Those of you who know D know that he's fond of "costuming" -- i.e., altering his appearance, often in radical ways, just for the sheer fun of it. This garnered him some second glances in the U.S. (especially in places like the 'Cuse and Greenville). Here, however, his foreigner status + his wacky look stops people dead in their tracks. (Heck, my own plain Jane self also gets second looks here, so you can imagine what they think of D).Frequently, the stares (and giggles) are accompanied by cell-phone photo taking or by requests for a photo op with D. For example, just last week when we were in Hong Kong, a couple of businessmen from India wanted their picture taken with him. And today during our semi-weekly Jusco/McDonald's pilgrimage, a group of local teens asked for the same (prefaced by the compliment, "We think you have much fashion."). I've captured that event here. (Notice that two of the females in the picture have their fingers in the "V" position. For whatever reason, most young Chinese -- especially females -- are unable to stand for a photo without making this gesture. When I asked my students what it means, they told me 'Victory.' When I asked, 'Victory over what?' they could not tell me. So, the 'V' mystery lives on).
2 comments:
For me, the "victory" would be in taking a good picture without closing my eyes, or at least squinting *too* much...
And D does indeed have MUCH fashion! Mega stylin' man!
My understanding (gotten from I-don't-remember-where) was that the "V" is actually a "Y" (including the forearm) that stands for "Yay!" Also that (probably to the horror of your students), this trend started in Japan...
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