Hey everyone, we just returned
from our weekend home stay in Ocean View and I loved it! Cindy and I stayed
with Chantel Daniels (of Volunteer Mzansi Afrika) and her family. On Friday, we went to Green Curtain which is a
kindergarten school in Ocean View to volunteer. I was placed in an Afrikaans
class so the kids spoke mostly Afrikaans with the teacher. I thought it was
interesting that for lunch and snack time the kids had to pray before they
could eat their meals. Overall the children were so beautiful and it was a
lovely experience. Friday night we went
to a communal dinner and I tried malay cake for the first time and it is
delicious. I’m actually looking for the
recipe now to make it when I get back to the states. The people at the communal
dinner were so friendly. On Saturday we went to the mall and I tried the
McDonalds here. Surprisingly it tasted the same as it does in the states. On
Sunday, Chantel brought us to church and coming from the background of going to
church every Sunday I was very eager to see the similarities and differences
between my church back at home and Chantel’s church. I enjoyed the service and
the people there were welcoming and nice. This weekend gave me the opportunity
to emerge myself into a family here in Cape Town and I learned a lot about the
culture. I learned that the families are very close here and that everyone in
the community looks out for each other. Also, people respect their elders very
much and it is apparent through the way people never refer to someone older by
just their name. They always add uncle or auntie before their name just to show
respect even if they are not related to them. Another characteristic in the
community was the dogs. I was not a big fan of the dogs that were everywhere
but since they were not allowed in the house so I was able to tolerate them. All
in all, I had a great experience this weekend and I would not trade it for
anything.
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| Group Dinner in Ocean View, Clockwise from left: Daniella, Cindy, Maeve Chivell, Deborah, Cynthia, Alyssa |
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