Finding a Family in Katutura

I’m back from my second homestay and about four weeks into my crazy, exciting adventure in Africa.  It has certainly been a fun few weeks and I’m pretty sure the last five days takes the cake.  Thank you for everyone who has been patient with my horrible updating schedule.  We actually broke the internet so wifi has been hard to come by.  However… here are some highlights of my super fun last couple of days:

-My host family was Ovambo and speaks Oshiwambo primarly.  This was such a great language learning opportunity!  They also run a kindergarten and I had six host siblings, 2.5 weeks old to twenty-one years.  This meant small children (YAY!) and people my age that I could hang out with… best of both worlds.

-I got to live in Katutura, which is a township of Windhoek, for five days which meant I was able to get outside the (occasionally touristy) bubble of Windhoek.

-I was able to learn so much about traditional Ovambo culture and language; I even got to wear a traditional Ovambo skirt and belt and necklace.

-I got to spend every evening with my amazing host brothers and sisters which was the best form of relaxation in the world.

-Kapana and Mangos, Kapana and Mangos.

-I was taken in like a long lost daughter by this family and never felt so at home when physically I’m so far away from it. (So grateful and blessed).

-I got to hold a little baby, run around with small children, and (attempt!) to learn how to cook each and every day which was such a cool experience.

-I figured out how to be out of my comfort zone and embrace it fully for a few days.

This urban homestay, for me especially, was an incredible new challenge and experience.  It was the first time since being here in Southern Africa that I really was thrust out of my comfort zone and learned how embrace flying by the seat of my pants.  I’m a big believer that if you’re not doing something terrifying you aren’t changing and you aren’t growing.  This growth has happened now twice: the first time was actually getting on the plane to come to Africa, the close second was staying with my family in Katutura.  It really allowed me to slow down, appreciate the small things, and relinquish control of things (sometimes).  It put me back in a home-environment and allowed me to build relationships with some of the most wonderful people I’ve ever encountered.   I loved spending evenings cooking with my oldest Host-sister or coming home and playing with the kids after a long day at school.  I loved that I had a true HOME to go to.

 

To be surrounded by a family with the kindest hearts and experience local Namibian culture is the biggest blessing I could have asked for.  Things that I hoped to see and feelings I hoped to experience while in Africa were all there in this family of eight.  I was able to take myself out of the critical-student/tourist/individual identity role and become part of a family where I could just listen and learn.  The experience allowed me to slow down and enjoy time with my little host brothers and gave me time with my camera that I had been ignoring.  It gave me a breakfast every morning with Meme (means Mother, in Oshiwambo) where she gave me a language lesson.  It required that I not have control all the time.  No internet? Oh well.  Dinner at various times? Ok.  Last minute adventuring?YES.  Living in Katutura gave me back something that I lost in growing up: the joy of living in the moment.  And as I lived in those moments, I was able to enjoy “just being”.  I was able to laugh harder, humble myself more, empathize better, care more, and love a lot harder.

My five days in Katutura were so badly needed and I don’t think I will ever be able to voice to my family what it meant to me.  It’s only now, in the recent days, that I have began to formulate what it really gave me beyond a great cultural experience, awesome food, and a family to love.  It settled my heart and gave it renewed joy that I hope I will be able to carry with me the rest of my time here in Africa.  I  feel like I am starting to now see the importance of my time here — just how much I am suppose to grow and a tiny glimpse  of the person I was designed & intended to be.  This adventure was more than a dream but a chance for something so incredibly great.  I hope that by the time I leave Africa in three short months I will have a fresh understanding of why I really came here, how the love of a family and other beautiful little things are just another representation of a greater, higher love; and that I am better able to view this heartbreaking world through a lens of goodness.
Here are some photos so far from the last few days.  I tried my best to capture my love for this family and the joy that they have and the joy that they instill in me.  I hope you are enjoying this adventure with me so far and like me, am excited for what the future holds

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