jess•make•room

A man whistled, a car honked, and someone shouted, “Hey, hey, hey.” I looked to my left and saw a reflection of my entire backside exposed. My Chitenge (a patterned fabric) wrap loosened from my waist and flew in the wind. My heart sunk to my feet! I was so embarrassed. Thankfully a small piece remained tucked into my undergarments! I quickly wrapped the material around my waist and continued to the next corner.

I quickly crossed the busy intersection to find refuge at a café. I needed someone to empathize with me, so I shared my embarrassing story with a waitress at the café, and she said, “Take it easy, these things happen, and don’t worry about it, no one knows you and they’ll forget about it”. But I couldn’t forget about it. Although I secured my Chitenge I still felt naked from the experience.

Before leaving, the waitress offered advice for tightly securing the wrap. When I arrived home, I immediately practiced in the mirror and initiated a self-imposed Chitenge Wrapping Boot Camp. On day one, I wrapped the Chitenge around my waist, jumped up and down, twirled around, bent down, and squatted. On day two, I wrapped the Chitenge around my waist, walked around the property, and performed daily tasks. I wanted to test the security of my Chitenge wrap before wearing it in town again.

Women wear Chitenge wraps every day and I wanted to join in on the tradition. But my biggest fear was losing my Chitenge to the wind. I never imagined losing my Chitenge to the wind, the first day I decided to wear it in town.