Homestay

One of my favorite parts of my South African adventure was the weekend home stay in the neighborhood of Zwelethemba, which sits in Worcester, a city that sits an hour and a half outside of Cape town. While the pace of life was definitely slower and less modern than that of the city, it was a welcome break for the weekend as I played cards with other members of our group, had dinner with my host family, and relaxed. Despite the cold winter temperatures, which were close to freezing, and losing water the first morning, something that I was somewhat used to because of past family trips to Jamaica, I definitely enjoyed myself and the connections that I made with my host family. One of my host family members, Odwa, is nineteen and close in age to me so I was able to talk with him and his friends about everything from university, music, television shows, or what languages we knew. Walking around the neighborhood and hearing about its rich yet complicated history, which connects to the struggle against apartheid and transition period that South Africa went through during the mid 1990s, was also very interesting. While deeply saddening, hearing from older members in the neighborhood about their struggles during apartheid definitely put the events that I had heard about in museums and during class into perspective. Overall, spending time with the family and around the neighborhood that weekend definitely showed me that certain things, like good food, conversation and laughter are universal and connect us all.

- Max Morris