Well, as promised here is the long awaited sequel to “the haircut”…

Today I ventured back to my “local” shops and my trusty barber Mr. Liu, as usual we conversed by sign language, but being the consumate professional he is this was no barrier to Mr. Liu’s tonsorial efforts and I emerged from his chair suitably remodeled and ready for another two weeks in Shanghai!

I have to admit that Mr. Liu was rather perplexed as to why I should need to take a photograph of myself in the barber’s chair and my sign language failed to convey my message that I had no intention of legal action….

The relative difficulty of being a foreigner in Shanghai is personified for me by the relatively simple task of getting a haircut.  In Sydney, where my home is, a haircut is a pleasant experience that I usually indulge in about every two weeks with a short walk up to the shops on Johnson Street, in the inner west suburb of Annandale, where I can chat with my Italian barber Enrico as he cuts my hair. I then pop next door and get a nice coffee followed by the nearby bakers to buy a sausage roll for my dog….

The only difficulty involved in this whole process is making sure I time it right to be there after the midday customers have dried up and before the arrival of the school kids!

In Shanghai on the other hand I am faced with the choice of paying the exhorbitant charges at Toni & Guy in nearby Xintiandi if I want to converse in basic English or risk it all with a visit to the local Chinese barber…

Being follically challenged, I cannot bring myself to pay the Toni & Guy prices, so I go for 10 RMB (A$2) option at the local barber. But there are no free lunches in this world and the fact that the barber’s grasp of the English language matches my abilities in Mandarin, means that sign language is the order of the day. The obvious problem with that if I fail to communicate my requirements properly I wear the consequences for the next few weeks!

 I am due for a visit to the barber later this week so I’ll attempt to capture the essence of this tonsorial experience with my camera – so stay tuned for the next thrilling installment…

It’s now the middle of October 2008 and I have been based here in Shanghai since March and has took me this long to complete the entry I started the first week I arrived….

My name is Don Silcock and I am on a special assignment in China for about a year. I was full of good intentions when I got here and intended to blog at least once a week, but was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the challenge I realized I had taken on.

Seven months later I just about have my head above water and intend to get back on to my original plan and document my experiences here in China.