Shunde & Shenzhen

Shunde:
At this point, the physical labor of my job and the hours are starting to wear me down.
I have a sprained ankle and threw my back out. Feeling bad makes me feel home-sick, and being censored (please see the photo of the fake google below : there is no longer google in china!!!) makes it even worse. At this point, I really wanted to feel connected to you guys but lots of my emails were bouncing back.  BUT I'm still laughing.... and still EATING!!!! Dumplings every day!

The best news is that my ailments drive me to find out that, as reported by Alice, there are $20 massages everywhere and they are all good. The technicians will not rest until all your kinks are gone!  Every night after work, I get one and I feel great.

Shunde is a business district in the middle of nowhere. I go to bed at 8pm each night after work with foot propped up on pillows. After two days of rest and 4 massages, I emerge a new woman!

Off to Shenzhen, a "new business" and "small city" of a mere 8 million people. haha
Just like Shanghai, the city seems to take great pride in lighting up the entire skyline. Like rainbow-style. Nothing subtle here!
We work the entire time, of course. Our hotel is shaped like a black fluted vase straight out of 1988.
Everything is new here.Huge chandeliers.The club lounge staff here are great and our shoot goes smoothly.

After work the last night, we opt to go to what I believe to be the original "Spa Castle" of the world..... FIVE GIGANTIC FLOORS of foot massage, steam room, scrubs, sauna, pedicures, "fruit bar", swimming pools....
it was incredible. I had small, old Chinese ladies guiding me around for three hours and then I'd forgotten all about work.

Shanghai, My Love

Shanghai was by far my favorite city in China!
The feeling of the place was so lively and the people were extraordinarily friendly. There were all different feeling pockets in each neighborhood, each with a different influence.
The food was my favorite in all of china. 3 Photos here of my first dumplings and my favorite meals:

The people and the scenery were amazing, too, and I saw my first crazy chicken killing cart EWWW!

I had many pantomime/crazy--flailing-white-lady moments that were true crack ups! Navigating the huge chinese shopping centers while buying clothing for model-size women and trying to explain to the clerks "Yeah, I KNOW that won't fit me" was overwhelmingly HILARIOUS.

4 Videos (don't miss the wig video.... the nice old Chinese lady made me do it!) here:
http://rebeccad.smugmug.com/Other/ShanghaiVideo-1/14827916_kVUVn
xxo.

HONG KONG!!!

A photo here from my room.

2 video links below from Kowloon Park, Hong Kong. xxo.
http://rebeccad.smugmug.com/Other/ChinaHongKongVideo/14827898_o99gX

Second Stops: Puerto Rico and Toronto

I was excited to finally get to PR!
The weather was incredible, of course. When we arrived to the hotel, the management invited us to "have lunch by the pool". I was wondering if it would be awkward to wear a bathing suit in front of my collegues as I ate fish tacos and sipped a cool beverage poolside.

On the work front, it is becoming apparent that twelve to fourteen hour days are normal.
In a way, it's okay because we are making beautiful images, although being in a new place of course I'd love more free time to explore. Wardrobe is becoming a larger part of the job than I'd expected, but it is fun hunting for treasures in new places (take these bleached AND studded jeggings, for example).

I am feeling like a professional mover because I'm lifting seven hundred and fifteen pieces of furniture an hour, and telling myself it's okay because I will be totally buff afterward.

We got to go out for dinner both nights after work. The first night was creepy and weird and we all felt gross after eating Mofongo....... and the second night was exactly the opposite and we couldn't get enough. CEVICE!!!! Soooo amazing.... the seafood, the fruit AH!

Being back in Toronto after many years was so fun. The photos were the best yet and the location was easy to work in. I had a wonderful Italian dinner with an old friend the last night.
Canadians are sooooooooo friendly!

xx.

First Stop: Chicago

Hi Guys!
Coming up soon, my next posts will be much less text and a I will add either super short videos or photos instead, so that you'll get to travel with me.

The windy city was actually pretty warm and calm.... just a hint of rain.
The hotel was right on the lake and my room was huge with lovely views. The hotel staff were super sweet and spoiled us with amenities. So I'm thinking "Woah, this is a pretty sweet job"!  Didn't see much except the hotel, though.

So far, getting along very well with the crew and learning already. We did have one "black sheep" in our crew, who made for entertaining stories down the line. I'll tell you about all that when I see you!
Here's a video:
http://rebeccad.smugmug.com/Other/China-VideosFamily/14824853_Pn8YY#1106036678_SfX9w-A-LB"

Thanks for reading my blog

Dear Friends and Family,
The past few months have been the best kind of whirlwind, and I'm sorry I haven't called!
I want to fill you in on lots of exciting news.

Ryan Graduated from RISD this summer which left the "what's next" question happily open to us.
After seriously considering relocating to a few different cities, we decided on a move back to NYC so that we can both enjoy growth in our creative careers. Ryan has been hustling to get his jewelry line designed and connections made in the industry, while working for a lovely photography agency in the meantime.
Quickly after making the decision to move back, I got a good agent who will help me continue to get great styling jobs. In fact, almost immediately, she landed me an awesome gig working for a very nice hotel group. The job will span four to five months and will take me to thirty cities and 17 countries! I will be styling hotel lounges (photo of the NYC Tribeca hotel above) as part of a worldwide ad campaign, so it is great experience which I feel very lucky to have been offered. I am so excited this job just fell into my lap, and getting ready for the challenges has been great.

So basically, within the course of three weeks, I found out I got the big job, Ryan and I made multiple trips for nyc apartment hunting, we signed a lease on a loft, ended our RI lease early, painted our new place, packed up RI, and moved back to Brooklyn. PHEW! Six days later, I left for the first leg of the trip.

Since I'll be wanting to stay connected to you all but do not have very much fee time through this big job, I have decided to put together this blog of very short video greetings or photos. I will do my best to post in each city, and to show you something other than the hotel rooms! Please subscribe to my blog as a way to keep in touch, comment and let me know how you are all doing. It is my hope that the videos will be fun to watch (even when I look busted!), and I will love to see your posts.... especially when I'm in different time zones and feeling home sick.

And please forgive if this is the first you're hearing about all these big changes. They happened so fast!
Love,
Rebecca