I belong to an ethnic group of the Basotho people that originates from Lesotho but has spread widely in South Africa. It is through humanity and clan names that my worldview is shaped, the two are my endogenous teachings.

Botho:The concept of Humanity 

Growing up my grandfather would always say "Motho ke motho ka batho" which simply means that a person is a person through others, every chance he got. The saying would always be in my mind without any understanding of it until I grew a bit older. Us Sotho people have rich cultural heritage shaped by our traditions and history, and it is through these teachings that our biased and prejudices are shaped. Having "Botho" which means humanity is an endogenous teaching which deeply ingrained in my culture. It encourages me to be caring and supportive, to also prioritise the wellbeing of others, even though it could result in neglecting my personal needs and boundaries.

Essentiality of clan names

When asked to introduce myself my response is always as simple as "Hey my name is Vuyelwa Khalapa",not anymore, let me re-introduce myself: "Ke Mofokeng wa ha Tshele, Wa Lekotwane la Mmulane motlala, motho wa Mmannoha e talana,ya jang mmutla o le tala, a jah ditsebe o siya mmele, Lekwekwe ke lang ha Tshele, ke la mohla ho neng ho tsekwa morapo, ke thelleng, Ke le Mofokeng wa ha Tshele, wa Mammulane a Motlala, ha itswe shwi shwi, ho uwe kae? Ho uwe ha Mmakepile letsemeng, Lebudi le hlaha kae? Le hlaha motjheng, Le bebenya ditedu! My clan names have significant meanings, we have "Mmannoha" that represents all the courageous and determined people, "Morapo" meaning those that give, "Motjheng" representing our builders in my culture. All in all my clan names represents builders and immigrants who are dedicated in hard work and I am very proud to be having such clan names as I I also possess some of the essential traits. These teachings had great effect on my upbringing and they are the reason why I turned to be this person that I am today, courageous,fearless and motivated.

Knowing and understanding My clan names is very essential and having "Botho" is an important trait in the Basotho culture,these two endogenous teachings shape my worldview and influence my relationships and environment.

V Khalapa

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Kinship refers to all the things that tie individuals together, which could be blood-related or people within a community. Kinship is a complex network. I have two nuclear families, the first one consists of my mother, my stepfather, my three little sisters, and one little brother and the second nuclear family consists of my biological father, my stepmother, and four of their children. I am more close to my first nuclear family as I live with them. Every month my stepfather sends me money for needs such as cosmetics and food, whilst my biological father occasionally sends money for my wants such as going out to a concert and more. It is in this manner that shows that both my parents provide economic capital for me.

Whilst my parents provide economic capital for me and my siblings, our job as the children of the household is to tend to the domestic chores like cleaning the household, cooking, doing the laundry, and many more. It is the emotional bond we have created amongst ourselves as a family, the blood that runs in our system, our surname, and the shared experience we have that puts us in kinship. As stated, kinship is a complex network, it is "Generalized''. It shows that there can never be a balance between the things that my parents provide and the things we do around the house, there is no give, receive, and return relationship. The obligation between my parents and us their children is in a way mutual as my parents feel the need to take care of our well-being and to make sure we are well fed and that we have no short-comings in our lives and the same to my siblings and I we feel obligated to honor, respect and care for our parents.

As I am in university, I have created bonds with a lot of new people, mostly my housemates. In the unit that I live in, we have a hairdresser, who does our hair for free in exchange for us doing her laundry and her dishes. My roommate and I are in charge of cooking and the others are in charge of cleaning the house. When one of us is too busy to do their part of the chores we assist each other out as we understand how stressful and demanding school can get. Even though we are in different faculties, we can assist each other on assignments. This is a true indication of reciprocity, showing the true relationship of give, receive, and return.

In conclusion,  the kinship between children and their parents is seen through the bond shared and all the other things that tie them together, and this in a way forms an obligation between the two as both parties feel the responsibility to love and care for one another. Mostly children are obligated to respect and trust their parents, Reciprocity in the above text is displayed as the mutual exchange of goods and services strengthening the bond between friends.

Upon opening my eyes the first two feelings I stumble across are tiredness and prolonged sleep inertia and this is due to the fact that I had slept for four hours.Getting on my knees thanking God for I have woken up is the favourite ritual done.I am a very sad person so I do not normally speak with my housemates in the morning.A 10 seconds cold shower helps calm my racing heart and regulates my hormones.After that I take my lukewarm shower which helps decrease my anxiety.I then butter my body with NIVEA RADIANT & BEAUTY body cream as I love how soft and smooth it leaves my skin.Choosing an outfit is always a struggle and takes most of my time hence why I choose to wear  my black LEGIT jeans,black SHEIN Block drop  shoulder fuzzy sweatshirt and some black Croc Chunky Lace up Chelsea Ankle Boots.As stated that I am a sad person,emotional eating in the morning soothes my sadness.Having to lay the groundwork before a lecture is a hassle as it is something entirely new.Peeks of living in Kumba residence on campus is that you get to amble with fellow Kumbarians to campus with fun chatters.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Being in the lecture hall comes with a lot of different feelings.I sometimes feel like packing my stuff and leave when I do not enjoy the lecture.Majority of my fellow students fall asleep ,myself included,when we struggle to apprehend the context the lecturer is trying to convey.At this point and time my fellow students and I are in communitas as we all are trying to process the workload at hand,we all are equal and of the same status.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Upon arrival in my residence,spending time with my housemates for an hour is mandatory,just chilling and enjoying good music.Being with them makes me whole,happy and I tend to forget my troubles,they are my newly found family.After that relax hour it's back to the workload I came with from campus that increases my anxiety level.I lack understanding in majority of the work and that overwhelms me.Sleeping is my love language so when feelings of defeat and overwhelment engulfs me I resort to my love language.And that is a two hours power nap.Taking a stroll down the river late at night feeling the soothing,calming wind is essential and always helps in clearing my mind,and the walks always charge my mood and spirit for when I study upon arriving to my residence from the walk.After about five hours I call it a night,and normally at that time it is already the wee hours of the morning.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             RITES OF SEPARATION                                                                                                                                              I would define my rites of separation as of when I am alone down the river taking a stroll to calm my always racing mind.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         LIMINAL PHASE                                                                                                                                                         This is when I am in the lecture room with my fellow students concentrating intensily on the lecture a hand.All of us in the stage of communitas,feeling the same emotions,in the same status with no heirarchy.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           RITE OF REINCOPARATION                                                                                                                               This is when I go back to my fixed position,going back to my residence as I would be associating with my housemates discussing the struggles we individually go through and also sharing how each person's day went.

Vuyelwa Khalapa

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As I view the Body Ritual among the Nacirema through Horace Miner's perspective I realise the dangers of a single story and the criticism of culture practices.Miner finds the Mouth-rite ritual where the Nacirema inserts hair and magic powders in their mouth as exotic and bizarre but honestly this is just the same as us doing our daily hygiene processes in a different approach.

MY TOXIC TRAIT? FOREIGN STEREOTYPES

I was today's age when I realised that I have been discriminating foreigners.I believe the community I belong to has a huge influence regarding the belief that "ALL FOREIGNERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING,DRUG SMUGGLING AND WEAPON SMUGGLING".This is the same as the stereotype "All men are trash" which is sexist.Foreigners are classified as economic burdens and job stealers from their natives which is mostly untrue because most foreigners immigrate in seek of better job opportunities and to just better their lives,like the Zimbabwens in my township knocking door to door selling your mops,your pine gels and all.

In conclusion I intend on Embracing diversity and interacting with individuals from different races, cultures and beliefs as to broaden my horizon.Stereotypes are everyday thingy and the aim is to confront them instantly when they occur