Hair Update #5

I know, I know. I am a bit obsessed with my hair. You would be too if you were always one 90% humidity day way from a full blown afro.

Anyway...if you had not already guessed it by now, Az does not have a whole lot of Black people running around. Thus, my hair is a bit of an...attention getter. Even more so now that summer is here and I am changing up my hair style as the days get hotter and my hair gets longer.

My new style of two-strand twists get regular comments and often an errant hand or two (Az culture does not have the, "thou shalt not touch a Black woman's hair" creed). Even with all the cultural faux pas and humorous hand slapping, I think I am looking pretty good, but hey, you be the judge.

Civic Engagement

My new favorite term: civic engagement.

This has been a favorite term of mine for awhile. According to Wikipedia, civic engagement is defined as individual or collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concern.

And there is no better group than Rotary International that embodies that definition.

I am extremely lucky as the Nome Rotary Club is extremely active. Throughout my childhood, I can't remember attending a meeting where the Club did not have a an active community project on the table. Although, I did attend most meetings for the hamburger and fries my dad was sure to buy me, I learned valuable lessons while munching away. The most important: being an active and responsible member of your community.

At any rate, I recently attended a meeting of a local Rotary club here in Azerbaijan. During my five minute intro speech and flag presenting, I told them this: I am truly blessed to have such a great role model of civic engagement as Rotary in my life.

Clap On

Prior to moving to Az, my experience with thunderstorms could be summarized into one tidy statement:

Hey, I think saw one of these puppies in a movie, once.

Nome gets some pretty big storms, but thunder and lightening ain't included, which is why I would consider myself thunderstorm-illiterate. This; however, is starting to change.

Evening thunderstorms seem to be the thing here in Zaq and lucky me, my bay of kitchen windows has the sweetest thunder view. My newest evening activity is to make myself a cup of tea (with a bit of apple cider vinegar and agave syrup to ward off night time creepy crawlies) and watch the event.

Not a bad way to wind down a day.