Wow, it’s only been a week and one day since I left the US, but it seems as if it’s been a month. Yesterday was a very eventful day for me, because I met my host family for the first time. The families arrived at the college around 10:30 am yesterday to pick us up. I have to say that I was very nervous about meeting my new family!! It was the hardest part of PC service thus far! The staff had the families to set on one side of the gym, and the volunteers to sit on the other side. Then they called each volunteer up one by one, and then called the name of the host family. Then each volunteer took their chair and went and set by their host family. A lot of the womyn were dressed in their traditional dresses. My heart about jumped out of my chest when they called my name and my hands started immediately shaking. I had to concentrate really hard to put one foot in front of the other to make it to the front of the gym. Somehow I managed to walk to the front of the gym, carry my chair, and breathe all at the same time. I seemed like it took an eternity, but I finally made it to the front of the gym. Then, the name of my host mother was called. She came to the front of the gym to meet me, and she was indeed dressed in traditional attire. I extended my hand to shake hers and also somehow remembered to use my other hand to touch the elbow of my extended hand, witch is a sign of respect. She shook my hand, but then reached to pull me into a huge bear hug!!! She had several inches and pounds on me. We then went and sat down by each other while the other volunteers continued to be called. She didn’t pay me much attention after we sat down, so I decided to check her out. She was dressed in a traditional cotton dress, and also had small Silver Star pinned to the front of her dress. She wore some old worn out black flat dress shoes, and her hair was wrapped up in cloth that matched her dress. She looked to be about 60 or 70 years old. When all the volunteers where connected with their families, it was time to leave. I asked my new host mother her name, and she told me Margaret. I told her my name, and she repeated it by rolling both the r’s in my name…I like how she pronounced it…I didn’t know my name could sound so cool. Anyway, I asked her if we were driving in a car to her house, or if we needed to take one of the PC vans. She didn’t understand what I said, and I had to repeat myself several times. She finally just said van. So, I then told her I needed to go get my bags to take outside. She followed me, and helped me to carry my bags. I felt really bad that I had so many bags! I had a huge backpack that weighed around 60lbs, my carry-on suitcase, a big plastic zippered bag that contained the blanket and sheets the PC gave me, the medkit the PC gave me, a wal-mart type bag that contained 2 large bottles of water, and 3 compression sacks that contained clothes, sleeping bag, and two small backpacks. While this seemed like essential stuff to me, the look on Margaret’s face made me feel very embarrassed that I had so much stuff. I really wished at that moment I had turned in more of my stuff to the PC to store for me in Pretoria the day before. I had turned in my duffle bag about ½ full of stuff, but I should have turned in more.
After we took my stuff outside, we where just kind of standing in total silence waiting for the van to come and pick us up. I attempted to make some conversation, but Margaret just nodded her head a few times and said yes. I couldn’t figure out if she didn’t know what I was saying, or if she just didn’t want to talk to me. I finally just stopped talking and just stood there. The van finally arrived and even though we were toward the back of the line, Margaret started grabbing some of my bags and said come on! I grabbed the rest of my bags and hurried along behind her. Some of the PC staff started loading the luggage for me and three other volunteers into the back of the van, then the three volunteers and three host mothers crammed into the van. I immediately almost started to gag at the stench of body odor after the doors were shut. The bad thing was, SA don’t want to put the windows open when it’s hot we were packed in like sardines and you can’t breath because the odor is soooo bad. I just tried to think about something else, but it was difficult because my stomach was already upset from being so nervous, and the smell seemed to just make me want to vomit!! I just started having conversations with myself to help calm me down, and not jump out of the van and run (lol) all the way back home!! I told myself that if odor was the worst thing I would have to deal with, then I would be ok.
Then about 20 minutes away from the college, it was announced that we had arrived at your village, Troya Trust. All three volunteers started craning their necks to look out the window. I know that my eyes had to have about fell out. The village looked like everything I had pictured when I had ever thought about Africa…very small stone, mud, or brick houses with dirt yards and dirt streets. There were kids running around everywhere, and cows, goats, chickens, and donkeys the streets. I about jumped out of the van again. Don’t get me wrong…I knew when I signed up for the PC that this was the environment I would be living in. However, when I was actually faced with the realism of getting ready to be dropped off and left alone in a village with a family that I didn’t know and spoke very little English, in the village that was in the middle of nowhere, and if I started out on foot, I wouldn’t know where to go…it couldn’t get anymore real at that moment!! The van dropped off ???? 1st, and his face looked green when I caught a glimpse of him from the window of the van as we pulled away…at that moment, I realized that all the volunteers were probably feeling the same way I was. The van drove several more blocks\roads (I don’t know how else to really describe the road location system as none of the roads (dirt paths) had names and there were no stop signs), and then Margaret said, stop, this is the one.
There was a tall fence around the house, with an iron gate. Margaret helped me get my bags inside of the fence, and then it was my face that turned green as the van pulled away!! I saw a young girl (around the age of 19) open the front door and several small little faces peeping around her. Margaret said something to her, and she came out and grabbed several of my bags and took them inside. I grabbed the rest of my bags and followed her and Margaret into the house after Margaret simply said, “come”. I entered into a dwelling the really surprised me…the first room was the living room, and contained a couch, two matching chairs, a wall size entertainment center with a tv, stereo, dvd player, speakers, photos, and knickknacks, and a hutch type cabinet with an assortment of glass dishes. The floors were tiled, the walls were painted concrete, and the ceiling was corrugated metal with a light hanging from the middle and wires running across the ceiling. Margaret told me to sit on the couch, and she then said something to the young girl. The girl quickly came back with a tray that contained two cups, two spoons, and several small containers and sat it on the small coffee table in front of Margaret and I on the couch. Margaret then asked if I wanted tea or coffee and I said tea. She poured tea into a cup from a small silver pot, and handed me the cup. She then took the lid off one of the containers, and asked if I wanted sugar. Then she introduced me to the young girl who took one of the empty chairs…she said, this is my daughter and for the life of me I couldn’t repeat the name the said. Finally she said, call her by her English name Wilhelmina. The she said I have 7 children total. The three children then came shyly into the room, and Margaret started introducing them with ….again I couldn’t repeat the names, and Whilihemina said, these are my mothers grandchildren and their English names are Danell (in the 4th grade), Eunice (4 or 5), and Prudence (3) whom is Whilhelmina’s daughter. I was just thankful there was children, because I knew they would be a easy buffer between me and the adults of the house, I also knew that they could help me fill times of boredom and homesickness with games and playing, and I also knew they would be able to help me learn the language.
Margaret then explained in very broken English that the rest of her children lived elsewhere…I believe some in Pretoria and Johannesburg working. After I had taken about two sips from my tea, she said come and led me to one of two rooms to the right of the living room. She said, this is your room, go get your bags. I got my bags and took them into the room. To my surprise, there was a queen size bed with a headboard that wrapped ½ way around the room, a table, and a wardrobe with mirrors on the front. The walls were painted concrete. The ceiling was corrugated metal just like the living room, with a concrete floor. The bed was made with a flower pattern comforter with six pillows and six stuffed animals. I told her thanks, and said the room was beautiful and she looked quite pleased. She then called for Wilhelmina, and they started taking clothes out the wardrobe. I knew then, that was probably just given Margaret’s bedroom! Some of the clothing was a man’s clothing and Margaret said, these are the clothes of my dead husband, I keep them because it’s said in our culture that the children should wear the trousers of their father. I just said ok, because I really didn’t know how else to respond…I think my brain cells had all been used up just trying to breath. I asked if I could help and Margaret said yes, take these clothes to the other room. I went to the other room across from mine, and noted it was much smaller and didn’t have as nice of a bed and wardrobe. I also noted there were posters on the walls. I assume that it was probably Wilhelmina’s room. When the wardrobe was empty, Margaret tired a key on the lock of the wardrobe, but it wouldn’t lock. Margaret then handed me the key and said this doesn’t work, but the PC said there must be a lock on the wardrobe. She then gave me about 15 hangers and told me to hang all my long dresses (lol) in the wardrobe, and to fold my other clothes and put then on the bottom of the wardrobe. I said ok, thank you very much, and she just laughed very loud and left the room.
I was actually very happy to be alone for the moment to try and catch my breath. I hung up as much as I could and folded the rest of my clothes and stacked them on the bottom of the wardrobe. I then set out my water jug, and language learning supplies on the table. Margaret then came back into my room and handed me a ring with several skeleton type keys on it and said come. She went to the door of my room and said, this key locks your room door, please lock it when you leave. She then led me to the front door and said this key goes to this big door and this key goes to this iron door. Then she said, ok come. She then led me to the rooms to the left side of the living room. There was a room with a dining table, and another table with two TV’s on it, and a small deep freezer. She then led me just to the doorway of a very small room with a twin size bed, and a small mattress laying on the floor, and the she said, this is where I sleep (I was really guessing at that point that I must have taken her room). She then led me to the bathroom which contained a sink and bathtub and several buckets. She said, this is where you will take a bath, but there is no plumbing so the water must be heated and carried into the house and poured into the tub. She then led me to the kitchen, which contained a small stove, small refrigerator and a few counters and a cabinet. She then took me to the backdoor off the kitchen, which opened into a small courtyard that connected to another small building with two doors and two small windows. She then me to the end of the courtyard to a big green tank with the roof gutter connected to it. She said, this is where we get our water it comes from the roof into the tank. The then led me to the other side of the courtyard past an emaciated dog that was lying on its side. It looked up at me as I walked past with a pleading look in it’s eyes…it was so skinny, I could see every bone in it’s body! I lump rose to my throat, and I had took look away and squeeze my eyes shut to keep from crying and running to the dog to feed it some of the protein bars in my backpack. Walking past that dog and turning a blind eye, was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done…I started praying it would rain doggie chow. However, to my horror, we passed a very small cage that contained an adolescent aged dog that also needed food and water, and then we passed another small fenced in area that contained about twenty chickens. However, the chickens were very fat and looked well fed and watered…I guess because they would be eaten. We finally make our way to a makeshift gate that led into a small fenced in area. Margaret explained to shut the gate, or her only cow would get out. We walked a few feet and came to two small outhouses. She opened the door on each of them and said this is where we go to the bathroom, and then said, ok that’s all.
I really didn’t know what I should do. So I went inside and got my picture album and went to the living room where Margaret and Wilhelmina were watching TV. I sat down by Margaret and asked her if she would like to see pictures of my family. She said yes and I handed her the album and explained who everyone was… Wilhelmina also came over to look. Margaret said, nice family and “yes” to every picture. Wilhelmina then disappeared for a few minutes and came back with two albums and gave them to Margaret. Margaret then opened the first album which had about 5 pictures; one was of her mother which she said was still living and another of her husband that she said died in 1999…but she didn’t say how.
I’m tired, so I guess that’s all for now.
Till next time…
Filed under: Pre-Service Training | Tagged: Peace Corps
