The week in Shirazi ended all too quickly. Our last Swahili lesson was Saturday morning, and for the rest of the weekend we were given free time with our families. I watched a soccer match between the local Shirazi team and nearby Barabarani Saturday afternoon.
Sunday morning, I walked to the nearby village of Barabarani to charge my phone (Barabarani has electricity!). On my way back, I was held up by a traffic jam:
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| I wasn't sure how close I could get, but these guys were friendly. |
When I broke through, I got tattoos all over my arms and legs. Just kidding, kind of.
Almost all the wazungu girls were given henna as a departure gift. This woman applied the dark liquid (hair dye and some other mystery powder).
We allowed it to dry before rinsing it off. After my black outlines were done, I returned home for the next step: the application of orange henna mud to certain regions of the tattoos. My sister Mwanasiti applied the liquid to the bottoms of my feet and filled in the flower petals.
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| My sister, Mwanasiti, painting my feet |
Most girls also had the orange applied to their fingertips and arms as well. I avoided it because I needed to pack and couldn’t take the time needed for the mud to dry.
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| Eating my last dinner in Shirazi and waiting for my feet to dry |
My henna is still visible now that I’m back in Nairobi, though I am able to make it a little lighter every day. It was a good way to test out if I would ever want to get a tattoo. I don’t think I do.
I think the temporary tatoos are beautiful! And I loved the traffic jam!
ReplyDeleteI would have liked to see a picture of the boat you were on ... it wasn't
a little yellow dinghy piloted by a Norwegian fellow, was it?? HA
You are looking good, Jenae, and looking like you are enjoying yourself.
Keep up the good work.
love you
Grandma Pete