12 May 2006
12 May, 2006
Last weekend took us to Kimberly to celebrate birthdays, and lots of them. Adam and I are the only ones out of our group in the area who haven’t had a birthday in the past month and a half. So naturally, that calls for a get-together. We stayed at a new and quite nice hostel there and basically spent the weekend as we would in America. We went shopping at the new mall, watched TV (MTV, ESPN, CNN, and Saturday Night Live!!!), played pool, went out to dinner, ate too many sweets, and just hung out. It was a nice weekend.
Other than that, the last two weeks have been quite normal, I think. The one new thing has been the start of us teaching computer classes for the high school teachers. We have had two classes so far – the topic of the first one was how to turn the computer on and off, and open Microsoft Word. The topic of the second was learning the keyboard. The teachers have a wide range of computer knowledge – from literally never having touched one before, to knowing how to use basic programs like Word. It was really interesting to watch them learn. It seems that mouse coordination is the biggest challenge so far. That and helping them get over their fear that they will do something wrong and break the computer. Just think about how long you have been using a computer. For those of you our age, you probably learned quite young. I still remember when we got our first computer and learning to type, but now it’s all just second nature. Do any of you even know anyone who has never used a computer before? I’d guess probably not. It’s funny to watch everyone chicken-peck at the keys, and then giggle when they see that they’ve spelled their name. Adam has been the teacher so far, and I go around the room helping anyone who has a problem. It’s pretty exciting, and I really hope that they stay interested and keep coming to class. Right now it’s just the high school teachers, but soon we hope to start with the Primary and Middle school teachers too.
Last week we learned some interesting family news. Our host mother received a letter in the mail from some people she’s never heard of informing her that she has another grandchild. Our host brother, Aobokwe, has a 2 month old baby girl, and I guess was afraid to tell his parents about it (he’s 27, and lives on his own!), so the girl’s family wrote and sent photos. What a way to hear about a grandchild! The girl’s family also is asking for ‘damages’, a terrible-sounding way to ask for help paying for the pregnancy and the care of the new baby. All in all, I think it’s not as big of a deal as Aobokwe thought it would be, and our host mom and dad want to go meet the child.
Tomorrow we are having a family party in honor of our host parent’s niece who is going to get married soon. In this culture they still practice the tradition of paying lobola – money paid by the groom’s family to the bride’s family. I guess traditionally the bride becomes part of the groom’s family after marriage, and so they have to re-pay the bride’s parents for the money they spent raising and educating her. All of the little traditions around paying lobola are pretty interesting. First the families get together for negotiations. The groom’s family has to come to the bride’s family on a chosen date and they come in the middle of the night. The idea behind that is so the neighbors and others in the village don’t see them there before the engagement is announced. Negotiations last throughout the night and are pretty much only done by the bride and groom’s aunts and uncles. Their parents aren’t allowed to speak, and neither the bride nor groom is present. Prices vary depending on the amount of education, age, and beauty of the girl. There are also little quirks like the groom’s family has to wear a jacket (or shawl for the women) to show respect, or else they can be fined by the bride’s family. Some amount of money has to be placed on the table (literally) before negotiations can begin. The bride’s uncle can refuse to speak at all until they have placed money on the table. Once a price is agreed upon, a date is set for payment, everyone eats a huge meal, and the groom’s family goes home. The price can only be an even number (in thousands of rand) it’s bad luck to settle on an odd numbered price. And some people still pay in cows, which is pretty funny. On the payment date, the groom’s family shows up very early in the morning at the bride’s house (before sunrise). They have to bring two entire outfits for the bride (everything – two hats, two dresses, two pairs of shoes, two bras etc.) and a few other things like a blanket and gifts for the bride’s mother and father. The payment is made and the groom’s family sneaks back out of the village before the sun comes up so no one sees them. Then there is a big celebration, which is what we will be attending tomorrow. The engagement is announced to friends and family and everyone has a big feast. It’s an interesting tradition and one that is apparently on the wane. A lot of people don’t pay lobola anymore for lots of reasons. I think it’s kind of neat, and Adam just likes to speculate about how many cows I would have been worth.
I hope you are all well and happy. Lots of love,
Andrea
Last weekend took us to Kimberly to celebrate birthdays, and lots of them. Adam and I are the only ones out of our group in the area who haven’t had a birthday in the past month and a half. So naturally, that calls for a get-together. We stayed at a new and quite nice hostel there and basically spent the weekend as we would in America. We went shopping at the new mall, watched TV (MTV, ESPN, CNN, and Saturday Night Live!!!), played pool, went out to dinner, ate too many sweets, and just hung out. It was a nice weekend.
Other than that, the last two weeks have been quite normal, I think. The one new thing has been the start of us teaching computer classes for the high school teachers. We have had two classes so far – the topic of the first one was how to turn the computer on and off, and open Microsoft Word. The topic of the second was learning the keyboard. The teachers have a wide range of computer knowledge – from literally never having touched one before, to knowing how to use basic programs like Word. It was really interesting to watch them learn. It seems that mouse coordination is the biggest challenge so far. That and helping them get over their fear that they will do something wrong and break the computer. Just think about how long you have been using a computer. For those of you our age, you probably learned quite young. I still remember when we got our first computer and learning to type, but now it’s all just second nature. Do any of you even know anyone who has never used a computer before? I’d guess probably not. It’s funny to watch everyone chicken-peck at the keys, and then giggle when they see that they’ve spelled their name. Adam has been the teacher so far, and I go around the room helping anyone who has a problem. It’s pretty exciting, and I really hope that they stay interested and keep coming to class. Right now it’s just the high school teachers, but soon we hope to start with the Primary and Middle school teachers too.
Last week we learned some interesting family news. Our host mother received a letter in the mail from some people she’s never heard of informing her that she has another grandchild. Our host brother, Aobokwe, has a 2 month old baby girl, and I guess was afraid to tell his parents about it (he’s 27, and lives on his own!), so the girl’s family wrote and sent photos. What a way to hear about a grandchild! The girl’s family also is asking for ‘damages’, a terrible-sounding way to ask for help paying for the pregnancy and the care of the new baby. All in all, I think it’s not as big of a deal as Aobokwe thought it would be, and our host mom and dad want to go meet the child.
Tomorrow we are having a family party in honor of our host parent’s niece who is going to get married soon. In this culture they still practice the tradition of paying lobola – money paid by the groom’s family to the bride’s family. I guess traditionally the bride becomes part of the groom’s family after marriage, and so they have to re-pay the bride’s parents for the money they spent raising and educating her. All of the little traditions around paying lobola are pretty interesting. First the families get together for negotiations. The groom’s family has to come to the bride’s family on a chosen date and they come in the middle of the night. The idea behind that is so the neighbors and others in the village don’t see them there before the engagement is announced. Negotiations last throughout the night and are pretty much only done by the bride and groom’s aunts and uncles. Their parents aren’t allowed to speak, and neither the bride nor groom is present. Prices vary depending on the amount of education, age, and beauty of the girl. There are also little quirks like the groom’s family has to wear a jacket (or shawl for the women) to show respect, or else they can be fined by the bride’s family. Some amount of money has to be placed on the table (literally) before negotiations can begin. The bride’s uncle can refuse to speak at all until they have placed money on the table. Once a price is agreed upon, a date is set for payment, everyone eats a huge meal, and the groom’s family goes home. The price can only be an even number (in thousands of rand) it’s bad luck to settle on an odd numbered price. And some people still pay in cows, which is pretty funny. On the payment date, the groom’s family shows up very early in the morning at the bride’s house (before sunrise). They have to bring two entire outfits for the bride (everything – two hats, two dresses, two pairs of shoes, two bras etc.) and a few other things like a blanket and gifts for the bride’s mother and father. The payment is made and the groom’s family sneaks back out of the village before the sun comes up so no one sees them. Then there is a big celebration, which is what we will be attending tomorrow. The engagement is announced to friends and family and everyone has a big feast. It’s an interesting tradition and one that is apparently on the wane. A lot of people don’t pay lobola anymore for lots of reasons. I think it’s kind of neat, and Adam just likes to speculate about how many cows I would have been worth.
I hope you are all well and happy. Lots of love,
Andrea
posted by aliberatinsa at 12:59 AM
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