One of the amusing (and oftentimes awkward) novelties of being a foreigner in less-developed areas of China is the wide variety of appearances one may be asked to make for the media.
On my day off, my roommate and I went to try out a new coffee shop that opened near our apartment....while we were there, the owner came up and explained that they were having some sort of exhibition that evening, and that it would help him out if we could come since the media would be there (and thus, it would make his business look good to have foreigners there).
Upon arrival, we were escorted to seats at the front of the shop, and shown a slideshow with a local artist's photographs (they were excellent, I must say), and then interviewed by the local news about our perceptions of the photographs and the culture they were representing, as well as our experience in China.
And of course, it ended with the request, "Say something in Chinese to the camera!"...I think I did pretty well considering I can't usually come up with anything to say in English on the spur-of-the-moment.
While I usually try to avoid media appearances (unless they will somehow help me to meet Jay Chou)...I did my part for local business. Although I am having to reconsider my commitment to marrying an Asian pop star....I feel incredibly awkward in front of cameras...especially considering they never stop snapping away (hence the photos above, sent to me by one of the people we met that evening). Ah, the life of a foreigner.
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