Barber Shop

I needed a haircut. It was definitely getting a little too long. Jia and I wandered the neighborhood in search of a reasonably priced barber. This led to the discovery that a simple haircut can cost anywhere from 35 kuai to 95 kuai within less than a square mile. Of course, the nearest shop told us 50, but the guards of our complex said they only paid 25 at the same place.

Obviously, I went with the cheapest I could find. It's a haircut, nothing special. Besides, very few barbers around here have any idea what to do with curly hair.

The conversation around the barber was amusing--all questions were directed at Jia and he made absolutely no attempt to even see if I understood a word of Chinese. Of course, he asked the usual question, "Does he curl his hair?" He was shocked when he found out this kind of hair natural (they don't realize that men outside China do not curl their hair). He proceeded to make attempts at getting more money out of the foreigner. He suggested that I should get a membership card (300 kuai, but gets a 5 kuai discount on all haircuts). He also wanted me to dye my hair. I'm sure he could've thought of plenty more ways to try to earn a few extra kuai, but I would never agree to it. I am of the belief that the ugliest hairstyles in China are on the heads of barbers and, therefore, don't trust their opinions.

Fortunately, this haircut turned out much better than the previous: http://everymanscritic.blogspot.com/2007/06/haircuts.html