CAMPUS NEWS - Durham College and UOIT

By Krista Paxton
Chronicle Staff
Spring break! It’s the perfect
escape from a typical Canadian
February whose claims to fame
are mountain-lined driveways and
skin shattering winds.
The moment I stepped off the
plane in the Dominican Republic
I peeled off my winter coat, unwrapped
my scarf and rejoiced at
the palm trees scattered about the
La Romana airport.
Viva la Dominicana!
Filled with chatter the packed
bus bounced along for an hour
through La Romana to the beaches
outside the nation’s capital of
Santo Domingo where I was to
spend a week in paradise with my
boyfriend, Mike and our friends,
Carrie and Clay.
Twisting and turning down
the narrow Dominican roads we
passed endless cement block
homes, and local motorists zipped
along on scooters.
By morning I was sprawled on
the beach gazing into the horizon
where the pristine Caribbean Sea
melted into the cloudless sky. One
hand was damp from the condensation
of a melting pina colada, the
other hung over the edge of the
beach lounger tracing doodles in
the sand.
Local merchants wandered
back and forth down the beach.
Women carried armloads of
wraps or displayed pictures of
past tourists with long strands of
beads braided into their hair, and
men hauled suitcases filled with
jewellery and intricate ornaments
carved by local artisans.
In the evenings the stone path
between the hotel and the beach
transformed into a marketplace
boasting even more local art including
key chains, statues and an
array of paintings laid out on the
grass or propped against the trunk
of a palm tree.
During the day the collection
lined the streets outside the resort,
and every day we strolled past the
rows of souvenirs on our way to
the market square.
The square was a popular hang-
Durham College-UOIT Chronicle
The Chronicle March 17, 2009 25
ENTERTAINMENT
Party hard in the Dominican
By Jamilah McCarthy
Chronicle Staff
There was once a time when
hair extensions (or weaves, as
many people call them) were
thought of as two things: very expensive
and for black girls only.
But today hair extensions can be
done in the comfort of one’s own
home, and girls of all ethnicities
can be found sporting this temporary
beauty accessory.
“Hair extensions are so common
today,” says Nicole Providence,
head hairstylist of Essence Hair
Salon in Ajax. “It’s not like 10 years
ago when women were ashamed
to tell people they were wearing
out for locals, and we frequented
the shops for souvenirs not found
on the resort such as Mamajuana,
a Dominican concoction of rum,
red wine and honey fermenting in
a bottle together with dried leaves.
Though referred to by the locals as
gasoline, Mamajuana was a popular
drink at the bar.
Our favourite market shop was
one that housed Kika, a small parakeet
that sat atop the open door
and cawed, “Hola” in greeting each
time we came or went.
But the most memorable
nights were the ones spent trading
cultures with some of the resort
workers at the Café Isla, a tiny pub
nestled amidst the marketplace
commotion.
With the end of each Presidente
bottle, the favoured beer of the Dominicans,
came the beginning of a
new story, and as dusk settled over
the island Mike, Carrie, Clay and I
came to know Ricardo, Domingo
and Luis.
The three men worked at the
resort. Ricardo ran the motorized
water sports, Domingo the ATV
tours and Luis was a jack-of-alltrades,
from selling resort tours to
nearby real estate.
“Those condos,” he said pointing
to a large and beautifully maintained
building across the street,
“They sell for $400,000 each.”
Most of Luis’s income goes to
his 7-year-old son who lives in
Santo Domingo with his mother.
Photo by Krista Paxton
PARTY IT UP: Resort worker, Ricardo and tourist Clay Westwood party at a local bar.
The Dominican Republic is a hot vacation spot for tourists on Spring break.
fake hair. Now woman brag and
boast about their weaves.”
“They see their favourite celebrities
with long hair one day and
short hair the next, and then the
notion of fake hair becomes acceptable
to them.”
Black women have been putting
hair extensions on the map for
years, but now women of all races
are finding their way to this growing
trend.
“ It’s definitely not just black
women wearing extensions,” says
Providence. “Out of all my customers
I would say almost half of them
are non-black women. The only
difference is that typically women
who are not black have naturally
long hair, so it’s harder to tell when
they are wearing hair extensions.”
A lot of women, especially students,
would love to get their extensions
put in professionally, but
can’t afford it.
Fortunately, hair extensions
and weaves are no longer a job
solely for the professionals.
If you can braid and sew then
putting extensions in this way
should be a breeze.
“Sewing is probably the most
common way of putting in extensions,”
says Providence. “This is because
it lasts very long, it’s almost
impossible to pull out, and it’s easy
to maintain. When the extensions
are sewed in women can wash
and style the hair as if it was their
own.”
Domingo, who is best described
as the gentle giant from the Green
Mile, works to support his sister,
who’s sick with cancer, and her
three children. Domingo loves
kids and told us that one day he’d
like to have 24 of his own. His own
baseball team we joked.
But despite their troubles and
the two-hour bus ride to work every
day, Luis and Domingo stay
positive and live their lives according
to the old tune of Don’t Worry
be Happy.
“I just smile and get along with
everyone,” laughs Luis. “It’s always
summertime here in the Dominican.”
They each speak four languages
including Spanish, French, Ger-
The first step to sew in weave is
making sure you have all the tools
needed, which consist of a thread
and needle, scissors to cut and
separate the hair extensions, and
of course, the most important, the
hair extensions.
“Hair extensions range in price
depending on length and brand.
They can be purchased at any
black hair store,” says Providence.
“A good and affordable brand
would be Fino or Outre, but if you
want a brand closer to what the celebrities
use, Velvet Remy is your
best bet. It’s expensive but it lasts
longer than most brands and it’s
the best quality hair.”
The second step is braiding
your natural hair in cornrows.
man and English, which allowed
the conversation to flow as freely
as the beer.
They shared stories of their
travels to Germany and Canada,
and Ricardo spoke fondly of his
brother who has since settled in
London, Ont. with a wife and three
children. Ricardo’s English was
perfect right down to his street
slang.
We laughed and joked and talked
about everything from gun laws
to immigration. Baseball was also
a hot topic, and they clapped and
cheered with each mention of an
MLB Dominican champ.
A sudden downpour ended the
evening, and the guys walked us
back to the resort. They have to
work in the morning, but laughed
when we asked at what time.
“Sometimes one o’clock, sometimes
two,” said Domingo. “We
work on Dominican time.”
Mike gives Ricardo his Detroit
Tigers baseball hat that he’s been
eyeing all evening, and is wearing
the next morning as we meet them
for an ATV tour.
The tour took us off-road and
into a village where parents sat on
the front stoops of their small cement
homes and watched their
children chase the ATVs that went
roaring past. The toddlers, naked
as newborns, smiled and waved
while the older children held out
their hands for a high five or called
out, “Dinero, dinero!”
We wished we had more to give
them especially after the kindness
given to us by our new Dominican
friends.
As the bus bounced along
the narrow roads returning us to
the airport we marveled at the
streets bustling with people, clad
in colourful costumes. Children
ran up and down the sidewalks,
and festivities were in full swing at
each bar and restaurant we passed.
They were celebrating their Independence
Day.
The moment I stepped off the
plane in Toronto I wrapped my
scarf, slid into my into my winter
coat and wondered at how quickly
I had forgotten the skin-shattering
winds.
Viva la Dominicana!
Go head girl, get yo’ weave on
The extensions are sewn onto the
braids. If you want your whole
head weaved then braid the whole
head. But if you only want a few
rows, for length or body, only braid
it where you want the extensions.
The third step is to sew the extensions
onto the braids, just as
if you were sewing a button back
onto a coat or hemming a pair of
jeans.
Once the extensions have been
sewn in the fourth and final step
is to style your new extensions as
you desire.
No longer is there a need to
stress about your hair, because its
“unbeweaveable” how simple and
affordable it is to put in your own
extensions.