Hujambo!

snake-sugar
Alan volunteering with VSO in Tala, Kenya

The Best Fifty Cents I Ever Spent…

… was definitely not on a haircut. Fifty cents on a lollipop or a pack of gum, sure, but not for something as precious as the Jesus hair. Even today as I walked towards my hairless doom I was asked if I was a Jew from Israel (like Jesus). Well it will be a long time before anyone makes that mistake again!

At least it was cheap!

Every week and a half or so I cruise to the kinyozi (barber shop) and get my beard trimmed for about thirty cents; it’s a good deal and they do a great job. Because my hair is getting to be too long, I asked if he’d be able to cut my hair and he enthusiastically said, “Yes! I can do it.” After a few rounds of “Really? Are you sure?” I decided I’d go for it. How bad could it be?

Pretty bad, it turns out. Already wary of African hair cutting technique because of Sara’s experience earlier this year, I spent a few minutes explaining what I wanted done: no “style,” just a trim, and basically “make it look like it would have two months ago.” You know, cut a quarter inch here, half inch there. I handed him the pair of hair cutting scissors I had brought, and he started snipping away! I asked if he wanted to get it wet and he said, “No, it must be dry.” And then he resumed grabbing large areas of hair and cutting. One inch here, one and a half there…

So “A” for effort, but… I think I might do it myself next time. hahaha!

6 Comments so far

  1. Sara UNITED STATES April 26th, 2008 10:02 am

    I was wrong… men care a lot about their hair, too. You just probably won’t hear about it until they get a bad haircut. I guess this means a free haircut is better than a 50 cent one ;) (I should hope so)

  2. ghani UNITED STATES April 26th, 2008 10:29 am

    you cut your hair, no!!! why would you do such things. miss you man. its your boy Ghani

  3. Erdost UNITED STATES April 26th, 2008 10:58 am

    Come on man, you are exaggerating it. It doesn’t look too bad. Take care of yourself.

  4. Mom UNITED STATES April 27th, 2008 6:10 pm

    As I have always said, “Shave it off.” A buzz would be better!
    Mom

  5. Kristi UNITED STATES April 28th, 2008 7:36 pm

    Yes! Shave it… but put sunblock on your head if you do!

  6. Dave F UNITED STATES May 3rd, 2008 6:28 pm

    Dude, I recognized you right away. You are not your hair; you are your heart. It’s still as big and kind and loving as ever. Hair to your toes, no hair at all, or the hairiest ass in Africa, no matter. I still love you and miss you.

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