Braided hair and a sunset boat ride

Malawian women take pride in their various braided hairstyles and up dos, so naturally we wanted to see what the hype was about! After sitting on the floor for 8 hours and potentially permanent spine damage, I was the proud new owner of a fully braided head of hair. It cost about $10, for reference. Our admin assistant, who is also a professional hair braided on the side, took the plunge and tackled my already thick head of hair. According to her, I hold the record for the most hair braided on one person 😂 Malawians typically keep their hair short, adding the extensions on the end and braiding from there. I, on the other hand, have long enough hair that my hair was just as long as the extensions. Meaning when it came time to take them out, I had to undo all the braids by hand, when the other women typically can cut the braids off and start over. In total I had ~180 braids + fake hair braided into my own. Many challenges arose, as I could not put all my hair in one hand to put it in a ponytail anymore. I gained a couple inches in height, and it took a few days to figure out a comfortable sleeping arrangement. Beauty is pain, as they say 😂 I lasted a week, then decided that I needed my normal hair back. It took a few days, and probably a couple more hours to take them out than it took to put them in 🙄 Glad I had the experience, but probably never again will I subject myself to a full set of braids…

Meanwhile, we took a trip to Lake Malawi! After getting a flat tire and the battery dying on bumpy roads in the middle of the nowhere, we made it to our lakeside hotel. I ended up having a pretty bad cold the entire weekend, so while the others kayaked the lake, I was able to sit and read by the lake, nap in a hammock, and relaxxxxxxxxxx! There is a large chance of contracting schistosomiasis, a flatworm parasite bred in snails that grow on the reeds close to the edge of the water, so swimming in the lake was not attractive for many reasons anyway. I ended up getting sprayed with lake water during our sunset cruise, so my efforts to not encounter the water were somewhat futile. Fingers crossed for no schisto!!