Soap My Ears and I'll Follow You Anywhere

Only a couple days before I left, I had one of the best experiences of my time in Moshi. I left for Tanzania having already not had a proper haircut for sometime. After dealing with the scraggly look for six weeks, I finally decided I needed to take care of it. I was very sceptical as to how the haircut would turn out, as I assumed that not many Tanzanian barbers have dealt with ‘white people’ hair before.

The barber shop my local friends took me too looked like one straight out of a Spike Lee movie from the 80’s. I showed them a picture of what I wanted done (courtesy my Health Card), and he went to work. He cut all of my hair with clippers, just varying the number from the side, to the mid-side, to the top. Hakuna scissors. At the end, they spray your hair with olive oil instead of using some sort of product like gel or wax, weird by our standards but it doesn’t really make much of a difference. I was pretty pleased with the outcome, but they weren’t done there. I then got a straight-razor shave from my barber. After he was finished he passed me off to one of the girls there, and this is when I started to regret not going this every single week I’d ever been in Moshi. First, she washed my hair. Sounds simple enough, but when they wash your hair they get all up in the ears and go to town on your scalp. It was awesome. Next, she wiped my face and neck off with a hot, moist towel, like the ones you get on the airplane. After the airplane towel treatment came the best part – a head, face, neck, shoulders and chest massage complete with oils. I have never had a chest massage before, but I’m now convinced it’s the best kind. All this for the equivalent of $3.50. I’m thinking about missing my flight to Toronto and hoping on the next plane back to Moshi so I can marry this girl. Haha.

..One more reason to come back at a later date. :-)