Homestay

I spent this past weekend doing a homestay with a family in Grabouw. As an Afrikaans community, the "gr" is pronounced combined with the Hebrew "ch" so it's like "Chgru-beau." Located an hour and a half southeast of Cape Town, it is an agricultural hub for the country. There are apple orchards everywhere so they are home to the extremely popular drink Appletiser, essentially sparkling apple juice. I chose this location for my one homestay opportunity in order to enjoy a unique rural experience. Also, I knew I would never get to visit this intriguing town, otherwise. When we arrived Friday, we were welcomed by an African dancing and singing performance at the primary school. They then brought all the host families and the students together for a collective community dinner. I sat down with, what I thought was, a married couple but I quickly learned that they had only met three weeks before. The man had just broken up with his wife/girlfriend a month ago, came to Grabouw, met this woman, and moved in with her. I shared several quite interesting conversations with him. He told me his "sob story" about how his father had worked for Heinz ketchup (but it used to have a different name, supposedly) and received a promotion to move to America. His father turned it down, not wanting to leave, and he's held it against him ever since. Also, he explained to me that to belong to a church here, which everyone does, you must pay at least one tenth of your income to the church every month, no matter how much your salary is. Because of this, priests earn significantly more money than any other professions, so unfortunately some locals go into the occupation solely for that benefit.

            After dinner, I met my “mom” and “dad!” As a 73 year old colored woman and a 77 year old black man, they have been married for 48 years. They have three sons in their 40’s, two of which are married and have children. The woman was adorable and immediately opened up her arms and heart, exclaiming “my child!” as I approached her. Throughout the weekend, I enjoyed myriad interesting conversations with them both, ranging from religion to the Apartheid and Shrek to Two and a Half Men. We painted mathematical murals on the walls of the local primary school, toured the preschool that my “mom” is principal of, and spent hours cooking Potjie, a South African delicacy cooked outside in a pot. To wrap it all up, they brought me to their Anglican church on Sunday, which provided a great insight into their strong sense of a religious community. I experienced my first and probably last Communion, being force-fed the cracker and “Jesus’ blood.” Mountains beautifully surrounded the town everywhere you looked and I truly felt a tug as I pulled away at the end of the weekend. I am so glad I brought them a pie with a thank you note and I look forward to receiving a birthday phone call from them on Wednesday, as promised. As each day here goes by, not wasted for one second, I have gained a deeper and more genuine perception into the daily life of not just a local Cape Townian, but a local South African, and I am so thankful for that.