Blog Post #3 - AH

    Coming into this trip, I was very excited about our homestay as I have had a few before on a trip to China and loved it. From the first day when Brian picked Manav and I up, our host family was amazing. I loved all the amazing food, talking to them about their days, watching soccer and wrestling every night, playing games with Divine and Ta’onga, and dancing with the neighborhood kids. Getting to know more about the family and telling them about my home was really fun and I am going to really miss it as we move in to our new place. 

      One memory in particular that will stick with me was one morning when Divine was off from school and I was getting ready for work, he came into the bathroom when I was about to brush my teeth. I asked him if he brushed already and when he said no I invited him to brush with me. He smiled shyly and ran to get his brush and toothpaste. Even though it was only a few minutes of brushing together, it was a really sweet moment and when he asked me to take a picture with my phone that was laying on the side, I was happy to oblige. I had been trying to hang out with him over the previous few days and I finally felt like I was getting a little closer with my host family. It was a great moment and I’ll remember it long after this trip is over. 

     Despite having a great time with the host family, I do wish I spent more time with them during my homestay. I didn’t realize how fast a month would go especially with our weekend trips and other activities such as work and orientation. With work and going to the gym, I often got home after Enala and Divine went to bed and Brian was already lying down on the couch. I just wish I was able to hang out with them more and do fun things with the family. Yet, this was often made difficult for me in particular because of my personality. The slow pace of their lifestyle clashes with how I usually live and the things that make me happy. From my first moment in Zambia, it struck me how content families were just watching television every evening and not having too much going on. In many cases, everyone watched the television without saying much. I am a person that always needs to be doing something or I get very bored and depressed. After the first few nights of just watching the same reality shows and wrestling, I knew I wasn’t going to last if I continued the same way. At school, I try to keep myself as busy as possible and love to try new things and go explore new places whenever I have a free minute. It was hard for me to get used to the slower pace of life my host family was accustomed to and thus I found myself spending longer hours at the gym and finding work to do at home to avoid getting too bored and sad. Unfortunately, in many cases, this limited my time with my host family and I regret not being around the house more. In the end though, I had an awesome experience with them and I wish I was able to stay with them for a longer period of time. I look forward to visiting them again before this program ends at the end of July!