Homestay family!

Last night I moved in with my homestay family. In Zulu culture you address anyone of your mother's age as "mama" and anyone your father's age as "baba." Boys your own age are called "bhuti" (brother) and girls are "sisi" (sister). My family is only mama and baba, most other people had lots of kids or a gogo (grandmother). It is the mama's duty to raise the children, especially the daughters, and she shows the daughters how to cook and keep a house for when she has a family. It's also a matter of pride to fatten up your homestay daughter- I've been told most students take about 10 pounds of South Africa back with them. 

She cooked us chicken curry and showed me how to make it. I made the salad. We watched soaps and talked about Obama while it was cooking, and I showed them pictures of my family. Everyone here LOVES Obama and is super-interested in him. They have their own election coming up in April, but no one seems as interested in it as in our's. 

In the city, almost everyone speaks English, especially the younger generation. Most older people are more comfortable with Zulu, but are fluent in English. Everyone is very soft-spoken, I had to get my mama to speak up a few times. 

I have my own room, very nicely furnished. There's no roof like we no it- there's one to keep the rain off but not one to keep sound from drifting over the walls (made of concrete- floors too). My family has a bathtub (but no hot water), and you use a washtub in it to bathe. The bathroom (with the bathtub and sink) is separate from the toilet.

Sunday I'll be going to Adventist church- we will wear long white dresses and cover our heads in white as well. 

More later, class is starting.