The
week for our rural home stays finally rolled around and there were mixed
feelings at the CGE house. Everyone was feeling a mixture of excitement and apprehension
in anticipation for the week we all knew would be the most challenging of our
experiences in Namibia. In the weeks leading up to our departure we were lucky
enough to take classes in Khoekhoegowab, the language of the Damara tribe. We
were told that our host families would primarily speak this language and a bit
of English. Because this dialect utilizes 4 different clicking noises, it was
very difficult for us to master pronouncing even the most basic words and
phrases. After a long ride in the van driving north, we arrived in Khorixas, a
small town located in Damaraland.
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| A view of one of the two farms where students stayed |
Our
group was split up onto two different farms located outside of town. These
farms have been there for many years and are mostly comprised of large extended
families. Surrounded by tree covered mountains, these two small farms raised
cattle, goats, sheep, chickens, and donkeys. There was no electricity, no
running water and most of the houses were built from a mixture of cow dung,
sand, and water. Needless to say, this
setting placed us all outside of our comfort zones. During our week long stay,
our daily activities included cooking fat cakes over an open fire, collecting
water, caring for the animals, cow dunging the houses, climbing the mountains,
riding in donkey carts, and chatting around the fire at night. Life on the farm
was much slower and more relaxed then our lives back home or even our time back
in Windhoek.
Because
the week was so different from what we were used to, we were able to take time
to reflect upon ourselves, the Damara culture and also our American culture
back home. After withdrawing ourselves from our technology based lifestyle, we
were surprised how easy it was to survive without Internet, Facebook, cell
phones, and laptops. This allowed us to learn to live in the moment and also
appreciate all the time we had to spend with our families. Because one person
in each household was somehow related to another person on the farm it made us
feel part of a strong community. At any point in the day we could always visit
another house and were welcome with open arms and even given a meal or asked to
join in on a game of Six-Five, a popular game similar to Parcheesi. This sense
of community took us all by surprise because it was not something we were used
to in our own home towns. We really learned how important family and community
ties were to people living on the farms and how it impacted their daily lives. Since
there was a lot more down time around the farm, we were able to have meaningful
conversations with family members and other community members about things such
as religion, attitudes about rural and urban lifestyles, and share similarities
and differences between our two cultures. These conversations gave us an
opportunity to think more deeply about our own culture in a more subjective
light.
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| Students and host families pose for one last family photo |
While
we were able to learn a lot about Damara culture throughout the week, we
learned even more about our own culture in the United States. One aspect of our
homes for the week that make a certain impact on us was that our families' homes
did not have a lot of furniture, decorations, or many possessions beyond the
basic necessitates needed to live their lives on the farm. This absence of
material possessions forced us to examine how our lives back home are heavily
influenced by the material culture that dominates many Americans' lives. It was
refreshing to live without so many unnecessary things and focus more upon
creating a bond with the people around us. Many of us struggled to adapt to the
slow-paced life style of our host families. After important chores were
completed and the hot sun was beating down, our host families would spend most
of the day napping or relaxing under one of the few trees nearby. Without a day
full of set tasks and goals, we felt lazy, bored, or restless. We realized how
much American culture is focused upon a faced paced lifestyle and oriented
towards a strong work ethic. It was hard for us to accept that we weren't
capable of just relaxing for extended periods of time but as the week went on
we began to appreciate the peaceful atmosphere in comparison to the busy and
information consuming based society of the US.
Overall,
the rural home stay experience was both challenging and extremely beneficial. We
were able to interact with many interesting and new people while living under
circumstances completely different from our own. Both farm communities welcomed
us into their families with open arms and supported an environment in which we
exchanged our languages, histories, traditions,
and jokes. This week was certainly an unforgettable experience that will
continue to alter how we understand ourselves, Namibia, and our own home
culture.
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