Namassa, from Ivory Coast is a braider at Dieneba's salon, and through her we learn of the role Dieneba plays in the community. When Namassa spoke of newly arriving immigrants 'suffering' if they didn't know someone to help show them how life works here - it is so true. Life as an immigrant in America - there's no safety net. It is often a misconception that immigrants drain the social service and entitlement programs but that's hardly the case. Especially for the undocumented. It's a work-for-cash or nothing else. And the opportunities are limited where no questions are asked regarding visa status. And that's what local African businesses offer to newly arrived immigrants - much like the Chinese community where the new arrivals are usually networked in to Chinese owned restaurants and so on. Dieneba, as a business owner is in such a position to help.

Dieneba is from Mali and Namassa is from Ivory Coast, another braider from Kenya. As immigrants, we find ourselves crossing borders so much easier than our counterparts back home and that's a valuable experience that we can hopefully build on as we create our 'hyphenated' communities here. What also resonated in Dieneba's piece, was her talking about how the women need to get together and she feels they 'are growing old' and feels they are 'caged at her home' because of the work-home-work-home life here. She often finds herself not seeing her husband because of their hours. What is happening is really subtle - the inability to live the 'mother culture' here brings with it a slow and methodical change, the 'mother culture' in us fades a tiny bit every day. It's not about getting together to 'have fun' that she's longing for but the further solidification of social networks and creation of new ones that are so vital in communal cultures - the knowing of who is where and doing what at all times is what binds people together.

As contact within this social network recedes, the weave grows weaker to a point where you feel like you are at the periphery of the circle - no more at the center. And if we take that analogy a little bit further, as we move to the outer edges of the circle, the gravitational pull gets weaker and weaker and then what happens? That is the state we find ourselves, as immigrants - being forced out of the circle - it's an active process that we are living in. We counter by attempting to recreate our culture here and that is what helps keep us close and also serves as a reminder of where we so recently came from and where we long to be - if only if...

A refreshing change of scene is the baptism where we see the glory of the traditional Malian dresses specially ordered from Bamako, Mali. Listening to Dieneba's griot - one can only imagine what such an event would look and feel like in Bamako.