Monday, September 14, 2009

Age, marital status and appropriateness...

Yesterday, I went to the hair salon to have my hair done for my cousin's wedding.
The hair salon was operated by Koreans who barely spoke English. But even with their limited english, the woman setting my hair with curlers, after a couple of introductory questions, asked point blank how old I am.
Taken aback, I still answered her and immediately after, she asked if I was married! She didn't comment on my single status, but kept asking other questions like, where do I live, what kind of work do I do, etc.

Since hairdressers are usually known for gossip, I was wondering if she was actually just asking questions for small talk or if it was going anywhere in her head. In any case, I thought it was quite nosy of her, so I was relieved when I was handed over to a hairstylist.

The hairstylist was a young Korean guy and he asked me what kind of style I wanted for my hairdo. I had the hardest time to decide between an updo and a half up, half down style but when asked, I decided to go for the updo. The guy, though, said that a half up, half down style would make me look younger. Fine then, the younger look it shall be. Not surprisingly, a few minutes later, HE was asking me how old I am AND asking me if I was married!!! At least, he joked about it saying "not yet, right?". He also asked me what kind of job I have.

So, what is it about Korean hairdressers and the way they talk to their customers? Obviously, they must have some kind of script according to your age range because a relative who is a bit older than me, also had nosy questions, but they were of the nature of "what religion are you?". I wonder now....do they all go through a training that says "Chapter 12: questions to ask a woman in her late twenties..."?

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