Homestay

What an experience! We got to spend two nights in the home of a family living in neighbouring Chinacla. A really eye opening experience and one to treasure.

Chinacla is a tiny place which feels very cut off from the world. Anita is a single Mum living with her two kids, Danelis 13 and Anton 8, in a very basic home. The house has no electricity. There is a main room divided with curtains to create a sleeping area. There is a separate kitchen. The toilet is outside with a curtain to protect your modesty. The shower is basically a bucket of water used over the toilet. All the water for everything is taken from a big trough next to the toilet. You wash your hands, teeth, dishes and take water for cooking from there.

It's difficult to convey the simplicity of their living. The pace slows right down and everything revolves around life's simpler aspects: eating, washing, playing, sleeping. It's a calming experience.
  

We have the whole place to ourselves at night as the family are staying with relatives nearby. Fascinating having the run of the house all night. Sooooo quiet, unlike dogs and chickens in Marcala (although the latter should be a bit quieter now as apparently the dog guarding our apartment ate three of the chickens living in our garden the other night!). Our biggest challenge is trying to keep a one month old stray puppy out of the house with the help of a brush! The views across the valley at dusk and dawn are stunning, with clouds slowly crawling inside the valley, and the stars at night are so crisp in the dark dark sky.

It's dark by 6.30, only light comes from strategic candles plus occasional torch use. By 7.30 it feels more like 11! Bedtime by 9pm. Sleep on a mattress made of string with blankets on top. Alarm set for 4.45am. 

Morning ritual involves washing maiz which was cooked on residual heat from cooker previous night and then grinding it to a paste for half an hour. I now understand why the women have big arms, it's knackering! Cooking breakfast takes ages but is elaborate, tortillas (made from maiz paste), frijoles (beans) and fried egg. No simple cereal! Leftovers are given to stray dogs who wait patiently as you eat and leftover raw maiz given to Anita's chickens. You get a real sense of symmetry here. Very interesting. 

Anita has never had guests before and we feel really privileged to have had this insight.