Impressions

Ever since Ildar arrived in the US he's been growing his hair.  Or rather he has been choosing NOT to spend money on getting haircuts.  At one point he hatched the plan to get his head shaved on New Year's Eve, so that he could start the new year with a new look.  But then his longish hair got on his last nerve and last Saturday night I returned home from an outing to see the light on in the basement.  Through the foggy window I could make out Jon all set up in his barber station, Ildar on a stool in front of him.  I went to down to find them in the middle of not just cutting his hair, but creating a mohawk.  This was new territory for Jon, but I think he did a fair job.  Ildar mentioned that this type of cut would NEVER be tolerated at his school back home, and he thought he would give it a whirl. In his words, Why not? If he didn't like it, they could shave it right off.  When Jon finished, Ildar bounded up the stairs to check it out in a mirror and pronounced it ok for the time being.  The next night we had the foreign exchange holiday party for the P.I.E. students and their host families.  Ildar departed from his usually strict stocking cap policy in order to slick his hair up.  This was kind of a meet and greet for Jon and I since we were late to this hosting game and had not attended any social events in the fall.  As we circulated amongst the other host families people would cheerfully ask us who we were hosting and after we said, "Ildar, the one over there in the striped sweatshirt....and the mohawk," we would get these sympathetic looks and then in lowered voices the inquiry, "Oh.  And how's that going?"  The answer, despite the fact that his current hair may symbolize rebellion, or angst, is fabulous.  It amused me how family after family assumed that he might be someone who would be pushing buttons or boundaries.  Which he might someday, but we've not seen any evidence yet.  And then when the word got out that it was Ildar's very own host dad who gave the haircut, well, that produced a whole different reaction. 

For the record, Ildar has scheduled another haircut for this weekend- his flirtation with the mohawked life is over after a week.