Living in Oceanview

So I am currently spending my first week in Cape Town in the township of Oceanview with a family. To be honest before coming in I was extremely nervous because I had no idea what to expect. I did not know what kind of conditions I would be living in and what type of family. I also was nervous about what if we cannot talk about anything. I absolutely hate awkward conversations. Anyway I just was praying that this experience would grow me as a person and that I would be able to create bonds with people I would never expect. Well of course my prayers were answered even beyond what I had asked. 

We met our homestay family at a dinner that was put on by the township. We walked up to table number four and I was greeted by a motherly looking woman who told me her name was Bernadette. She is in her 40’s and is a colored woman. In South Africa there is whites, blacks, and coloreds. Colored people are people who are made up of both blacks and whites. The township of Oceanview is purely made up of Coloreds. The majority of Cape Town is both Afrikaans and Coloreds. The Terry family is made up of Bernadette, her husband (who name I still cannot pronounce), her 12 year old son named Robin and her precious 6 year old daughter Aimee. The dinner was delicious and then they had the youth of Oceanview do a talent show kind of thing. Which was full of hilarious brittany spears acts?, an awesome michael jackson dancer, and some sweet break dancing. When we were off to go to their home my heart was beating. We drove through the neighborhood and I could only think about where the heck would we be staying. The township is full of cardboard shacks and then small cement houses. The neighborhood honestly reminded me of what the projects would be like at night. Bunch of teenagers all roaming around the streets at night. We pulled up to the house and it looked nice from the outside small but comfortable. We were greeted to this ratty little fluffy dog that apparently had adopted itself into the family and claimed their home as its territory. I wanted to pet it so bad but it was way to dirty and has literally dreads hanging off of it. It sits in front of their door all day and teases me, cause all I want to do it squeeze it and love it. One of these days I swear I am going to just get a razor and shave it and then clean it up. Anyway we get into the house and it is beautiful. I had been in townships before and had never expected for it to be that nice. It has a living room with a TV and a kitchen with an island and everything. It is small of course but still has everything you need. Even were surprised to them having a shower. We are currently staying in the kids rooms. My comforter has sailboats all over it and their is a hannah montana puzzle that sits right on the desk beside me. My expectations were very much surpassed. The funny thing was that friend from the previous South Africa semester had put up pictures of her homestay and I had looked at them. The funny thing is that it is my homestay family. So coming into the house I was like “Woah I totally knew what your house looked like before I came.” 

Our first night in the house was a windy one. The wind here in Cape Town is INSANE. I am from the windy city but it definitely beats out Chicago any time. So it was hard to sleep the first night. Something I never expected was just how giving the people are. They are so easy to get along with and conversations are great. We have been able to be comfortable in the house. Our host mom makes the best food too. It has been awesome being able to have someone make good home cooked food just for you. They have been great in taking us out to do stuff. There was a carnival in the township put on by the high school. So we got to do that on Saturday night. It was crazy though because its not like the carnivals back home. First off I looked like the stupid white person because going into the carnival they have to pat you down for guns and such but I did not realize this and skipped everyone and walked ahead. Only to get ran down by security. Oops. haha. For once in my life I felt like the extreme minority. The only other white people we saw that night was the other APU people. It was a great night though. Got to eat popcorn, ride the scrambler, and watch the little girl Aimee run through the carnival wanting everything in sight. Aimee is absolutely hilarious and super adorable. She is such a little character. She is super sassy but sweet. She has made this whole experience so much fun. It makes me realize just how it would be to have a younger sister. 

On Sunday we went to church with our family, because it was Palm Sunday their church did something very unique. We went around the entire township and sang songs and simply praised God. They had a truck with the worship band in the back and we all followed them and walked around the entire township for about two hours. They had a stop where they pray over the township and then the little kids did a dance. It was neat to see the people who would be listening or watching from their windows and houses. Some even came out and joined. I had never been apart of something like that but it showed me just how dedicated these people are to the Lord and just how much they are willing to serve the Lord. Something I also noticed was just how divided the township was. You could not even notice just how drastic it is that the level of income is through the town. One second their is shacks made out of cardboard and then a two story house. Cape Town has made me realize just how well off I am and how it is going to be so hard coming back home. Something that I have been learning is just how people like my homestay family are simply happy with just have the essentials in life. I have been living with just the essentials these past couple of months and it has made me realize that us Americans are never satisfied with anything. We are always craving more. I was talking to someone and they were saying how previous semesters you will go home and your home will look like a palace. I never expected to learn this much from homestays but I am continually being challenged. I go to bed every night and think about where I am and how people grow up living this way their whole lives. I think about why did I get so lucky? Why do I deserve all the things I have? I have been to continually processing it over these past couple of days. Sunday afternoon the kids took us to this farm that has animals and such but also a bunch of nice shops too. It literally is right across the street from Oceanview and is drastically different. First off what you notice is majority of the visitors are white. The level of sophistication has come up and the price of things too. The only people of color there is the people who work the restaurants. It just blew my mind in how drastic it was. The thing that just made me so mad was that I knew that half these people have no idea that right across the street their is a township of people struggling to get by. It made me think about how many times I have been ignorant of what other people go on or how I have been those people in the restaurants. These are the issues I am constantly learning everyday I am here. 

Later that night we got to go to this beach where you can see penguins. Yes I know what you thinking, “Penguins in South Africa?” In Africa you can ride in the back of trucks without getting pulled over. So we all hop in the back and got to have the scenic tour around the coast line. It was the best experience to have. We got the beach with the penguins and you got to see 100’s of them. It was a blast to see the daddy penguins up close huddled over the eggs while the mothers sat by their sides. The sunset was beautiful and the moon on the ocean was something like a movie. Our family stopped and got us ice cream cones to eat on the drive back and ended our night with watching Spiderman 3 on the TV. It is those moments where I miss being home with my family curled up watching movies together. 

Today we had our first day of class which was a bummer. Having an entire month without class and then going back just honestly sucks. But it is only for two weeks I guess I will survive. We are going on a bunch of field trips which makes the time go by much faster. We tried to climb table top mountain this weekend but it was so windy that we were not advise too. The hike is pretty intense so I was glad we did not. I know I will eventually need to do it because it is absolutely beautiful up there. So instead we went into Cape Town and got our nose pierced. I know isn’t it crazy, I still am in shock I did it. I love it and it is better than I actually thought. I was freaking out before and had to hold my friends hand to get through it. Surprisingly it did not hurt only made your eyes water. The thing that stinks is that it constantly feels like you have a booger in your nose. haha  Still trying to get used to it, I forget it is there and I end up rubbing my nose. We went around the city the rest of the day. I swear we walked like five miles. The only big thing I have left is shark cage diving. Which I am freaking out over. I am scared out of my mind. Anyway I will try my best to keep everyone updated. The internet here is horribly slow and very limited. Goodnight from South Africa. :)