The Hairstylist

Go into an American barbershop + you'll hear the normal banter about sports, the weather, local news. @ a Korean hair salon, it's a different story. The only noise you'll hear is snip, snip.

So for an Amerifob like me (a Korean-American who can't speak Korean very well) it's a perfect excuse to just sit there + not have to talk.

Yesterday, we're in the Chicago suburbs @ my friend's favorite hair salon. It's a classy lookin joint, as Korean hair places tend to be. Studio lighting. The stylists are dressed in black. The mirrors are wavy, the furniture new-agey. The chairs raise @ the touch of a buttom, smoother than my van's power seats.

Did I mention that I hate speaking in Korean? Unless it's to my mom. Because she always seems to understand what I'm trying to say, no matter how bad I sound. But even when I'm talking to a little Korean kid, I get self-conscious.

+ did I mention my hairstylist is a girl? And she's kinda cute too. I bite my upper lip. Definitely not gonna say anything to her in Korean + look like an idiot.

She looks a little older than me. Hair dyed light brown, kinda wavy. Wearing an expensive-lookin droopy green blouse. Eyeshadow matches her black pants. A ebony necklace + a big leather belt cinched high on her waist. If she were American she'd be smackin on gum, don't care about anythin hun. But no, she's a good Korean girl so she'll be polite + pretend to give you her attention.

She asks me how I want my hair cut. In Korean.

"Uh…just short. Along the sides. Short OK. Just trim. I not picky."

That's the gist of what I was stuttering in Korean. She nods + starts to snip away. Whew. What a relief. Now I can just shut up + get my hair cut.

I look @ her snipping away. + I wonder what her life story is. What she's doing in Chicago. What her family situation is like. What her relationship w/ God is like. I wonder who's really there, behind this façade of a nonchalant hairstylist.

Well too bad I'll never know, I think to myself. I guess somebody else who's fluent in Korean will hafta find out.

I can't even explain how to cut my hair to her. + even if she were good @ English, she's not my type anyway.

Wait. Why did I just think that? What is my "type"?

+ why does that even matter?

Why can't I witness to someone who I think is attractive?

Or witness to someone I'm not attracted to @ all?

When I look @ a girl…am I trying to get her for myself, or do I want her for Christ?

I realized, that I couldn't have both. If I'm always thinking about what I want, then I will be missing out on what Jesus wants. + that includes kinda attractive Korean hairstylists.

+ looking at this girl I realize, that Jesus wants her. + no matter what I feel about her, that's the only thing that matters.

I pray. + somehow my nervousness subsides. My tongue loosens up. + in the midst of the scissors snipping and hair dryers buzzing, I start conversating in Korean w/ a complete stranger.

How long has it been since you came to America? I ask.

A few months, she says.

How do you like it?

It's kinda lonely. I don't have a lot of friends.

(silence)

Do you live around here? I ask.

Yeah, with my family, she answers.

(I'm praying real hard here).

So…do you go to church?

No. I haven't gone in a long time, cuz I work on Sundays.

Oh. Do you get a day off?

Yeah, Tuesdays.

(I think about cracking a joke about finding a church that worships on Tuesdays, but I realize my Korean vocabulary can't handle such complicated jokes).

Well, I say, when I was living in New York, I was pretty lonely too. I didn't have a lot of friends, either. But when I started going back to church, I found a lot of good friends. You should try to find a church too.

Yeah, she says. I probably should.

Snip, snip.

She's done. She takes me to the back + shampoos my hair (it's one of those fancy places). She says her name is Yuri. She smiles. I pay the $15 + give her a tip + then een-sah (bow). I walk out into the cold winter air with my wet, just-washed hair.

The last time I studied Korean hard, was in college. I had a crush on a Korean noona (older girl) I was tutoring. So I bought a cell phone to call her with, a Korean-English dictionary to woo her with. But after she explained that Korean girls don't date younger guys, I haven't cared about my Korean since. I have no use for it, really, except when I call my mom. Or crack jokes w/ my Korean buddies. Or try to impress the older folks @ church.

It's been a really long time since I've cracked open my Korean comic books or the easy translation of the Korean bible. But maybe tonight, it's time to start brushing up on my Korean again.

"Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him." (Luke 19:26)

"Every new disclosure of the Savior's love turns the balance for some soul in one direction or another." -Ellen White