Day 23: My South African Family

Today is the day that made me decide to go on this trip. While my time in South Africa includes a wide range of unique activities, I bought my plane ticket for the diplomacy aspect of this adventure. This entire week, I will have the opportunity to run the after-school program at Sir Lowry’s Pass, a township forty-five minutes north of Cape Town. Last Saturday, some of the leaders and I got a sneak preview of the community, but today, we brought the rest of the American students to experience these kids' love for the first time.



As we enter the township, I literally saw children of all ages drop whatever they had in their hands and sprint full force towards the bus. When I took my first step out of the bus, the kids greeted me with more hugs than I have gotten in a year and smiles that could light up an entire city. Naturally, a two year old girl named Serena stole the spotlight when she asked me to carry her. She attached herself to me for the next two hours as we connected with hand games and making goofy faces. Language barriers do not exist during playtime!



I spent the remaining time in the township getting to know my amazing host family. Ms. Hannie runs the show with her five children and working husband. This sweet, sweet lady serves as one of the soup moms of the community. Every morning, she as well as several other moms make porridge for the over 900 primary school children in the area. On top of that, she raises three boys and two girls ranging from ages 10 to 24. She lovingly opened her doors to me to teach me about her family and the Sir Lowry’s Pass's citizens. As gratitude, I made a large pot of spaghetti with a side of toast.



Funny story: As I am making dinner, the eldest daughter Ree Anne, Ms. Hannie, and I try to learn more about each other while they oversee my cooking. For the toast, I buttered the bread and placed all the slices on the oven rack. The looks that I received from these ladies made me think that I had eight heads when I told them of my toast making plans. All of a sudden, they begin laughing their heads off. Awkwardly giggling, I ignored them and kept talking. After I finished making dinner for all twelve of us, Nicole, one of Ms. Hannie’s daughters, showed me the toaster. That’s why they were laughing…



The rest of the evening consisted of talking and sharing. Ms. Hannie showed me her favorite family pictures, Ree Anne proudly displayed her Prom dress, and I tried to paint a picture of my family as well. When Ms. Hannie’s husband, Mr. Nicholas got home, he wanted to know everything about me. This vivacious man serves as the town librarian and pastor. In fact, one of the community members came to Mr. Nicholas asking for his marriage counseling services while we caught up. Its obvious how much the town respects this family. I can’t wait to grow closer with them in the next two weeks!

We aren't allowed to bring camera's into the township yet, so I leave you with another spectacular South African sunset.