Lost in translation...

Ugghhh...I just bowed out of the most intense game of Pictureka. Sam and Ben were coming to blows over the rules and who put a card down first. I couldn't handle the testosterone anymore, so I excused myself under the ruse of needing to write the blog. Greg is now patiently refereeing the game...we'll see how much longer he will last. I'm betting...2 minutes.

Our day was spent running around doing errands and getting ready for Nana and Mackenzie's arrival. I had a few goals for the day...groceries, laundry and haircuts for the boys. The first two tasks were easy enough to accomplish, but haircuts proved to be a little more interesting than I anticipated. First, I need to explain that in Luxembourg people speak one of three languages; French, German or Luxembourgish. And for those of you who think everyone speaks English in this part of the world, I'm here to tell you, they don't. In fact, most people in the day to day situations, don't speak any English. The retail clerks, cleaners, hairstylists, etc...usually live in France or Germany because the cost of living is significantly lower and thus, speak their native languages. Greg's day to day interactions in the business world are in English, mine, however, are in French, German or Luxembourgish. I understand a bit of German and can manage when I absolutely need to, however, we happen to live very close to the French border and most of the people I encounter speak...French.

I have a French/English dictionary my friend, Karen, kindly donated to me...however, I didn't bring it today. Which brings me back to the haircuts...

The boys and I were looking for a barber vs. a salon, but we could only find salons. We finally settled on a salon near the grocery store. The boys were seriously apprehensive about going in, but I assured them I wouldn't let the stylists put anything "gross" in their hair. I also had to convince them that boys DO come to places like this and it is OK. Sam and Ben's experience to date, with haircuts, is a stool on our front porch and the clippers I bought at Costco.

By the time I got the boys in the door, I was a bit frazzled and not thinking very clearly, or, maybe I wasn't hearing things clearly because the bill came to $38 Euro. Which in US dollars is $49, plus the tip put their experience at the salon well over $50.

I managed to avoid revealing the cost to Greg for about 2 hours after he got home. For a guy who will not pay more than $12 for a haircut, this news didn't go over well. Greg's response was, "Did they at least wash it??" I cannot tell a lie, "Nope. They just shaved their heads."