Postcard from Acornhoek: A Day at the Salon
August 5th, 2008 | Published in Community, Education, Profiles, Women/Family | 5 Comments
Written by Bongekile Mhlanga
Grace was sitting behind the counter of All-in-All Hair Salon. She had this strange hairstyle, wrapped the way the African women do it, a huge headscarf that looks like Kilimanjaro mountain when you are done with it. She was talking to one of her employees, who responded with a smile. The conversation was bubbling around, even though it was hard to make out what was being said because of the humming of hair dryers. Even someone like me, who was new at the place, was included in the talk.
The salon was full of smoke from all the hair that was burning. It was so foggy that I had to blink twice before I could see what was in there. The hair was strewn all over the floor, with the air from the hair dryers blowing it everywhere. It looked like a million black spiders crawling around on the floor. On one of the tables the TV was playing, even though no one noticed what was on. The sink where the hair was rinsed was dripping non-stop, and no one was even aware of the wasted water. Their hands were so busy combing and styling hair and putting coins in the phone booth. Not only were people there to have their hair done, they also came in to make phone calls to relatives. Posters of different hair products and beautiful women with shiny, silky hair were pasted all over the walls. Some different colored pictures were hanging from the ceiling. They looked like Christmas decorations.
One woman wearing yellow earrings, a yellow blouse with a black pullover on top, jeans, and black stilettos was obviously happy with the outcome, as she was smiling from ear to ear. Her hair was pushed to the back, with a part made on the left side of her head. The ends at the back were curled upwards, as if waiting to be kissed by the sun. The owner was smiling too, as she gave the woman her change. She waved cheerily as she went out the door.
After the woman had left, I took a look at my hair, and it seemed dusty and in need of attention. I felt the need to have it done. I’m definitely going back tomorrow to have that sleek hairstyle the happy woman had done on her hair. When a woman is in the salon, she has the sense of wanting to look beautiful.
September 18th, 2008at 7:11 am(#)
The writer opens the piece talking about how “bubbly” everyone feels. The reader thinks that the article will be about a happy, beautiful salon but the author focuses on the smoke, the mess and the leaky faucet. The author discribes the salon in a view different ways. The different word choice makes the reader understand the sense of confusion that is felt in the salon. She opens and ends the article talking about how happy the women are with their hair but during the middle she takes a different stand and focuses on the negative things. Through this article the reader can conclude that women care more about their appearance than anything else. They don’t notice the mess around them, all that is important is the hairstyles. They waste water and energy and don’t realize that there are less fortunate people who are suffering.
September 18th, 2008at 7:11 am(#)
“A Day at the Salon” shows that African women in Acornhoek are just like American women who are concerned about their looks:”When a woman is in the salon, she has the sense of wanting to look beautiful”Bongekile Mhlanga
had shown a typical day at the salon “The hair was strewn all over the floor, with the air from the hair dryers blowing it everywhere.”"After the woman had left, I took a look at my hair, and it seemed dusty and in need of attention.”-all women want their hair to look good because they are concern about their appearance.
September 18th, 2008at 7:19 am(#)
When you walked into the hair salon, it seemed very mysterious in the beginning. The “humming of hair dryers” and “the room full of smoke from all the hair that was burning” does not allow you to see what is going on which can be frightening, especially when the hair on the floor “looked like a million black spiders crawling around”. But within minutes, you seem accepted into this salon society. You were included into the discussion and felt apart of it all and making you want to come back. You saw the satisfaction on the face of the woman “smiling ear to ear” and felt that you needed attention like hers. Being in a salon makes you feel better as a woman and as three females we feel the same way.
September 18th, 2008at 7:19 am(#)
“A Day at the Salon” describes the lifestyle of women in Acornhoek. Bongekile Mhlanga is very descriptive and pays attention to every detail of the salon. Readers get a sense of how busy the salon is, and the positive atmosphere people spread. Women at the salon seem eager and happy; in a relaxed state as they are pampered. After reading this article, I realized that women in Acornhoek remain positive and confident, depite their lifestyles.
September 18th, 2008at 7:20 am(#)
Our first impression of the salon was that it was an interesting place. We were also concerned because the article stated that water was dripping and wasting away but no one noticed. It was interesting because the salons over there in Acornhoek are very similar to salon’s found here. An example was that there was a lot of smoke/steam from the styling of the hair, there is a lot of hair on the floor, and there were posters of women on the walls with nicely done hair. The salon was crowded, with people using the phones in the salon to call their relatives, like in the US. The theme we found was that the salon gave off a happy feeling to people and women want to be beautiful. People would go in and have their hair done in a nice style. One woman in particular was very happy and left the salon with a lot of joy because she had her hair done in a way she probably loved having her hair curled at the back waiting to be kissed by the sun.