January Update

Monkey in Panama

Embera Village in Panama

It's almost the end of the month, which means its time for another update. I'll start updating more often as the trip goes closer, but for now, once a month seems about right. As I sat down to write this, I took a minute just to think back over the past month. Looking at things from a day to day, or even from a week to week perspective, it seemed like there hadn't been much going on. However, when I took a minute to look back over the whole month, and give myself a broader perspective, I realized that a lot had changed since I last wrote on here. :)



On the San Blas Islands

First, the original plan was for me to travel to Panama for two weeks. Around the beginning of December, I looked into an extended trip option that the Never the Same Trip was offering, for an optional third week to the San Blas islands. I really wanted to go. I prayed about it, and thought about it, and I finally decided that I needed to go on the extended trip. So I am now heading to Panama for three weeks next July. The first two weeks we will spend in Panama City, and the third week we will spend on the San Blas islands, ministering to the people and kids there, and also doing some work projects for them, much like what we'll do the first two weeks. I am super excited to be able to have this opportunity. It will cost an extra $1480, but I am praying and trusting God to provide - and I'm working on new fundraiser ideas. :)



San Blas Islands



Another bit of progress I've made is I've been able to purchase the plane tickets from here to Miami! I bought them tonight - It took me awhile to find a flight that was compatible with the flight schedules Big World Ventures (the place that organizes the trip for us) had given us, but eventually I did. The airline websites had also been super jumpy, with the prices of the flights changing almost hourly. The cost of the tickets were already up almost $100 more than when I had checked in December, so when I saw they were down this afternoon, I jumped on them. :)

Those are the two  biggest things that have happened over the past month. Hopefully I can get some info. up on Panama and their culture soon.

 156 days to go! :)


**All photos courtesy of Steve Goley (Big World Ventures).

The Sock Bun

The title of this post sounds incredibly odd. I promise it will make sense soon.



Before: This is my natural hair - it has a slight
wave, I suppose, but it's pretty straight.



The Sock Bun is an easy way to get soft curls for your hair without using heat, or much effort at all, for that matter. I naturally have really straight hair, and it does not curl easily at all. I've tried dozens of different techniques trying to get a curl that would stay for more than half an hour, and nothing worked. This was the first style that actually worked.

It's simple, really. All you need is an old, (clean!) knee-high length sock. Thinner socks work better, but I just use a regular cotton sock. Cut the toe part of the sock off.

Then, roll the long part of the sock into a ring.

This is what you will use to create the bun. :)

Next, gather your hair into a high ponytail. The higher you can get it, the better. Tie off the ponytail as usual. For this to work, you want your hair to be slightly damp. Spray your hair with water to get it damp. Use the Goldilocks rule here: Not too wet, not too dry. The "just right" amount of dampness will vary from person to person, depending on how long you want to leave the bun in, and how hard it is to curl your hair. It takes a little experimenting.

The next part is a little hard to explain. Take the rolled-up sock, and slide your ponytail into the hole, as if you were going to use the sock as a scrunchy. Hold the ponytail straight up and down on top of your head. Slide the sock all the way back up to the top of your ponytail, about an inch or so from the very top. Use the hair that is sticking out from the top of the ponytail, and spread it around the sock. After spreading it around the sock, tuck the ends of the hair under the sock. Then start rolling the sock toward the base of your ponytail, gathering hair as you go. As you roll, just continue spreading the hair around the sock ring, and tucking the ends under the sock.

This is how the bun should look when you've
finished. Ignore that random piece of hair
sticking out in the back.

When you reach the base of the ponytail, it will all be neatly tucked into the sock, creating a nice little bun. It doesn't need bobby pins, ponytail holders or anything, the sock will hold the bun in place. The bun actually looks nice too, unlike those annoying foam hair rollers (which never worked for me anyways).

After..

Sleep with this overnight or until the hair in the bun is dry before you take it out. When you take it out, you will have bunches of soft curls.



After: See? Lots of soft curls. I love the
way this worked on my hair. I have it up in a
half-ponytail in this picture.



 

This is (apparently) easier to do with longer, non-layered hair, of which my hair is neither. I have short hair, and it has all these funky layers in it, so it's hard for me to get all of those pieces tucked into the sock. It takes a little practice, but I got it. And if it's being really difficult, recruit someone to help you make sure you get all the little pieces tucked under. :)

If it's still a little hard to understand how to create the sock bun, check out these videos. I didn't make them, but I used them to figure out how to do it. :) 

*Just a side note: I'm not taking credit for this idea. I found this hairstyle on Pintrest.com, which, if you've never heard of Pintrest you really should check it out.