Of pubescent angst and limos

Here in Iceland we get the phenom known as the árshátíð, which is basically an annual party held by companies, schools or, indeed, any group at all, in which the members get all decked out in their finest and go have a good time. [These can vary in lavishness, with the Copenhagen árshátíð EPI and I went on last year being fairly high up there on the scale.]

The árshátíð at AAH’s school was last night. I reckon these are sort of the equivalent of the school formal/prom in North America, with the associated worry over clotheshairmakeup, pre-árshátíð arrangements, and whathaveyou. Oh, the complication! The requirements! Weeks before, AAH began agonizing about how she was going to finance it all: new dress, various cosmetics, pre-árshátíð dinner in a restaurant, and of course the stretch limo.

You read that right. Over the past few years a tradition has somehow developed among the seniors in their last year of compulsory school to go cruising in a stretch limo before the ball. I remember a few years ago there was some big deal about 15-year old kids getting shitfaced in the limo on the way to the formal – certainly not a reassuring thought for parents.

Anyway, when EPI and I listened to AAH’s version of the arrangements, we just shook our heads. 3 pm: solarium studio. 4-5 pm: home to shower, apply makeup, get dressed, etc. 5.30 pm: dinner at restaurant. 6.30 pm: limo pick-up, cruise around. 7.30 pm: delivery to the school, red-carpet style.

The intensity of the pre-árshátíð programme and resulting cost was already doing AAH in, so we sat her down for a little ‘earth-to-AAH’ talk. Of course we thought the whole thing was ridiculous, but we couldn’t say that obviously, so our main argument was this: an hour for dinner in a restaurant was just crazy. They weren’t going to get served and be able to eat dinner properly in the space of an hour, and if they were they’d be rushed and stressed out and wind up resenting the dosh they had to part with. If they were late, the limo would be sitting outside regardless, with the meter running. In a word, she was looking at STRESSVILLE. The rational thing would be to skip the restaurant, hang out here at home doing makeup and whatever, and order something in, then cruise in the limo for the hour before going to the school. They’d probably have a lot more fun and their pocketbook wouldn’t suffer quite so.

AAH, being a sensible girl, saw our point and approved of the idea. So off she goes to suggest this brilliant plan to her friends. And came up against a stone wall of attitude. One of the clique members accused her of getting the others up against her, another saw AAH’s point and decided to join her, the others waffled, and in the end it was just a big mess. [Incidentally, going with her boyfriend of six months was out of the question – ‘that’s not the way it’s done’ apparently – he was going with his clique of guy friends, and she with the girls. Somewhat different from the American prom/formal with its date/corset requirement, I reckon. But I digress.]

Wisely, EPI and I had already decided to vacate the area [ten teenaged girls in a flat all trying to do clotheshairmakeup at once is a scenario not to be trifled with] and went to a movie at 6. By the time we left, AAH was still alone and still unsure of how many girls would be joining her. By the time we got back, just before 8, she was still there. Alone. I immediately flashed into sympathy mode, but AAH assured me that it had been fine – she’d totally enjoyed her solitude, had ordered something from Food Taxi, got ready at her leisure, and was now waiting for the rest of the girls to come pick her up.

She didn’t wait long – within 15 minutes thunderous disco music came rolling up the street, punctuated with loud girl shrieks. A moment later a bright yellow stretch Hummer [the stretch Hummer, actually – only one in the entire country, not a big market] appeared outside and boy, there was one helluva party going on in there! Young AAH dashed outside in her flirty dress, Diesel jacket and Yasser Arafat scarf [around her neck], to meet the chauffeur all snapped to attention, holding the door for her and waiting to search her purse for booze. [Phew!] Subsequent reports revealed that the formal itself wasn’t that hot, but the limo ride was amazing. Perhaps I’ll suggest it to EPI, next time we go to an árshátíð.*

WEATHER
Gorgeous day. Cold, but calm, sunny, crisp – and not too polluted. Currently –2°C, sunrise was at 8.37 and sunset at 18.45.

* On second thought, no. It’s this weekend, and it’s a bit too far away to take a limo. More on that later.