No Jambo?

We have all seen Mean Girls, right? Cady, the new girl at high school who just moved to the US from Africa, experiences culture shock and the mean arena of high school. I’m sure she was a little shocked when she said  “Jambo!” to the African American table at school and got very weird looks. Well, I’ve done that too. I was confused; how did my peers not understand me? What did I say that is so “weird”?

Now, I did not grow up in Africa, however my mother spent a couple of months out of the year for years in Nairobi, Kenya. She would bring their language back to me, along with their ways of dressing  and some ideals. It was the language that really stuck. I am by no means fluent, I only know basic words but my family and I used it in almost everyday life. I will never forget being at my elementary school one school year; I was 8 years old and I was rocking my new Nairobi Java House t-shirt my mom had just brought back for me from her most recent trip. My group of friends were sitting by the playground swings and I excitedly went up to them and without thinking anything of it I said, “Jambo!” Oh yes. Cady Heron style.

 

I (embarrassingly) had to explain to them that ‘jambo’ was Swahili for ‘hello’. My best friend Charlotte looked at me and asked, “don’t you only say that in Africa?”. No matter how much I tried to explain it, they never understood. Needless to say I never spoke a nick of Swahili unless I was with my family in a home setting. The language I used at home could not be used outside of that bubble. It did not affect me in any negative connation, but it is interesting to see that I let that one instance “prohibit” my language of the home. What about you? Have you had any similar experiences with language of the home versus language of school?

Mercury or MAC?

Makeup. The eyeliners, eye shadows, lipsticks, blushes, and mascaras we girls can all turn to to ignite confidence. It is one of the simplest things to use that can quickly turn your self image around. Then I began thinking, how has makeup changed over the years? Some still go for the “retro” look but I’m not talking about the way it is put on,  I mean what is in the makeup and how it all got started.

Back in ancient days, makeup was to be worn by the elite, upper class.  People would go to extremes which to get the look they were going for. Women would crush berries to use to stain their lips. Sometimes they would use mercury (yes, mercury) to lighten their skin; they also used leeches to suck their blood to drain, literally, the color from their face. OUCH! As we progressed to the Middle Ages, makeup was still only seen for the wealthy upper class or for actors. As the 20’s approached, Estee Lauder followed by Max Factor, and L’Oreal Paris made their way into the scene. Max Factor created a “grease paint” (sounds great, right?) that went on smoother than what was used by actors and that did not crease. It was then that Hollywood celebrities started to call Max factor wanting to try the new makeup and thus a makeup revolution for everyone was born.

We have come a long ways since the ancient days and using poisons or berries for a flush (or lack of) color. Makeup now a days has to go through many tests to account for safety measures before you will ever see it in a Sephora or beauty store.  Some may call makeup vain and superficial, but I feel that we women all want to be accepted in one way or another. If that means strawberry lip gloss, I’m down! What do you think about how makeup has progressed?