The kindness of strangers

I know, a nauseatingly cloying title. It's early in the morning and I've had only one coffee. Bear with me.

It had been clear for some time that my hair needed help. Too blonde, all dried out from the sun and sea, out of shape. Hannah had done a pretty creditable job with her sharp scissors, but still.

We are in a pretty tasty location just now - on Carrer Valencia, just two blocks from the Verdaguer Metro station, and around the corner from Passeig de Sant Joan, with its wide park running the length of the center of the thoroughfare. And beauty salons - peluquerras in Catalan - on every corner.

I boned up on all the words I thought I'd need to express what I wanted to the stylist. Thus armed, I headed to the snazzy-looking glass-front salon I'd been eyeing since our last move. No appointment necessary. A tough-looking woman sat me in a chair and asked (rough translation): "So, talk to me." I uttered not 10 words before she threw up her hands in disgust and asked another stylist, "Ingles?" Ingles, si. Well, almost. What I got was Blanche, a pretty, reassuring Brazilian who speaks about as much English as I do Spanish. In about 8 sentences, and with a lot of gesturing, we had come to an agreement as to the task at hand, and as she left to mix the color, Blanche tossed me a couple of celebrity mags in Spanish, "to practice," she said.

Our next agreement was that I would speak to Blanche in Spanish, and she to me in English, "to practice." That arrangement worked very well. During the 3+ hours I was in her chair (she kept getting lengthy, mysterious phone calls from "el jefe"), I practiced more Spanish, and with more relaxed confidence, than at any time since we left Nerja. By the time we got to the haircut part, I was babbling away at decent velocity.

My confidence in Blanche wavered as she began to attack my hair, first with her scissors, then with a razor. Cut, slash, slash. But, as it turns out, Blanche knows exactly what she is doing. The results are fabulous. (Photo coming soon - if I can get my computer to connect to the Web.) My new style is sleek, sophisticated and looks naturally colored.

Oh, and Blanche and I have plans. We're going to her favorite bar on Saturday night to hang out with her friends. The beginnings of a social life. Stay tuned.