A Room with a Japanese View :: Haircuts Culture Personal Narrative Papers

A Room with a Japanese ViewIts the wee hours of Saturday morning in a quiet all female low-rise dorm agency at NDSU. Residents are either sleeping soundly or place having a good time some place off campus. hardly in one dorm room a social garner is in full lilt. Im not talking ab turn up a swing dance either. As I walk down my motel-looking dorm hallway, I hear a males part with a sharp and harsh intonation. I pause in cause of the door for a second, my curiosity piqued. on that point is silence for a moment and then I hear the voice again and I realize its not English, but Japanese. I work down the hall, shuffling in my slippers, not wanting to be an eavesdropper. On my return I hear a loud electric razor coming from the same room. Again I pause in front of the wooden door, brightly dressd with two nametags, Yoko and Michelle, made by the germinal RAs of our dorm (All names are pseudonyms). Whats going on in there, I wonder. I see Yoko weekly at the Internationa l student Association meeting, but only know that shes from Japan and is here to decide English. I knock at the door, still hearing the razor and voices in the background. The door pops open and Im greeted by a petite Japanese girl with dyed brown hair. Its Yoko. She invites me in and I see the the great unwashed of different sized shoes near the door. My Hong Kong etiquette that I learned when I lived overseas with my family comes back to me and I promptly take off my shoes. To my left hand I see Kiyo, a tall Japanese guy with high hair, standing behind Watashi, who is quietly sitting down with a black dribble bag covering his upper body. There are garbage bags covering the floor around them and short pieces of black hair decorate the dark plastic. The haircutter and haircutee dont say much to me. Watashi just says hi when I come in the door and then looks down to stop getting freshly clipped hair in his brown eyes. Yoko walks towards them and checks out the pr ogress. Cutting hair in the dorms is something one doesnt see often. I dont think most guys cut their hair in the dorms like this.