It is my understanding that Basotho youth are all required to shave their heads in order to attend school. Interestingly, this presumably public health based precaution has evolved into a cultural norm, even a style. Many Basotho maintain this hair cut well into adulthood, women as well as men.
One consequence of this is that, while many of the male Peace Corps Volunteers in Lesotho (and perhaps elsewhere) use their time in Peace Corps to let their hair grow, a surprising number of the female Volunteers here have taken to shaving their heads. This, in turn, became too much of a temptation to my wife...
Then came the All Volunteer Conference. I spent the morning out front of the venue, practicing (as I recall I was focused on learning "Row Jimmy" that day):
It was a beautiful day for such a pursuit, and where I sat provided me with just the right view:
Later, though, during a break in the conference sessions, the time came to turn my wife's head over to the Volunteers. One of these women looks excited (one of the Volunteers who had shaved her won head, as it turns out). The other looks, well, not so excited:
Then the shaving began:
And went on, with a few participating, and many watching:
And then, it was done:
I think it looks really, really cute...b
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