Saturday, January 5, 2008

Lovin' lots of locks

Who doesn't like a new look for a new year? I finally got to go Nigerian with my hair. A couple neighbors came over last Saturday and spent the entire day grafting the extensions into my hair. When I say the entire day, I mean from 8:30am to 5:30 pm. Hey, beauty takes time! If you're thinking, "Rene, I can't believe you spent an entire saturday getting your head yanked on" then may I remind you that Nigerians (and actually, many African Americans) do this at least once a month. No wonder they're ok with having to wear head-ties. It's a quick fix until they can find time to sit for 6+ hours.

I didn't have it too bad because I was able to sit in my house and catch up on emails and other computer work.

I delighted in chatting with Comfort and her sisters Abigail and Patience, who came to help a little bit. Comfort is studying Geology at the university and taught me a bit about the unique rock formations here in Jos.

Um, but there were definitely times when it felt more like torture than pampering. Yanking on little bits of hair so the extensions could be tied as close to the scalp as possible. Some people stopped by to visit throughout the day and I think if they weren't there I would have been in tears. And I definitely thought I was within 10 mins of being done at least 20 times. The home stretch seemed to take longer than the first 90% of my head.

Now, this may be a stretch, but I think this experience epitomizes cross-culture living. While you're doing "work" your native culture and the new culture are gradually being entwined together. Sometimes you reach your hand back to check out the progress to be delightfully surprised at how far you've come. This can lead to misjudgement about how far is still left to go. Sometimes, the blending hurts. Sometimes, it pulls you off balance. Sometimes, interruptions slow down the process. And sometimes you're not sure if you're doing the right thing or if it's going to be one huge ugly mess that will take a while to correct. However, if the final product on my head now is any rule of thumb, then the joining of your "normal" life with the new life will be a beautiful, fun, new creation that you'll absolutely love.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love your new hair, Renenoodle!
You are great. Thanks for the serious LDP loving video...I'm a big fan. You are AH-MAH-ZING! Keep bringing Glory to God in Nigeria...I miss and love you so much. xoxo, Lia

Dorothy said...

Hottt!!! That looks awesome, René!
Feliz navidad, by the way :)
xoxo

Brandy Gore said...

gorgeous! they did an awesome job on your hair :) i'm glad you took the time to go through all of that. blessings, rene! i hope you have a wonderful week.