I finally moved in with my homestay in Cato Manor, a large township outside of Durban. I'm living with a single mother named Ningi, but I call her mama (you call everyone roughly the age of your parents mama or baba out of respect). I have two brothers, Minenhle- hl is funny lisp noise in zulu so i call him Mino- who's 24 and seems pretty cool. He's obsessed with American R&B and rap and asked me if I thought Tupac was still alive in the first ten minutes of meeting me. The younger brother, Aslam, is 16, but lives down the road a little bit with his grandmother. Most of my American friends live within walking distance, which is really nice, and there are a lot of neighborhood kids who are a little too excited to see white people in Cato Manor. There are also a rooster across the road, which I am a little less excited about early in the morning.
S. African bathing is an adventure- there is a basin thing, and you heat water on the stove, and fill it up, then splash yourself. I'm sure eventually you get the hang of it. You are expected to bathe at least once a day, if not twice.
Almost all South Africans are truly obsessed with Barak Obama and Kentucky Fried Chicken, which is everywhere.
We've started classes, so I have Zulu, field study, and community health every day with professors from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, which you can walk to from the classroom. Classes are way more intense than I was expecting, but it's really interesting stuff, so that is a good thing. Plus we have internet every day at the classroom, which is a lot more than most of us were expecting.
Hamba Kahle! (good bye, literally stay well)
Kara
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Kara! it is great to hear from you! can't wait to get to that country :)
ReplyDeletemuch love!
It sounds AWESOME, Kara!!! Is it really warm there?? It's been cold and snowy for me!
ReplyDeleteSorry I haven't done my synopsis thing yet, I've been kinda sick and really lazy. I'll email it out when I do though, kay?
Also, you never did say what you thought of Tupac... ;-)
Em! Email would be fantastic. It is really hot here, and I have a fantastic sunburn. Everyone here is pretty convinced Tupac is alive, so I keep my opinions to myself :-P
ReplyDeleteKara, when I was doing my homestay I woke up to everything from roosters to cows lo-ing to conch shells being blown at the local temple (kinda like church bells here). Great, huh! Then there is this business about your shower....so long as the water is clean and bacteria/virus free, enjoy it! I was always petrified of opening my mouth in the shower lest I catch some tummy bug...ick!
ReplyDeleteI'm grateful for your internet and happy host family. (Is there a story about the father/husband/male figure in the family? What happened to him?) The street kids sound great! I was too nervous to play "football" in Rwanda when I was there. But there always was a game going down the hill or along the street from me. They were often barefoot, and super excited about playing too! Ah, kara! You are bringing back such great memories to me! Thanks!!!!
And Obama..how about that! I'm so glad that you are able to be in Africa at a time when you are so welcomed and people so grateful for you. It's such a blessing to be welcomed in that way. In India, I was oft nervous about admitting where I was from. Say "canada" and they'd not be the wiser. Now, though, I think I'd be better off being honest. That's good to hear!
How's the food, huh? Besides kfc? And is their kfc the same as ours? or are there fun african things on the menu? If so, what?
You make it sound like bathing once or twice a day would be such an annoying necessity. I hope you brought a strong deodorant and antiperspirant. I miss you!
ReplyDeleteheyyy kara!
ReplyDeletehaha! your two latest posts are so funny! especially with the thing with tupac and obama.. playing with the kids sounds sooo fun.. and your public school visit will definitely be something..!
sorry, i guess u have no idea who i am.. mustardmoose is really Ting. hehe.
ReplyDelete