Day 21 -Going to the Salon - Saturday October 8

So Vagif and I had been talking all week about going to the salon and getting highlights put in my hair, like his highlights. We finally convinced Darren that it was a good idea. We decided that today was the day, since it was Vagif's last full day with us. We weren't sure where to go, so we wanted to call Anika to see if she knew of a good place. We also had to exchange money, so we went out to find a bank. We also wanted to get Vagif a good phone that would be more reliable for us to call him. As we looked for phone shops and salons, we got in touch with Anika who would call a friend that used the salon. We checked in several shops and found the phone that Vagif wanted and was reasonably priced. This phone would even let him check his internet social sites, so we can send him messages on Facebook and he should be able to get them anytime and not just every week or so when they let him use the internet at school.
After we found the phone and exchanged some cash, we found the little cafeteria style restaurant that Anika had pointed out. We all chose our food and since it was a beautiful day, ate outside on the patio table. While we were eating, Anika called back and after a few calls, we were able to get recommendation for a walk in salon. Vagif acted as a translator, and we decided on an overall color and highlight color. She also gave me a small trim. The guys got pretty bored waiting for me, so I told Darren that he and Yarik should just take off and Vagif could stay to help me out.

Park in Sumy, where Darren and Yarik went exploring

So the two guys ended up walking around exploring. They walked to the park where Darren got Yarik a huge cotton candy. They also took some photos around the town. They had a good chance to talk one on one. I am very glad they had this time to spend together.
At least Vagif had his new phone to try out, so until the battery died he messed with that for a while. He did get bored, though. Once she had all the color in and I had to wait in another room, Vagif could sit with me and we had some time to chat. We looked at hair magazines and laughed at some ridiculous styles.We chatted about school and lots of things. Soon my waiting time was up. As she checked the color, I got worried. The highlights looked really light! But soon she rinsed me out and started to blow it dry. As it dried and she styled it, it looked much better. There really was not a huge contrast in the highlights as I had at first feared. Although it was a lot lighter than I had anticipated, it still looked pretty good.
When I got back to the hotel, the other guys had roses waiting for me. They were impressed with my new hair color. Yarik said, "Mom, you are beautiful!" He is such a charmer. We did a photo session to mark the occasion. 




For dinner we got food at the supermarket and ate in the hotel. Then, a second session of Johnny English, which Yarik slept through and I nearly fell asleep and went to bed before the end.