Julie's African Braids

July 8, 2011 – Julie's African Braids by Julie Heisey on Friday, July 8, 2011 at 9:06pm OH. MY. LANTA! I have a whOLe new respect for all of the girls that I see walking around everywhere with these crazyily (new word) designed braids. It hurts a LOT! I didn't think it was really going to be such intense pain, but when she takes a little section of your hair and braids it right on your head, it's definitely intense. I actually cried on the third or fourth braid, and was thinking, 'oh my gosh, why in the world would anyone pay someone to do this!' lol. And, I have, and probably will have, a headache for a while. Bebe, the name of the lady that did my braids for me, did one half of my head, then the other half, then did the whole back/bottom from left to right. She did it so that it pulls up into a pony tail, with those colored plastic bands to hold them in place at the end of the braid and also right where it starts away from my head. It took 2 hours and 12 minutes for her to do it all, with a few short breaks (like 2 or 3 minutes). But, my experience wasn't completely filled with pain lol. They served me some millet drink that one of the girls made as an afternoon snack. Later, when we'd moved outside of their yard to do the 2nd half of my hair, a lady came by selling what I think were frufrus (it's basically fried dough, sometimes with stuff in it, this one had chopped up onions and boiled eggs) and Bebe gave me one. (: It was really really good, besides giving me a break because Bebe had to take time to eat hers lol. Just after that, another lady finished making her tea that she'd started when I'd gotten there, and served me a little cup. They serve them in little 'shot' glasses, and you're supposed to slurp it as loudly as you can lol. It was good and sweet, and a little distraction from the pain... for a few seconds. I've gotta say though, despite how painful it was, I'm glad I went through with it and got it all done. I don't think I'm gonna do it again, maybe, maybe not, but I'm certainly glad for the experience. There you have it, right from the mouth of the one who is hurting!! Do any of you ladies remember “curlers”??-those plastic cylinders that we used to wrap our hair around at night, attach with bobby pins or little plastic picks, and (try to)sleep on to have big curls? Ouch!!—that gives me a headache just remembering. Oh, the things we do for fashion!! It was a lovely way to make a onnection with a neighbor though, I discovered that 2 of my near neighbors are named Miriam (or a variation thereof), which I told them is my given name. Now when I pass their stand in the local market, I am greeted with cries of “Meriam, Meriam!” and we greet one another. We know each other – and that is good. Again on Saturday I went with Fanta, our cook, to that open air market down at the main road. Always before we have walked down the hill the kilometer or so that it is, purchase our supplies and trudge back up the hill , I with my big, red, HALE REAL ESTATE shopping bag slung over my shoulder, and Fanta with her bucket full of food balanced on her head. This time we drove down in the little pick-up truck with Eva Durst and Mattias ___, the 2 short-termers at H2TNI.. I wanted to get a large quantity of mangoes, as I know that their season is coming to an end, and carrying that extra load back up hill, in the morning heat was more than I wanted to tackle. Another reason for taking the truck was to get Fanta going a little earlier. I wanted to be early at the meat merchant to see if I could get the tenderloin. The Malian people seem to prefer the combination of meat, bone and fatty pieces instead of just the leaner cuts that we prefer. I have watched as a thick sirloin chop disappeared under the machete type knife the butcher wields, whacked into bite sized pieces, bone and all, then accompanied by a select handful of other pieces that we would probably disdain to use. He had to be convinced that I wanted only that fat-less meat; the lean piece is not asking for anything special in their eyes. It is much better in my eyes however, so hopefully it is a win-win situation. If the merchant realizes that I will be a regular customer for that piece, maybe I can get him to save it for me in the future. We will see! Blessing for today's counting?? More than enough! Food, family, friends and neighbors. Be blessed and be a blessing! Mim in Mali