It’s
host family day!!!! We got up early, had
breakfast, then continued on with our training at Lake Mainstay Resort. After lunch, we loaded up the vans (I’m kind
of getting used to them at this point) and headed to Affiance for host family
orientation. As we walked into Bacchus
Library, a lot of the host families were there waiting for us. We clambered in and found seats at the tables
that were set up in the middle of the room.
There was a light-hearted get to know you activity before we delved into
the meat of the orientation. After this,
we discussed Creolese and what certain words mean and the different family types
and ethnic groups you find here. Then it
was time to find out who our families were!
To do this, we were all given a lyric from a folk song. In return, the host families were given the corresponding
song which they had to stand up and sing.
If our lyric matched the song they were singing, we were a match! It was actually a little hard to figure our
but in the end, we all found our families.
Luckily, mine was the 2nd family that stood up so my anxiety
was relieved pretty quickly.
This
was also the time where we were reunited with our luggage! Oh how I have missed my luggage. We loaded up the car with everything (which
was a lot) including the medical kit, bug net, and water filter they gave us as
we left and we were off! My family lives
about 15 minutes from Affiance in the village of Onderneeming. We live across the street from Suddie Primary
which is where I will be doing my practicum training when I’m not at Bacchus
Library. The house is pretty big with a
gorgeous veranda in the front (which is where I spend most of my time). There are three bedrooms in the house, with a
nice sized kitchen and living room. The
washroom is not really a room at all.
They are stalls placed at the end of the hallway next to the
kitchen. One stall for the toilet and
another for the shower. Outside of this
is a sink and counter. Speaking of
toilet and shower…I do have indoor plumbing (Yay!) but since the dry season has
lasted longer than usual, the rainwater that is used for the two is low and
therefor will not flow through the pipes.
So…instead of flushing the toilet and it all going down the pipes, you
have to fill a bucket with water from the shower and pour it into the tank of
the toilet every time you want to flush.
In addition, instead of showering, I again have to fill a bucket and
wash from there. This is called a bucket
bath. I take the water in a cup and pour
it onto me, soap up, then pour more water on me to rinse off. On the days I wash my hair, I have to flip my
head over like I’m washing it in the sink.
AND, since it is rain water I am using, it is cold! A hot shower and taking a bath are all
distant memories.
Sunday
was relaxing. I slept until 10:30 and
would have slept longer if my host sister Angel would not have walked in to
check up on me. I think she was anxious
to spend some time with me. We pretty
much sat around, washed clothes (which is a process in itself, and got to know
each other. Later in the afternoon, Mom
(Vanessa), Angel and I went for a walk around Suddie. This was no ordinary walk because there were
sheep and cows and a rogue bull that almost ran over me! No joke...mom had to move me over because I
was just staring at it. That doesn’t
happen back in Nashville! They showed me
where to catch a car to get back to Affiance where we were having our
training. We then walked down the street
to find dad, who was at a club (bar), to catch a ride home since the Cricket
match he was watching was over.
My home!
Mom and Angel
Goats on my walk home from training
(Suddie Primary is straight ahead)
Group shot on the way to Georgetown
Speed Boat! The only way to get to and from Georgetown from where we are living.
No comments:
Post a Comment