Back to Basics

My boss sent me an email with this song in it because she thought i’d love it and she was right. I do love it. In fact i loved it so much that i felt inspired to talk about it. The message of this song is absolutely admirable. In an age where little black girls are getting perms as young as 3 and they are learning the concept of good hair versus bad hair this is a breath of fresh hair ( haha)

Don’t need a trip to the beauty shop,
’cause I love what I got on top.
It’s curly and it’s brown and it’s right up there!
You know what I love? That’s right, my hair!
I really love my hair.
I love my hair. I love my hair.
There’s nothing else that can compare with my hair.
I love my hair, so I must declare:
I really, really, really love my hair.
Wear a clippy or in a bow
Or let it sit in an afro
My hair looks good in a cornrow
It does so many things you know, that’s why I let it grow
I love my hair, I love my hair
I love it and I have to share
I love my hair, I love my hair!
I want to make the world aware I love my hair.
I wear it up. I wear down. I wear it twisted all around.
I wear braids and pigtails too.
I love all the things my hair can do.
In barrettes or flying free, ever perfect tresses you’ll see
My hair is part of me, an awesome part of me
I really love my hair!

As hair is the pride of any woman, especially i feel black women, we should have the courage to wear our pride naturally. We shouldn’t look down on our hair because of its difference but rather accept it for its difference and versatility. The same way we want that wavy smooth, commercial shiny hair, is the same way someone wants our kinky, versatile, hair that can be change every week into a different style.

In fact the different things we can do with our hair as black women is form of artistic expression. I mean why is it that we have hair shows now, its to show what can be done with hair. Even looking at the lyrics we can see a small snippet of the things that can be done to our hair. We are lucky enough to  have options. Whether it be dreads, braids, cornrows, natural curls, short cuts, twists, or  fros. We can do it all, and most of it naturally. In fact at one point or another, we have done it all including the ones involving chemicals that is damaging to our hair. I can speak for myself when i say that i’ve tried it all. I’ve been through the stage where i loved my hair and then hated it. I permed it, cut it, let it grow naturally, texturized it, straightened it, let out in a fro, got cornrows, braids, weaves, I’ve even worn a wig. All because i wanted my hair to look like what the media considered beauty. And through it all even though i loved my current hair style every time i had something done, that feeling never lasted and  i can’t ever say that i’ve loved my hair. I’m not criticizing or judging those that aren’t natural or have perms, because if i was i’d be a hypocrite. I’m just saying i feel that there is more pride to be gotten when you carry your hair naturally, can have a natural style and can proudly proclaim that “YES….THIS IS MY HAIR”

More so, your hair is healthier when its less processed and why shouldn’t being healthy in body and mind include our hair.

Its time to get back to the stage where we really love our hair. And i mean OUR HAIR and in loving our hair we can take better care of it. If we can be happy with our outward appearance it makes it easier to be happy with your inside as well. So even though as india arie said

I am not my hair
I ma not this skin
I am a soul that lives within

Being happy with our hair can go a long way towards letting us be happy with ourselves, building up better self esteem and facing the world with a more positive attitude. And that can start as easy as this song

I want to make the world aware I love my hair………. 
My hair is part of me, an awesome part of me
I really love my hair!

Lets start loving our hair.

My Other Half

Having you so far away in Greece has made me realize that your not only my sister but my other half. You being so far away makes me feel like i've lost a huge part of me. So next time you decide to travel the world or explore somewhere new, take me with you. I don't know if i'll be able to handle someone so close to me... being away for so long. So i just wanted to say that ur the best sister ever Everest and I love you, mo ni ife re, 我爱你，사랑해 。♥   

                                                                                         - choco kolawole

Awwww. you're going to make me cry. if i had my way you would have been right here next to me this whole time. SO hurry up and graduate soon, so that we go start taking over the world. Doing the things we've always wanted, going the places we've only dreamed about and not looking back. So please grow up faster so we can start our travels. i miss you too and just so you know you're my bestie and i love you too σ'αγαπώ (s'agapo) i finally learnt how to say it in greek =)

                                                                                 

                                                                                        -honeybee kolawole

 

So i did. i cried and cried a little more and then some more. I mean, these weren’t sad tears mind you, they were like happy tears and nostalgic tears. I cried because i miss my other half, i cried because i love my other half and i cried because i wish i was with my other half. The tears felt good. This would be the first time i have cried since being in Greece and i think it was about time. In crying for this i cried about other things as well

I cried because i missed my family and my friends. I cried for what i was missing at home and i cried for what i knew i was gaining here and couldn’t immediately share with those i love. Its a conundrum when you know you’re getting so much from something but at the same time losing out on other things.

I’m so grateful for this message for making me cry. It was exactly what i needed but the whole time i was reading it i wish i could make the request on it happen. i wish i could take away the sad feelings it provoked in my other half. I wish i wasn’t so far away from her. I wish there was some way to be here and there at the same time. I wish she hadn’t felt that she lost a huge part of her with me away while i’m here gaining a new part of me. I wish she could have come with me on this journey, where i get to explore a part of the world and myself. i wish she didn’t have to deal with me being away for this long while i knew i have to be away for this long to be able to deal with myself.

I can’t wait till she can leave and start her own journey in life. I can’t wait for the times when i’m going to be the one writing the message about missing my other half. i can’t wait for when i’m going to be the one  feeling like i’ve lost a part of me. I can’t wait to be the one wanting to be taken on a journey with her. Because when that happens that will mean she’s getting the chance to explore herself, find herself and grow.

Most of all i can’t wait till we’ve both been on our journeys so that we can embark on the journeys we’ll have together. The places we’ll go, the things we’ll see, the things we’ll do, the pictures we’ll take, the stories we’ll have. I can’t wait till we can just go and not look back, together this time. That way we won’t be leaving any part of us behind or leaving each other being.

So this is to you. My other half. My best Friend. The one who completes me. My Sister. You’re the best sister a girl could ever ask for. I love you and i’m telling you in every way i can.

Mo ni ife re

Je t’aime.

Te Amo

s’agapo

HaPpiNesS

I’ve never thought to define happiness. But today i actually felt happiness and the need to define it. Today was one of those days that started off majorly stressful with a lot on my plate to do, all before 9 am. I had to lead a discussing in the class i TA and i had my first Greek quiz right after and i hadn’t studied. Upon finishing all that i had to get back to the office and start on my to-do list and try to finish as much as possible before 3. Then i left work and had the unfortunate pleasure of waiting for the bus, getting crowded on it and having my personal space invaded. I finally got home and thought I’d be able to take a nap….but no, i had work to do, so there was no nap. Overall, not my definition of happiness. Then just one thing happened, just one simple conversation and immediately my day was brightened. I immediately felt happy from the beginning of the conversation to the end, even when we were arguing and disagreeing on things, just because i got to see his face and hear his voice.

For me, all this made me happy and i wanted to define that feeling…..just because that’s the type of person i am. I wanted to be able to document the meaning of this feeling so that i could revisit it in the future and come back to this same place that i am right now.

At first i thought happiness is when you’re lazing around on a hot summer day either in the pool or posted in from of the tv on a couch with the remote and snacks within reaching distance.

Or when you spend hours telling meaningless stories with your friends and laughing until tears are pouring down your face.

It could also be that sense of accomplishment you get from finally getting the grade you deserve on a test or quiz after days of nonstop studying.

Or when you go shopping and find the perfect dress or outfit at half the normal cost and it fits perfectly.

How about when you find the perfect book and get lost in it, feeling like you’re actually in the book and the characters are your friends.

Or when you find your private, personal place in a city where you can always go and be alone and find yourself.

I also saw it as long walks to no where, just strolling along, watching everything and absorbing the humanity around you.

When you hear a story of someone finding and getting everything they deserve in life after years of suffering and pain.

When you hear and see that someone you care about is happy and you contributed to that.

All these are my definitions of happiness but today i discovered a new one.

Today happiness to me was defined as when you got to see and talk to someone you hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to and see in a while. Someone who mattered. And in that conversation every moment seemed like a gift. Every word a treasure. Every smile a blessing. And there was pure contentedness from just being in that person’s presence. So, when the time came to say goodbye, even  though it was hard, the sheer happiness from that conversation was going to be enough……….until next time.

The amount of happiness that you have depends on the amount of freedom you have in your heart.                       Thich Nhat Hanh

Hands of Time

Have you ever wondered about how time passes by. Sometimes it can seem like there’s not enough time in the day to do everything you have to do and other times it just seems like time is literally crawling at a snails pace.

Today i did nothing. Literally Nothing. I laid in bed, got up a few times to eat and came back to bed. As i was in bed, it occurred to me that I've been in Greece already 4 weeks and i didn’t even realize it. Granted sometimes during the week, it seemed like time could definitely go faster and it was just taking its time. Or sometime the day would be over before i got any of my work done.

But i looked back and realized I'd been here four weeks and i didn’t feel like i had anything to show for it. As humans we feel the need to know that we haven’t wasted our precious time on this earth. That we accomplished something in the time we’ve spent here on earth. Whether it be knowing you accomplished something meaningful in one day, one week, one month or in my case one semester abroad. Don’t get me wrong, I've been doing a lot that would be considered using my time wisely, but as my biggest critic, i had higher expectations for myself on what i wanted to accomplish my first time abroad and I've been slacking. I’ve been too busy  watching the hands of time go by. Trying to make it move faster so that i can get to the point where i want it to be….December 18.

In doing that I've been drawing out time longer than it actually goes by. Its like when you count down minutes or hours, it always seems longer than when you’re actually living time and doing something with it besides watching it. So by unconsciously counting down, I've been making things longer than they actually are.

Today i learnt. Today i learnt to leave time alone and let it go at its own pace. Its not slowing down for me, hurrying up for me or even waiting for me to catch up. Its just going. And if i really want to make the best use of my time, i have to start living time. If i want to live up to my expectations of what i want to experience my first time abroad, i have to stop watching time. If i want to leave my mark on this trip, i have to start loving time and making the most of it. Even if that means not doing anything with my time or doing the most i can with it.

Pineapple Whiskey Weekend

The fist weekend in October was our first official free weekend since moving to Greece
On Friday, Diana, Erin and I went shopping for like 5 hours and walked around town looking for a place that sold harem/genie pants. i got the coolest harem/genie pants at a store we dubbed harem city because it had so many varieties. and some safari looking pants near a place we called cat call alley because as we walked by there were many men trying to get out attention. creepers!!!! and the h & m  here is a fail. i wasn’t tempted in any way to waste money and that is the mark of a failure h & m. They don’t even have sales racks in Europe  =(. At my new favorite store BERSHKA , i got and the coolest dress/tunic…..that can be either. It looks like a toga, so i thought it was fitting to get here in Greece. And i absolutely love it. oh and i got my nose pierced = ) Granted this is the biggest part of that Friday.

Erin and i were walking to the tattoo shop to find out how much things would cost and apparently getting holes in yourself and tattoos are really cheap in Europe. The whole process to get the nose piercing was weird though. I bought my stud at one Nico store. Had to walk up the square to another to get my piercing done. We stopped at the second Nico store we saw and apparently that was the tattoo Nico store. Then we finally found the last one where i could get my piercing. The whole time all i could think was that a person could definitely change their mind as they walked from one store to the other….and would only have a random nose stud  and an unpierced nose to show for it. The total cost of my piercing and stud 14 Euros = $20 and i knew i was going to be coming back for my ears

At the end of the day i had no more cash meaning i spent about 85 Euros and was broke which meant someone else covered my drinks at the bar.

Later that night we went to our favorite bar, the music room, again we’re the only ones in there. We got the name of the owner, Stavros and the bartender, Leonidas. Like in the movie 300 but we were soon corrected that the movie is after the Greek Leonidas……i didn’t care that much i just thought Leonidas was a cool name. We got our drink, two pineapple and vodkas and a rum and coke. And the night of relaxing began.

Then Stavros pours five shots of pineapple whiskey and randomly placed it in front of us. I thought it was weird but when him and Leonidas also took up a glass i grabbed mine too. He wouldn't drug us all. Lol. It was free and it was delicious too.

Then we got a second round and then a  strange old man came in with a young woman. Like he was probably in his 60s and she in her 20s.  She was black and i was excited to see another black person and told her i loved her braids….which i sincerely meant. Then the old man proudly told us all in a weird combination of English, Greek and Italian that she was Jamaican. Okkaaay…..  After that he attempted to speak to us but no one understood the weird  combination of Greek and Italian so conversation was interesting although Leonidas who knows no Italian managed to find a way to translated for us.

The highlight of the night was when the old man bought us a round of drinks. We weren’t going to say no. But then he went outside with his woman and we didn’t think we were getting the drinks. Diana was on duty so she had to leave but as she was about to leave leonidas brought her the drink the old man had bought her. She had to rush it so she could leave but I'm pretty sure she was late for rounds by like 30 minutes. lol. Its all good, it wasn’t like we were going to report her.

Erin and i chilled. got our third drinks and then the old man and his woman came back in and started shouting. All we could hear was the girl shouting “WHO’S YOUR FRIEND?” we finished our drinks and left quickly. Considering that we were both broke we  walked back along the boardwalk which took us over an hour  to walk.

 

Of course we were kind of buzzed and had to pee. We peed into the ocean and speaking for me  it was very liberating. lol. Then we got back to Erin’s building and hung out with students while buzzed. Our conversation was very interesting and they never knew.

i got back to my room around 2 am, happy as a clam at how much fun i had = )

GREEK 101

so I'm going to be taking Greek 101 now
I'm the only one on the staff that has elected to take the class for two reasons. one to actually learn Greek and two to meet people and hopefully that class isn’t filled with NUin students
Activities fair was this week and it was so cute because all the clubs in the school had table and there was about 12 tables total. Never the less i joined the pottery club, the tennis club and I'm hoping to get into the cooking club if possible.
On Wednesday after our very emotional day me, two other ISAs, Diana and Erin, and the SD (Leighanne) and the ASD (Renay) got together and went to a bar to destress and relax. It was a little dive bar and we were the only ones there, which was not surprising since we went around 9.  The rule was that we weren’t allowed to talk about work and it was nice. We all got to know each other a little more and laughed a lot. I just had to leave by 10:30 because I'm on duty for the week and had to be back to do rounds.
Its really nice to be in a culture were you can go out with your bosses like that, talk, have a drink and just chill. I had a vodka and pineapple drink, someone had red wine, there was a rum and coke and two beers.  And i got to say the Greeks make their alcohol very strong. My vodka and pineapple was 3/4 vodka and the rest pineapple. I knew that would be my only drink for the night because I'm a light weight and i didn’t want to be drunk in front of my co-workers. Also i didn’t want to do rounds drunk. That would have been really professional. lol
Upon getting back to the building and going right into my rounds,  there was an incident and i had to write a report. it wasn’t bad but it had to be done and i hate getting people in trouble but again it had to be done because the person had broken the rules. One of my biggest fears about this job was wondering if I'd be tough enough to write someone up and well…..guess i am.
As of today I’ve officially been to two classes of Greek 101 and since i missed the first two classes i feel so behind. I’m now trying to learn my Greek alphabet and Greek combination words so i can actually know what's going on in the class. The teacher has been lenient enough that she hasn’t called on me to read anything in class yet. But i think my grace period is over and next week I'm going to be in the spotlight. Wish me luck
I leave you with this…….my current personal hell

Corfu day 2……and rain

So it essentially rained our second day at Corfu ruining any chances of personal sightseeing but we still had to go on the pre arranged bus tour of the town. Here are the pictures i took.

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After our day of sightseeing, we all (the staff that is) stayed in and at night we had a bowling tournament in which i came in 4th at first and then 3rd i think for the second round. It was fun!!! I really think i am going to take up bowling when i get back because i think i have untapped skills in that area.
The next morning it was time to leave so i made sure to go out onto the private beach one last time and get pictures of the sun breaking out of the clouds. It was absolutely beautiful and i’m glad i was able to witness and capture it all before i left. That last morning made up for the fact that i didn’t get to tour the town like i wanted and the fact that the weather had made me sick. More so, watching the sun over the water is one of the most humbling experiences in the world to me. You become very conscious of your tiny existence in the grand scheme of the world. You see how even something like the sun rising or setting is still beautiful despite how trite and commonplace it is. And the biggest lesson of all is that you learn not to worry about anything because if the sun can rise and set everyday then there’s really nothing to worry about.

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The journey back h0me to Thessaloniki was just as beautiful as the journey to Corfu. Memories were made along the way and overall, even though some aspects of this job might be frustrating and aggravating, getting to see another part of this beauty of the world and being able to be immersed in it make it worth it.

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