When You Rise Up: Hair!!

It was not until this trip that I got to see Hawa's hair natural and unbraided. Georgia always has her hair done so nicely when we come.. but this time, we stayed long enough to need to re-do it quite a few times during our time there. Thank God for all the big girls at the Mission School! They are so talented... and so willing to help out.

Now, you have to understand that I'm one of those white people who live primarily with other white people. I have read books on African hair, I have watched videos, but I'd never really had hands-on experience! SO, when Hawa's 40-some tiny braids stopped looking fresh... and church was the next morning... I knew I had to do something. You see, you always look your best to go to church. The girls all re-do their hair on Saturday or Sunday morning, so that they are fresh and beautiful for service. It would be embarrassing for them not to... hair is a big deal. So, luckily, Eve said she'd help me out. She proceeded to take out Hawa's tiny braids. A team of girls was helping with this, they were good at hair, and it still took them a half and hour! (All I could think was, "oh man... I'm never gonna be able to do this!") I then washed her hair... which was soft and lovely and very frizzy! It was a special "first" for me with my girl. Then, I brought her back to the pros for her new "do". It took Eve a while, but Hawa ended up with a bunch of tiny braids that ran along her head... like teesy-weensy little french braids. (Again, all I could think was, "Oh man... I'm never gonna be ableto do this!")

I can french braid... but this is a whole different world. They start at the bottom, and braid up. They use only 2 fingers from each hand instead of all the fingers, and Hawa's hair is only about 2.5 inches long!! So- yeah, good luck, Corrie.

Anyway, as the weeks went on, more cool things were done to her hair and I knew I had to at least try to figure it out. I mean, braiding is such a huge part of African culture... and Hawa will feel embarrassed if her Mama makes her go out without properly styled hair. So, I had Sue and Mommy try to teach me. Oh man. They make it look so easy! It's not. It's upsidedown and backwards to my brain. Anyway, eventually, I got the idea... although it was still very sloppy! I was proud when I could do it in the older girls' hair pretty well (it's longer hair, so MUCH easier to grab and move) because it proved that I had a clue. :) I'm so glad to have Anika too... she is great at taking Hawa's hair out of her braids, and she can do a few of the styles... probably better than I can! She's already doing wraps (twists) and braids on her dolls at home now.

Now, knowing how to do it, and spending HOURS actually doing it (because that's easily how long it will take me) are two very different things. Luckily, I know 2 pretty simple styles aside from the braiding, that are still considered "good enough"... but man, oh man, it will take practice! Thankfully, the girls' heads are super tough... their scalps are used to be tugged on for an hour at a time... they don't complain or move much. They know it's part of life. Funny... I know a certain little blonde girl who would NEVER allow that kind of thing. :) She'll barely let me touch her head with a brush. Hmmm... kinda how I used to be with my mom. Sorry, Mom.

Mommy & Sue trying to teach me to plait. (pronounced "platt" in Liberia... it means braid)

Me trying to get it into my thick skull. One morning after trying it, and failing miserably, I actually cried a few frustrated tears... I was thinking of the many years of failure that might lie ahead for me in the hair department. Plus... I was stressed out for other reasons as well... but it was the hair that broke the camel's back!!

1 - Note the furrowed brow...

2 - ... and the consternated look upon my countenance...

3 - Hawa still hangin' in there...

4 - Oh! A smile on my face! There must have been a moment of success. But Hawa is looking around to see if she can escape the mad, white, braiding-impaired mama.

5 - I figured one out! Hawa was always so proud that I could braid her hair.

Actually, she and Kelvin would both giggle... and have raised eyebrows in an expression of, "Seriously? YOU did that? YOU can actually braid?" They barely believed it. Well, neither did I.

Hawa's hair getting done in wraps. Hawa was still getting over malaria, and was incredibly tired and ready for bed. She actually fell asleep as her hair was pulled and wrapped!

It was so fun to get used to hair so unlike our own. It was great that the girls had fun getting used to our hair as well! They were fascinated when Anika or I came out with it wet. Their hair doesn't really absorb much water, so it dries super quickly when toweled off, whereas our hair stays wet forever. They also commented on how "smooth" and "fine" (beautiful) it was... since straighter hair is foreign to most of them. The older girls all told me that if they had my kind of hair, they'd never wear it up and hide it like I did. (It was so hot that I almost never wore it down.) They'd wear it flowing down their backs... and they said "I be bluffing all day!"... which means they'd be showing off or trying to get attention. Funny. Girls are girls, no matter what continent they're on. :)

Anika sat and braided her friend, Jenneh's, hair for about an hour on our last day... it was a special bonding time for them. Jenneh was very sad we were leaving, but the time they had together was very special. Somehow, doing one another's hair is an intimate friendship kind of thing in certain moments... these were moments like that.

Eve and the wraps she did in my hair. She's known as the best of the best as braiding goes.

One of my girls proudly displaying the braids she gave Anika. She is awesome. Beautiful voice, beautiful heart, beautiful girl. And another friend beaming from above. She's awesome too. I can hear her raspy voice now... as she often went a little hoarse from singing so much!