My Second Attempt at a Homestay

---After my big day of construction we all walked back into the village to be paired with a local family for the night. I was introduced to Matilda and Francis, the siblings who would be my family for the next 24 hours. They explained to me that they were orphans, so they were all that they had, although they had a woman in the village who had taken them into her own family, and who they referred to as their mother. Francis was 25 and had a daughter, and Matilda had 2 girls, a 5 year old and a 7 month old named Gifty. I was never formally introduced to Francis' wife, and never asked where Matilda's husband was, weary of what the answer would be. Matilda lived in a compound and had one room to herself and her two children. The room was big enough to fit her single bed (where the 3 slept), and a single mattress on the floor for me, which left only a small walking space to the door. There were a few small piles of clothes on the floor and that was all.
---After showing me her home Matilda fetched me water and brought me to the local shower, three stone walls that went up to my mid-waist. I believe the village had a great time pretending not to watch me shower, laughing at my tiny curves in comparison to their beautifully full Ghanian bodies. After rinsing off I helped Francis and Matilda sift and roast garri, a local farm product resembling wheat. The siblings sell garri throughout the town to make money, as well as using it as their food source of every meal every day. That night the elders organized a big dance, where Francis and his friends sang and played drums for everyone to dance to as three rubber tires were burned as a sort of bonfire. Matilda was dancing the whole night, pulling my tired body into the middle of the circle at every chance she could. She was happy to see my try to copy her Ghanian dance moves, and I tried my hardest not to embarrass her in front of the other towns people. As my legs beg me to sit down I reminded myself that the more tired I was the easier I would sleep through the night, so I danced and danced and danced till the elders told us it was time to go home. When we arrived back at the compound Francis asked if I would sit outside and talk with him for a while, he had some questions about the United States. He asked about money, how much it cost me to come here, how much it cost me to live in the US, how much schooling was. He told me about his trials and fails at getting a visa to go to the US, where he wanted to raise his daughter. He begged me to talk to my father about the wonderful farm Francis worked on, and how they would grow anything my father wanted in order to make enough money to go to the US. I gave Francis an empty promise of talking with my father and went to sleep with a heavy heart.
---That morning I woke up early with Matilda to do chores. I helped her sweep and wash laundry, and I asked her to teach me how to carry a baby on my back like all the Ghanian women do. Well I got my wish, and the rest of the day I had Gifty wrapped up on my back as I went about my chores and walks around town. When I left that afternoon Matilda and Francis gave me their address and phone numbers, reminding me of the promise I had made them about talking to my father. I took lots of pictures of them and their family, promising to send the developed photos before I returned to the US in May. As I got on the bus I was sad to leave, but so happy I had the time there I did, being placed with such a kind and interesting family that I will never forget.