Mah Fro

Hey all,

So I have decided to wear my hair natural while from now on. Once in a while I will wear braids but I will never perm my hair again. I kept going back and forth while I was in Bulgaria trying to decide if I would make the switch or not. I kept my hair in braids the entire time I was here because I didn’t want to perm my hair but I had no clue how to manage natural hair in a foreign country with no “Black” products. When I was home in Chicago in November I rocked my natural hair for about a week but put braids back in because I knew I was coming back to Bulgaria. I decide to simply wear my natural hair after I met this Bulgarian woman in Varna.

This particular woman had hair just like black people’s hair only she is Bulgarian. Literally she had an afro and coily hair. I talked to her about 15 minutes in the store and proceeded to tell her about all the products she could use to straighten her hair. She looked me in the eye and said “Why would I want to straighten my hair? God gave me this hair and made me who I am. I don’t want to change my hair. It is what makes me special.” At that moment I had a rude awaking and I understood that I needed to appreciate my hair and not straighten it or hid it with braids.

Now, I am running around Bulgaria with natural hair and I feel really good. Something about this change is making me appreciate who I am as an African American human being and individual. I am looking forward to styling my hair! Wahoo.

Awww about the Zoo! I went to the zoo with my colleagues and we had a great time. Actually, I was pretty surprised about the standards at the zoo because I heard from another PCV that zoo’s in Bulgaria are a terror for animal lovers. Apparently, the animals that they saw were rarely taken care of and lived in conditions that fostered diseases. I don’t know about the zoo they visited but the zoo we visited in Lovech was absolutely wonderful. The animals were taken care of and loved. I have pictures but I forgot my mp3 at home. I will post them later this evening.

Rockin mah fro,

Crystal