When you have short hair (I'm learning), it is important to make frequent hair appointments as letting it grow out a couple inches transforms a chic, edgy look into a slobbish mess. Some other Westerners suggested salons where English was well spoken and understood. However, since bus and subway rides were involved, I opted to go to a local shop that is a 5 minute walk from my apartment (including waiting for the elevator and walking up two flights of stairs). Did my laziness pay off? I'd say so. And I got a neat little story out of it too.
So I walk into Juno Hair Salon and am instantly spotted by every Korean in the shop (the norm). A young girl comes to the counter to help me, and I do my normal freeze, stare, purse my lips, and shake my head. I grab a strand of hair and make a sideways peace sign, chopping it with my fingers, and say, "cut?" A young man came over to me and led me to the waiting area. I see a white guy waiting too and think "Thank God. Maybe he can help me. Surely he's done this before." My next thought is, "He'll hear me trying to communicate with them. This is going to be humiliating." I typically don't mind making a fool of myself in front of Koreans because they can't understand what I'm saying anyway. But sounding like an idiot in front of someone that can understand your language... ugh, as if I'm not awkward enough on my own. So this white guy is sitting with a Korean American girl (I know this because she is talking perfect English with an American accent), and I think, "Jackpot!" The young man that seats me starts saying something that ends with "tea." And I did my stare and freeze movement again. He then simply said, "Tea?" I'm still speechless. I'm so used to never understanding Koreans (except at school) that I don't even understand when they are speaking my OWN language to me. I look to my right to the Korean American girl, and ask, "Do you know how to ask for a haircut?" She responds, "Yeah. But he's asking you if you want tea," rolling her eyes on the inside, I'm sure. How stupid can you be? They try to speak English to you and you just give them a blank stare! Now I'm feeling legitimately dumb. You have a college degree. You've traveled the world. Come on. I decline the offer of tea because I feel that I've been a burden enough in making him wait for an answer. A man sits down next to me to discuss what I want with my hair. He has a book in hand, and we flip through it together. I find a couple pictures I like. He sputters some words in English like, "bob cut, short in back, and A-line." I'm thinking we're in business now. This will work. A different young girl washes my hair, adding a bit of a scalp massage in the mix. She brings me back to my hair dresser's chair. He tells me his name is Sun-il, and we chat in broken English, using key words like, "Me. America. Here for 2 months," as I hold up two fingers to make sure he understands. He tells me that his friend lives in Canada and wishes he would move there because there are no good hair dressers in Canada. We laugh. He tells me he dreams small: small city, America, cut hair. I say he should move to St. Louis, and he can cut my hair when I move home. We laugh. All the while he does a funky flip move with the scissors, holding them backwards as he cuts. I do a lot of laughing and alternating between saying, "Yeah," and "Ne," which is Korean for "yes," because giving blank stares don't seem to get me anywhere. He asks me if I want my neck "clean," and I ask him, "green?" He makes a buzzing noise at my neck, and I realize that he's cut it so short that he needs to buzz my neck a bit (not the first time this has happened). He calls for a young man to get his the clippers which are in the cabinet at his station. It's funny--they have hair washers, tea servers, clipper retrievers, and even hair dryers. I tell him I have to leave for work soon so he and another girl blow me dry, he cuts a little more, styles, adds some goop, and brings me to the counter to pay. They give me a card for a 10% discount for my next visit. I try to ad a tip to my card, but the lady ringing me up doesn't understand. I paid 22,000 won, which is something like US$20. Not bad. And, hey, I got a neat little story out of it.
xx
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