Yesterday I had an evening shift at work and near the time when the shop was about to close, I was mopping the floor near the cashier area when an older guy came in. I had my back facing him, so he called me and when I turned around, I immediately saw his rather "disappointed" face LOL!!!
He was probably wondering how much I understood Finnish 'coz he could see from my face that I was a foreigner. But he tried anyway and he didn't ask for anything hard, so I could help him out just fine on my own. Even if I didn't know/understand what he wanted to find, I would still have been able to help him by calling out my coworker, but the moment that he saw my face was so funny. :-D
He must've been a new customer, because all the regular customers know my face and they know I've worked there for a while, so they won't hesitate asking me for help. This face of mine has its own advantage at work, though, because they know that I'm a foreigner simply by looking at my face, if they don't know me well, they'll resort to using more formal Finnish (or they'd speak more slowly) in order to make sure I understand their words. :-D
Anyway, here's a pic of my frosty hair. Photo taken when it was -21'C outside (and I just went back from a trip to the supermarket).
Faces are interesting, don't you think? My Brit friend Michelle once said, "A smile goes a LONG way." Very true!
These days I meet more and more people as I walk to and from the course from Mondays till Fridays. I see many faces as I walk. Remember that the firm that organizes my Finnish course rents a room from the place where my hubby works? Well, the other week I complained to hubby since one of his colleagues didn't smile back at me when I said, "hi" and when I smiled to him. He always has this serious look on his face that is borderline sour. I wonder why.
Some other colleagues of his, on the contrary, ALWAYS look like they're smiling. I bet you've also seen those type of faces, right?
Unfortunately I have no such smiling face, but I try to smile more and more, especially when I meet people that I know.
Now that I've observed many more faces, I realize more how true my Brit friend's words were. How come it seems it's so hard for some people to smile? I understand that sometimes when you're stressed out or depressed or you've just experienced some type of sorrow or heartbreak, then it is hard for you to smile, but if you meet some people over and over and over again, how come it is harder for some people to smile whereas it seems to be easier for others to smile?
Of course if someone hates me, then maybe that person doesn't want to smile at me. I understand that completely. But anyhow, as long as a smile is free, I'll make efforts to share more smiles with others.
Here, let me share some quotations on Smiles:
Smile. Have you ever noticed how easily puppies make human friends? Yet all they do is wag their tails and fall over. ~Walter Anderson, The Confidence Course, 1997
Everyone smiles in the same language. ~Author Unknown
I've never seen a smiling face that was not beautiful. ~Author Unknown
It takes seventeen muscles to smile and forty-three to frown. ~Author Unknown
A smile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches those who receive without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he cannot get along without it and none is so poor that he cannot be made rich by it. Yet a smile cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away. Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give. ~Author Unknown
