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A decade ago, I was sent for a two-month business trip to China. I didn't have a valid passport (didn't need it within EU/Schengen Area) and had to make one in
by TeMPOraL 2y ago
A decade ago, I was sent for a two-month business trip to China. I didn't have a valid passport (didn't need it within EU/Schengen Area) and had to make one in a hurry. I went to take my photo unkempt but freshly shaved. While in China, I didn't bother shaving, but I did get myself a haircut, that left me almost bald (communication mishap). One month in, I had to spend a weekend in Hong Kong to renew the work visa. On my way back, I happily handed my passport to the border control officer, and then spent terrifying 15 minutes trying to convince him, his colleague and then his superior, that the clean-shaved unkempt person in the photo and the near-bald, bearded person in front of them, are in fact the same person.
- jll29 2y agoThat's hillarious. Any chance you remember what you said to the Chinese hairdresser versus what you should have said to protect fellow HNers from such a mishap? 像往常一樣短 請把鬍子刮乾淨 我想要比較短的 禿得像個嬰兒的屁股 ?
- stavros 2y agoI just gesticulated wildly towards my head while making the "scissors" hand sign and loudly and slowly saying "HAIRCUT". I have no idea how that was misconstrued.
- garaetjjte 2y agoHuh? That also happened to you?
- stavros 2y agoNo, I was being facetious hoping people wouldn't look at the username :P
- thaumasiotes 2y agoWhen I've needed haircuts in China, I've always had someone take me to a barber. Problem solved. In one case, I was walking in a shopping area, someone approached me looking to sell souvenir artwork, I explained that while I didn't need that I was looking for a haircut, and she offered to take me to a barber provided I bought a picture. Everybody wins.
- TeMPOraL 2y agoI thought myself to be smart, so with help of Google Translate, I found the Chinese characters that were supposed to spell "3 cm"[0]. I copied them down, and in the barbershop, I proudly showed them to the barber, who nodded and invited me to the chair. The guy was stellar, but halfway through the cutting it dawned on me something is wrong. Turns out, what I thought was "cm" was actually spelling "mm"! He would've likely double-checked with me if I tried to spell this out at the shop[1], but apparently I came across as someone who really knew what they want, coming in confidently with the order already precisely written in Chinese and all. Lesson learned. I still think the idea was good, and I'd still go for giving explicit length (it's a natural fit, as it translates to cutting head numbers for the electric hair cutters). I'd just triple-check it next time, and not act like I have it all figured out. -- [0] - Or thereabouts; I'm sure about the unit, but the exact number might've been something else between 2 and 6. [1] - The barber didn't know English, but knew the metric system and arabic numerals, so we've confirmed the misunderstanding with pen and paper.
- BLKNSLVR 2y agoCould you have turned your face upside down? (or hold the passport photo upside down)
- TeMPOraL 2y agoI may or may not have handed it upside down; unfortunately, passports have other features around the photo that help the guard know the officially correct orientation...
- philsnow 2y agoThe brain has specific face-recognition machinery that mostly only works with face-up faces. It can be easier to objectively decide whether two photographs are of the same person if they are presented upside-down or sideways.
- iJohnDoe 2y agoThat’s hilarious. Thanks for sharing.
- wodenokoto 2y agoI had a similar experience where I had grown my beard and cut my hair since getting my passport - not over month, but years. I had trouble in Taiwan, and a manager was called. Looked at me for two seconds and said "Europeans", and they let me through.