I have posted about the kids modeling before, Elliot recently went to a place outside of Shenzhen called "Bride's Beach". A massive complex located along a beach, with permanent props and settings for photos. The fake church was quite popular with the brides and no one seem to mind that that letter H had fallen from the front of it so it read "OlY Cross Church." Horses and carriages, boats, Pillars columns, and whatever you could imagine. I didn't have my good camera so the photos aren't that great.
I am not sure they got good photos this day, as Elliot seemed determined to smile a big goofy grin.
In China they seek out anglo kids and because Hong Kong is an international city depending on the brand and market they can be sought after as well.
Our friends the Harveys and Udys have kids who model too. It is a unique experience for us that has been positive for the kids.
Here are some pictures from the actual catalogs.
A typical day of modeling for us inside China begins with us crossing the border and riding in a car an hour out of Shenzhen. The kids get paid starting from make-up time. It is usually 4hours for the shooting. It is a full day for us.
Nathan has been stuck on the Mainland since the beginning of June. He is waiting for a special work visa. During this time he doesn't have his passport and is not able to come into Hong Kong. The kids and I have been crossing the border on the weekends to visit.
The Marco Polo 35th floor has been his home. The kids enjoy the complimentary mints at the front desk and the pool. There aren't an abundance of parks and places to take the kids around the hotel so we spend the time playing lots of games of Phase Ten and the photo below pictures us playing pass the pigs. The World Cup has begun and we have been catching some of the matches on the TV at the hotel. We even woke up at 2:30AM to catch the first US match. Jane stayed up for about 15 minutes then decided to go back to sleep.
We attempted to visit the library on this day but were told the kids were not allowed in. We found out later that it opens later allowing the kids in. Across the street from the Marco Polo is the Ferrari dealership. In Michigan seeing such cars would be rare but we see Ferrari's on a fairly regular basis.
What might you find on a day out in Shenzhen? Crocs of all kind
You might see these cute kid's picture inside a department store
Bethany and I found the kids pictures in Children's world in Huangchangbei. This was their photo shoot for ET Club.
A day out shopping lead us to the book store that has a huge selection of English books. I came prepared to spend some money. I found American History books, a Hardcover Fancy Nancy that will be a birthday present for Jane Shhh.. A Spiderman book for Elliot for Christmas shh. Full price value over 100USD. The Fancy Nancy book alone would cost $18. I got the lot for $30USD possibly could have gotten less if I bartered even more, but I felt like I was getting such a good deal I was satisfied.
We crossed the border to visit the Park in Shenzhen where everyone flies kites. We paid $20 RMB ( about $4US) For a Butterfly that Jane picked out . The smells of the food stalls varied from smells like a negelected public bathroom to the wonderful aroma of baked sweet potatoes. Once we arrived we saw kites that were flying like real birds. Elliot gets a little intimidated when the kite goes up high in the air. I remember feeling that way as a kid, as if the kite was going to take me with it at any moment. We walked to the top of the hill. A lot of stairs the kids were tired by the end of it. You could see the statue of the person who founded Shenzhen and there was an outlook. It was very cloudy that day so no good pictures of the city I would like to go back and catch some good shots. The kids were asked to have their picture taken as usual Jane was the only one who said yes.
I am having trouble with blogger changing the format of my captions and photos. I am new to using it and don't really know how to fix it. So I apologize for the format. We had a visit from our good friends Mike and Jodie from Traverse City. It was a lot of fun to spend time with them and the Krohns. We often talked about how fun it would it be to be over here together and for 10 days we got that chance. I visited Lo Wu for the first time. A busy gateway between Hong Kong and mainland China. Lo Wu commercial city is a giant shopping complex. You can get your nails done, buy illegal dvds and designer knock off accessories and clothes, or get your own made all in one place. It was an overload to my senses upon first entering. The second hand smoke lingering on every floor, with shouts of clerks outside their stalls yelling " hey missy, missy" trying to get my attention. It took about 15 minutes for me to adjust to the noise and smell and think clearly.
My big purchase was a gray coat They started out at a sell price of $950 ($135)I bought it for $250 ($35) - the inside tag price read $3500 HKD ($500) I don't know if that is relevant or not but all in all I felt I walked away with a good deal. The kids and Nathan visited the kite park while I shopped. Then they had pizza for dinner. Finding good pizza in China is hard to do but NYPD is good by American standards. The owner said he would like to open one in Hong Kong on the Island we can hope he open ones up in the New Territories.
The picture of the kids on the step in front of the station was taken not only by me but by several other tourist and locals.
Jane practicing for her Christmas program and our day out.
Shenzhen is a special economic zone on the Mainland- It is one of the "richest" places and fastest growing cities in China. I have ventured to SZ a handful of times now, primarily for shopping- cheap stuff! Nathan travels there everyday, this is where he works. Recently we were invited by his co-worker to enjoy a day out in Shenzhen. We went to the children's park ( amusement park- carnival rides) Windows of the World mini replica's of famous world sites. It reminded me of Epcot's around the world theme. We had a delicious Chinese dinner inside a mall. The Sus (last name of the family have a five year old - I didn't see his name wrote down but I believe it is pronounced Mowjong- we thought it sounded like Mahjong. A cutie and him Elliot got along quite well in spite of the language barrier.
Jane got to experience a squatter toilet -twice. It is of course quite common for little kids just to go wherever they are standing. This is something I don't know if I could ever quite get used to. When it is a 1-3 year old, it is one thing and I can understand the cultural difference but we saw kids who were much much older than that, just going anywhere. I would think most Chinese instruct their older children to use the toilet, and this is a minority? Maybe as we live here longer I will get more insight into this.
We have found the Chinese are very polite and lovely people in general. They love the kids and often ask for the kids to take photos with them or they just snap shots of the children, most ask first. I plan on compiling a post of just photos of other people taking pictures of our kids later on. This happened a few times while we were out in Shenzhen. Elliot was having none of that this day Jane likes the attention and is always willing.
Umbrellas are commonly used not only to protect from the rain but from the sun. Jane now ask often for an umbrella when out in the hot sun.
Angkor Wat in Cambodia is on Nathan's must see list. This "small" replica of the site made me appreciate how large it really is.
