Real and fake

The relationship between real and fake,
value and values, what really matters
and is it different for everyone?

 

Knock offs.

Before I left for China, I always wanted the real thing. I never bought into the trend of buying fake Louis Vuitton purses in the early 2000s. I wanted to be authentic—the real thing. I wanted my things to be nice; and if I couldn’t afford something I would do without until I could afford it. I didn’t try to copy anyone or pretend I was something I wasn’t. I felt not buying fake designer purses and clothing was an outward reflection of this value.

Postcards

Thailand writing for good luck

Thailand Le Meridien

Shanghai and Thailand

Chiang Mai 2011 Mountain lunch

Thailand 2011 traditional Hmong clothing

At the Hmong mountain village just outside of Chiang Mai.

Chiang Mai [Apr 22-29, 2011]

Pictures from the city, up the mountain just outside the city and the airport.

My favorite picture from Chiang Mai (an hour up the mountain)

This girl was so cute. (All of the kids were cute!) She didn't have a partner for the game of tag, so I was her partner. Picture by Amy Bailey, April 2011.

The first video is a song the children sang for us at the Ban Hmong's Hope hostel in Chiang Mai the last night we were there. They made us dinner to say thank you for helping them cement some of the floors in their hostel. The other hostel we worked at was Huay Niam Christian Children's Hostel. These hostels give Hmong children free room and board so they can attend school in the city. School in their villages only goes up to the fourth grade, so they must move to the city if they want to continue their education. The second video is about SEACM, the organization that my cousins worked with to put this mission trip together.

Chiang Mai

At a Hmong village in the mountains outside of Chiang Mai.