Learning when to say NO

If you were to look at me right now, your eyes would still be searching for the Megan you know and I would hope that you love. The girl you would be glancing at has a pale face due to a few days of some major flu stuff going on in her system, but also due to bright red/brown hair...yes, you read that correctly.

Okay, so I am a little crazy and maybe just a little too easy going. So I told Annie that I wanted my hair braided...but in Zambia this means that I want extensions...which isn't true, at least not for me. Praxidence, a lovely girl who i have determined to be my friend took me to get my hair braided yesterday. After stopping by the shop called RUTH's we went to the market to check out extensions...I didn't really understand why we needed to look, but maybe for her? Nope...they were for me. First they pulled out BLACK extensions and I quickly declined, then came the black roots with bright purple and I hesitated for a very quick moment when I thought back to my younger days when I really wanted purple hair, and then I declined confidently...they tried to trick me with the third option with, again, black roots, but orange ends and I thought, hey, I love orange, and then stopped myself and shook my head, NO. Finally they pulled out a bunch of brown hair...yes, this was the last option and truly the only option as far as I'm concerned. Can you imagine me with black hair?!

I was already sick and feeling more nauseous as we walked back to RUTH's to get my hair done. I hadn't eaten in almost 24 hours but had been losing plenty of fluids if that makes any sense...I sat to be braided and within half an hour my scalp was throbbing and my eyes began to grow dim. How do you explain "passing out" to someone who doesn't speak English? It isn't possible actually. The ladies all laughed at me and told me I was lazy and tired, but I knew the truth...I was freaked out, in pain, and incredibly dehydrated. I couldn't go on and I was a sight to see walking home with only the lower portion of my head braided with long red brown hair while the remaining blonde hair was pulled up on the top of my head in pig tails. Humiliation...that is the only word that really fits. I tied my bright green sweater around my head and avoided looking into anyone's eyes while I made the walk home...first stop - bathroom, second stop - bed, and that is where I stayed until almost 6pm when I taught the kiddos how to play UNO, ate some dinner and went to bed again. After another draining night, pun intended, I woke up early this morning determined to get this braiding over with and "embrace" my new look.

I will post pictures soon and you will be shocked and quite possibly appalled...but what's a girl to do but stand tall and say to heck with image! So, to heck with Image...I am still beautiful on the inside, right?

Pray for my health - I hate being sick like this, especially in someone else's home and without someone there to take care of me. I am trying to begin saying No to all the chaos around me and just relax while I can, give myself a rest as every day I am being challenged...it is okay if people look on and say I'm lazy...I guess...I need to be healthy in order to be effective right?!