Good Hair (Again?)

I don't know, maybe Tricia has already written about this but I have to post a little something here. There are a few places that a mzungu (white foreigner) can go in Lusaka with out getting stared at or talked about our have one hundred children chasing you screaming "AZUNGU! HOW ARE YOU?" One of these places is the South African chain grocery store Pick-n-Pay. It's in a nice part of town and while I'm still a minority shopping there is usually stress free. Today Tricia was home with a sick Lucas and took the girls to church and then grocery shopping. Wow. People were watching my every move and I could almost hear their thoughts, "What is that mzungu doing with those little girls?" A lady walking down the aisle pulled on Ethel's hair and said in Nyanja, "Hey, these children look good." I think many Zambians are surprised that we can keep our Zambian girls looking nice and shiny looking. And they're right in a way - when it came to black women's hair I was as ignorant as can be. The only thing that prepared me was watching the Chris Rock documentary "Good Hair." So I don't want to give it away but most Zambian women are walking around with a half a pound of shiny acrylic hair sewn onto their heads. And it's a hundred degrees. The number of women I see in a day with natural hair (even konked, straightened hair) is less that I can't count on one hand. Wigs, weaves, braids, and extensions are IT! So when it came to our girls there was a steep learning curve. But after seeing the insane expense of fake hair and braids, we wanted a natural look. But they cry and fuss when it's time to have their hair brushed. So. Dreadlocks! They are all natural, look great and once they are taking well to the hair, there is not too much maintenance (ie. time & money). So here's their new look.