Host family

Walking home would have been a little more awkward if it weren’t for Kimberly, a volunteer who served in Cape Verde for a year.  In Cape Verde, they speak creole Portuguese and she was able to understand what my host mom was telling me.  She was trying to tell me that she would be going to her brother’s wedding in Maputo for the next couple of days and that her 17 year old son and her mother would also be at the wedding.  However, her 20-year-old daughter, Seninha, would be at home with me.

When I arrived to the house that I would be living in for the next 10 weeks, I was surprised to see how big my room was.  There wasn’t anything in there except for a bed, a desk and a couple of chairs.  After I placed my belongings in my new room, I went to the dining room table to eat.   My first lunch with most host mother and sister consisted of salad, steamed vegetables and potatoes, and chicken.    I thought, “I hope we won’t just sit in silence while we eat.  And how will I be able to tell them I don’t eat meat? Will they understand the concept of being a vegetarian?” I spoke to her in Spanish and she was able to understand me when I told her that I don’t eat meat.  After I asked her to speak slowly in Portuguese, she stated that it was fine because she had a volunteer before me who was also a vegetarian.  I was so excited to hear that she was okay with it.  Her smile was also reassuring.

I’m sure some of you are as curious about the bathroom situation as I was when I first arrived.  I wasn’t sure if I had dig a hole in the ground in order to use the bathroom.  My host mother showed me the outdoor bathroom. I was surprised to see a porcelain toilet.  She told me that I just need to add water to the toilet bowl and it will flush.  She pointed right in front of the toilet to an area where I can take a bath.  To take baths, I take boiled water and cold water, and mix it in a bucket until it’s warm.  Then I just scrub down using the water, soap, and a face towel.  It’s actually not that bad unless it’s cold outside.

The rest of the day went by fast.  I unpacked my suitcase and said good-bye to my host mother who was leaving for Maputo.  Seninha helped me assemble a mosquito net to place over my bed.  Around 9 PM, I went to sleep. I woke up to the sound of roosters crowing, as if they were shouting, “It’s time to get up. You’re in Africa now!”