I am missing the manicurists at Queen Nails.
I miss seeing their pretty dark eyes, dark hair, and little bodies as they work under florescent lights in a small store front at a shopping center. Each one has a credential certifying expertise with emery boards, nail cutters, basins, towels, and the various accoutrements of nail hygiene.
Their Vietnamese chatter fills the air with sounds so foreign to my ears, until they all start giggling.
One will put her hands over her face, embarrassed by what the others said. I understand. They are in their 20's and mostly not married. They must be giggling about boyfriends or sex. When one wiggles her pinky finger and the rest explode in laughter, I believe it must be about male anatomy.
I go to Queen Nails for a pedicure, but not now, thanks to COVID-19. I love partially reclining in a huge, stuffed leather chair, with my feet soaking in hot perfumed water. It is heavenly.
Queen Nails has a television, always tuned in to Guy Fieri from the Food Network. It seems Guy perpetually, enthusiastically describes the barbecued ribs he samples in some part of the South. Guy is a kind of beefy guy. The patrons of the barbecue restaurant are large human beings.
But all the Queen Nails manicurists are petite -- quite tiny. Each one has the body of a ten-year-old boy. I wonder what they eat? Surely they are not eating barbecue. I wonder what kind of body ten-year-old boys have in Vietnam?
I have so many questions, but I do not speak Vietnamese. So I can only wonder and guess about what goes on around me at Queen Nails.
I am going to learn how to say "I completely disagree with you" in Vietnamese:
Tôi hoàn toàn đồng ý với bạn.
I have heard the audio of the pronunciation. I practiced it. When I get to return to Queen Nails, I will wait for a pause in the manicurists' conversation. Then I will say this. They will look at me puzzled or bewildered, as if they cannot believe what they heard from a middle-aged white lady. Then I will repeat it. Then they will repeat it. Then they will get very excited and start laughing. Then, finally, I will be able to laugh with them.
I miss seeing their pretty dark eyes, dark hair, and little bodies as they work under florescent lights in a small store front at a shopping center. Each one has a credential certifying expertise with emery boards, nail cutters, basins, towels, and the various accoutrements of nail hygiene.
Their Vietnamese chatter fills the air with sounds so foreign to my ears, until they all start giggling.
One will put her hands over her face, embarrassed by what the others said. I understand. They are in their 20's and mostly not married. They must be giggling about boyfriends or sex. When one wiggles her pinky finger and the rest explode in laughter, I believe it must be about male anatomy.
I go to Queen Nails for a pedicure, but not now, thanks to COVID-19. I love partially reclining in a huge, stuffed leather chair, with my feet soaking in hot perfumed water. It is heavenly.
Queen Nails has a television, always tuned in to Guy Fieri from the Food Network. It seems Guy perpetually, enthusiastically describes the barbecued ribs he samples in some part of the South. Guy is a kind of beefy guy. The patrons of the barbecue restaurant are large human beings.
But all the Queen Nails manicurists are petite -- quite tiny. Each one has the body of a ten-year-old boy. I wonder what they eat? Surely they are not eating barbecue. I wonder what kind of body ten-year-old boys have in Vietnam?
I have so many questions, but I do not speak Vietnamese. So I can only wonder and guess about what goes on around me at Queen Nails.
I am going to learn how to say "I completely disagree with you" in Vietnamese:
Tôi hoàn toàn đồng ý với bạn.
I have heard the audio of the pronunciation. I practiced it. When I get to return to Queen Nails, I will wait for a pause in the manicurists' conversation. Then I will say this. They will look at me puzzled or bewildered, as if they cannot believe what they heard from a middle-aged white lady. Then I will repeat it. Then they will repeat it. Then they will get very excited and start laughing. Then, finally, I will be able to laugh with them.
