The Adventure of Chinese Haircuts
I’ve been here nearly two months so that means it’s been about two months since my last haircut. I needed one. Bad. I have a place in Beijing that i went last Spring that i thought i would try again because it is near the university in Beijing. For the sake of making a long story short, let me jump right in…
First: It started with an amazing head wash and massage. WOW! After that i was totally relaxed.
Second: I quickly learned that these guys treat cutting hair like an art form. I can appreciate that. I mean, this dude would get his eyeball about an inch away from my scalp just so he could cut that one stray hair. Amazing precision and dedication to their art.
Third: They brought me a cup of water half way through my cut because that’s the Chinese thing to do.
Fourth: They washed it again after he finished cutting it to get all the loose hairs out. Amazing!
Fifth: At the end he decided to style it and i looked very Chinese. Which, by the way, is not a bad look at all… if you’re Chinese. I’m anglo, therefore i looked like a clown.
Sixth: Did i mention that they treat it like an art? On multiple occasions he would gently stroke my hair and then step back to look at his masterpiece. It was like he was sculpting a fine piece of marble stone.
Seventh: They were so gentle with my hair that i found myself falling asleep. I had to keep telling myself to pay attention to make sure i didn’t get a mullet.
So now you must be asking yourself, “How did Biscuet communicate what kind of cut he wants.” Great question. Here’s my answer: I sent a text message to my friend QiQi (she’s Chinese) who lives in Auburn (that’s America, people!) and told her to call me. She called and she gave me walking directions from BIT to the barber. Then, i handed the phone to the barber and she gave him full instructions in Chinese. I love technology. And i have amazing friends! Thanks, QiQi… you gave him perfect directions!
And for the final product… Not bad, eh?
meredith said
am November 12 2008 @ 8:41 am
so i’m having flash backs. we were on some youth trip, construction was involved, south florida world changers maybe? it was raining and we were gross, so since we couldn’t work in the rain we went to the mall foodcourt with the team for lunch. i’m pretty sure you and i paid like $2 for the supercuts ladies to just wash our hair. we didnt even want it cut….just washed and dried. and we bought dry socks. it’s amazing what a little pampering can do for the soul. i just remember the rest of the team was so mad they didn’t think of it. good memories….and glad you had QiQi as a translator. could have been scary.
katie said
am November 12 2008 @ 9:10 am
it is about time!! YEA! I like it much better.
jp said
am November 12 2008 @ 12:09 pm
nice. very nice. enjoyed the catch up too man! talk to you this weekend…
proctor said
am November 12 2008 @ 1:05 pm
if my MacBook Pro hadn’t crashed and I had access to my iPhoto albums, I would post pictures from my Chinese haircut in Chegndu. it’s very similar but much more “porcupined”. haha
Mom said
am November 12 2008 @ 3:04 pm
It looks great and what a great idea to have QiQi translate what to do. I can’t believe it was all accomplished over the phone. And yes, the hairwash…that’s the whole point of going to a hairdresser.
katie b said
am November 12 2008 @ 6:14 pm
… sassyyy …
i need a chinese haircut. can’t wait.
dad said
am November 12 2008 @ 6:46 pm
I think I’ll wait until my visit in January and get my haircut in Beijing. All the pampering with the hair wash would be nice. It’s been about 8 or 9 months since my last cut, do you think they will charge extra? We will get QiQi to translate for me.
BTW - I think your new style looks very professional, like maybe a college English teacher!
Missing YOU!
Emery said
am November 12 2008 @ 9:44 pm
Nice. I got my haircut today too. Pink Mullet Salon….probably a different place.
md said
am November 12 2008 @ 11:09 pm
yes sir. looking good.
nathan said
am November 13 2008 @ 12:23 am
mullet wouldnt of been that bad. chinese mullets are so hott right now.
Rita said
am November 13 2008 @ 5:29 am
Handsome, Jonathan! You look nice! And you’re very smart to ask for QiQi’s help.
Chinamatt said
am November 17 2008 @ 5:27 am
I haven’t had a real haircut in China in about two years. My wife now cuts my hair (scary, I know, but it looks OK). My last trip to the barber shop ended when the head/hair massage/shampoo girl decided to clean my ear and stabbed my eardrum, causing severe pain and loss of hearing for about a day. Prior to that it was a nice experience with usually decent results.