Spa Day

Well, the other day, the 'ministry of hanging out' took a turn. I showed up at my friend Aissa's house on what appeared to be her 'spa day'. Aissa was diligently applying henna to her feet. The Fulani women use the henna to turn the bottoms of their feet black. It is quite the lengthy process:

• wash your feet
• apply black electrical tape around the edge of your feet and around the toenails
• smear the mixture (that looks like leaves and clay) along the bottom of your foot, up to the tape and around your toes
• wrap your foot in black plastic bags
• tie shut
• be lazy for four hours with your feet up (walking is limited so as not to displace the mixture and end up with blotchy feet)
• untie and wash the mixture off

Aissa asked if I had ever done henna. I responded that I not done it yet - but had always wanted to do the henna with flowers drawn on your hands and feet. So, one of the household children was sent off to find the Djarma neighbour lady who does this. After Aissa's feet were dry, we headed off to the neighbour girl and I had my hands and feet henna'd for the first time! My friends all asked me where I had the henna done - and all I could say was: 'A lady in the hut down the street from my friend's house!'.

I figure, if I ever had the incentive to open a henna spa in Calgary, I would call it 'Lady in a Hut' and decorate the place like Africa!! It has a nice sort-of ring to it.

Unfortunately, it doesn't help any of my friends find her in order to get their henna - but, everyone who does this has a similar response. 'I saw someone on the road doing it' or 'a friend of a friend'.

I loved the outcome, but decided that I will likely only do my hands next time. The entire process took about 3 hours! But it was a wonderful 'spa day' and a concentrated day of language practice as we sat 4 hours for Aissa's henna to set and another 3 for mine. As the lady doing the henna spoke Djarma, I had to relay my requests in Fulfulde through Aissa - it was interesting to hear which words she spoke in French as opposed to Djarma - flower apparently either doesn't have a word in Djarma or is better known in French. At any rate, as I spoke my desires in Fulfulde and she relayed the information in Djarma - I began to wonder what exactly would come out. It was a practical test of my fulfulde!!

The unfortunate (or at least unanticipated) side-effect of my henna efforts started as I headed home - for that day, and for weeks to come (until it wore off) people stopped me on the road wherever I went. They wanted to tell me it was beautiful. And then to ask me where my husband was - back home in your country?? Though young women who are unmarried - and all the white ladies - do this type of henna, it is (I've been told) traditionally done for a bride in the days before her wedding. As I've been seen around town without a husband, and un-henna'd, for the last 2.5 years - apparently my newly henna'd hands and feet sparked rumours, interest and hope of my upcoming wedding!!