After a 17 hour flight, we arrived safe and sound in Johannesburg, South Africa. Very quickly, we were immersed in a new and exciting culture through visits to museums and time spent with representatives of political parties. The most insightful experience for me, however, was the weekend we spent in Soweto, a township in Johannesburg. During that time, a fellow student and I lived with a family of four. We enjoyed spending time with the family and getting to know their cultures, Sutho and Zulu. The mother of the household was quite knowledgable, as she grew up Zulu and became Sutho when she married. She had a lot to say about different customs and rituals they celebrate, especially marriage and funerals. She told us about how South Africans have two wedding ceremonies: one “western,” much like what we see in the US. The other is traditional and, arguably, the more important of the two. Before this ceremony, the groom makes a payment to the family and if they accept, the couple can marry. At the ceremony a goat is sacrificed in honor of the couple and the love they share. Without the traditional ceremony, the couple is not considered married in their culture, therefore couples will often marry traditionally before having a western wedding.
Although I learned a lot during the weekend with my host family, I was surprised about how similar things were to families in the United States. I expected life on the other side of the world to be opposite of what I know so well when we it was quite the same, essentially. It was engrossing to see how parents still want the same things for their children and children are still silly and innocent. They go to school and are in activities and family values still matter. Realizing this was the most impactful aspect of the weekend because regardless of location, ethnicity, and culture, we have similarities and there is always a common ground.
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