A Trip to the Electronichesky Supermarket

A couple of days ago I went to buy a hairdryer. I don’t have a hairdryer at home; it’s not something I usually use. It’s either warm enough that going out with wet hair is not a problem, or I am not outside for a long time in the cold. Here, it is absolutely nelzya (forbidden, but you guys knew that one, right?) to go out with wet hair. In the cold weather, because your hair will freeze, but in general I think it has to do with always looking very put together. I have been using my host family’s hairdryer, but as I am now on my own, I knew I had to buy one.
So I set off to the electronichesky supermarket (electronics supermarket). There are many types of supermarkets here…there are food supermarkets, electronics supermarkets, I’ve even seen door supermarkets, parquet supermarkets (everyone has parquet floors), and various hypermarkets as well. The electronic supermarkets are basically like Best Buy or Circuit City. You can buy pretty much anything that is electric there: washers, refrigerators, irons, electric kettles (everyone has one b/c of all the tea we drink here), microwaves, TVs, stereos, electric razors, and hairdryers. Everything is in glass cases and you need to have an employee get things out for you to “look at.” You do very little touching and examining, it is mostly show-and-tell.
I don’t know anything about hairdryers. I just wanted something cheap that would blow hot air. So I asked the girl who was hovering over me what the difference was between the two cheapest models 50 and 52 grivnya (about $10) respectively. There didn’t seem to be a difference other than the company, but she recommended the one for 2 grivnya more ($.40), a Phillips. I said alright, that sounds good. She went a got one from the back room and plugged it in and turned it on so I could see that it worked and feel how hot it got. I again said alright, looks good, I’ll take it. She then led me to a tiny back room where another girl was sitting at a computer. Girl 1 handed girl 2 some paper work. Girl 2 entered some things into the computer, I gave her the 52 grivnya, she signed and stamped some things and then sent me back out the girl 1. Girl 1 gave me my new hairdryer and wished me well. On the way out, the security guard at the door checked to make sure all of my hairdryer paper work was legit, and told me to have a nice day. All for a $10 hairdryer. I have come to expect shenanigans like this. I was surprised they didn’t ask to see my passport and take down that information. I had even brought my passport with me in anticipation. Better safe than sorry.