Small Talk, Big Silences

(I’m used to hairdressers being chatterboxes. This one… tries? After I told the hairdresser what kind of cut I have in mind, it’s been five minutes of her working silently.)

Hairdresser: “So… Have you been watching the Eurovision Song Contest?”

Me: *perks up* “I have! I watch it with my roommate. The first semifinal was rather interesting, with…”

Hairdresser: “But Finland didn’t make it through to the final?”

Me: “Well, yeah…”

(Another five minutes of silence.)

Hairdresser: “So what about hockey? Have you been watching the championship games?”

Me: “Well, I’m not that into sports, but I watched the Finland vs. USA game a few days ago with my parents. It was more interesting than I thought. But mostly I just follow Finland’s success by listening to my neighbours shout at their TV.”

Hairdresser: “…”

(After a few minutes of silence.)

Me: “My mom always watches sports with our Labrador on the couch with her and—”

Hairdresser: “Oh, we had Labrador Retrievers. Goofy dogs.”

Me: “Yeah, they are a lot of fun. Really energetic.”

Hairdresser: “…”

(It went on like that, with huge slices of silence between me answering her questions, the conversation quickly dying. and her asking me another question. As a Finn, I don’t mind the lack of small talk, but I got really confused when it was attempted so many times without success.)