forgive me, Ryan!

French has been a huge part of my life since I was 14 years old. Study abroad, several summer programs, extended stays and countless trips, and still I managed to avoid the hair salon. Until today.

If you know me, you know my hair is a pretty big deal. Not big as in big hair, but big as in important. And Ryan Neel has been the only one I have let near it with scissors for about nine years. I've followed him to three salons, and I'll continue to follow him as long as he remains in the metro area. I'll never forgive him for considering moving to Phoenix. Forget leaving my house, cats, friends and family behind. I was most worried about what I'd do without Ryan.

It's the hair salon vocabulary that had me paralyzed. How do I say "notchers" in French? How do I best express my desires? With Ryan, I can say "just do something with it," and I leave the salon with a great cut. Will I be so lucky in France?

Since it's back-to-school time, I decided that it was time to gather my courage and get my back-to-school haircut. I stopped in a salon on the main square and made an appointment for a couple of hours later. Then I rushed home to Google getting haircuts in France.

My new stylist is named Aurélie, and she has really great hair, which I take as a good sign. She's quite friendly and when I asked her to forgive me for lacking the proper haircut vocabulary, she was very understanding. Like everyone else I meet, she's fascinated with the exchange, and asked if she could switch places with Ryan for a while!

I survived the adventure and emerged with a pretty decent haircut and a few new vocabulary words.