11/18/2023 0 Comments Kami kami salon![]() “It’s definitely very familiar and comforting every time I walk in.” “There’s always a fun mix of Chinese pop songs playing, and I’m like, ‘Hey, I recognize some of these from when my mom would play these in the car,’” Li says. In addition to the staff, the general atmosphere of Kami feels welcoming for Asian students like Li. It’s one of the rare instances away from home where I get to do it and not feel weird.” “By now they recognize me, so everyone will say hi,” Li says. ![]() He usually calls ahead to make sure Yeung is available when he goes in for a haircut, as they’ve built up a steady barber-client relationship since his first year. Li’s preferred barber at Kami is Ken Yeung. “Li has been a loyal customer of Kami since his freshman year and, as a member of the Refresh Dance Crew and Fusion Dance Company, has taken four of his first-year dance team members to get their hair done at the salon in the past year. It’s just really fun to see because they’re still keeping this close community outside of wherever they’re from.” Weinberg second-year Aaron Zheng “Usually when I go in, there’s two or three other really old people who speak a variation of Cantonese that I don’t understand. “Anyone who’s been on campus for at least a year, I would bet a decent amount of money that at least 75% of them, if they’re Asian guys specifically, will go to Kami or have been at least once,” says McCormick fourth-year Alex Li. His experience with haircuts given by white people led him to the conclusion that “White people suck at giving haircuts.” He chalks it up to their lack of familiarity with Asian hairstyles and textures, since Asian hair tends to be thicker.įor students that don’t want to make the trek to Chinatown, the Asian-owned Kami Salon in Evanston is a closer option, particularly for students that want to maintain shorter hair styles. (photo by Victoria Benefield)Īlthough Joe Moy’s haircuts aren’t always perfect, Zheng prefers them to the non-Asian salons he used to go to when attending high school in Pennsylvania. ![]() ![]() “It’s just really fun to see because they’re still keeping this close community outside of wherever they’re from.”īarbers at Kami Salon are busy at work on May 28. “Usually when I go in, there’s two or three other really old people who speak a variation of Cantonese that I don’t understand,” Zheng says. It’s a two-person operation: The wife washes customers’ hair, and the husband does the haircut. As he puts it, “You walk in, and it looks shitty.” Joe Moy’s dilapidated storefront might seems unwelcoming, but the married couple that runs it has a wealth of experience and Chinese familiarity. Unlike most mainstream businesses, some Chinese places give off an unappealing first impression, says Zheng. Zheng had already been biking to Chinatown for the Chinese food, but after realizing his need for a haircut and a bit of Googling, he decided to try out Joe Moy’s Hair Salon. They function as cultural cornerstones where Asian Northwestern students can freely speak a language other than English, listen to Asian pop music and benefit from the expertise of a stylist familiar with Asian hairstyles. To Zheng, it’s not just about the quality of the cut it’s also about the comfort of entering a bubble of Asian culture.Īlthough Asian hair types, textures and styles might not be strikingly different from stereotypically white hair types, there’s something special about Asian hair salons that non-Asian ones can’t replicate. “Whereas it doesn’t matter the quality of the Chinese barberstore, it’s always going to be ‘Oh, what style do you want, how do you like it?’” “When you walk into an American barberstore, it’s just, ‘What size do you want, do you want a fade or do you not want a fade?’” Zheng says. BY JULIANNE SUNĮver since Weinberg second-year Aaron Zheng arrived on campus last year, he has hopped on his bike every few weeks to make the 14-mile, hour-long journey to Chinatown for a haircut at the local salon. The culture behind the cut Asian students find cultural connections and affordable haircuts at Evanston and Chicago salons.
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