On Saturday, February 9th we began our homestays in Langa, a
black township outside of Town. It was pouring that morning so we couldn't go
to the beach like we had originally planned, and instead we ended up going to
our classroom in Rondebosch and eating lunch at the restaurant beneath our
classroom before heading to Langa around 2pm. While we were eating Tabesa
surprised us with letters from our host mamas! My letter was short but sweet.
In the letter my mama welcomed me to the family and told me that they had given
me the name “Lilitha” which means sun ray in Xhosa because my family knew that I
was coming with brightness and light. Anyone who knows me knows that I was
balling my eyes out reading this letter (Hi Tay). I was so moved that a group
of people who only know me through a letter already loved me and wanted me to
be a part of their family! After weeks of anxiety about whether or not my
homestay family would like me, my nervousness melt away and became replaced
with excitement!
Langa is a big township and all twenty-seven of us are living in
different parts, so Tabesa split us up into three groups to make pick-ups and
drop-offs easier for our drivers. My group consists of Becky, Liora, Jenna,
Myaisha, Carol, Juan, Sarah, Sharkey, and I and our driver Martin. After
gathering our belongings from the various taxis and SIT office we piled into
Martin’s taxi and set off for Langa!
Funny story about arriving in Langa – I actually got dropped off at the
wrong house Saturday afternoon. After leaving Becky, Liora, Jenna, and Juan
with their host families, Martin announced that I was next. Butterflies filled
my stomach. We pulled up to a brown house on a corner where there were two
girls and an older woman waiting by the curb. Mama hugged me and grabbed me
bag, pulling me toward the door. As we approached the door I noticed that there
was a big number eight on the wall. Panic immediately filled my stomach. I was
supposed to be at dropped off at number six, not number eight! I let the woman
drag me into the house before politely telling her that I thought I was at the
wrong house. She then proceeded to pull out a picture of Sharkey, her real host
daughter, and compare our faces. At about the same time Martin realized that he
had made a mistake and started yelling for me to come back outside. Mama helped
me bring my bags back to the taxi and gave me a hug, saying she would invite me
over soon before dragging Sharkey and her suitcases inside. We almost had
another drop-off mistake with Myaisha almost getting dropped off at my house
but luckily Martin realized his mistake before Myaisha’s bags were out of the
taxi. I pulled my suitcases out of the taxi for the second and final time, waved
goodbye to my friends and walked into my new home for the next 23 days with
Mama Yoli who was waiting for me at the front gate.
Mama Yoli (my grandmother) showed me to my room where we dropped off my
bags before leading me to the back of the house to meet my mama, sisi, and the
baby. Mama greeted me warmly and welcomed me to her home, then sent me off to
unpack my bags. The unpacking process didn’t take long as a) I don’t have that
much stuff and b) I needed to do laundry pretty badly at this point, so after
depositing my belongings on the dresser and hanging up some dresses I made my
way out of the safety of my room to socialize with my family. While I was in
the kitchen with mama who was cooking fat cakes (the South African equivalent
of fried bread dough) my tata came home with his friends. The first thing he
said to me was “you have pets?” I was thrown off guard and stammered that I
have a pet dog named Luke at home. “And?” he asked, “You said you had two pets.
That’s only one.” Que awkward moment when you realize your homestay dad is
referencing the letter you wrote introducing yourself and you can’t remember
your (deceased) pet rabbit’s name… (Sorry Allison). I finally managed to come
up with Junior’s name after a long pause and explained that he passed away over
the summer which is why I couldn't come up with his name. “Rabbits aren’t
pets,” my tata replied,* before his friends jumped in and started asking me
questions about life in the US. After chatting for a few minutes Mama Yoli
informed me that I would be accompanying her to a party and that we would be
picking up her sister Mimi and Kelin, one of the girls in my program, on the
way. That was fast! I had only been in Langa for a little over an hour and I
was headed off to a party!
The party was being held at Mama Yoli and Mimi’s sister’s house. When we
arrived the house was already full of people, but Kelin and I managed to find a
space on a bench in the living room with the rest of the women. At first I felt
a little awkward because everyone was speaking in Xhosa and at that point I
only knew how to say a few words, but I realized after a while that no one
expected to me to know any Xhosa or even participate in the conversation so I
spent most of the time taking in my surroundings and observing the people
around me. It was quite entertaining to say the least and I found myself
enjoying the party, even though I was only a bystander. At one point our
hostess switched from Xhosa to English and addressed the party, “Today is a
good day. Rain brings good fortunate and it brought these two white ladies to
us. These pure white girls are lucky! They are lucky! Go out and buy Powerball
tickets and you will all be winners!” Stewart and Tabesa had told us that rain
was considered to be a good sign in this culture and that our hosts would
probably comment upon the fact that our arrival coincided with rain, but I
didn’t quite expect this sort of response! All of the party-goers laughed and
laughed and then resumed chatting with each other in Xhosa.
After a few hours Tata returned with the car and brought us all home.
Mama made dinner for me as I hadn’t eaten anything at the party and invited me
to watch TV with her in her bedroom while she took care of the baby. My tiny
sisi is about 16 days old and the sweetest little thing, though she can be
quite vocal when she’s hungry and at bath time. After spending some time with
Mama and baby I was sent to my room to get some much needed sleep.
On Sunday morning I got up early as Mama and Mama Yoli had arranged for
me to go to church with one of Mama Yoli’s friends’ daughters and Myaisha,
another girl in my program. Nande, Myaisha, and I, along with two of Nande’s
friends headed to the Methodist Church in Rosebank, a nearby town. I had never
been to a Methodist church service before and boy was it long – three hours to
be exact! The time went by quickly however, and I really enjoyed the service.
The pastor was white which I found extremely interesting since 99% of his
congregation is black, and the service itself was in English while the singing
was in Xhosa. The service was very lively and there was lots of dancing among
the youth group members. One of the crowd’s favorite dance moves was what my
Pontigny 226 girls and I fondly refer to as “the Mayshit” (hey Mary), which
made me laugh so hard! All in all I had a very enjoyable time, though I was
glad when the service finally ended.
Almost as soon as I walked in the door I heard people shouting my name
from outside the front gate. Mama shooed me outside to find out who it was, and
to my surprise I found my friend Lara with her sisi and a friend looking for
me! After chatting for a few minutes we decided to walk down the street to
Juan’s house to check up on him and say hi (you did say stop by anytime,
Juan!). After being informed by one of Juan’s bhutis that he was at Ryan’s
house, we set off across Langa to find our friends. On the way there we
actually ran into Juan, Ryan, and Kelsey Rae with their siblings! We decided to
merge our two groups and set out to find more of our friends. We spent about
two hours exploring Langa and picking up our classmates and their siblings from
all over the township, and it was one of the most enjoyable afternoons I've ever had! As we walked kids playing in and along the street would stop and
stare at our rag-tag group. The brave children ran up and interacted with us.
One little girl ran up beside me and grabbed hold of my wrist as I passed by
and walked with me for a few paces before letting go and running away giggling.
Another little boy gave me the thumbs up as I passed, which I returned. Next
time I go for a walk I need to remember to take the small party favors I
brought so I can make some more friends! When the sun got too hot to bear, we
all headed back to our respective houses around Langa. When I got back Mama
gave me a plate of food and sent me to my room to rest because she wanted to
watch a documentary with me at 8:20pm and didn't want me to fall asleep. My
mama already knows me so well! That night we watched “Miracle Rising in South
Africa” on the History Channel which was about the democracy movement in South
Africa from Nelson Mandela’s release from prison to his election to the
presidency in 1994. The show had a star studded cast, including both of the
Clintons, Oprah, Bono, and Peter Garbriel to name a few. It was a very
informative program and allowed me to fill in some gaps about post-apartheid
South Africa. It also gave me the opportunity to bond with my mama by hearing
about the democracy movement in SA from her point of view. Experiential
learning at its finest, am I right?
I’ve been living in Langa for six days now and am really enjoying the
experience! If the past few days are any prediction of the future, I will
(hopefully) pass my Xhosa course thanks to Mama’s diligent coaching and leave
South Africa addicted to soap operas (Isidingo and Generations, to be exact).
* This comment has also been agreed upon by Lara’s sisi who had the same
reaction as my Tata when I was recounting this story