ecuador – mayah's site

yoga is more than stretching

Very few people truly understand why I go to yoga religiously. And for a long time I didn’t want to share why, because I wanted to define my own life and tried to micromanage the images others had of me. I have chosen to define myself my way, and I know now that other opinions of me are simply just opinions. So it’s time to get deep. I strayed away from talking about God, especially on my blog, because I didn’t want to be one of those people. But I am close to God (in fact Mayah means close to God in Hebrew). My relationship with God is just a little different than the “traditional”. I do yoga because yoga allows me to clear the blocks of energy that are blocking me from connecting fully and completely with God. I get guidance from God and my angels during yoga. Yoga is an out of body, in body and spiritual experience for me. I do yoga because it makes me soul so happy and I always feel full of love after class. I do yoga because yoga purifies and cleanses the energies that no longer serve me and allows me to help protect my energy. Everyone has their own reason to do yoga, but that is mine. I started doing yoga consistently in June 2016. I was going through a rougher patch- a relationship that meant/means a lot to me was going through a transition and I was scared, I was going to college and I was scared. My whole life was about to change and then I started doing yoga. I’ve kept going since then. I even did it once (which was super hard) while I was in Ecuador. Yoga is so important to me, because being close to God is so important to me. And it’s time I shared that.

miink brazilian review

IT’S WEAVE TIME! When I went to Ecuador, I wore a lace closure and two bundles of miink Brazilian body wave (12 inch bundles, 18 inch closure (everything was cut)). So you all know I have to review it. So before I go into details I’m going to rate my experience 1-10 (1 lowest, 10 highest) for the following- quality of hair (10), styling experience (7), taking care of my real hair (7- it was tough y’all), taking care of the weave (9).

pre-gaming (pre-weave)

So as you all know I’m very into hair care- I want the best for my hair and my body, so I do the research, spend the money and invest in myself. So this experience was no different. Miink Brazilian is known for being one of the best hair brands in Detroit, it’s black owned and local. Kendra P, who I met in real life and I will say she’s so sweet, is known for having great quality hair. The former hairstylist makes some bomb ass weave (that’s literally the only way to describe it). The hair comes with a promise of not shedding or tangling and last very well. This is all the hair that was lost after I washed my weave two days before I got it done. That’s literally nothing. I was impressed with the quality of the hair when I received it. As for my hair, I got my hair trimmed a couple weeks before my appointment so my hair would be prepped.

Installation

So I got my weave installed a week before I went to Ecuador. The lady normally does one of my best friends hair, so I was confident. I had deep conditioned and used my ezcema shampoo the night before, but I still had her wash it. She washed, blowed dry and braided my hair. In my opinion she left a little too much hair out for the edges. I think it’s because my edges situation is a little complicated- all my edges are blond so you can’t really see them. So she left out the brown hair. Next time I will just make sure she only leaves out edges. I did not like how she styled it at all. She didn’t really do a good job- only one press with no type of heat protectant. But I went home and my sister ended up straightening it for me. I didn’t like how she cut it; it was very very uneven. So I ended up going to my regular hair stylist who cut and styled my weave for $30 (I only had paid an extra 5 for my cut at the other salon).

The adjustment

It was hard to adjust to the weave. The hair was very nice but it was so much darker than my real hair it was a stark difference. It took a lot of getting used to, but eventually I loved the weave. It was easy to maintain and very cute. I made sure I rolled it or wrapped it every night. I also had a complicated situation in Ecuador- since I couldn’t drink the water I didn’t want to wash my hair. So I used Root Relief by Cantu and Tea Tree Oil to cleanse my scalp. I did do the LOC method on my real hair twice- using leave-in conditioner by cantu, doo-gro anti-itch oil and curlaide by camille rose. To keep my weave clean I used the dry co-wash by cantu. It was a little difficult to keep it clean but overall it was a good experience. My scalp, due the ezcema, itched a lot and I even scratched a couple sores in my head which hasn’t happened since like the tenth grade. I just had to keep using the tea tree oil and the doo-gro oil.

(this video was when I was in Baños and I wasn’t feeling the activities)

Post weave

The day I got home from Ecuador my other best friend came over to take out my weave. It was a long process but my real hair felt very very soft. I soaked the weave in my normal shampoo for a very long time, then after all the dandruff was gone and I was able to wash it regular. The hair looked amazing and was so soft. I’m telling you guys this hair is totally worth the investment. It’s so beautiful and soft. As for my hair, I oiled it, sprayed it down with water, added conditioner and combed out my hair. I did have shedding but it was a fairly normal amount considering it had been so long without combing it. I left that on for a couple hours, then washed my hair, conditioned it (I didn’t deep condition until a few days later, then a week later I got my hair done and my ends trimmed). I wore protective styles for the two weeks leading up to my hair appointment- mostly twists. My scalp hurt a lot right after so I tried to do minimal styling. It’s pretty much back to normal now.

(these pictures were taken before my trim)

Overall this weave experience was great. I had some bumps in the road but I think if I would’ve been at home they would’ve been easy to take care of. I also recommend you all check out miinkbrazilian.com!

summer camp

So I originally planned to do this documentary of my adventures inQuito in order but I decide to start by talking about why I’m here. So I am working at a summer camp, in the five to seven year old classroom with five other tutors. Our classroom is at the beginning of the school, and the older students and their tutors are up on the hill. All of the tutors are in college, but the tutors from our partnering university, University of San Francisco Quito are planning to be teachers. I’ve really enjoyed the teaching experience. At the beginning it was a little awkward mostly because it’s hard to understand little kids. But as time has gone on I’ve gotten very comfortable and created good relationships with the other tutors and students. I like the camp because there is a focus on education and teaching the kids but it’s a healthy balance between studying and having fun. Learning should be fun for children and my personal goal is that we all have a good time. The camp started on the tenth and will run until the twenty eighth. My focus in the class is the English lessons, along with helping other activities go smoothly. I have a picture from the lesson we did last week about english introductions! I also lead the morning song so that the kids will have a fun way to start the day. Normally I sit at the table with the youngest group of students, most of the, are five and a couple are six, so they need a lot of attention. It makes me happy to be able to help them. A bonus is that we ar at the point where they are beginning to remember my name! Little kids often don’t pay enough attention to remember names and because my name is a Hebrew name, it’s not a name that they are used to. But all is going well! Enjoy picture of our classroom!

the importance of black teachers

black women have a unique role in society. we are the most educated group of americans (college wise), creative, loving and all around amazing. some may argue that humans didn’t start off as black, but technically speaking you can’t go from white to black, only from black to white. so i would argue that black women were the first women and responsible for all human life. but that’s not what this post is about. this post is about black women and how we positively affect black students. since schools in the US are still segregated, there are black schools and white schools. in my blog about equity i talked about the fact that black teachers weren’t intergrated with the students and how over half of the black women who were teachers were fired. as a future teacher, i am a strong advocate that kids need teachers that look like them. it makes them feel secure. it helps them grow. i went to all black schools and i have reaped the benefits of being embraced during my educational journey. at the camp that i am working at, I have had the opportunity to be in the classroom with the only black girl at the whole camp (mind you all of the kids are brown but still). one of my other students, who is six, pointed out that i was brown just like Sara. and i was like I am! these things are important. students need to feel represented. they need to see someone who looks like them in a role of power to understand that it is achievable. having black women as teachers has made it so i always knew i could do it too. so i encourage any black woman or man who has an interest in children to please think about pursuing education. it’s a hard job but the reward of affecting lives positively is priceless.

my life recently

hello loves! it’s been a minute since i’ve been blogging. recently i’ve just been continuing to go to yoga and working on releasing the past. it’s been a pretty good time honestly. i got a job at dairy queen, but i quit because the pay was not enough (i had to train for 4.25 an hour for two weeks then once training would be over, i would be in ecuador). i’m excited to go to ecuador, i leave the third and will be gone for the rest of the month (basically, i get back the 30th). i don’t know a lot about where i’m going, so i have little to no expectations. i just know that i will have lots of fun and will remember this experience for the rest of my life. i’ve recently just been packing and getting ready for that. my plan is to get a sew-in (with a closure, so none of my hair is exposed) and my appointment is on Tuesday. I got Miink Brazilian hair, so I’ll be doing a blog review on the product after i wear it. i love the hair so far though (i just finished washing and conditioning it). i just wanted to let you know that i’m alive and well, just been a little too busy to blog. as always, i wish you all well.