WE CAN STILL ROCK IT

Hey people :-)
I know it has been a little while but I'm having some laptop problems which hopefully shall be fixed very soon.
Anyway, I'm really excited today because I planted a flower bush a few hours ago for the first time. I feel like a farm girl now (I'm honestly not sure what plant it is) . lol

There are two more to plant but I just felt that one was an accomplishment enough. In case you are wondering about the panga, well, we do not have a jembe. lol
I nailed it, didn't I? I think I did.

So last week there was an article in the Nation Newspapers concerning architecture. The main message was how architects drew inspiration from the West and Europe instead of here in Africa. Of course not all of them but a good number do. I'm not really sure what the real reason is ( I mean I have only completed my first year of Architecture so I've had ZERO experience in this field ) but maybe copying what has already been done is much easier and probably clients fancy buildings with some western influenced designs. Again, I'm not sure.

Anyway, while reading the article I remembered that during my first semester, we did a research on a number of ancient structures both in Africa and outside Africa then made presentations (each student had an individual project). I also remembered a documentary I watched a few weeks ago, called 'Lost Kingdoms of Africa' by Gus Casely-Hayford. At first I thought that this documentary was boring but it got quite deep and interesting. In his documentary a couple of ancient buildings built by Africans are featured.

Images of a rock hewn church in Lalibela, Ethiopia.

It was built under the order of King Lalibela, who planned to transform the city of Lalibela into a New Jerusalem.
The church was constructed around the 12th and 13th century and is said to be curved out of rock.

Great Mosque Djene, Mali.

The walls of the Great Mosque are made of sun-baked earth bricks, sand and earth based mortar. They are coated with mud plaster which gives the building its smooth, sculpted look. The walls of the building are decorated with bundles of rodier palm sticks called toron. Apparently, it is the largest mud brick building in the world! But of course the mosque is repaired annually by the community around and everyone plays an active role in this.

The pyramids of Giza, Egypt.

I never thought that there was so much scientific knowledge applied in the construction of the pyramids, until the day a presentation was made in class. The construction theory applied in the construction of the pyramids is so detailed. I shall not get into details right now but you can always find out more from Google. :)

The great Zimbabwe (Obviously in Zimbabwe).

It is said that the great Zimbabwe was constructed by the ancestors of the Shona people in the 14th century and could house up to 18000 people. The walls were over five metres high and were constructed without mortar. Just rock upon rock and yet its ruins are evident till today, which goes to show how strong and steady the Great Zimbabwe was, right?

I mean at a time when there was no technology and today even with our technology some buildings collapse months after construction, those guys deserve credit!

In the documentary, Gus mentioned how surprised the white people were (when Africa was being discovered and we were perceived as primitive) when they saw some of these structures. Some believed aliens landed in Africa, built these structures and then disappeared. (I know, talk of crazy. Those good aliens should then come and build our railway and even provide those laptops so as to avoid delays due to tender issues and all. *smh). They were shocked by the attention to detail which was revealed by these structures.

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that if people in the earlier centuries could build such magnificent structures which were also a representation of their culture, then we should be way ahead right now, right? Don't you think?
Architecture is definitely not the easiest of things but a challenge within a challenge won't kill.
If our ancestors could rock it, I think we still can. (notice the use of the word 'rock'...hehe)

WHEN THE BARBER GOT IT WRONG . . .

A rather eventful day today was.
I woke up excited about my visit to the barber. Last time he he trimmed my hair very well I was eager to see what he would do this time around. I want to get rid of the reddish colour on my hair because colour can make the hair really dry, in my case, my short hair was already breaking a little too much! Plus when I daydream about my very big and healthy afro to be, it's always black from the roots to the tips! When I got to the barber shop, I explained to the guy that I wanted him to shave off a little of the coloured hair then eventually when my hair grows longer, I'll cut out the rest of the coloured hair. I trusted that he was sharing my hair vision with me. So I proceeded to sit comfortably on the empty chair and watch him work his magic. LO! Magic it was indeed!!! The barber left my head almost bald!

Notice how you can easily see my scalp without much effort? That just tells you how short he cut it. Needless to say my parents are now laughing at me.... hahaha. Though it's kinda funny.

I really couldn't have stopped him when he started because he started at the front going back. I painfully watched the barber finish his job. When he was finally done I just stared at my image in the mirror, speechless. Completely lost!! He had to tap my shoulder and remind me that there were other people waiting in line. I got out of his shop face down (after paying him for his amazing job, you know).

When I arrived home, I immediately ran upstairs to my room to get my laptop. I began frantically searching for 'how to tie a scarf on your head' tutorials on you tube. Wah! It was crazy.

I obviously tried out a couple of styles and of the many I tried, I only liked the following three. ( The rest were completely unsuccessful, I do not really know why because I'm very good when it comes to such things. Maybe it just wasn't my day.)

I like these styles but I do not love them. Reason being that I'm not really a headscarf person. I just like letting my hair be. I was getting a little worried that I'd have to buy a wig because even my amazing gel was not really working its magic. Something was still missing. :/

However, Vintara Collections came to my rescue. This is a slightly new partnership but full of so much potential!! These guys delivered my confidence. LOL! Today I got two beautiful pairs of loop earrings from them.

Y'all remember what I said in my article 'Kipara Ngoto'?
You can never go wrong rocking big loop earrings with short hair. I mean never!! Big loop earrings transform your look from boring to amazing. My loop earrings from Vintara Collections jazzed up my look.

What got me really excited about my loops was the use of colourful material and the affordable prices. (One pair was just KES 100!!) If you are not really a 'loops person' Vintara Collections also deal with other accessories such as bangles.

Not interested in bangles either?
Well then, take a look at the following items.

Such beautiful prints and colours. What makes Vintara Collections even more amazing is that they take time to carefully craft items according to your specifications at such affordable prices. Plus they have good customer care services!
Impressed? Be sure to check out their Facefook page, Vintara Collections .

When the barber got it wrong, Vintara Collections was my answer. It just might be your answer as well!! :)