhosa and hear the pastor's testimony that day. It was good to be a part of the body of Christ halfway across the world. So thankful to have been a part of something so special.
      After church, we crossed the railroad tracks to go to a local dive called Mzoli's. It was pretty much just a bar with house music that served us a braai. The only downside was that we waited 3 hours to eat. It was a little rough considering we hadn't eaten since about eight that morning and didn't get to eat until three oclock that afternoon but it was definitely an experience. Some of our group members were not so happy but we did it for the story and apparently you can't go to Guguletu and not eat at Mzoli's.
      Overall, the home stay was short and sweet. I can't say that I would do it again in a heartbeat but I learned a lot about the differences in township culture compared with city culture in South Africa. I'm thankful that I gained some insight into the paternalistic ideals held by a lot of the men in South Africa coupled with a lack of independence in the woman contributes to a substantial amount of the challenges faced by the townships. Here are some pictures I took while in Guguletu:
This was at church that morning:

 This was our plate of meat that we had to finish before we could leave: