Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Hair Apparent?

Bon dia mis amigos!

It's about a month and a half from my departure date and i'm still not totally ready! lol  I have a packing list and an idea of what I want to bring but I just really haven't gotten around to it, but it's definitely time to get it together.

I'll get to the packing later though! THIS post is all about hair!

So I have had natural (non-chemically treated) hair for a little over six years now and I must say it took me a little while to get used to it. I had to learn a lot about my hair like what products worked best, how often to wash and condition it and also what styles looked good and which ones don't.

I've gotten so used to washing and deep conditioning my hair AT LEAST once a week and changing up the style sometimes twice a week. With this big move coming up and there being a possibility that I won't have access to all the amenities that I'm used to I have to begin thinking about what to do with this mop on my head lol.

*As I write this I wonder how many Peace Corps Volunteers have had to make similar decisons?*

I've been thinking long and hard about how to deal with this hairy situation (get it?? LOL).At first my plan was just to wear my hair in an afro and maybe find someone to braid it for me every now and again.

THEN, (during a stress induced mood swing) I thought about chopping it all off and rocking a baldy...

After realizing that in order to keep my hair cut short I'd either have to learn to cut it myself and thus bring a set of clippers with me or find a barber in_____________. Not too thrilled with either of those options so I scraped that idea.

Recently I dyed, retwisted and roller set my "aunt's" (<--You know how we do lol) locs and I that got me thinking...maybe I could loc my hair. I mean I already two strand twist my own hair regularly. How hard could it be to retwist my own locs. So me being the  naturally inquisitive person that I am, I went on my second favorite research tool after wikipedia--youtube and started looking at styling and maintenance videos. It looks super easy and locs can actually styled in lot's of pretty, creative ways.

My initial hesitation to locing when I first went natural was that it was so permanent and at the time I liked to experiment with my hair. I'm still very adventurous with hair but at present practicality is my main concern.

Right...locs. I think lcos could work. I'll keep you all posted, because knowing me I might change my mind in a second.

Later Gators!

                                                          ~I Come With PEACE~

Validation!!

Now I'm not usually one who cares what people think, because someone's always got something to say and it is very rarely something nice so why bother! I digress, but very recently I got back into contact with the  woman who inspired my decision to join the Peace Corps and she told me how proud she was of me and even gave me a few pointers on what to bring and how to better adapt to my surroundings (Tip #1 bring toys for the kids lol), which I haven't thought about before but will definitely do now. You know PEACE loves the kids! She also suggested I bring some comfort snacks (those were packed before my clothes were lol).

She and her husband, another RPCV, (they met during their service---*secretly crosses fingers* but i'll post more about that later) currently live in Durban, South Africa which is only a hop, skip and a slight jump from my host country. She has already invited me to come visit them. I will most definitely be taking her up on that offer!

As I stated in the beginning of this post, I generally don't care what people think of my, but her approval means the world to me. It's always nice when you can fulfill your dream but it's even better when you can that you've got the full support of those who inspire you.


As always my loves! I Come With PEACE           *smooches*