The Weather Report

Yesterday, I had an appointment at a hair salon to get a trim. I figured I would start with a quick haircut to see if I liked the place that had been recommended by previous study group directors, and then make a later appointment for highlights. So I showed up and met Addy the salon owner, sat in her chair and explained in great detail what I wanted: an inch or so off the overall length, long layers on the top, maybe a little bit shorter on the bangs but not too short as I wear very long bangs, if any at all. I tried to say in as many ways as possible that I wanted to make sure it was long enough everywhere to be worn in a ponytail when I go for a run. She studied me as I explained, saying nothing. When I finally stopped talking, she nodded her head and said, “Okay, ya joost want a wee fringe then?” I shrugged and nodded, wondering what a “fringe” could possibly mean. She, of course, proceeded to give me the exact same haircut that she and the other three women in the salon had, which in no way resembled what I had asked for. It turns out that the “fringe” is not a bad haircut—just not what I would want if I had a say. Which, apparently I do not. And since two of them had pink hair, I was just grateful that I decided to hold off on the highlights! And, incidentally, a “fringe” includes very short bangs, which will certainly not make it into a ponytail.

As always, going to the salon is not just an opportunity to get a haircut—it’s also a chance to learn a lot about a community. This trip was no different. I learned that none of the women lived in St. Andrews as none of them could afford it. They all lived in Cupar, which is about nine miles inland. They, like most Scots, spent a lot of time talking about the weather, and one of them was convinced that it was especially windy that day because of the cyclone in Australia (I doubt it!). They had heard that a big snowstorm had hit “America” (very few people here use the term “United States” for some reason), and one of them commented on how much more dramatic the weather was in America than it was here. They are right, of course, and I still think it’s strange that the BBC weather reports cover the whole country, and that the whole country has pretty much the same weather forecast every day (that includes England, Wales, Scotland and northern Ireland, of course). It’s often a few degrees warmer on the east side of the country than on the west, or a bit colder in the very northernmost Scottish islands than it is in the south of England, but for the most part, it’s the same. A forecast for London is pretty applicable in most of Scotland too. And it’s usually the same forecast day after day as well…a little fog, a little cloud, a little sun and a little rain—all wrapped into one day. After watching it for a few weeks, I started to wonder why they even have a weather report at all here!

Only one of the women had been to America before, and said “I drove through for about an hour one time.” I asked how on earth one manages to drive through the US for only an hour, but she said she had been to a conference in Canada and a group of the conference goers wanted to see the country so they crossed the border and drove around a bit. After an hour of driving, though, they all decided that it was terrible— and terribly unsafe— and returned to Canada as soon as possible. I was quite surprised, as I assumed she was near Toronto for a conference, and was either driving through Niagara Falls or Alexandria Bay in New York State, both of which are quite nice (or at least I think so!). I asked and she said, “I think the name of the town was Flint, maybe? Have you heard of it?” “Aha,” I said, then added, “you know, that part of the country has kind of suffered in recent years from substantial economic decline. It’s a pretty big country, after all, and not all of it is like Flint.” She nodded, but said nothing, and it was pretty clear that she wasn’t buying it!

It’s always interesting to me to hear what Brits think of the U.S. when we meet. When we first arrived, we told people we were from “New York,” but quickly learned that they all naturally assume we’re from the city when we say that. Then we started to say “New York State…but not New York City,” which then makes them think we live by Niagara Falls. The other day, I told someone I lived in the middle of New York State, about four hours from the city and four hours from Niagara Falls. He was quite surprised by this, and said he had no idea the state was that large. I think that in one way the British know that the US is a huge country, but in another way, don’t understand that at all. They may know that we have a few states that are larger than their entire country, yet they are surprised when they hear about driving distances—that it would take about 40 hours of straight driving to get to California from New York. Imagine how surprised the women in the salon would be to see that in the US, weather reports aren’t given for the whole country—they can’t even be given for one whole state!