Rural Homestay

I can’t even wrap my mind around all that has happened in the past week and a half.  When we first left for our rural homestays two Fridays ago (Feb. 17) I was excited to experience true African rural life.  When I got settled in though, I was once again shocked and humbled to find that rural Africa was nothing like I expected.  Even Soroti was becoming an industrialized region with all the modern conveniences any other city or town here in Africa has.  There were hotels, gas stations, hospitals, schools, and more.  Anything my family was living without I realized was by choice and not due to lack of access or funds.  The idea many Americans have of typical hut life, poverty, and lack of material possessions is definitely not real Uganda.  I spent my week in Soroti trying to adapt to the one real difference between rural African and American life:  living to live and that alone.  Rural Africans spend their days working to survive.  The men make the income and the women cook, cook, and cook some more.  The majority of my time in Soroti was spent with my aunt Petwa doing her daily routine of gathering food and then cooking it.  Literally all her time was spent preparing meals.  In America we want to do things quickly so we can fit more in our days, but African women take their time cooking because they truly have nothing else to do besides housework.  I can’t imagine living my life just to eat and stay alive, but that’s what these women do.  On my rural homestay, I got the amazing opportunity to become one of these women for a week.  I spent my hours at the Elessu home learning how to cook or restlessly awaiting the next meal so there was something to do.  I lived with the oldest couple out of all the host families.  My Tata and Papa were 85 and 78, and their entire day consisted of sitting and staring at the trees from their seats on the porch and waiting for Petwa to bring the next meal.  God truly taught me to be present and content with where I’m at during the times I would sit with them, even if that required being content with doing absolutely nothing.  God did teach me another important lesson through those times with my grandparents, however, as I had the opportunity to talk with them about their lives and all the amazing things they have done.  My Papa and Tata had lived in Soroti all their lives (except for the 2 years they spent in Britain), but they had accomplished so much.  They had written numerous books and novels, met Queen Elizabeth, become good friends with 3 African bishops, personally know the Pope of Kenya and his wife, and have had visitors from all over the world come to see them personally.  They have done so much and left an impact on so many people just by being present in the Iteso community.  I learned from them that I can make a difference no matter where I’m at, even if I live in one community for the rest of my life.  All I need to do is love the people around me just like my Papa and Tata did.

All in all it was a great week.  I learned to enjoy my time with papa and Tata on the porch, and I also learned how to cook many African dishes and perform numerous chores like hoeing potatoes, carrying firewood and jerry cans of water on my head, doing farm chores, and making jewelry out of palm leaves for the neighborhood kids because you work with what you’ve got J I got to spend a weekend with the relatives and fall in love with my Tata and Papa, Petwa, my Aunt Lucy, cousin Jesica, and all the grandchildren.  I will miss them greatly and I will never forget all they taught me about life, faith, family, and hospitality during my stay there.