‘Urges’ are a funny thing. They seem so sudden, yet they have been creeping up all along. And we totally unknowingly cultivate these urges helping them to grow and flourish. ‘Dying my hair’- a sudden urge but not really. You see, as I watched a 1 season and a half of America’s Next Top Model, this urge was fed-by myself and Tyra Banks. I watched in delight as twelve whiney models got makeovers- hair extensions, new bangs, highlights! ‘I should get a makeover’, I thought ‘and I’ll do it in Cambodia?’ Am I crazy? Apparently, I am.
Me and a Cambodian named Lokeinna from my Bible study (really awesome Jesus-loving girl) jumped on her moto and went to a salon today. I was on a quest to get my ends trimmed and colour my hair. Since Lokeinna speaks decent English, she helped me communicate this to the hair stylist. The hair stylist whipped out a small panel of colour swatches, featuring colours like: orangey-blond, bright red, light blond, black, green, etc. Both Lokeinna and the stylist wereunder the false impression that a white girl can look good with any hair colour even if it’s ‘Ariel from the Little Mermaid-red’!
I finally convinced them that light red and light blond highlights would do me just fine. Well, I think something got lost in translation! The stylist mixed the light red with the light blond which made a fluorescent orange! It looks like someone took a high lighter and literally used it to streak my hair. I am not upset in the least bit nor do I have any right to be. The whole thing cost $5 and that includes getting my ends trimmed and my hair straightened. Also, I was totally asking for something to go wrong by even going about something like this in a totally different culture. And lastly, because I am white, I am automatically a trendsetter. This fact was confirmed by Lokeinna as she stared at my hair in awe and gushed “Oh, I think next time, I will get this done too!”
Hold still! I’ll just grab a high lighter and do it for free!
So, that is another lesson learned from me in Cambodia, and another reason to perhaps lay off the Americas Next Top Model...maybe after I finish watching this season.
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