Our Little Ambassador

It may be because you don't see many western babies in China, or because our daughter is unusually talented in the flirting with Asians category, but the Chinese love Mavis. They love taking pictures of her even more. I know I mentioned this in a previous post but the trend continues and it baffles me. When we were at the Beijing zoo trying to see the monkeys NINE people surrounded her stroller, touching her, cooing at her, and yelling for their friends to come over to see. The mob followed us through several exhibits. That part is irritating. 

But on most days it does us more good than bad. People often waive the rules when she's around. So far she's allowed us to check into hotels without a passport (a Chinese law), helped us get an overweight baggage on a plane without a fee, we often get to go to the front of the line for no reason, and get free food at the market, just to name a few. 

I often hesitate to take pictures because it feels awkward to take a picture of someone without warning or permission but then again they don't ask me so it's only fair, right?

That's a film crew video taping Maeve watching the dophin show at a local aquarium.  They even asked me to do an interview.

                                    

Looks like I wasn't the only one that wanted a picture of Maeve on this statue...

Flashing the peace sign is still cool here.  Or maybe it's just popular again, the 80's are back in style after all. 

. 

Yep, that's right, even kids take photos.

Even the men get into it.

Maeve is so comfortable with the photography that she now has started asking to see the "results" on their iphone afterwards. 

If you're too small to take a picture, hugs are the next best option. Chinese children are dressed in lots of layers. At least two pair of pants and multiple layers of thick sweatshirt-type tops are the norm. This is one of my favorite "China" pictures because it captures the culture perfectly. This kid has so many layers of clothes on he can hardly hug Maeve. Meanwhile, check out what his mom is wearing.

I bet this picture only captured the ground, or her arm. Her mom will be disappointed for sure.