Today I took my girls to the salon to get their hair trimmed. As you know, elementary aged girls rarely look neat, especially when required to wear wool headwear everywhere they go. Even after a fresh wash, they are static ridden and frizzy. When we arrived, we sat quietly in the reception area awaiting our turn. I glanced through some magazines, all in Russian of course, and noticed something particularly interesting.
On a side-note, something I’ve noticed about Russian women is that it is almost faux pas to have a good dye job. It is better and more popular to have a very bad dye job so that your hair looks brassy and has dark roots. I can’t explain this, it just is. Anyway, while perusing some hair magazines, I came across one that was titled in English, “Hair Today.” Guess what I found. Hair from the 80s. I’m not exaggerating. The main focus of the whole thing was Princess Di and Prince Charles. It was on the top of the heap which means some ladies were actually looking at it.
When the stylist was ready for us, we walked back behind the foggy glass to the seat. No big surprise, she had brassy bleach blonde hair with dark roots. I had to chuckle to myself. My girls wanted to eliminate their layers and get straight cuts like their European friends. I thought that would like nice and neat as well.
As we sat there, watching infomercials in Russian about a handy new shower faucet, I think the stylist noticed my six year old getting restless. She grabbed the remote and changed the channel to none other than Nickelodeon, in English.
Here is an opportune time to tell you that I don’t mind Nickelodeon, but I despise one show…Dora the Explorer. “Do you want to play with me?” RIDICULOUSLY LONG PAUSE…..”Okay!”
I bet you can guess what was on. My kids were so excited, they started humming along with the “D-D-D—D-D-Dora…” I thought I might throw up.
After the haircuts were over, I went downstairs to pay the bill at the front desk. It wasn’t bad, only $30 for two little girls’ trims. Back home, I would have paid my stylist $15 plus tip for both, but the location was right and the entertainment was free.
Oh Elise, you are helping me to have a new understanding of my Russian mother-in-law. When I tell me husband about what you've written, he just nods his head and says, "Yep, that sounds about right." It's fun for me though because you see things as I would, a citizen of the US. Thanks for making me smile! ~Pam
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