From Sicily

01 June, 2009

I think I am being kidnapped. Giambertone wants me to stay in Sicily and work in the factory, teach the hair extension methods, and help in creating new products. I must be making a good impression. Good thing. They were surprised to learn that I was a woman when they met me at the airport. They thought "Kim" was a man's name. Yuk!! I go by my middle name here, "Mary" or "Maria" in Italian. I don't want an ugly name. It sounds so wrong when they say "Kim". This place is so beautiful and the people are so gracious towards me. No one speaks English despite what everyone in America has told me. "Don't worry, people speak English there." I don't think they have ever been to Isola Della Fammine, Sicily. Every day is a crash course in the Italian language, and I know they are speaking Sicilian dialect as well, but I cannot tell the difference as of now.

Every day, the more I learn about the product, the Giambertone hair and extensions, the impressed with the hair I am. I've been in the factory teaching the girls how to create some of the blends that I have designed. I will also recreate an entire Giambertone web site in English and be the American distributor. Their cold fusion, ultrasonic technology is unmatched. Giambertone has patented a system that is so fast and easy to use and safe for the hair, unlike any I have seen. This is the reason I had to come here. They would not sell to me unless I was trained by them for it. I have been chosen as well to be the educator for the United States for Giambertone Hair Extensions.

I will surely need to come back here a lot. If not for the people who depend on me, my clients, my family, and friends, I may never return. Eventually I would miss them. The food is amazing and Sicily has the best sweets and ice-cream. Everyone makes their own galatto.

I think I have the best job in the world. Today it will be another day of the beach, Sicilian food and ice-cream. The hard part is having to concentrate on every word they say. It is my goal to speak fluent as soon as I can. One evening, I had to translate for a group of American Nursing students who could not speak a lick of Italian. They were so glad to see me. Everyone lied to them too. I can barely speak, but for studying only three months by myself, I am managing well enough. I was scared to death to come here alone. Surely, I must be dead, because I think this is heaven. Also, many Sicilians have the most beautiful green and blue eyes.

29 Maggio, 2009

I am almost certain that I am dead. I do not remember how it happened, but I'm sure it must be so because I think this is heaven. This was my day: I wake up and the I can feel the warm sun and see the sea. I go downstairs and they serve me cappuccino and two croissants with powdered sugar. The guys here at the hotel are very nice. I stare at the Isola Delle Femmine ( the little island right off the coast) until my ride comes. Ubaldo Giambertone picks me up in this mini Mercedes. I have not seen it in the US. All the cars are so, so small. It makes good sense. I go to the factory and lean about hair all day. That was my life and I guess it must be in the afterlife too. His father is teaching me all this ancient technique used for 100 years here in Sicily by his ancestors for five generations. The hair they process here is so beautiful. Almost every salon in Palermo (the big city) uses it.

Everyone lied to me about people being able to speak English in Italy. It's not so. This is deep small town in Sicily. I'm sure this is not where too many Americans I know have ever visited. There was hardly any people on the airplane. Only one person here can speak English enough to talk and she is Chek. She can barely speak English. I was smart to learn and study Italian as hard as I could before I left. Some people here barely speak Italian. They speak "Sicilian", which I could not find any books about. No matter. I know what food is. I know what the beach is, and I know what "hair" is in Italian capelli, so I'm good.

Yes, I am surely dead. No one can call me. I can not call anyone. I have not even heard from Stephanie. She is a grown woman now so she will be OK. Randy will be OK, I hope. I haven't checked my email yet today. I think I only have my computer because I love it so much. It's part of heaven. Again, today, Arnaldo Giambertone wants me to stay and work there. Again, Ubaldo Giambertone wants me to stay and work too. quello lavoro. They call me "clever". I am teaching them my extension techniques too. There is this machine he made, a beta, only one that exsists, they just had made. He wants me to have it. It's pretty genius, makes the smallest, most undetectable extensions I have ever seen. Great for very thin hair. I have been perfecting a technique to use more efficiently for them. Even the girl who was supposed to train me, I am teaching her new stuff. I must be the Godfather of hair. ("OK, back up, don't get too hot on your horse their , Kim.") They love me here. This stuff is amazing. I wish I could tell you what some of the girls at the factory said to me but I value my life too much. This is Sicily.

I did discover that they, indeed, thought I was a man before I came here, "Mr. Kim." Ha Ha. The Chinese that I do business with call me "Mr. Kim" as well. I just let them because I figure it makes them nicer to me. I thought it was just maybe a language barrier. Oh well. Good thing I have still managed to impress on them. I took a ton of pictures today but I must sleep now and don't have time to crop them and upload them and all.

At the end of the day today, I walked to the beach and got more sunset pictures with the Isola Della Fammine. I walked down some rough, rocky terrain to the beach, where, if I tripped, I would surely suffer major damage. There was an ancient grave with a candle lit there. Stay tuned for the pictures. They are stunning. After, I had dinner at the hotel.

The Sicilians here are awesome. There is what is called "first plate" and "second plate", plus wine and bread. I must be dead. I even skipped l'antipasta and l'insalata.

28 Maggio, 2009

I've been here two days now. It took 20 hours to get here. I sat eight hours in a Venice airport because I had no clue. I could have ventured to the city for awhile, but I blew it. I was so tired.

I'm in Isola Della Fammine, which is right outside Palermo. Everyday it's eat, go to the beach, eat, go to the beach, eat, eat, some sweets?, go the the beach, and then something about hair in between.

This place is amazing and I am so grateful to be invited here. My hotel in on the beach with an amazing view. This picture right here I took from the balcony of the hotel.

They call this place Isola Della Fammine, which means Island of the woman because they say this was a woman's prison way, way back. Now it is a protected area and no people are allowed at all. They will be arrested by the policia.

This is no vacation by the way. This is purely a business trip. I am here because I must be one of the most pickiest hairdressers in the world. I think its true what they say that "Italians do it better." I'm speaking hair. My favorite comb is from Italy. My favorite blow dryer is from Italy.

I've been producing my own hair extensions in the salon because no system out there is good enough for me. I make all custom blends. I get the hair from one place, or a few different places, the tools from another, the bonding material from another and so on. There is always a problem with some company or another. So I have been researching for a very long time. I am always testing and studying things. I want my clients to have the best.

So I've heard of this "cold fusion" system. I thought it was the metal links, or hair locs system. For awhile I just thought "cold glue?" How could that be? My rock star client in New York City had it done with Great Lengths. He told me about it. Hmmmm . . . Well, it was still in his hair for three sets of extensions later. What the heck is wrong with people? His last two hair extension artists did not remove all the old bonds before adding new ones. I was referred to him by a salon in New Jersey funny enough. I'm the not the hair extension queen. I'm the hair extension "slave." It took me a day, along with my assistant to help remove that clustered dread loc that and kept all of his hair in tact.

Anyway, the tall building here next to the mountains in front of the sea is my hotel. I think it was a castle back in the day way, long before anything of our day. The wether here is bellisimo (super beautiful). I'm forced to speak Italian. I have been studying three months and I can actually get by, barely. Ubaldo Giambertone does not speak English. His manager must translate real conversation.

Ubaldo Giambertone is the maker of a hair extension line for which I am very impressed. They have the first, most state of the art Ultrasonic Cold Fusion machine I know about. I tested a Chinese brand and it was very crude model. I can not use Great Lengths brand because I can not use the Great Lengths hair. It is tipped and can not be blended to my standards. I like my hair extension color to match perfect so I can only blend it myself. So I combed the world to find the best Ultrasonic Cold Fusion technology and I found this one by Giambertone but it is not available in the United States.

I applied to become the US distributer and guess what? Here I am for ten days to train on the product and learn about their hair extensions. Free training and the hotel, so yes that means I'm special. Giambertone is five generations of experience with hair production for wigs, and now hair extensions. They are the "new generation in hair extensions". The son works on the machining technology, the fusion, and the polymer research, and the father still is in charge of the hair production side.

Giambertones' supply to major cosmetic companies for their research and development labs for over 30 years. Most salons in Palermo use Giambertone Hair. Giambertone Hair is used for production of wigs in the theater and film in Italy. The name Giambertone in Italy is well known supplier of hair in Italy for nearly 100 years.

I could live here. I've been telling everyone that I might not come back. If it did not defeat my entire purpose for being here I could almost do it. I've been offered 2 jobs already. I am such a quick study that the father offered me a job and so did the son. They are learning things from me too. I found a flaw in the shipment of Indian hair that was there. Other things too, secrets. The one thing I do know for certain in this life is hair. I've been learning their ancient secrets handed down for generations. No wonder I could not find this information on line. The Koreans wanted to teach me for ten thousand American dollars. People pay it too. I only wanted to learn to manufacture hair because nothing is ever good enough for me so I want to do it all myself. Crazy perhaps.

I better get some sleep. It's another day of working at the fabbrica (factory). I may have to learn the Sicilian language too. I really enjoy learning a new language. I should sleep now. Tomorrow will be another day of eating and seeing the sea. It's so much food and I really shouldn't but, How can I say "no"? You try to tell a Sicilian who can't speak English "No." ! You just eat the antipasta and that's it, capisco?