Khayelitsha

This past friday I spent a night in Khayelitsha, a township close to Cape Town. Townships are settlements that are typically pretty poverty stricken. This is where shacks are set up and houses are constructed with tin and the floor is cement however, in townships there are also nicer house that have been properly constructed and have electricity and running water. Another girl from the program and myself stayed with a friend we met in our ethics class at school. Andiswa lives with her mother and two younger brothers on the developed side of Khayelitsha. On Friday we went to a love service at her church and we danced, sang and were blessed with holy water. When we got home her mother had a delicious South African dinner for us, which included chicken liver! The rest of the night we chatted with neighbors and visited with her family. Then on Saturday we went to another church service. The service was much different than anything I have experienced because they strongly believe in chasing out evil spirits within people and they chant their prayers. It was very culturally eye opening and I learned a lot about Xhosa traditions within this particular church. 

Carlyn and I were the only white people sitting amongst the congregation and everyone came up hugging, kissing and  telling us we are blessed. I have never felt so welcome and part of a family at a church. Their sense of community was overpowering and I felt like I had known these people my whole life. At the end of the service which including a lot of sining, dancing and clapping of hands we were escorted to the front of the church and had to dance in a circle and sing in front of everyone. I was having the time of my life dancing in front of all these strangers without a care in the world.

Then in the afternoon we met up with another friend from school and he took us to the more undeveloped side of Khayelitsha. He showed us where he lives and we walked around the block just soaking it all in. Townships are predominantly still all black so once again we stood out but everyone we encountered was excited to see white people in Khayelitsha.