Photo Shoot

Christine (US)

The jelly

Britta (Germany)

One of my closest friends, Karen, is leaving China tomorrow to move back to Australia. Losing friends is one of the biggest downsides to the life we lead. She and her family are our family here. We spend Friday night dinners together, carpool to Sunday school, drop in on one another without calling... you get the point. SO, at her request, as a last hurrah, a group of ladies spent the day together yesterday. We did a classically Chinese thing and had a photo session at a local studio.

It is common for middle class Chinese to do these photo shoots for weddings and special occasions and just for show. The studios have traditional Chinese clothing, western wedding clothing and even colonial clothing. They do your hair and make up and then do a detailed photo session.

The hair and make up session was extensive. The girls used spray, gel and what can only be described as jelly (see photo) in our hair. You know it's bad when the girl tells you to wash your hair when you get home! It was slightly out of my comfort zone but we all decided to just embrace the experience. I let my "stylist" dress me how she wanted and do what she wanted with my hair and make up. I have posted many photos so you can see what our day was like.

We took a picnic snack of cakes and champagne and coffee and had a fabulous time. I am glad I will always have these pictures to remind me of our days in China. We are a group of tai tais. Tai tai means wife or madame. Workers call the ladies of the homes they work in "tai tai." So, we ladies call ourselves tai tais in jest.