headwrap club

I've entered a new identity group. I wrap my head, and in doing so, have given myself permission to speak to strangers whom I normally would probably never have approached. There are a LOT of cultures where headcoverings for women are customary, or at least not unusual. I knew this fact, but had never really considered it. Jewish, Muslim, Indian, African(-American), Catholic nuns, and aparently some other Christian faiths, all include a custom of wearing head scarves of some fashion, to some degree.

I was in the fabric section at Wal-Mart a few weeks ago, looking for new material, feeling pretty lost and uneducated, and wishing I could talk to someone about fabrics & styles, etc. when a woman walked up with her husband and started looking at fabric on my aisle. I glanced over and, voila! She was dressed in typical Muslim clothing, complete with head covering! I acted on the impulse, before I could talk myself out of it, and asked her what she recommended. She told me she buys scarves from India, rather than make them herself, but gave me some pointers. I expressed my uneasiness around being a little white girl who's not sick, herself, and doesn't subscribe to any of the cultures that typically embody headwrapping...basically I told her I don't want to be a "poser" with this. She seemed surprized at this attitude and reassured me that there are many cultures in which women cover their heads, and that it is really quite common. I thanked her for talking with me & went on to buy a few pieces of material (that were WAAY too big for my purposes, but was later able to cut down to size & get a few identical scarves), and went on my way, happy that I had not let my hesitancy get the best of me :)

Yesterday, I was walking on campus and noticed a couple of african-american girls with wraps on their heads. One was beautiful, and I approached the girl and asked if she would explain to me how to tie a scarf that way. It turned out to be a sarong (read: Huge piece of fabric) that she got from Africa, and explained that her friend, who is Muslim and was the other girl standing next to her, had actually taught her how to wrap it. We introduced ourselves and chatted for a few minutes; one told me that Target had a sale going on for large square scarves, and gave me some tips, and they told me they'd pray for me and Becky. We then went our separate ways, and I was again struck by the simplicity and assurance I had possessed in the exchange. Historically, I've been fairly timid around approaching strangers to ask for advice or even just wanting to meet someone, but those two encounters were really quite natural.
I ended up seeing the girls two other times throughout the day, and stopped to talk again at our third meeting. I thought it was strange that we had run into each other so many times in such a short period (the last time was at Target while I was looking for said scarf sale), and I'm feeling open to whatever "The Universe" has in store for me around this experience, if any. Maybe I'll make some cool, random friends who aren't from church or recovery through this :)

Anyway, just thought this was interesting & wanted to record it.