More on Zwelethemba

Before we left, we had a wonderful braai (barbaque) with all our Zwelethemba host families and close friends. This was lots of fun and gave us a chance to get together at the end of our short stay in Zwelethemba (a little over a week) and to bond.

Interestingly, the day we left Zwelethemba was my 21st birthday! Apparently, turning 21 is a big birthday in South Africa. I'm not sure why but I think that it is related to signifying a rite of passage. I think that the significance of being 21 in the US is due to the legal issues surrounding being able to drink. In Hong Kong, 18 is a big birthday because it signifies your turning into a legal adult and is also the drinking age. While drinking culture is commonly associated with the UK, this has made me realize how much drinking is part of society in other places as well. Is this due to other countries' gradual adoption of Western values which in turn is a result of globalization?

Mama Eunice was very sweet and made me pancakes, which I jokingly referred to as my birthday "cake." During the last couple of days, I've really enjoyed my stay with Mama Eunice. She's a very hardworking woman who single-handedly raised her children after her second husband died in a car accident when she was still pregnant. It was really nice for me to give her full-body massages at the end of the day. I was so happy to hear that she always felt much more relaxed after my massages and felt more flexible the next day. I've really bonded with her whole family during my stay in Zwelethemba. She's also invited me to come back for her 60th birthday in a few years. Thully is planning to organize the birthday celebrations for her mother then. Hopefully, if the timing works out, it would be incredible to be able to come back to South Africa, especially since by then I will probably have had more time to process my study abroad experiences and live out some of my experiences on my list of, "If I had more time in South Africa, I would..." :)