Homestay Weekend

I spent this past weekend living with a family in a township called Ocean View, and it was a great experience. Ocean View is unlike the other townships I have visited in that it consists of mostly permanent dwellings, actual houses, as opposed to shanty shacks that can be assembled and disassembled easily. Ocean View is generally better off than townships like Imizamu Yethu, the township I visited on a field trip. I stayed in a woman named Leslie’s house with 5 other CIEE kids. I think that we were all supposed to have split up into her children’s homes, but we ended up all staying together in her house with her three sons, Jason (27). Levon (17), and Chesiree (14). Leslie is in her mid-50’s and has 5 children ages 35 to 14 and 3 grandchildren. Her husband works in shipping and is away for months at a time, so we didn’t get to meet him. The weekend consisted of good food, meeting tons and tons of relatives, and generally having a good time. There seems to be a rotating cast of characters in Leslie’s life, as her sons-in-law, grandchildren, and neighbors were a constant presence throughout the weekend.

When we arrived on Friday, we were assigned tables with our family for the weekend and the CIEE kids. I had met a few of them before, but I wasn’t close with any of the other homestay kids, so it was really cool to have this new experience together. We had dinner with our family and watched a performance by different kids in the township. They sang, danced, and acted extremely well, and they were very proud of their talents. After dinner, we walked to Leslie’s house, and sat around talking and drinking Savanna’s while her family members came over to meet us. It was so interesting to talk to them and hear about their lives, their family history, the forced removal from Simon’s Town during apartheid that created the community of ocean view, and just generally getting to know them.

Saturday, we woke up to a delicious breakfast of French toast, bacon, and roasted tomatoes prepared by Leslie. She certainly spoiled us with food. We went down to the high school to watch out host brother Chesiree play soccer and hung out with some of the locals who were watching the various matches. Afterwards, Leslie had gone to the mall, so we were stranded outside her house. We saw a barber working out of a tent on a corner, and one of the American students I was staying with decided to take a chance and sat down in his barber chair. It was hysterical to see his blonde hair mixed in with all the dark black hair that had been cut before him. He paid a grand total of 20 Rand, and it looked pretty good. After, Leslie’s son-in-law Neil drove us around the area in the back of his pickup truck. We saw the entire township, gorgeous views of the surrounding area, and even stopped at a deserted gorgeous beach. When we returned, Leslie had the BEST macaroni and cheese waiting for us that I had ever tasted. It was sooo good, and then we all took naps from the heat and our food comas. When we woke up, we decided to walk to a farm nearby that has wine tasting, cheese, and even camel rides. When we got there, everything had close down but we relaxed there for a bit and it was cool to walk through a different part of Ocean View. We came back and the same rotating cast of characters came by as we sat around talking and drinking. We even had a gatsby sandwich, a monstrous sub with steak, salad, and French fries all in it. It was massive, even sharing amongst 3 people. It is famous amongst colored people, and since many colored people live in Ocean View, we were able to try this delicacy.

Sunday, it was brutally hot, but we still managed to eat extremely well and have a great end to our trip. We all hung out in Leslie’s room by the fan watching TV because it was truly too hot to do anything. She made us a farewell feast with roasted chicken and potatoes, two kinds of squash, an Indian inspired chicken dish with rice, and cheesy cauliflower. It was delicious and we were all stuffed. We took some family pictures and said our farewells. I hope to go back with the other CIEE kids that stayed with me and visit them.

Overall, it was a great weekend. I got to meet new people on my program and got to experience South African township life firsthand. It was such a great experience and I’m really happy I participated in it.

This weekend, I am heading to Johannesburg with CIEE, which should be a lot of fun and really exciting. We are staying in Soweto, which stands for South Western Townships, a large suburb of Joburg. We will be doing lots of fun touristy things, and I’m really looking forward to it.

Pictures of the township to come soon when I can steal them from other people.