What it's like

There are something like 20,000 foreigners living in Shenzhen. How is it possible that the sight of a white kid eating a lollipop or playing on a park bench is still so fascinating?

If this were the US you would think there were something wrong with these people. Some people even collect pictures of babies here. One girl behind a make-up counter scrolled for me through dozens of pictures of children she has on her phone.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I love how he's hammin' it up for the cameras.
Anonymous said…
Uncle T...

He's and Ambrose!snxzatvk
MyHusbandRules said…
He's just that darn cute!
Anonymous said…
In both India and Africa, people came up to me really quick to get their photos taken with a real white person.

Helped me sympathize about minorities in America.
Anonymous said…
Doesn't surprise me at all!

Daddooo
Anonymous said…
he looks like he's posing, like he knows it's coming.
Anonymous said…
interesting article on MercatorNet from Australia on Japan's obsession with being "cute" ...
http://www.mercatornet.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=497
Anonymous said…
what? you mean everyone doesn't collect photos of Myles on their cellphones??
Jen Ambrose said…
Clare, that is so spot on. A few years ago in Pittsburgh, a smal store opened up called Kawaii. It was full of Hello Kitty and the like and run by a young Japanese woman. We went in there to buy some party favor bag things for Crispian's birthday party when he was 3 or 4. We asked the saleslady if this was like a Japanese toy store and she said, no, actually this kind of store in Japan would be targeted to college-aged girls. My sister and I just looked at each other. I mean, in the states tatoo parlors and $1 well drink specials are marketed to college-aged females in this coutnry!
Anonymous said…
"Some people even collect pictures of babies here."

Can this have something to do with the one-child policy?
Jen Ambrose said…
Mike, I blogged something along those lines during my first visit to China last spring (http://jenambrose.blogspot.com/2006/05/china-hearts-myles.html).