Monday February 1st 2010

Today I found something that is cheaper than in the United States. I had a manicure and pedicure. The place was pointed out to me last week which was just as well as I would never have found it otherwise. It was simply an iron gate – locked, but not sure why - with a sign outside advertising the name “Shirlleys”.

Once inside I was given a number tag, a bit like the sort of thing you get when queuing at the deli counter in a supermarket. The man at the desk took my name, or rather had several attempts at spelling my name into the computer. That may be because I have yet to master the pronunciation of the letters of the alphabet but we got there eventually.

I waved to Marcelo and told him to come back in an hour – or at least I think I did. I have no idea of what Marcelo thinks of doing “girly” errands but he will just have to get used to it. The previous GM was here by himself and so Marcelo’s day consisted of taking said GM to the office, waiting around for most of the day and driving him home again in the evening. I am sure there were days when there were trips out of the office but I am pretty sure they wouldn’t have included a trip to Shirlleys.

Once inside, I was greeted by my manicurist and led through what can only be described as a rabbit warren. Given that all you can see from the road is an iron gate, the back of this salon went on forever. They had facilities for everything, hair, makeup, waxing and of course nails and feet. There was even a stair case at the back and a couple of women disappeared up them but I have no idea what for. My Portuguese is certainly not good enough to ask

So back to the manicure. Having lived in several countries it is interesting to observe different ways of doing things. In Manila, Nilda, bless her, the nail lady came to the house, and for as little as $ 5 if my memory serves me correctly, you could have both manicure and pedicure. She would tell me her life story – wayward son and lazy husband and made me once again realize that I have indeed won the lottery of life.

In the United States it is all the fashion to have acrylic nails, not that I ever did. My own are perfectly adequate thank you. But the length that some of these girls used to have their nails made me wonder how they ever did anything. I would have thought them quite a handicap but I guess they adapt.

In Sao Paulo I have decided that there is an obsession with cutting cuticles. They spend hours doing it but not mine. I hate having my cuticles cut and so when I waved at my manicurist along the lines “don’t cut the cuticles” she looked at me a bit blankly. I tried again and on the third attempt she went to fetch someone who in halting English could understand that “no – I really don’t want my cuticles cut”.

The next bizarre thing is that they apply the polish all over not only the nail but the cuticles as well. Now, given how long they ( normally) spend cutting these cuticles to within an inch of their life without drawing blood, it seems absolute madness to me to then cover them in bright red polish. Finally , and by far the longest part of the whole process is to then clean around them with more nail polish remover.

I have to say the whole thing was a bit of an education but they look good now and for just over $ 22 including tip, not bad entertainment value.