The Epic Haircut

My weekend began on Friday when I attended a class for fun called War and Society. The lecturer will soon discuss the South African War (i.e. the Anglo-Boer War), and I’ll also sit in for those sessions. Mike and Carolyn – two my many Princeton friends – arrived late because they saw Slumdog Millionaire at 9:15 Friday morning – the film’s first commercial screening in South Africa. I opted to sleep in rather than watch a movie so early.

I walked across the lecture theatre to see Mike after class and he told me he was having lunch with Laura, the president of the University of Cape Town History and Current Affairs society. Deborah, another Princeton friend, and I grabbed chicken samosas and joined Mike and Laura for lunch. We had a great conversation about the nearly 300 American students at UCT, American elections, South African elections, the UCT campus publications and more.

We parted ways by a quarter past two, and I took the UCT student shuttle – called the Jammie Shuttle – to the Cavendish Mall in Claremont (a 5 minute bus ride). The Cavendish Mall consists of four stories of upscale shopping and a large Woolworth’s department store as the anchor. I arrived at the mall to get a desperately needed haircut, and I found a fantastic store called Edge for Men. I put my name on the list for a hair appointment 16h00.

Meanwhile, I went shopping for a gift for Mike’s birthday party that evening. I found a children’s book about animals written in Xhosa, the native language of most blacks residing in the Western Cape. Since Mike is learning Xhosa at UCT, I thought he’d like to test his comprehension with a colourful Xhosa children’s book. The cashier was so kind as to wrap the book in gift-wrap.

My next stop was the Look and Listen music shop. I bought a CD by a South African reggae artist named Lucky Dube. His music provides uplifting and optimistic sentiments for many South Africans. I am enjoying it already.

I walked over to Mr. Price to buy some dish and hand towels just before my appointment. Finally, it was time to get back to Edge for Men for an unforgettable haircutting experience. The associate first asked me what I’d like to drink. I’ve had my hair cut hundreds of times, and no one has ever asked me what I’d like to drink at Supercuts. Not once. I said I’d like to drink some ice water, and the associate produced a lovely glass of chilled ice water.

Before I could take my first sip, I met the stylist and explained what I’d like her to do with my hair. A new associate asked me to follow her for shampooing. After she washed my hair, I returned for the haircut. For me, I really cannot see anything during a haircut because my glasses are off, so I just looked dumbly into space and smiled. She stopped cutting my hair and instructed me to return for rinsing. An associate washed my hair a second time, and massaged my scalp. I have never been so pampered at a salon in my life. After the scalp massage ended, I returned to the chair and sipped my water. The stylist applied hair gel and pronounced the haircut complete.

The total cost: the astonishing equivalent of $13!! I could not even get a cut for $13 stateside, let alone two shampoos, a drink and a scalp massage.