Sunday, June 21, 2009

Homestay comments

As team members went out to their "homestay" this past Saturday, we asked them to be active learners of the culture and what was going on around them. Each of the youth team members were hosted by a local family/church. Most of them slept on the floor, used an outhouse-type bathroom, and ate things they might not have eaten before. Read some of their experiences below:

What was difficult about your homestay?
  • sleeping on the floor (either concrete or bamboo)
  • The water supply was far away. The hosts had to fetch water for us to bathe.
  • It was hard to see the beautiful children living in such poverty... and how this poverty affects their hygiene and safety. It made me uncomfortable. But yet it didn't seem to bother the parents.
  • Knowing that they were giving us the best of the living situation and it was still so much of a lower standard that most people I know would be willing to accept.
  • It was awkward at times not knowing what was going on. We'd just sit there and smile and wait for someone to tell us what was going on.

What did you learn about the culture?
  • pigs are very loud when they're being slaughtered
  • Filipinos are very communal. They stayed up at night talking until time for bed, then everyone went to bed.
  • Roosters crow all day long, not just at dawn... they actually crow BEFORE dawn
  • Filipinos love guitars and karaoke
  • The people are very welcoming- even with the language barrier, you could tell when they were lovin' on you or when they were teasing you
What I learned about myself?
  • I'm a wimp!
  • They can worship without all the "stuff" we think is necessary for a worship setting
  • How blessed are the poor. Wealth is dangerous. Being comfortable is a dangerous thing.
  • It's difficult to be with people who are different from me. How much more difficult it would be to truly love them if I have a problem just staying in their house.
  • Even at 50 (which they said for them was more like 100!), I could dominate on the basketball court... although I did have an advantage... I was playing in tennis shoes and they were wearing flip-flops.

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