rollers.

sometimes, when i was

little my mom would put my hair in rollers for special events. it was annoying and if it was anything like having my hair brushed, i'm sure it wasn't pleasant, but i had nice, compliant hair that did whatever it was told.

sometimes we used a hot roller, or a curling iron, but i remember the big rollers best. my grandmom used them on her hair, too.

i now have avoided rollers - even when the women in the salon insist that my hair will not withhold the heat of a blow-dryer and that i must, must, must sit under the dryer-cap with rollers in. (think about that one. a dryer-chair. in the dominican republic. in june. no air conditioning. i don't think so).

luckily my mama only subjected me to rollers for special days - dance recitals, first communion and such - but here the culture is to straighten hair from a very young age, and on a fairly regular basis. putting the culture of good hair/ bad hair aside (because that's a story for a different day), it's easier to maintain a straight pony-tail on those hectic mornings on the way out for school. i don't really know how it works - a lot of little girls get blown out, but most get rollers. sometimes it's because the electricity went out while they were getting their hair washed, sometimes it's because mom (and more likely, dad) doesn't want the baby growing up too fast (and a blow out is definitely mature, right?)

it still surprises me to see women walking in the street with their rollers in, covered by a hair net or a scarf. it seems so counter-cultural in this place where image is everything and you would never consider leaving your house less than perfect. (unless you're me... and then people stare at the hot-mess that just walked in the store. oops)

jewel was at a medical operative the other day and snapped this picture - three little girls with their rollers in. the littlest girl still being carried by mom cannot be more than three!