Stranger in a strange land.

It's surprising to me how long it's taking me to feel at home. In some ways I did pretty soon, but in other ways I still feel alien. Part of it is how little I have in common with everyone I've met (I think I've found one of the few spots in North America where being a brunette puts me in the minority). It's the lack of a shared aesthetic that always strikes me. There's the occasional overlap, but for the most part I admire different things than my fellow students. I think many of them think I'm drab or odd (or both); it's been suggested that I highlight my hair, grow my bangs longer, & wear more makeup. Among my friends, I think I wear more makeup than nearly all of them & probably do more to my hair, too (well, maybe not that part: I wash it nightly, dry it, & sleep on it). But I am in a different world now & my red lipstick is not enough.
I've been out on the floor working on real clients for two weeks now. We still work on our mannequin heads, too. There are about 60 or 70 students & not enough clients for everyone, plus there are things we have to practice that few people come in & ask for (curse you, finger waves!). Everyone I've had so far has been either nice or neutral. The oldest people are the friendliest. I haven't made any terrible mistakes, though I have had some mishaps:

• When I was putting the cape on my first hair client, I accidentally touched her breast. Then I took her to the sink where I...
• ...sprayed water on the teacher who was supervising me.
• During the first haircut I gave with scissors, I cut my finger & was too embarrassed to say anything to the woman. I hope I didn't bleed in her hair. I don't think I did.
• Trying to clip closely behind a man's ear, I cut him & he started to bleed a little. Sorry, sir. I hope that didn't hurt too much.

I've had plenty of bright moments, too, though:

• After I very carefully did a color retouch on an older man who very exactly knew exactly what he wanted & exactly how he wanted it done, he praised me to the supervising teacher.
• I told a very old woman, who was not my client but was under a dryer nearby & asked me a question, that she had beautiful blue eyes. She covered her face & said, "No, no, I'm so ugly, I hate to even come out." I told her she was wrong & that she was pretty & had truly beautiful eyes (all true) & she looked so happy & as though she might cry.
• A friend of mine came in for a haircut & he was the first client I've had where I didn't get intensely nervous & sweaty while working on him. And since then, I haven't again. It was also overwhelmingly nice to talk to someone with whom I have things in common. Thanks, Skip!

I'm at the point where school will stay pretty much the same until I'm done. What will change the most is how much I feel able to do & how much supervision I get. I feel like I have a gazillion miles to go, but when I look back to three months ago, I feel like I've come pretty far already, too.