One of the things you have to get used to while living in the bush is the lack of certain things you’ve taken for granted all your life. For example, there are no restaurants, no paved roads and no barber shops (we have phones, lights and motor cars though). So, like many other things in the village, you’ve got to learn to do for yourself. It’s been over 2 months since my last haircut and I was definitely overdue.

Unfortunately for me, my last shipment from drugstore.com which contained my clippers, toilet paper, paper towels and Kleenex took a month to arrive. When it came today, I was determined that tonight was the night to give myself my very first haircut. There was no sheet whirled around me by a barber, no hot foam on the back of the neck for use with a straight razor and no wraparound mirror. Instead, there was just me, a pair of clippers, a bathroom floor and small mirror.

Needless to say, it isn’t the most glamourous looking haircut – in fact, my first thought after getting it even was, “Did I just pass out and join the Marines?” But, it’s definitely not long and unmanageable anymore; in fact – I fit in with my students pretty well.