Barbershop 3: There are no more barbershops

My hair hadn't been this long since I was about 12 years old. I looked like Paul McCartney in the 1960s, or anybody from the 1960s for that matter. So I decided to get a haircut. Tough thing to do in any new place, but especially in a new country where nobody speaks your language.

So I walked over to a salon that was on the way to my school. I walked in and two women quickly ran to my side. I pointed to my head and made a cutting motion with my 2 fingers. So far, so good. But I didn't really know how to get across how I wanted my hair cut. I didn't have any pictures I could show them in my wallet. That's another thing I need. More pictures of myself or friends in my wallet. All I have is a McDonalds Big Mac Combo card, a Fordham University printing card and a couple terrible fake ids. All pretty much useless, besides the Combo.

Anyway, I asked the two eager women if they had pictures. They didn't really comprehend. Then I saw a picture book with hairstyles for men. I grabbed it and started leafing through the pages. There was absolutely nothing that I liked. In most pictures it seemed like the there was hair added to the man's head instead of taken off. Above is an example of what I saw. Might be able to pull it off without the orange tinge, but didn't know if I wanted to take that extra 20 minutes in the shower to clean it.

So I just told them "short," and made cutting motions again with my fingers. Then they said "ok, short, yes" One woman then proceeded to cut my hair. The other woman kind of circled around sweeping up falling hair as it landed on my face. It was a pretty good system. They were done in about 10 minutes. I could probably count the number of hairs she cut off my head. About 120-140. Nothing. I look almost exactly the same. Instead of getting into another awkward, strained convo with them, I paid the 8 dollars and left. Eight dollars and no tip. No tip because there is no tipping in Korea. Every American's dream.

Don't think I'll go back to this place. Probably just let my hair grow out like Manny and braid it up. Are there no barbershops in Korea? Where's Ice Cube and Cedric the Entertainer when you need them?