My Host Family

Peace Corps trainees are assigned a host family to stay with while in training. After an initial 5 days of language introductions, initial medical training, introductory cross cultural training, and getting to know the other volunteers, a Peace Corps trainee moves in with a host family.

In Uganda, host families live within 6 kilometers of the Raco training center in Wakiso, where trainees prepare for their two year service in country.

My host mother and father are Godwin and Agnes. Their household is composed of four children, Sharon (20), Lilian (18), Zipporah (pronounced Zippolah) (10), and Obed (6). They are Jehovah’s Witnesses and are hosting a Peace Corps trainee for the first time. The native language of the family is Luganda, however, everyone but Obed speaks fluent English.

Some of my life at my homestay is as expected. There is no plumbing. Water is carried to the home daily and must be boiled before use. A pit latrine has been constructed outside the main house, but within a walled compound. During the evening once the home has been locked, buckets are used in place of going to the latrine because i

t is too dangerous to unlock the home and go outside. Pictured to the left is my bucket. We do have access to flushing toilets at the training center so I make it a priority to use it every evening before riding home on my bicycle. Bathing is done in a bucket as well… a separate bucket. I am given hot and cold water to mix to a temperature of my liking.

In my first days in the home I was using the same bathing room as the rest of the family. The door did not latch or close completely. This was fine with me but not ideal. I felt comfortable but also rushed myself a bit in finishing my baths because of the setting. After a few days I requested to be able to bathe in my own room, and my host family was glad to let me do so. If nothing else the accommodation is more comfortable. I take my time, make sure to get myself clean, and get to listen to my iTunes while I bathe.

And then, some of my life at homestay is quite surprising. Not only do we have electricity in the home, but I have electricity in my room. The family has a refrigerator in the house, and a flat panel television. Ironically just as my sister back home is leaving her over extended Nickelodeon phase, I am now watching iCarly in an African village with my new family. After our first night in our homestays, the near universal response from trainees was that they could not believe how important television has become in local culture. I can best describe it as being 1950’s Americaesque, gender roles are highly traditional, family dinners are still the norm, but the family is gathered around the television.

Each day at 8 pm the family gathers in the living room to read a bible verse and discuss its meaning. This is done in Luganada, but Godwin has given me a English translation of their daily workbook to follow along with. After our Bible verse we have dinner. This would seem a little late to many in the States but is a bit early for Africa. People here stay up much later than in the States and in many families dinner is not served until after 9 pm. When Americans explain that 6 to 7 pm are typical dinning hours back home we are usually met with giggles. My host mother is doing her best to keep me from loosing weight. Each meal I am given more food than I can eat. Though much of the meal is low in caloric content, the portions are overwhelming. Matoke remains a staple, along with rice, peanut sauce, beans, avocados, papaya, and pineapple. Although far from necessary, and far from my expectation, I have been served meat at every dinner. Thus far I have been given beef, chicken, pork, tilapia, goat meat, and a small fish with small digestible bones. Our trainers have told us that if a trainee were to lose weight while in homestay it would reflect shamefully on the homestay parents, for not feeding him/her enough. I think I have maintained my weight in homestay, but might have dropped a little while traveling and settling in prior to homestay.

My first few nights I stayed up with the family until about 10; lately I have been heading to my

room at about 9. It gives me a chance to prepare for the next day and read a little before heading to bed. It is also nice to have some alone time. Personal space and alone time are not concepts that are familiar to the local culture so they are in short supply up until I retire for bed.

All in all, my accommodations are very comfortable and I consider myself very blessed have been given such a wonderful host family. I do look forward to the independence my site assignment will give me, but for now am quite pleased with my living situation.