Homestay

My homestay experience was one of a kind and honestly one of the best parts about being in Zambia this summer. From the first time Aunty Martha picked us up from Serenity Lodge, she had a jovial spirit that remained throughout my entire time at her house. While staying at her lovely home in Kabwata I started seeing traits and characteristics in her that I saw in my own parents. The way she talked about her religion and her blunt sense of humor definitely reminded me of my dad. The crime shows she watched and the way she laughed on the phone with her friends as, they gossiped about their latest episode of their favorite soap opera reminded me so much of my own mom. While taking notice of these traits made me think about home a little more, it also created a level of comfort with Aunty Martha that grew throughout my stay with her.

With Aunty Martha, there were a lot of memorable experiences but two stands out to me the most. The first was when I was coming home late from work. It was a little after 6:00 and I just got on the minibus from Chelinge market to take me to St.Patricks. Aunty Martha called me on the bus concerned. However, she misheard and thought I was one stop away instead of one bus ride away. Therefore by the time I got home it was a quarter to 7:00. So as soon as I opened the door to enter, Aunty Martha opened the door with her coat and shoes on ready to come and get me. This moment remained with me because it was honestly the same thing my mom has done in the past. Even though I wasn't biologically her child, her parental instincts kicked in and in that moment I did feel like one of her kids.

The next experience that remained me with was when Erica and I surprised Aunty Martha with a going away present. During one of our after work talk sessions, Aunty Martha mentioned how she visited a dessert restaurant in Dubai that allowed her to try every flavor of cake imaginable. From this conversation, we discovered that there is nothing else Aunty Martha loves more than cake. So for our going away present, we gave her a giant chocolate cake. Her facial expression when we walked through the door with the cake in hand was priceless. She was so surprised and shocked, for at least two minutes she kept repeating "I don't know what to say". That night we smiled and laughed as we ate that delicious chocolate cake and that has been one of my favorite nights yet.