So far three languages on greetings that we had learned: Sepedi, Sedwena, Xitsonga, have been exercised in the classes and at home for the first two.  This was until the second week we were in the first training host home that we had been divided to our service village language that mine will be speaking only Xitsonga and my host family can’t help me on it.....

Learning strategy had been introduced, only hope my brain can function and respond to each of languages been approached at me, at any possible moments, at any time.

A Sum son phone with sim card been issued, and in the group some youngsters are working to have the package detail on unlimited data with yearly fee of USD200 or so.... I will sure to sign it up for the coming 27 months.

Our last night in the resort before moving into training host home, a thunder storm blown almost half of the night. The trainers told us that villagers were happy that we brought the first Spring rain, meant good luck with us. Also told us the storm blown off the roof of the church we were to meet with all the host families.  Made a delay of two hours that we had to do it in another church for this event. 

My host home is the Mkhonza family. Host Mom, Rosi, age 65, speaks enough English to have me relaxed. She told me calmly that her husband, age 67, Betros, has another wife at another living compound, while she was showing me around the house. It is a fancied large yard and a goat pan, a chicken house and a kitchen garden with nicely grown greens in it. In the late afternoon the husband drove a Honda pickup truck home.  Host mom had given me a local name “Nosipoh” and the Host pa added “Mkhonza.”  So I am now also “Nosipoh Mkhonza”.  Nosipoh meant “Gift from God”.

The most intensive worrisome was the outhouse..... finally under the pressure of in need, I figured out to have tissue paper to lay out on it as seat cover to do my businesses..... also while walking passing by I had found next to the outhouse, there was one chicken, it was sitting on four eggs inside a stone fancied up meter and a half tall mongo tree..... A smart hen.....

I finally improved my seat cover with paper towel after my first shopping journey that host pa drove host mom and me to and from.... nothing different from the mall here or back home..... found a KFC and bought the lunch home to eat with their one daughter and three grandchildren: one from each of their one son and two daughters.... the youngest daughter is the one at home to care for these boy from the son, Musa, age 10, her own daughter, age 5 Rorisan, and one little girl age 2 Nokubonga, from her older sister.

Bath was another challenge, it was done in my room, in a plastic horse feeding tub. at any other time, it was downright scary, but I have to think ways to accomplish my duty to myself here..... with host mom provided a 4C size of scooping cup, after washed my face, I step into it and all done well..... just that I had splashed the whole floor wet..... Then, the real challenge came.... I have to carry all water in the ten gallon bucket three times to empty the tub..... I know how I have to conserve water from here and on.... I will use only half of the water, if I could have measured my action precisely enough.

Kids from the neighbors kept on coming to greet me, and I have not opened all my suit cases to have anything for them.... I have host family to tell them to come back a week after, after I have learned to have settled down myself and done our shopping trip..... Thus, in the shopping trip, I had more coloring books and more crayons bought, but forgotten the cookies of some sort..... so still have to wait for the next shopping trip to be ready to see any kids besides the three in the house.

Supper was said to be at 6:30, but these days, the power off was scheduled from 5 to 7pm, and we cook with electric stoves..... thus, we started to eat at 8pm, if we were lucky..... there is no other places for any food, I can stay firm on my principle of no food intake after 7pm.....

Brush teeth over the bucket and used the same as the night bucket. For been told that no one going outside of house after dark.  The next morning, I have to empty it at outhouse at my first run in the early morning, and rinse the bucket to leave it out next to the chicken coop.

It is so cold at 5:30am to 6am.... it had been around 10 to 14C.  But at 10am, it had been 20C, the short sleeve shirt will do. By noon, it was so hot with feeling that one can have sun burn in 10, 15 minutes.... by 5:30pm sun went down it getting cold so quickly.......8, 9pm to go to bed, with single blanket was comfortable by 2am first night, I had got open my suit case to have my sleeping bag out, for I don’t want to woke up my host families......

Okay, this is it for today.  There was time for me to load photos to edit..... until next time.....

Cheng     8/30/2023