Haircuts
February 12, 2007
Strangely enough one of my least favorite things to do in Japan is to get a haircut. It is one of my more uncomfortable events that I have to put up with once every one or two months depending on my level of laziness.
The salon I go to is just around the corner from where I live and they have this hip and trendy feel to it. I am the antithesis of hip and cool. More obvious is my non-native use of the language. I’m still having trouble understanding the kinds of questions people ask in hair salons simply because they’re so low frequency. Also, the guy that usually cuts my hair tends to speak rather quietly – just adding to my list of worries.
When he whispers and asks me how I want my hair I usually just tell him “the same as before” but sometimes he doesn’t understand and then proceeds to show me the hairstyle catalogs and questions me on length of each hair that I’d like. Usually I can tell him what I want but end up feeling so embarrassed in the process. I then start sweating like I’m about to get an enema and the vinyl sheets they use to cover people up isn’t exactly the best conductors of embarrassment heat.
Just as my body runs out of water to sweat out, the ordeal ends and the best part comes next. I pay my expensive dues and give my thanks and at that point is the longest possible amount of time before my next visit to the hair salon.
