The N(orwegian) Word

My fellow natural hair lover Olimata, founder of Norwegian Naturals and natural meet up organizer has made this amazing video that I have to share with you. This is not really hair related, but it links into why I started this blog, and gives a very spot on view of what it's like being black/African in Scandinavia. I can related to almost every sentence in this video. Just like Olimata says in the beginning of the clip: "What makes me Norweigan? // I have a Norweigan passport." This for me is exactly how I feel, what makes me Swedish is being born here and having a Swedish passport, other than that I do not consider myself Swedish. And just like Olimata and others in this video living in Sweden I've always experienced being "the other"; hair, skin, culture, beliefs, etc. I think maybe this is the experience of black/African people in other European countries as well that don't have a large black community. This is the kind of video I'd like to share with my fellow Africans that see Europe as the promised land. Yes, there are opportunities here, but there is a large sense of not belonging, of always being "the other"/the anomaly. Don't underestimate the power of fitting in, of not having to explain why you look like you do on a regular basis, blend in, just like Olimata speaks of.  

Great job, Olimata! Though I don't know you personally this video makes me extremely proud since this is something that is very present in my life but always find a hard time expressing to native Scandinavian people.

(Side note: your hair looks AMAZING in this clip!)