edges lopped off

They say that when you live in another culture for awhile that you go from being a square head (the previous culture) to looking more like a rounded head (that of the new culture), but since you never are truly native, having not grown up there you look more like a stop-sign head, with edges little by little being lopped off. Some of those changes are gentle, like greetings (for instance in Spain I greet everyone with two air kisses, one on each side; it's not a hard change, just different). Other changes are felt a bit more, for instance getting used to not being so "polite." It's not that we're not polite here, but saying "please" and "thank you" and "would you..." just doesn't always translate the same way. I still say thank you, but there are other more culturally "genuine" ways. This might not be the best example, but anyway... you get my point.

This has to do with one of those easy, but for me farther down the road changes. And right now I would say that I'm past just the "trying out" phase of it, although I don't know if it's something I'll permanently incorporate into my life. Quite honestly, it will probably depend where I live. If I stay here, yes, I'll continue to do as the Spanish do, but if I move somewhere else where it's not so common, it's unlikely that I'll be able to afford it nor do I value it quite that much. What I'm talking about is waxing. Maybe a bit too much information, but it occurred to me last year that the reason that Americans tend to think that Europeans don't shave has to do with the fact that most of them don't, but they do wax. And to wax you have to let your hair grow a little bit before it can be ripped out. So, no, Spanish women don't tend to shave, but their legs and armpits are probably more hair free and smoother than most American women, at least most of the time.

So, about a year ago I made the plunge. I'd been putting it off for years, primarily because I thought it had to be horribly painful and I couldn't seem to let the hair grow out. (It grossed me out.) So last summer, I thought, I could go get waxed once and it would last the rest of the month. No more shaving. Pain is momentary and everyone I know here does it. It can't be that bad. And it costs about 10 Euros for everything I'd want. (Sorry if it's tmi.) And, yes, the first time it hurt, but not that bad. And your hair doesn't actually grow back much and it's weaker. All the stuff they told me before. And this weekend I even took it a step further. I did it myself. Now for the time, ease, and cost difference, I probably won't do it myself again until I'm visiting the States, but I've got it down. I figured out the way to rip and the way not to. And I must say that I'm pretty impressed with myself. And since in the states, what costs me 10 Euros would cost over 100, and while I'd spend less shaving, for the time being I'll probably continue to visit my local salon.