Prom Queen

I'm sorry that this blog is so overdue. May I suggest that you send all letters of protest to KEK, the national power company who have failed miserably this week in their role of providing power to the people. When there's no power, there's no internet. When there's no internet, there's no blog. You see what I'm saying?

The big news of this week has been the arrival of my new roomie, Kayla Richardson, of Happy Valley, California. Here she is:
Kayla is a graduate of Cosmetology school (I didn't know Cosmetology was a word either, but apparently it is) and is in Kosovo to cut hair and educate me on my colour wheel. She'll be working with a local lady who runs a hair salon from her home (not an unusual occurance here) and has a busy season of prom and wedding hair ahead. So far, Kayla appears to be American in the best way and I'm enjoying her company. And the possibility of a hair cut in the not too distant future.

The other big news of the week has been the start of Prom season. On Tuesday, my Albanian teacher Tina was packed of to Pristina looking beyond amazing, due to her natural beauty to which Kayla applied her skillz. We had to wait until the power came on at 6pm before the curling iron could called to action, so the make up went on first, with nails done by yours truly. Tina's friends gathered while she got ready and performed important tasks such as holding the overhead light so that it shone on Tina rather than away from her (ingeniously held by tying a scarf to the fixture, allowing the holder to sit down and have a chat and a coffee.), and holding the curling iron plug in the socket on the wall because it wouldn't stay by itself. And after the make up and hair is done, the dress goes on and everyone gets stuck in to help. This was before the mothers and aunts and cousins turned up to help with tucking and tying and spraying and the like.


And here she is, the finished product: Hotness. It was a really brilliant afternoon, it's a lot of fun to get ready for a big evening out and really, girls are the same the world over. In lots of ways it was a real privilege for Kayla and I to be able to be part of the preparations, and to be allowed into the family home to pimp and preen. I think it's going to be one of my lasting memories of my time here. That or the hair cut Kayla's going to give me sometime in the future, or our possible experience with going for the Balkan platinum blonde look. I'll keep you posted...