I'll Take It.

               One sure way to make me cranky is to call me ma’am. I feel like I am still way too young for that, but somehow about three or four years ago I started to look old to young men in the service industry. Old enough to be called ma’am, anyway. I still feel like a miss. Definitely a miss. Perhaps if I am feeling sophisticated Madame. I would go home and complain to Dave, “I got Ma’amed again today.”  Yesterday I got girled.

               Here in Russia there are apparently only two categories for women, girl or grandma. The word for girl sounds like Dee-ah-voch-ka. It is used to signal to shopkeepers that you would like assistance, or to get their attention. It seems a little to snobby to me, “Oh, girl… girl, I need a kilogram of cheese please.” Not for me.

               I was walking through the shopping center in Pochep and I was going to go into a rug store but the shopkeeper started to close the door to take his break before he saw me. I turned around and started to walk to another store when I heard him say, “Deavochka!” I was really pleased with this encounter because I was proud of myself for recognizing that he was talking to me, and I was pleased that I apparently do not look like a grandma. Yet. Give it a few more months.