Terminal Barbershop

      I visited Terminal Barbershop. I frequently go there to get my hair cut. When I learned we had to research about "borders" I immediately thought of my barbershop. This is because whenever I go, I hear multiple languages spoken between both the barbers and the customers. These languages include Spanish, Albanian, Turkish, & Arabic. When I went on Monday to get my hair cut I interviewed the barber who always cuts my hair. His name is Naz. Naz is from Albany and his parents moved the family here to Phoenix in 1999. His fellow barbers are Mexican, Arab, Turkish, Albanian, & Belizean. Although, most of them are Arabs. Whether a customer is sitting in the chair or waiting for their turn, they can hear each barber speaking one of these languageseither to eachotheror their customer.

      Customers also hear diverse music when getting their hair cut. When I visited on Monday they played both rap & Arabic music. During previous visits I've heard other genres as well such as Pop and Latin. 

      This barbershop is a great exampleof diffrent migrant cultures gathering outside their home country. The article "A Mexcan Town that Transcends All Borders" by Deborah Sontag explains that the Mexican town ofChnantla has a strong migrant community in the US. I thought of this article when visiting Terminal Barbershop because I could see that each barber brought a piece of their home country to the shop. Although they have their own migrant communities outside of the barbershop, barbers from diffrent migrant communities and backgrounds come to one place to bond over and share their love for cutting hair. I believe this place is important because it is where they can also come to bond over their shair experience of being migrants or children of immigrant parents. They do this through the music they play & the languages they speak.

      A "border" is where the United States & another contry come together, intersect, butt up agaisnt, and/or bleed into eachother. I believe Terminal Barbershop is where a lot of diffrent cultures come & butt up agaisnt the US. The US is represented through the American customers. The name of the barbershop is fitting. It is fitting because it resembles an airport terminal in the way that it is a place where people from all over the globe come and go. Although at this terminal, customers experience not only long lines but transnationalism as well.