A Lesson in Efficiency

Habari, 

This weekend I had the distinct pleasure of witnessing a true authentic part of Nairobi.  You see, I went to get my hair rebraided on Sunday.  I was determined to get my hair done in Nairobi instead of paying the exorbitant prices back in the US, for less than stellar service.  One of my trusted employees accompanied me to the Kenyatta Market.  This isn't a tourist trap by any means.  This is where Kenyans go to shop, eat and get their hair done.   

We got there a little before 10am.  The market was pretty empty compared to how packed it was when we left. I didn't have high expectations going in, but little did I know there were some minimum expectations in my subconscious.  I expected that we would go to a modest salon with a couple of hair braiders.   When we walked up on the location, I kept walking past, because I thought it was just a place to hover if you got caught in the rain.  LOL 

There was no salon with permanent chairs and fixed mirrors. There was a semi open space with a single sink, a crude electrical hookup and plastic chairs that you would temporarily put on your patio.  There were three women waiting and I realized we were their first clients of the day.  They immediately started talking to us in Swahili.  My trusted employee let them know I didn’t speak Swahili.  Now normally this would be an opportunity for them to charge me a higher price, but my employee wasn’t having any of that and stood her ground.   

She had already schooled me before we even left my apartment.  She made me take out my earrings, ensured my clothes were less than plain, that I didn’t wear any makeup and that I didn’t speak much once we got there.  She said all those things would increase my price.  LOL.  When I asked her if I could take my phone, she said absolutely not because that would increase the chances of robbery.   

The women immediately started prepping us to get our hair braided.  My trusted employee needed her hair washed, but I washed my hair that morning.  I was quickly seated in a plastic yard chair in the open market pass through, straddling a small drainage ditch.  I was wrapped in a cloth and my hair was combed out.  They handed me a few examples of twists of different sizes so I could identify how thick I wanted the individual twists to be.  I pointed to the size I wanted and my trusted employee started giving them instruction on what not to do with my head, like not pulling my edges too tight.  She insisted on getting a price before they started on my head.  I was so impressed by her ability to negotiate.   

After a price was agreed, much to their chagrin, a Kenyan price, they got started. Two women started on my head, one in the front and one in the back.  I started to believe my hair wouldn’t take anywhere near the eight hours it took in the U.S.  The ladies were extremely fast and thorough.  After they completed a few twists, they gave me a mirror to make sure I was happy with the size and the quality.  I was very satisfied.   

Shortly afterwards, a third woman joined the team.  I assumed she would add yet another hand for completing the job faster, but that wasn’t the case.  You see, the first two women would twist the hair to a certain point and then move on the next section of hair.  My trusted employee tried to warn me about the role of this third hair dresser before we came, but I didn’t really get it.  When the woman asked me to adjust my arm on the armrest and she put her foot on the arm rest with her knee across the front of my face, the light bulb went on.  LOL. 

Now, she was trying to prepare me for this because she was aware of how we Americans are with our personal space.  This violation of personal space would never work in the States.  There was also the disastrous possibility of a hygiene issue.  OMG!!  Luckily for ALL parties involved, the young lady didn’t have any hygiene issues, but you have to picture this.  On my left side there is a woman working on one side of my head.  In the back there is another woman twisting my hair and on the right side there is a woman with her foot on the arm of the chair and her knee across my face while she rolls the twists to completion on her thigh.  Now, I could not give this explanation justice so my trusted employee took pictures. 

As I took in my surroundings as all of this is going on, I notice that new customers arrived after us.  Now there were only three women at the shop when we started, but each person who showed up got three people on their heads as well.  I have NO idea where these other braiders came from, but it seems like the stream was endless and the clients were just lined up in the open market. 

In a short three hours, my hair was done.  I couldn’t believe it!  Those of you who know me, know that I have a big head full of thick woolly hair.  And, those of you in the States will NEVER believe how much it cost.  It was 980 shilling.  That is equivalent of a little over $11 bucks.  You can’t get anything done to your hair in the States for that much money.  I was dumbfounded.  Now how efficient is that?  I could never go to the market on my own to get my hair done, but I will certainly try to align getting my hair done with one of the women in the office.  It was a tremendous experience.  Tune in next week folks, the saga will continue. 

Asante Sana,

Della Rochelle

Copyright (c) 2011 by Della Rochelle Williams