Monday, May 19, 2008

Birthday in India


Hello Friends! Today is my birthday. I thought I would share with an excerpt from my journal,
'I am sitting in a temple of the top of a mountain in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. Heidi, next to me, is frantically writing notes. Besides her, I am the only white person on the mountain. The woman are me are seated on the floor 'indian style.' All are wearing bright fabric with gold on their ears, neck, and nose. Their hairs are pulled into a tight buns or braid wearing a string of jasmine. I sit with short, curly, red, frizzy hair, a stark contrast to the oily smooth black braid that often reaches their waist. I am learning that my own belief that differences are beautiful is not the case. Ina culture where tradition is a rule not a guideline, my differences are not easily accepted. A woman told me last night when talking about my hair, 'it's ok to be different in some things but not all.'
My hair is turning out to be a constant struggle. The humidity is making it curlier than ever and I love it. But woman do not hesitate to ask me why I didn't come my hair this morning. I struggle for words to explain to them that I like my hair. When I tell them that I often get a laughing response. Sometimes I will say I forgot and sometimes I won't answer. But it is my birthday today and I will wear my hair however I want. Even if it is culturally inappropriate.

3 stamps of approval:

Sam L said...

Wow Sydney, pushing back against "the man" in India! That a girl. Your hair is amazing. Can't wait to see more pics.
I hope you're having a happy birthday. I love your stories and I can't wait to see you again. Keep seeking -- the answer will come to you!
Lizzy and I are so proud of you.

Cheri said...

Sydney, do you feel like you're surrounded by a country of your mother, when it comes to hair critisizm? Sorry you're taking so much heat for the do. Hope you had a fun birthday. We sure miss you.

Unknown said...

Sydney!
Happy Birthday!

Congratulations! I finally read through your blog and India--wow. Amazing! I thought about it sometimes, especially when we went to have lunch at India Palace--how even on your mom's birthday, somehow we'd all just end up talking about wedding plans when there were plenty of other things going on--birthdays and India included. But now everyone can forget about us because newlyweds are to be thouroughly shunned and exiled. Just kidding.

Orange County is awesome and it's really nice to have a summer away. I haven't started working yet and I'm just relaxing and unpacking and trying to learn how to drive Sam's truck. Not so easy. We'll try again tonight.

Really insightful thoughts, man. Made me think of Angel and all the stuff she'd teach me when she came home from anthropology classes. The whole hair thing--yeah! It's funny. I've struggled with that a lot, growing up in white commuunities where I felt like I needed to have straight hair. But then when I let it go naturally, people at BYU really appreciated it. Except my Dad said I needed to do something about it, and he's black. Too out of control. I guess it's all in your perspective.

I can't wait to see all your pictures. If you can fly through Orange County on your way home you should definitely come visit us and you could sit next to our AC or going swimming in the pool and we could go to the beach. I'm trying to entice you to come.

Take care, sista!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Love,
Liz