I spent my first full non-SPI day in New York in the Greenwich Village area where I got a haircut at the Astor Place Hairstylists.
I walked down the subway-like steps into the underground cave which held a surprising amount of chairs and hair professionals. I was inside for less than minute before I was swept away by Suzy, my soon-to-be stylist.
A short, older woman with a unplaceable accent sat me down in a chair and then grabbed my face in both her hands. She stared intently at me before saying, “What is your ethnicity?”
“Um, Italian…and German, I guess,” was my response.
“Hmpf,” she said, as she let go of my chin and threw a smock over me. She proceeded to cut my hair and then blow dry it, stopping only to ask if I wanted my bangs shorter and if I had ever been to Astoria.
As she attempted to control my hair by curling it under with a round brush and blow dryer, she said, “Your hair is so weird! It does whatever it wants to. I can’t control it!” I laughed and told her it was a problem I faced every day.
“You look Greek,” she said once she was finished with me. “Very beautiful, you are a very beautiful girl.”
She escorted me to the pay station where I handed over $25 to the man behind the cash register. I handed Suzy her tip with a thank you and she latched onto my arm, leading me back to her chair.
“You are such a nice girl, so polite, you have such a polite personality. I’m going to give you my card and you come back anytime!”
I left feeling pretty awesome.
After getting my hair trimmed, I walked around Greenwich Village a little bit, stopped to buy a NYU sweatshirt, and then walked into Sushi Yawa, where I enjoyed a delicious $10 sushi lunch special that included miso soup, salad, one roll, and five pieces of assorted nigiri. I read my book The Thieves of Manhattan while eating.
I had the most wonderful day, but now I have to get back to writing cover letters and applying for jobs. I’ve decided I will do one fun thing a day to keep myself from going totally crazy locked up in this dorm room alone.
