An Outing Day with Linawo Home for Children
On Saturday morning we met up with the 15 children from the Linawo Home for Children at a park in the center of the city. The youngest child, Lebo, is a three-year old with a new cast on her arm; the oldest was a freshman in high school.
At the park we had a few hours to get to know each other over a snack. Each child chose a buddy from the ten Pomfret students. We lounged in the park for about an hour, talking, playing games, looking at the horse drawn carriage, and chatting.
Our next stop was the science museum and planetarium show. We enjoyed the children's show at the planetarium with Davy the Dragon who was learning about the night sky. We had only thirty minutes to tour the exhibits in the museum with our buddies.
We went to the beach for the rest of the afternoon to swim in the tidal pools. There is a pool built into the rocks to give bathers a safe place for swimming out of the rough surf. We spent two hours swimming and sunning ourselves with the children. We packed up and bid our goodbyes to the children until Tuesday.
Our outing today was a special treat for the Linawo children. The home doesn't have a van to transport the kids. Volunteer groups like us provide the opportunity for these children to have a special day out of their neighborhood. Now we are at the waterfront for two hours of down time.
Tonight we are going to see a hip hop dance show with our host Mamas. This is a big surprise for them, so it should be just as much fun watching the Mamas enjoy themselves as it is watching the show.
Homestay in Guguleto
We spent the last three nights with our home stay Mamas in the Township of Guguleto. We were all nervous about our time in the home stay, which was obvious by the polite smiles but otherwise quiet room.
Joddie and Quynh Anh stayed on my block, but the rest were one or two blocks away. After the other students left we settled into dinner preparation and getting aquatinted with Mama Noks. Nora, Elizabeth and I all stayed together with her. Mama Noks explained to us that she welcomes us into her home as members of her family, not just as guests.
She made spicy cooked cabbage, pop (a stiff corn meal that has the texture of overcooked cream of wheat) with a beef gravy, and cooked pumpkin.
We ate with our hands in the traditional South African style. Mama Noks believes that a spoon blocks the flavors of African cooking. She said, "You must place the food directly in your mouth to really taste it."
The Pomfret students looked right at home with their host families on the third night. Kevin and Keith were playing legos with the children in their family; they were so engrossed in building that they wouldn't stop to chat with us on our visit.
An was singing a song in Xhosa that his host Mama taught him (Phillip doesn't sing, but he enjoyed the concert). Joddie and Quynh Anh were having teenage-girl conversation with the 17-year old daughter in their house.
Peta and Elise were lounging in their pajamas with their family, watching a movie together. We all felt that we made a connection with these kind women during our stay.
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