Many people have asked about sending me things.
Shipping is ridiculously expensive.
However, if you really want to send me something here are some tips:
-see my earlier blogs for my address. Or Facebook
-Cards and letters are very inexpensive but mean a lot :-)
-check out flat rate boxes; I've heard those are cheaper in some cases
Things that are cheap and light to send:
-magazines (esp Black ones)
-drink packets
-gum
-Eclipse mints
-random colors of nail polish
-tea/coffee
-shower puffs/loulfas
-Pics (of you of course! or the US in general)
-smell good lotions/sprays
Things you shouldnt send:
-dry milk
-peanut butter products
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Hair in Mali
(see “Hair in Mali” album here: http://picasaweb.google.com/veroniquelporter/HairInMali# )
Surprisingly my hair has been thriving in Mali. Despite the fact I’m a little protein deficit, which makes my hair lose its spring a little, my fro has lots of definition and its growing. Malians hate my fro. They think its unkempt, and they’d much rather I get it braided, like in simple French braids, or at least keep it covered. I found this out when I got to country and mostly kept in fro under wraps (literally- ha, ha). After rocking the purple braids for a month and a half, I told the villagers I was wearing my hair out for two weeks. It needed to air out, but more importantly, I wanted them to see that with good care,; their hair could have definition and look good without braids, weaves or wraps all the time. Yeah, they weren’t having that. I got asked by people in my concession when I was going out where my head wrap was. I replied that it was in my house. Married women keep their hair covered out of respect for their husbands. I weaseled out of that one since I wasn’t married. My old homologue asked me what was going in with my hair. He told me there’s a salon in town he could take me to. I was sitting with him and his friend at the time and I asked ‘what’s wrong with my hair? I like wearing it like this… In the states, women wear their hair like this…Is it ugly?’ This is a trick question because technically it’d be rude for them to say yes ;-) My old homologue said no, its pretty, but his friend quickly said “you need to get it braided… you live in Mali so you should do what the women do.” I told him of my two week plan and said after that period I’d get it braided. He confirmed that it’d be only two weeks and then agreed that if it was only two weeks, it’d be ok.
My new homologue’s co-spouse didn’t fall for the pretty/ugly question. Instead she said outright that I needed to get it braided immediately. Anything women in village, who gives me flack all the time, responded to the trick question by saying it ugly and I needed to get it braided. Then every other time I saw her, she asked when I was going to braid my hair.
There’s a women in my village that I saw braiding and she did good work that wasn’t that tight. My two weeks had become three weeks and I told her I wanted braids like those she did. During the fourth week of frodom, she braided my hair. Right now, I have long, long, itty, bitty twists that took 15 hours over the course of four days. In the States, these braids would be upwards of $200. Here in Mali, it cost about $7, hair and labor.
It’s not purple, but that’s only because the boutiqui only had black or blond. Yeah, not going blond anytime soon.
Surprisingly my hair has been thriving in Mali. Despite the fact I’m a little protein deficit, which makes my hair lose its spring a little, my fro has lots of definition and its growing. Malians hate my fro. They think its unkempt, and they’d much rather I get it braided, like in simple French braids, or at least keep it covered. I found this out when I got to country and mostly kept in fro under wraps (literally- ha, ha). After rocking the purple braids for a month and a half, I told the villagers I was wearing my hair out for two weeks. It needed to air out, but more importantly, I wanted them to see that with good care,; their hair could have definition and look good without braids, weaves or wraps all the time. Yeah, they weren’t having that. I got asked by people in my concession when I was going out where my head wrap was. I replied that it was in my house. Married women keep their hair covered out of respect for their husbands. I weaseled out of that one since I wasn’t married. My old homologue asked me what was going in with my hair. He told me there’s a salon in town he could take me to. I was sitting with him and his friend at the time and I asked ‘what’s wrong with my hair? I like wearing it like this… In the states, women wear their hair like this…Is it ugly?’ This is a trick question because technically it’d be rude for them to say yes ;-) My old homologue said no, its pretty, but his friend quickly said “you need to get it braided… you live in Mali so you should do what the women do.” I told him of my two week plan and said after that period I’d get it braided. He confirmed that it’d be only two weeks and then agreed that if it was only two weeks, it’d be ok.
My new homologue’s co-spouse didn’t fall for the pretty/ugly question. Instead she said outright that I needed to get it braided immediately. Anything women in village, who gives me flack all the time, responded to the trick question by saying it ugly and I needed to get it braided. Then every other time I saw her, she asked when I was going to braid my hair.
There’s a women in my village that I saw braiding and she did good work that wasn’t that tight. My two weeks had become three weeks and I told her I wanted braids like those she did. During the fourth week of frodom, she braided my hair. Right now, I have long, long, itty, bitty twists that took 15 hours over the course of four days. In the States, these braids would be upwards of $200. Here in Mali, it cost about $7, hair and labor.
It’s not purple, but that’s only because the boutiqui only had black or blond. Yeah, not going blond anytime soon.
God Bless the Rains In Africa
October 24, 2009
It’s raining and I’m so glad. This whole day was ridiculously humid, despite the fact rainy season is close to an end and we don’t get much rain up here. But not quite over, as tonight indicates.
Rain has never been so comforting to me as it is here in Africa. Rain has always created the lazy, ‘lets get under some covers and watch movies all day’ feeling. (To me that also sounds like a snowy day, when everything has shut down or I ditch my responsibilities for the day to avoid the snow.) Rain- I used to dread it because work doesn’t shut down and I have to go out in it and be wet in my clothes (I hate being wet in my clothes) and drowsy and lazy and outside its hazy but still productive despite the fact that the weather sucks.
I could like the weather here because things do stop or slow down tremendously. Everyone goes inside and I get unguilty alone time. A breeze (or rough wind) starts up right before it starts to rain and it gets cool. After, the cool remains for a while making up for all the mud everywhere and the already non-existing roads fading even more into the muddy (-er) landscape
Maybe I like the rain because… it’s familiar; the same all over the world. It’s just falling water
… And the thunder here rolls and rolls sometimes for 15-20seconds… I don’t know maybe even more. It rolls long enough for me to be lost in the sound for a bit and then smile at that fact once the thunder has finally stopped.
And the thick clouds give plenty of warning that the rain is coming followed by the wind or soft breeze. And I can usually see lightening in the distance.
I do like the rain. Despite the fact that I have a mud roof (lined with plastic), I like the falling water a lot. Maybe I only like the rains in Africa.
Wow, I’m in Africa
It’s raining and I’m so glad. This whole day was ridiculously humid, despite the fact rainy season is close to an end and we don’t get much rain up here. But not quite over, as tonight indicates.
Rain has never been so comforting to me as it is here in Africa. Rain has always created the lazy, ‘lets get under some covers and watch movies all day’ feeling. (To me that also sounds like a snowy day, when everything has shut down or I ditch my responsibilities for the day to avoid the snow.) Rain- I used to dread it because work doesn’t shut down and I have to go out in it and be wet in my clothes (I hate being wet in my clothes) and drowsy and lazy and outside its hazy but still productive despite the fact that the weather sucks.
I could like the weather here because things do stop or slow down tremendously. Everyone goes inside and I get unguilty alone time. A breeze (or rough wind) starts up right before it starts to rain and it gets cool. After, the cool remains for a while making up for all the mud everywhere and the already non-existing roads fading even more into the muddy (-er) landscape
Maybe I like the rain because… it’s familiar; the same all over the world. It’s just falling water
… And the thunder here rolls and rolls sometimes for 15-20seconds… I don’t know maybe even more. It rolls long enough for me to be lost in the sound for a bit and then smile at that fact once the thunder has finally stopped.
And the thick clouds give plenty of warning that the rain is coming followed by the wind or soft breeze. And I can usually see lightening in the distance.
I do like the rain. Despite the fact that I have a mud roof (lined with plastic), I like the falling water a lot. Maybe I only like the rains in Africa.
Wow, I’m in Africa
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