Feeling Lightheaded

Tonight I got a haircut. Went to a really nice place in a really nice part of town. Cost me a whopping five dollars. Of course, to ensure they gave me my money’s worth, they took their sweet time. Managed to squeeze a trim into an hour. Unbelievable. My hair was honestly done after, like, five minutes. So for the next 45 minutes, he walked round and round my hair, trimming and snipping, first with the trimming scissors, then with the regular scissors, then with the electric razor, then back to the trimmers. I can’t even explain it. There was no visible change in my hair’s appearance for 45 minutes, but he continued his nitpicking. My legs were falling asleep, I was starting to sweat, and they were playing the same excruciatingly annoying song on a loop.

I know, poor me – I really am a kindergartener about having to sit still for a long time (my wife had to reward me with McDonald’s afterwards). It’s funny. Usually, the most agonizing moments in a cultural experience aren’t the inconveniences. It’s the “luxuries” of it all, or the times that people are trying to do you a favor, that really make you want to pull your hair out (and save yourself five dollars in the process).

I’ve never been to hair-cutting school, but they do it quite a bit differently here, apparently. They always thin your hair. Always. That’s just kind of how they cut it. They thin it until the pile of hair on your head is as small as you want it. Or ’til you can see your scalp. Whichever comes first. Kinda strange, ‘cuz it leaves all your hair different lengths, but my head feels strangely lighter.

Next week’s a big holiday for China – their national independence kind of day. So, no school and a lot of students are taking off for the week to visit family or friends. Seems like a lot of people won’t be able to come for our Bible study tomorrow at our new place. But I’m excited about continuing our study on the amazing death of Jesus. There’s a couple students in particular that I’m praying for this study to impact. Chairs are supposed to arrive tomorrow… sometime.

And my wife is feeling really sick lately. Thinks it’s something she ate. Hardly worth trying to figure out what it was, there’s so many possibilities. We talked to a doctor who thinks it might be a parasite. So pray for her, she’s pretty miserable.

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