I once spent $35.00 on a haircut in a shopping mall. Aside from the fact it was a particularly bad haircut, its always bothered me. Until that day, I don’t think I ever spent more than $12.00, and I know I never got a cut in a mall — other than a strip mall. In my defense, I really needed a haircut and my normal barber was closed — as were two others. It still stings. Just too much to pay for something that I normally got at  1/3 the price.

After six weeks here in Afghanistan I was feeling the need for a trim. I had a sweet little rat tail growing in the back — and I was starting to feel like it was 1985. But after spending Easter Sunday with a classmate of mine from VMI – Maj. John Wilcox — and several hundred other troops at ISAF’s headquarters – I really felt the need for a cut. But where to go, and just how much would I pay?

Several friends suggested getting a cut at UNICA  – it’s one of the many UN compounds in Kabul. But it was closed. So I decided to try my luck with a local Afghan barber. Fortunately, there was a shop one block from UNICA, and they even had a sign in English. I figured that was a good start.

At this point, I am pretty accustomed to the looks I get from local Afghans when I am out and about. But rarely, have I seen Afghans look as surprised as they were, when I walked into their shop. Judging by the 10 minutes we spent trying to communicate, I am willing to bet I was the first Westerner to sit in their chair. Getting nowhere, we finally just gave up and the barber started to chop away.

As I am sitting in the chair, Afghans of all ages are looking in. Another sign this is a first. It’s a little nerve racking to have that many people watching while someone you don’t know has scissors near your head. But it was even more unnerving, when the barber broke out a straight razor to clean up the back of my neck.

This is a  process I am not comfortable with even in the US — the scene  from “The Untouchables” still sticks in my mind when Al Capone (Robert De Niro) is getting a shave and is cut by his barber. But throw in the sights and sounds of Afghanistan and its even more unsettling. At one point I looked down at my hands, and they were white from gripping the arms of the chair.

I am happy to report, no blood was spilled  in the making of this blog post, and I am fine. The haircut is OK too. And at 300 Afs ($6.00), it was far cheaper than my $35.00 special — which would have cost me 1,800Afs.

I will take my Afghan barber over my shopping mall cut anyday. Unfortunatley, I don’t think there will be a next time. After I paid, he passed me a resume and asked if I could help him get a job. I guess trimming hair isn’t paying the bills — he should charge more.