Kyrgyz Hair Cut

When I was in Kyrgyzstan, I realized that my hair was getting a bit long and shaggy. I found out, much to my delight, that a haircut would run me only 30 Som (75 cents), which is a far cry from the $13 or so that it would cost me in Moscow. Plus, I remember once watching a Lonely Planet Globetrekker video (one of THE best travel shows I have even encountered) where a guy was talking about the cultural experience it can be to get a haircut in a foreign land.

Well, it certainly turned out to be an adventure! I told the Kyrgyz girl cutting my hair (do you notice the big smile on my face? It would soon be replaced by a look of shock!) in Russian that I wanted it to be 2-3 centimeters on the top, and 1 cm. on the side. She asked me a few times, “Are you sure that’s what you want?” and I reassured her by restating it again, that it was what I did want. They even showed me a picture on the wall of the haircut that I was going to get, and it looked like what I wanted. Well, lesson #1 is this: when speaking your second language to someone who is listening in their second language miscommunication is likely. Lesson #2 is this: don’t agree to a picture with your glasses off!

All told, it ended up that I got a buzz job. VERY short, but thankfully it is only hair, and that I’m a guy, and so a buzz cut isn’t the end of the world. Heck, even Sigourney Weaver and Demi Moore have had buzz cuts, so this isn’t so bad!

The below picture shows me with fellow missionary Bob Pfeil in Bishkek with our contrasting hair lengths, not only on the top of our heads, but on our chins as well!