About My Host Family

I met my host mom, Mildred; my host dad, Tseko Patrick; and my youngest host sister, Lerato Mkobeko Ayanda, who goes by Katie (pronounced Cat-ee who is in the picture with me), on Saturday, September 14th. When I got to my new home I met my other host sister, Mwanja Patricia, who we call Patricia. She is my host mom's niece, but in my host family we don't use the term cousin. Aunts are called "mom", and nieces are "daughter". This is an aspect of the culture that I love, and immediately related to, because I always felt like my cousin Amira, in America, is my sister; now that I am able to see the cultural significance of how South African people relate to their family members, I see the correlation to how my family relates in America. My host family is very loving and hardworking. Our dad doesn't live with us, but he comes here very often, and picks me and Katie up from school sometimes. I love that I have such a complete family structure, it makes it feel like home.

After arriving at home for the first time, and getting comfortable in my pajamas, I immediately asked my mom the rules. I learned that we have to hand wash our underwear, everyday, when we take them off; and we hand wash our clothes every week. In South Africa energy and water have major restrictions, and can be very expensive. So, we have to turn on the geyser (water heater) when we want to bathe, and we heat up water in an electric pitcher to wash the dishes. We take baths, because there is no shower option; and we must clean the tub as soon as we are done using it. I realized how spoiled I have been, having a bathroom of my own most of my life. Patricia and Katie said they don't really have friends outside of family, and they don't go out much because of this. Even though this is very different than what I am used to in America, I am comfortable with it, because although I want to make friends, I don't want to do anything outside of the family norm. Here, you don't go out late at night because it is considered to be very dangerous. So we go out during the day, together, and in the evenings we spend time at home.

In just the few days that I have been here, I have learned that Patricia has so much love for EVERYONE! She is 19 years-old, but is like a mom to all of us, even our mom! She cooks, cleans, and offers massages to everyone in the house, purely out of love. Katie is the baby in the family, and like my brother in America, she fills that role very well, and she is fun to talk to. Our mom works very long and hards days. When she comes home, she like to watch "soapies", that I haven't yet come to enjoy. Apparently, everyone knows (but somehow I didn't know before coming here), that South African, Nigerian, and Brazilian actors are really bad, but they are the stars of the commonly watched soap operas in South Africa.

I already love this family, and I am really grateful that I was placed with them.