Mendoza, Argentina

Mendoza, Argentina

Off to the mountains!  Finally, I got on a 10pm flight out of Buenos Aires and I am excited to explore another part of Argentina. The hotel is massive, and they are excited to have us. I am speaking espanol like a toddler but proud to have that much. People are patient with me, too, and let me try. The lounge here has a lovely view of the Andes, and the models were sweet and professional, so we had a great shoot. We are tired but very happy with the photos.

We had a fantastic dinner experience at Francis Malman 1884, we sat on the grass of a courtyard that looks like Zoro’s house, with candle light and warm lanterns everywhere. It was luxurious.

It was here in Mendoza, that I have the best steak of my life, at a traditional family-style place called “Patio Jesus y Maria”, it was perfectly cooked and now I feel I can end my quest for that Argentine experience you hear so much about.  I was so involved that I forgot to take a photo of it, sorry. I'm learning that the mornings after I eat steak, I wake up feeling great with lots of energy!

On my day off, I wondered around Mendoza. It is such a nice city to walk through, lots of different architecture and it feels managable on foot. The weather was perfect! I was bummed to find that all the shops were closed ....SAD! So I took a tour to the mountain wine region and had a blast.
The drive up into the mountains was one of my favorite parts of my day off. There was an incredible valley we found on the way.
Video here:
http://rebeccad.smugmug.com/Other/MendozaVALLEYVIDEO/15615251_YHdFp



 The drive took me to Andeluna Vineyard (Thanks, McOsk, for the suggestion!).
The terrain was so beautiful and the vineyard itself was gorgeous, too. I toured the facility, learned about Malbec, the local specialty wine, and I met some nice people there.

I like the people and food in Argentina very much. I feel so lucky I have had a day off here.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Buenos Aires, Argentina

I woke up SUPER excited to take my first trip to Argentina! I was the first one downstairs to meet at the crew van, and couldn’t wait to get there.

Everything seems to move at a much slower pace down south, and it started at the airport (I did learn to love it, btw). Our exciting trip quickly turned reality after we were faced with a flight delay and terrible lines but we of course tried to keep spirits up (Where is Starbucks?!):

Video here:
http://rebeccad.smugmug.com/Other/ArgentinaAirportVIDEO/15600658_GfN46

We arrived in Buenos Aires at nighttime, but I could tell already that the city held some exciting treasures. And... IT'S SUMMER, YAY! I am preparing my sandals.
 Six hours later, I was up and getting ready to shoot in the lounge.... UGH. Don't..... Want...........To............Work!!! 

This job is completely the twilight zone sometimes, as one lounge begins to look like the one from three cities ago. I am feeling a bit like a roadie on a music tour who only sees the view from the (bus/ hotel) window.  My crew bus is an airplane or taxi. The days are very long here now, so we are working 7am to 9:30pm. We are told not to worry as “Argentine people don’t go out to eat until 10pm anyway”.  And it’s no joke!

Two taxi view videos here:
http://rebeccad.smugmug.com/Other/BuenosVIDEOTaxi/15582704_og9Kj

We had some awesome suggestions from friends (THANKS!) and went out for a wonderful first dinner in the Palermo neighborhood. The restaurant was called “Minga”, and we had STEAK and potato and vegetables …. I am seriously wondering how I was ever a veggie. And wow, we can already tell these S.Americans lovelovelove their queso, it is in everything. The ‘hood feels vibrant and looks lovely, but we are so exhausted, we just jump in a cab and head straight to bed. Second day shooting is great, and we have another awesome dinner at night… this time opting for a fine-dining experience at Cluny. Cevice then steak. We are loving the prices in Argentina!!!!

We are meant to get to the airport super early the next day and we’re all feeling bummed out that we don’t have a day off here. Then our taxi driver took us to the wrong airport!!! It was a bit of a drama, but we wound up having the day off while we waited for our rescheduled nighttime flights. We ventured to the Recoletta neighborhood on the advice of Una and Nana (THANKS girls!) where we wondered around enjoying the architecture and sunned ourselves during lunch. I toured the old, gothic cemetery and saw some cool monuments. I had such a great time and didn’t care at all that I appeared the quintessential tourist.

Recoletta Cemetery Video here:
http://rebeccad.smugmug.com/Other/BuenosRecolettaCemetery/15600343_ivGQh

I also very much enjoyed shopping at the local farmacias for my acne RX. What normally costs me $258 in the states was only between $20 and $30 there!!! YEEHAW. And how old lady is that.

I loved this place and can’t wait to go back for a proper visit!

Panama City, Panama

Panama City, Panama

First impression of Panama…. I’m so happy to be warm again! and... holy palm trees.

We arrived in Panama a day earlier than our photographer, so the Art Director and I decided to go out on the town. We asked around for suggestions about what to do and were told “If you go to Panama and don’t see the Panama Canal, it is like going to Egypt and not seeing the pyramids!”. So we did and it was cool. We watched a movie about the canal’s extensive history and toured the four-storey museum.

Video below:

http://rebeccad.smugmug.com/Other/PanamaCanalVIDEO/15582605_GKiAS

The hotel was massive and more modern than most of them. The hotel had a casino in it, I looked for an Elvis slot machine and since there were none, I didn’t play (although a colleague took a quick beating at the blackjack table!). There was a constant party in the hotel, this is just the Panamanian way of life, we're told. The ladies dress "Fancy" here, lots of twin sets in leopard prints and everything matches. You've got to applaud the effort, especially when you're looking as jet-lagged as me.

The lounge here was completely forgettable…… so I wasn’t super excited to get up for work in the morning except to be reunited with my crew buddies (The China trip was so bonding!). There is a huge benefit going on across the street from the hotel for victims of a recent flood, we can hear an all-day marching band even though it's pouring. There is a posse of chicks dressed up like clowns in the lobby.... totally surreal. Ten minutes later, we see them on a monitor performing at the benefit.  

Jinan, China

We've been spending LOTS of time in airports.
It's beginning to feel like I'll need to put "air travel" on my resume.

Our last stop in China was Jinan, which is up North, west of Beijing and had a different feel from the other cities. It feels more "real" China in the sense that it's a city without catering to tourists. Mountains and a "100 Buddha Park" are located here, it's a hub of Buddhism. I am beginning to realize that many Chinese cities have both an "old city" and a "new city", which is something we don't see much of in our "new" USA.

At this point, I realize I really love China. The people are so nice here and the mega-cities are incredible.

Two of our four-man crew are Asian, the other two of us are white. Nick and myself are a novelty, people stare at us and one little girl on the street said what all the people are thinking: "Look, white people"!
I actually love being the minority here because the people are so genuinely curious and openly friendly. Photo attached here of one such encounter:

The hotel staff are treating us like royalty and are doing everything they can to make my job easier, which of course I am thrilled about. The work here was very intense and our models were kind of..... ghetto. We asked all the models to bring their own clothing to supplement what I bring (I am doing both props and wardrobe on this job), but I had a difficult time outfitting them as one model turned up with Disney jewelry. I do not joke. DISNEY (She was 25, by the way). Hilarious.

The hotel assigned us a coordinator, Victor, who became a fast friend. When we asked for local food, he took us out to his uncle's restaurant which served traditional Sichuan cuisine. Yummmmmm! It has been so nice to taste all this Chinese food at the source!
Video here:
http://rebeccad.smugmug.com/Other/Jinan-Dinner/15035668_opkqT

After this nearly three week trip we are bonded and a very close-knit crew. Of course, we are busted and exuasted but hey, that's the price of adventure, right!?

I had to do some extra prop shopping in Jinan the night before our last shoot day. It was intense and fun trying to figure out how to communicate (The clerks were probably thinking 'Who is this crazy, flailing white lady'!?).Video of what I found AFTER shopping here:
http://rebeccad.smugmug.com/Other/JinanFountainVIDEO/15407478_eiLzY

The guys wanted to go out for a drink the last night in China, so we asked Victor where we could find "A mellow bar, not a club, just a pub". What we wound up with was A CLUB of course, they passed out glow-sticks, had amazing live karaoke performers, and a dude dressed in a red bull BULL COSTUME. There were at least 300 chandeliers covering the ceiling. Other people in the bar wanted their photo taken with us (example below) because we were a novelty!  "Mellow" in China, I think does not exist.

Video here of locally "famous" karaoke singer at the club:
http://rebeccad.smugmug.com/Other/JinanClubVIDEO/15600650_AgaJZ


I'm sooooooooo happy to go home to Ryan and our house, it's been a long haul this leg. And part of me also wishes I had more time to explore. This job was a great way to get the feel of the country and to know where I would go back to.

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