el corte de pelo
I got my haircut today. It would be an overstatement to say I have been actively worrying about/procrastinating doing this ever since I arrived, but...I did purposely get it cut very short before I left California so that I could let it grow as long as possible, and I only did it today because I am going on vacation soon and I had nothing else to do. I had no more excuses for not going somewhere and communicating.
So, I was successful in that my hair is now shorter. But it's certainly not the best cut in the world, nor did I feel particularly good about my communicative experience. First of all, I think the people there thought I was weird because I think I picked a place where mostly men go to get haircuts and women go to get waxed. But since I wanted to minimize my conversation, I picked a place where I could easily see from the street that they had space to cut my hair right then, whereas all the more girlie salon places had their windows and doors more covered up. I also knew I was planning to just get a simple, straight cut, and I didn't want to go anywhere where they would try to engage me for something more complicated, although in retrospect maybe I should have had higher standards. For some reason, I also bypassed the place next door that had a prominently displayed "we speak english" sign in front--I think because after psyching myself up to get my hair cut in Spanish, I wasn't going to cop out and choose the place that marketed itself to English speakers (which probably wasn't really spoken there anyway, considering my experience with the "english-speaking" doctor I went to).
I was hoping it would be quick and I could just sit there and not say much, but like hairdressers everywhere mine today liked to talk. And as far as I can tell she made the same comments I always get--"oh, do you highlight your hair it's so blond on top, oh your hair is so thick", etc. But I know many of my responses were ridiculous since I only half understood what she said. I also got the typical comments about my age--"que jovencita" (how young you are) when I tell them I am here with my husband--but today they were even more extreme. I'm pretty sure the lady said I looked 13. Ok so I know I look 22-23 because that's what everyone else says when I meet them, and when I'm nervous or unsure of myself like I was today that knocks off another 5 years, plus right now I have a nice zit on my chin--I clearly should have put on makeup before going to the salon. And of course, I do now have the basically the same haircut I had when I was 13, so it all makes sense. All I can say is, I can't wait to go home and get a good haircut to put some shape back into my hair (and Bay Area friends, be advised that I will be looking for stylist recommendations in June!).
I know its normal to have not learned the vocabulary for many day-to-day situations, and it's always easier to communicate within the flow of a conversation then it is to answer random questions and respond to commands out of the blue, but it does seem a little strange that soon I will be discussing international economic development policies in Spanish (and I will be taking private lesson in January to help me with that), but I feel like an idiot most of the time I try to run errands here. I know I shouldn't let it bother me, because I still accomplish what I need to accomplish, and all second language learners make mistakes and no one cares, and I guess for the most part I am understood, but some days are better than others. And with those two exquisite examples of English-language sentences, I'll sign off for now.
Word of the day: partidura=part (in hair). Ok, that's not too hard but it's the only word I can remember from my haircut experience.
So, I was successful in that my hair is now shorter. But it's certainly not the best cut in the world, nor did I feel particularly good about my communicative experience. First of all, I think the people there thought I was weird because I think I picked a place where mostly men go to get haircuts and women go to get waxed. But since I wanted to minimize my conversation, I picked a place where I could easily see from the street that they had space to cut my hair right then, whereas all the more girlie salon places had their windows and doors more covered up. I also knew I was planning to just get a simple, straight cut, and I didn't want to go anywhere where they would try to engage me for something more complicated, although in retrospect maybe I should have had higher standards. For some reason, I also bypassed the place next door that had a prominently displayed "we speak english" sign in front--I think because after psyching myself up to get my hair cut in Spanish, I wasn't going to cop out and choose the place that marketed itself to English speakers (which probably wasn't really spoken there anyway, considering my experience with the "english-speaking" doctor I went to).
I was hoping it would be quick and I could just sit there and not say much, but like hairdressers everywhere mine today liked to talk. And as far as I can tell she made the same comments I always get--"oh, do you highlight your hair it's so blond on top, oh your hair is so thick", etc. But I know many of my responses were ridiculous since I only half understood what she said. I also got the typical comments about my age--"que jovencita" (how young you are) when I tell them I am here with my husband--but today they were even more extreme. I'm pretty sure the lady said I looked 13. Ok so I know I look 22-23 because that's what everyone else says when I meet them, and when I'm nervous or unsure of myself like I was today that knocks off another 5 years, plus right now I have a nice zit on my chin--I clearly should have put on makeup before going to the salon. And of course, I do now have the basically the same haircut I had when I was 13, so it all makes sense. All I can say is, I can't wait to go home and get a good haircut to put some shape back into my hair (and Bay Area friends, be advised that I will be looking for stylist recommendations in June!).
I know its normal to have not learned the vocabulary for many day-to-day situations, and it's always easier to communicate within the flow of a conversation then it is to answer random questions and respond to commands out of the blue, but it does seem a little strange that soon I will be discussing international economic development policies in Spanish (and I will be taking private lesson in January to help me with that), but I feel like an idiot most of the time I try to run errands here. I know I shouldn't let it bother me, because I still accomplish what I need to accomplish, and all second language learners make mistakes and no one cares, and I guess for the most part I am understood, but some days are better than others. And with those two exquisite examples of English-language sentences, I'll sign off for now.
Word of the day: partidura=part (in hair). Ok, that's not too hard but it's the only word I can remember from my haircut experience.
posted by HelenO at
1:42 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home