I’m back in Windhoek and ready to swamp you with all of the wonderful experiences I have had! Just kidding. I’ll try to keep it brief, but still give you the gist of everything I have experienced these last couple weeks.

When we were picked up for our Rural Homestays in northern Namibia, we were greeted with all of the families singing a song that, translated, means “We are happy to be together”. It was absolutely amazing to see them all so overjoyed to welcome us into their homes. Their happiness made meeting them one of the most memorable parts of my semester so far. Over the course of the week, I even got to learn the song.

For the week, I lived with Tate (Father) Jeremia, Meme (Mother) Opuwo, Magy (age 18, the daughter of Tate Jeremia’s cousin), and my host brother Inekele (age 1 ½, pronounced in-eh-KAY-lah). Just down the path, about a 20 minute walk away, lived Tate Joseph and Meme Fina. They are the parents of Tate Jeremia.

The view from my front gate at Tate Jeremia’s house.

Tate Jeremia & Meme Opuwo’s house was a neat blend of modern and traditional. There was a large concrete structurehe  in the center of the property where we all slept, kept a lot of the food, and ate dinner. The perimeter of the property was fenced off by both metal fences and walls made of sticks. Several rooms outside were made of sticks and used for things such as a kitchen, a laundry area, bucket bath area, and storage. We used a gas-powered generator to watch the news each night, but used a fire to make the dinner.

During the day, we had class and then the nights were spent with our families. Throughout the course of the week, I got to experience several new things with my family. Meme Fina, my host grandmother, taught me how to pound mahangu (pearl millet) using holes in a concrete slab and a huge pole with a weight on the end. Pounding the mahangu enough turns it into flour, which is then used to make mahangu porridge, a traditional drink, and a type of traditional bread.

Meme Fina also taught me how to weave a basket out of reeds. I did pretty well, although my basket looks like it could be a resting place for an ant. It was a busy week, so my basket weaving had to take a back seat to other things.

As I mentioned in another post, it has been fun teaching my host families how to cook American foods. Since I’m no expert at cooking anything real over a fire, I taught my family how to make s’mores! They loved it & told me they would do it again for Christmas.

The Valpo girls decked out in traditional celebration clothing. A few siblings jumped in the shot too!

We even had a huge party at the end of the week for all of the families where we did traditional dances, sang songs, and ate some great food!

I had a really great week with my host family. I couldn’t have asked for more. They were so wonderfully welcoming, enjoyed talking to me about their culture, showed me some of they ways they do things, and gave me opportunities to learn things I would have never learned outside of northern Namibia. The rural homestay was definitely a highlight of my trip.

You can check out more photos of my homestay on my Picasa site!