Home stay

Spending a week in someone's home is something that is too rarely done. When you are in someone’s home as a guest you get to take away the filter people put up and exchange it for a true look into their character, habits (good bad and goofy,) strengths and shortcomings. Sebastian and I were privileged enough to stay with the Tredoux family. This family of four was more then hospitable in every way imaginable. So much so that we even got breakfast in bed every day! The Afrikaner people know hot to host! The weeks events were filled with histories and stories of the Afrikaner culture, an amazing subject, but the advantage of living with Afrikaners is we get to see first hand the differences between out two cultures.

The first thing Sebastian and I were exposed to is a traditional Barbecue, called a Braai We arrived at the house on Sunday to the amazing wafting scent of a three different meats on a charcoal grill. Scrumptious. The next tradition is something called a nap. Apparently you go and sleep for an hour or two in the middle of the day! Seb and I were instantly interested in this idea and quickly fell asleep (yaay Jetlag.) Through the week we were exposed to Biltong, a beef jerky type food made by sun drying different types of meat (Beef, Pork, Springbok, or Zebra to name a few) with some very potent spices.

Our 'Siblings', Susan and Jacque, were members of the local school orchestra so we had the pleasure of going to their first concert of the year. I certainly enjoyed myself, especially singing along with their rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody.

The best part of the homestead week for me was Dinner on Friday. To start this story properly rewind to Sunday. The family requested that Sebastian and I cook a Canadian meal for them on Friday. My first reaction was, 'wow they are brave to ask two male University students from a strange country to cook them a meal', then it was 'What is Canadian that is easy to cook'. Fast forward to Friday again, after taking us shopping for groceries and showing us around the kitchen we set to work. Seb and I had decided on Crepes and Poutine as our dish de jour. We did warn them that Canadian food usually is high carb as we need extra energy to insulate us from the cold. So an hour later and surprisingly nothing burnt we served. The poutine, being the main course, was a hit. Jacque was especially enthusiastic when he found out poutine contained no veggies. The crepes served as a great Canadian dessert. A medley of sugar, maple syrup (brought from home as gifts), lemon and whipped cream provided enough calories to insulate through a long cold night spent in an igloo.

In conclusion, the week was a great look into the Afrikaner culture, their views on Apartheid and the politics of today. I really enjoyed my time under the roof of this very welcoming family and am certainly glad to have met them.

-Gus Van Weelden