It has been about a month and a half since I moved to Leokaneng Village, which has been a fascinating experience so far. Between people understanding that I am American, running every day with my host mom and neighbor, understanding my community and how the people live in my community. It’s been a crazy ride, especially with the high number of marriage proposals I have received haha.
Home
I live a spacious room that has a combing small room. When I thought of Peace Corps, I never thought of having a room like this. Next door will be my guest bedroom, but for now it’s where I do my hair.
My Family
I live with an amazing family that has a father, mom, and five children. One of their children is finishing their first year of university! My host father is a solder and my host mother is a house wife. Across the village are my host father’s mother, my aunt, and uncle. In another house, is my host mom’s mother. They remind me of my family at home and it was the type of family I wanted when I first received my invitation.
Now Coming Together
These last two weeks, specifically, officially introduced me to what it is to truly live in rural part and be associated with the first world of South Africa along with the mindfuck that comes with living here. On October 23rd, two of my fellow volunteers and I rode down to Polokwane to volunteer at the CANSA Relay for Life with another organization. As we were driving, we go through this community with tin houses that looked like little boxes and then down the street were really nice homes made of bricks and beautiful stoned roofs. That was the only the beginning. Then after, the event we stayed with some Afrikaners [known as White South Africans] in their beautiful home decorated with pictures, beautiful high ceiling, a dog inside of the house, flushing toilets, running showers, amazing backyard with a gorgeous patio, and an 8 foot tall shelf with a variety of books. Where as in my village, we take bucket baths, uses a pit latrine for the bathroom, dogs are normally outside on a chain, and backyards are filled with animals, fruit trees, and vegetable gardens.
I went from being in my natural habitat and happy to being very sad that I was heading back to village life. Point blank: I relapsed.
South Africa is a tough country to serve in because there are the Haves and Have Nots blatantly in your face (The Haves as First World of South Africa and the Have Nots as the Third World of South Africa). When I arrived from my little adventure, my family was worried because I couldn’t say anything. I was too much in shock to say anything. Students in the city do well in school, parents are more involved in the education, and gives freely to the school. Whereas here, some people cannot afford to give to the school, learners cannot go to the parents to get help with homework because the parent might be illiterate, and it gives learners a disadvantage to aim higher.
Honestly, I am happy that I am able to truly experience living in the two worlds in one country. It makes me sad that people have unsure futures based off of their backgrounds. People may say, “But we have that in America.” No, in America everyone is given the same basic quality of life (apartment/house/ condo with bathroom, kitchen, and running water).In America, we have so many resources that many people can access. It’s best that I am experiencing this emotion because I am understanding the lives of the people here and not living in some fantasy world. All I can do is uplift the society’s future police officers, doctors, social workers, fashion designers, and nurses.
The Ubuntu Journey 