Viva Vietnam

I have been getting my nails done on and off for the last 20 years. You know the acrylic ones where you have to go every 2 or 3 weeks for fills, or if your like me you stretch it out as long as you can.

It can be fairly costly especially if you have the pink and whites done. When I first arrived out here I found a gal in Washougal to do them for me. I think it cost me $50 for a full set and $25 for a fill. She did a lovely job, but I had to take them off after awhile because of the expense.

I have a problem growing my nails, they get so long and begin to peel and crack and then I start biting them off. You get the picture.

My friend talked me into going and getting our nails and toes done one Saturday where she always goes. It was a place where all the nail techs are Vietnamese. I had never been to one of these salons before but I felt like it was going to be an experience.

Now who would have thought the fall of Saigon would bring a new cottage industry to the U.S.? I had walked by these places many times and looked in at the busy nail techs, with their surgical masks and thought it somehow odd. But here I was, mainly because I have become frugal in my advanced years, sitting in a massage chair that was working me over pretty good, getting my feet done by Hanna.

There seems to be a guy who is in charge who also does nails at each of these shops. They all talk between themselves through their masks in Vietnamese. I have considered buying a Vietnamese to English dictionary to see what they were saying but I would need to ask them to speak up because they talk so softly and I can't hear worth a damn anymore, and that would defeat the purpose.

I am putting off going for a fill right now. They take the layers of acrylic off with a grinder of all things and it gets really hot and burns. Ouch! I have never seen fills done so quickly.

The jury is still out as far as how long I will continue doing this, but my nails sure look good and I am saving money.