December 15, 2005 

China Update #6 by Darrol Butler

Dear Family, Friends, Fellow Students, and Professors: 

Hair Salon Trip # 1      There are many barbershops and hair salons in my neighborhood.  As many of you may know, I rarely have my hair cut in America.  This is not because I don't like having my hair cut, but because I find the prices to be unreasonably high, usually around $12-15 before the $2 tip, for a ten minute trim.   So, one day back in August I decided to go with my American friend Mike, who was visiting me at the time, to get a haircut.  We didn't really know how much it would cost for a haircut, or whether the end result would be stylish or not, but we thought it would be worth the adventure to at least try. When we entered the shop the stylists asked us many questions that we couldn't understand.   We didn't really know how to task them for haircuts or how to explain the kind of styles that we were interested in.  So, using a combination of our dictionaries, the vocabulary we already knew and a plethora of hand signals we did our best to explain what we wanted, all the time knowing that we were unable to communicate effectively our wishes.   We were surprised when the female assistants first had us sit down and then started to give us each a hand, face and head massage.  Following about fifteen minutes of massage the assistants then shampooed our hair before finally handing us over to the hairstylists.   As if this luxury treatment was not enough, we were each given another massage after the haircuts.  The entire experience was very relaxing and pleasurable, which made us both start to worry about the cost of this special treatment.   Our fears were soon allayed however, when we were each asked to pay 25 RMB ($3.12) for our haircuts.  Not only was the price and the service excellent, but our haircuts were also very stylish. 

Hair Salon Trip # 2     Because my facial hair grows so quickly, I have to shave my face everyday in order to maintain a clean-cut look.  However, Beijing 's winter is very cold and I was ready for something different, so I decided this winter I would try something new and retain my facial hair.  I grew my facial hair for about three weeks, but I it turned out to look pretty unattractive.   So, I decided to go back to the shop where my friend Mike and I had gone to have our haircuts, to see if the barbers there could shape my facial hair.   I thought if I had neatly groomed sideburns, and a mustache connecting to a goatee-like beard I would look pretty handsome.  After arriving at the hair salon I used my dictionary to explain to the hairstylist that I wanted to groom my sideburns, mustache and beard to make them look nice.   The stylist told me it would cost 10 RMB ($1.25), and I accepted the price.  I was surprised when he had me lie down on a bed and then began applying shaving soap to my face.   He then used a straight razor to trim my facial hair.  I had expected the stylist to use an electric shaver.  Because I was lying on the bed, I was unable to see how the stylist was grooming my face.  After about fifteen minutes he was done, and signaled for me to stand up.   Of course I was very eager to see my new look.  As I was walking over to the mirror I could hear the other workers and the massage girls saying "Piao liang!" which means beautiful.   I was astonished when I looked in the mirror only to find that he had shaved off all of my facial hair!  Quite apparently our communication had failed, and the stylists had no idea that had been intentionally growing my facial hair for three weeks (going through the various ugly stages), in order to have a neatly groomed face.   It took me a while using gestures, my dictionary and the vocabulary I already know, but I was finally able to explain to them that I had intended to have the stylist shape my facial hair, not cut if off.   After that everyone in the shop laughed a lot.  It was very funny.  The barber explained that he was sorry, but I told him not to worry, and thanked him for making my face good looking again.   Then we all laughed some more, and I left. 

Until the next email update, take care, and thanks for reading, 

Darrol Butler

戴龙
Dai   Long 

My Chinese name is Dai Long  戴龙

戴 (Dai) is a Chinese surname and has no meaning. 龙 (Long) is a Chinese given name that means dragon. 

hairyleprechaun@gmail.com 

My address in China:
Darrol Butler
Beijing Shi Hai Dian Qu Shang Di Nan Lu
14 Hao Yuan 203 Shi 100085
China