Tips for sisters on ‘hooking up’ their hair when traveling abroad, Part Deux

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Here I am in my two-strand twists, visiting an archeological site in rural eastern Turkey near the Armenian border. My carefree hair made a culturally challenging trip way less stressful.
Here I am in my two-strand twists, visiting an archeological site in rural eastern Turkey near the Armenian border. My carefree hair made a culturally challenging trip way less stressful.
During a break from a wine-tasting tour, I'm standing in front of the Pont d'Avignon in the lovely Provencal town of Avignon. And this is me some days AFTER my stop to a black hair-care supply shop in Nice. Thank goodness black folks literally live everywhere!
During a break from a wine-tasting tour, I'm standing in front of the Pont d'Avignon in the lovely Provencal town of Avignon. And this is me some days AFTER my stop to a black hair-care supply shop in Nice. Thank goodness black folks literally live everywhere!

Late last month, I wrote about the “hair issues” we black women often face when traveling abroad—and promised to offer some tips about handling these when you’re overseas.

When I first traveled to Europe in the late 1990s, visiting a friend who worked on a U.S. Army base in Germany, I was doing the relaxed hair thing, toting multiple curling irons and assorted lotions and potions in my always-overstuffed suitcase. But once I started hitting the road with friends, all those curling irons became a royal pain. What a hassle to constantly be plugging in, moving irons from one room to the other, waiting for them to cool down before you could pack them, etc. And then there was always the issue of “what if it rains?” 

Now that I’ve been wearing two-strand twist extensions for most of the past five years, that’s no longer a concern. BUT, I have gotten overseas and much to my dismay, realized that I forgot to pack my favorite olive oil sheen or softening lotion. This, my friends, can be a challenge—especially since overseas trips tend to last for more than just a weekend. 

But if you find yourself in a city—especially in Europe—and have arrived sans products, I’ve discovered that black folks and Arabs (who frequently have similar hair textures as ours) often live near the city’s main train station. Perhaps it’s the “immigrant effect,” the fact that newer arrivals to a place often live close to the vehicles that bring them. So if these folks first arrive via train, inexpensive housing in the surrounding area might be their first stop.

When I lived in Florence, Italy, between 2004 and 2005, I (mercifully) found the Nigerian-owned barber shop/salon where I got my twist touch-ups done a couple streets away from the city’s Santa Maria Novella train station. (My young stylist Nina would hook up my twists, while her barber shop-owning brother took care of the African and Arab bros in the adjoining room.) I know that Africans live near Rome’s massive Termini station, as I once found myself strolling through the ‘hood in search of an Ethiopian eatery.

And when visiting the south of France last spring, I didn’t pack my Organic Root Stimulator olive oil sheen spray (as usual, my bag was too full and something had to give). But I figured that once I got to the more cosmopolitan town of Nice, surely I’d use my limited French to find some black folks and some hair spray. So after leaving the city’s main train station, I walked half a block to an Internet café with an Arab guy at the counter. Grateful he spoke some English, I asked, “Where can I find a salon for people with hair like this?” as I gently fingered my twists. OF COURSE, there was one right around the block—and hanging out nearby on street corners were African and Arab men,  just as brothers often do here in the States. It was like I’d never left the South Side of Chicago.

Not only did I find a salon owned by a kind African woman, but she directed me down the block to a black hair-care supply store where I found EVERYTHING I needed, and then some. I’ve made a mental note of the salon’s and store’s street so next time I’m in the south of France and need a hook-up, I am SO there.

Which leads to my next point: do some research BEFORE you leave home. You aren’t planning to find yourself in a massive rainstorm on your next trip, but what if it happens and you aren’t adept at wielding a flat iron and fixing your OWN ‘do? Might be wise to have the name and phone number of a salon in the place you’re going. Think of it like stashing just-in-case antibiotics or a first-aid kit. If you’re headed to Central Europe, EbonyPrague.com can take care of your hair. If you’re going to the UK (thankfully, with black folks galore), check out ItzCaribbean.com for a host of hair salons throughout the metro London area. And if you’re traveling elsewhere in the world, BlackGirlTravel.com, where founder Fleacé Weaver creates and leads customized tours for groups of African-American women to countries around the world, you’ll find salon listings from Amsterdam to Hong Kong to Dubai. Talk about hooking a sista up!

And just as our moms always told us to use a clean bathroom whenever we found one (since the next ones might be few and far-between), if you’re strolling down some foreign street and see a either a black/ethnic hair salon or barber shop, drop in and ask for a business card. You may not be planning to get your “hair did” in Madrid, but if your curling iron suddenly blows out or a downpour trashes your bob, you’ll be glad you know where to get your ‘do back on again. Think of it as “hair insurance.”

I’d love to hear YOUR tips—as well as about your overseas hair experiences and how you handle your tresses on the road. Feel free to share!

Nothing like travel—in the United States and abroad—to change a sister’s life

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Moving to Florence, Italy, was a life-changing experience -- one that both U.S. and overseas trips helped inspire. When in Florence, I lived in an apartment not far from here, across the tranquil Arno River.
Moving to Florence, Italy, was a life-changing experience -- one that both U.S. and overseas trips helped inspire. When in Florence, I lived in an apartment not far from here, across the tranquil Arno River.
Here's the view down Vicolo del Canneto, the tiny street where I lived in Florence. Although I stayed less than a year, the time spent in lovely Firenze has shaped my life in ways I'm still discovering.
Here's the view down Vicolo del Canneto, the tiny street where I lived in Florence. Although I stayed less than a year, the time spent in lovely Firenze has shaped my life in ways I'm still discovering.
A slightly younger (and more serene) me, standing outside the historic Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence.
A slightly younger (and more serene) me, standing outside the historic Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence.

Think back: Have you ever taken a trip that literally changed the trajectory of your life? Or even one that permanently altered the way you think about yourself as an African-American, as a woman—or about the world?

Besides UrbanTravelGirl, I also write a blog for Today’s Chicago Woman, a monthly magazine for smart, professional women that’s very well-known to those of us living in the Windy City. In my most recent “TCW Travel Connection” post, I write about “Travel as a life-changer,” or the ways in which trips—both here in the United States and abroad—led me to make self-affirming and enriching choices. As I say in the post, “Far from being a ‘luxury,’ travel is often what we need to become more of who we really are.”

I’d love to hear from you: How has travel inspired you to make big or small changes that you know will last a lifetime?

“… with liberty and justice (and affordable health care) for all.”

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Finally in America, the decades-long debate over health care is coming to a head. Last night, President Barack Obama hosted a prime-time news conference at the White House, where he delivered his vision on health care and answered reporters’ questions about it.

As someone who’s extensively traveled abroad and marveled at the United States’ apparent unwillingness to make affordable access to medical care available to ALL its people, I’m amazed that so many politicians—and regular citizens—think that providing such care is somehow socialist. Subversive. And against the “American way of life.”  Well, if having to choose between buying groceries and paying for prescribed medicine is capitalism at its best, perhaps we need to re-examine our priorities.

Although nearly 46 million of us Americans are uninsured, the hardly subversive National Coalition on Health Care reports the United States spends more on health care than other industrialized nations—yet those countries manage to provide health insurance to ALL their citizens. 

I half-facetiously joke with friends that I’ll probably meet my end after being hit by a bus (as a downtown Chicago dweller, I’ve been car-free for six years and rely on public transportation to get around). But here’s the irony: if I didn’t have health insurance and wanted immediate medical care that wasn’t based on my ability to pay, I’d better hope that bus mows me down somewhere outside the United States. And THIS is the country where as a gainfully employed professional for 20 years, I’ve put hundreds of thousands of dollars (if not more) into the American tax system. And also where during several months in 2005 when I didn’t have either company- or university-provided health care, I ALSO was in a situation where I had to forgo prescription drugs for chronic ulcerative colitis since I couldn’t afford the hundreds of out-of-pocket dollars they cost me every 30 days.

Of course, as President Obama said last night, the health care debate goes FAR beyond just providing folks with access to a hospital. We need to delve into the larger realm of overall WELLNESS, of getting enough exercise and eating properly, rather than stuffing our bodies with products made from high-fructose corn syrup and Lord-only-knows what other additives are making and KEEPING us chronically sick. 

Maybe it’s coincidental, but despite frequent ulcerative colitis flare-ups here in the States, I have never suffered a SINGLE ONE when traveling or eating outside America. And that includes nearly one year of life (which was anything BUT stress-free) in Florence, Italy. I’m not a scientist or food supply expert, but I’m convinced that eating fresh fruits and vegetables grown and sold without artificial pesticides and meat grown without odd hormones helps eliminate a host of physical ailments we regularly suffer when purchasing and eating food in the States. And we shouldn’t have to shop at pricey Whole Foods to keep ourselves well.

But back to the health care issue. We Americans need to demand that our inalienable rights include affordable access to medical care REGARDLESS of our ability to pay. Until then, from this writer’s humble perch, all our bluster about "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is just talk.

Learning the language of the locals

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I’m hardly a linguist, but I strongly believe that when you visit someone else’s country, you need to speak their language—literally. Not that you need to be fluent in español or français or Arabic or Thai, but it shows a real sense of respect if you at least TRY to start your conversations off with pleasantries and polite phrases in the local tongue. Nothing says “ugly American” (or Australian or fill-in-the-nationality) like expecting those you meet at stores, at the train station, on the street to automatically speak the language you speak at home.

And since foreign-language phrase books are easily portable—and hardly cost a fortune—there’s no excuse for not buying one, learning some basic words and phrases, and using them once you arrive. To me, this is as essential to trip-planning as picking up foreign currency and packing those electric-appliance adapters that allow you to use your curling iron and laptop in other countries.

I’ve found that by merely speaking the words for “hello,” “goodbye,” “how much,” and the all-important “please” and “thank you” when in countries ranging from Greece to Turkey to Saudi Arabia has made all the difference in how I’m received. Those I encounter know I’m not from their country, but the fact I’ve at least TRIED to learn the essentials of their language mark me as a traveler , not merely a tourist.

Of course, if you can spare the extra bucks and the time, what’s ideal is taking a basic course in your chosen country’s language. Here in Chicago, programs offered by the Alliance Française de Chicago and Italidea (from the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago) include brief introductory courses for those traveling to their home countries. Even the affordable Discovery Center (whose language classes vary from great to not-so-much) can hook you up with language basics in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian and Arabic.

I know not everyone lives in big cities, but I’ll bet nearby community colleges in your area offer a beginner course in frequently used languages like Spanish, French (and these days, Chinese and Arabic). It’s a great way to enrich your trip before you even leave home—and so much the better if the class addresses that country’s culture as well as its lingo.

I’m curious: Has it made a difference in your travels when you’ve tried speaking other folks’ languages abroad, even when you weren’t fluent? Did it make your trip any better, or worse? Please share!