Homestay Experience

            In terms of immersing myself in Zambian culture, my homestay experience was invaluable. I feel that I actually understand it in a way that the internet and secondhand reports never would have allowed me to. I was lucky that my homestay family, especially my mom, took this aspect to the experience very seriously and made sure that we left understanding how exactly a typical Zambian family works. From nshima cooking lessons, to expected behavior at family gatherings, to the proper way to greet someone, at every turn we were getting a new lesson in the “Zambian way,” as my host parents would say. This all was great, first of all of course because of the insight into Zambia it gave me, but secondly because of the bonding opportunities that these lessons became. I think that some of the moments that brought me closest to my host parents were when they were teaching us about life here. For example, I remember on one of our last days when we asked our host mom about potentially coming to stay with them after the program had ended. This question launched her into a discussion about how in Zambia, you don’t need to ask to stay with family, and how not only just us but our families as well would always be welcome at the Wamulume’s. In this way, she not only taught us about the culture here, but also reaffirmed how we should think of them as not just acquaintances or friends, but truly as family. 

            This leads me to my next point, which is that by far the biggest take away of the homestay experience, even more than the cultural immersion, was the importance of family. Here in Zambia, family and friends are a way of life. And by family, I don’t simply mean your parents, siblings, and other immediate family. Family in Zambia is everyone you’re close with, and it’s always expanding. Maintaining these relationships isn’t a chore, or something that needs done, but really the point of living in the first place. It is one of the things that have struck me most here in Zambia, the lengths to which people will go for the people they are close to, and its something that I think everyone could learn a little from. Certainly if there is anything I will strive to incorporate into my life following this summer it is this belief in the importance of family, something the Wamulume’s displayed at every opportunity, day in, day out.