I'll Take A Tattoo And A Haircut

Woohoo! I'm on day three of a four day weekend, plus its Carnivale down hear in the islands! Party! Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it?....and that's because it is. Looming in the near future are three big exams for us First Semesters; this upcoming Tuesday we have a histology practical and an anatomy practical followed by Mini I Part II the very next day. So as tempting as a four day weekend sounds in the Caribbean, this one couldn't be more of a buzzkill. But despite these upcoming events, I do have some exciting news.

I got my first......haircut. Sorry to disappoint, but to get your first haircut down here is kind of a big deal. They don't really have hair salons or barbers. Nope, there are no Supercuts, Great Clips, Master Cuts, Fantastic Sams, what have you...they don't exist down here. Instead, there are individuals that cut hair, amongst other things. They don't need to get a license from a cosmetology school or anything; all they need is a reputation. And I had heard from a few other guys that Benji's was the place to go for a good haircut. So that's where I went. I walked all the way to Benji's in the sweltering heat only to find out that he was out to lunch and nobody knew when he would be back. Okay, now what? Well, I had heard from a few other people about this place near a restaurant named Tulips. So I went there and found myself staring at some painted words on the outside of an apartment that read, "Chen's Tattoos and Haircuts." Hmmm, maybe I could let my hair grow out a little bit. It crossed my mind, but my heart was set on getting a haircut. So I opened the front screen door and stepped into....a living room? Yep, I walked into a living room that was connected to a kitchen where, lo and behold, was Chen and his wife eating lunch watching Chinese soap operas streaming on their computer. After (I'm assuming his name was Chen; I guess I never really even asked) Chen reassured me that this was indeed a place that I could get a haircut, he directed me toward a swivel chair in the living room that was next to a table that had a mirror resting against the wall on it. Even though their apartment was absolutely stifling because they didn't have any air conditioning, Chen insisted that I put on the impenetrable-yet-I-always-get-hair-in-my-shirt-anyway smock, which made me sweat even more. Then he began to cut. He used one razor to shave the sides of my head and to fade the length all the way to the top. But in order to get that perfect blend from the one inch long hair on top to the short sides, he swung the razor through the air, just barely grazing the tips of my hair. If I would have leaned to the side that he was blending by just a quarter of an inch, I would have been rewarded with a bald spot. And then to trim up the neckline and sideburns, he used a straight edge razor (I'm not used to that back in the good ole US of A). After all was said and done, it didn't look too shabby, and now I'm feeling fresh and clean. Plus it was only $15 EC (~$6 US). Meanwhile, his wife was still eating in the kitchen watching her husband cut my hair (awkward). 

Well, that's all I really have for you today, since most of my time in the recent past has been spent studying, but I hope it was entertaining nonetheless. 

P.S. Pictures of my new tattoo are pending. Stay tuned.