Tainan - modelling, take two!
At the beginning of April, I had another opportunity to be a hairstyle model, only this time the show was in Tainan so there was no four-hour drive to Taipei. Though grateful for the shorter the travel time, I soon found that there was an additional twist: since my Austrian friend Gona would also be modelling but spoke only basic Chinese, I would be translating for her during the show. This raised the stakes somewhat, since if I made a mistake during the show it was one thing, but if Gona made a mistake because I gave her the wrong translation, it's another thing entirely. Also, I found out upon arriving at the site the day of the show that I was the only one of the four models who had done this before, so as my friend and former modelling buddy pointed out, "You have to be the leader because you are lao niao (the old bird) in the show."
With that in mind, I felt extremely lucky that the show ran as smoothly as it did. Since by now I had learned that "liang ge ba pai" means "two eight-counts," as well as the Chinese words for "turn," "smile," don't touch your makeup," and "say hello to the audience," I felt much more comfortable this time around. I could even manage the final catwalk knowing three other pairs of eyes were watching to see when I stepped forward. I returned to my dorm that evening with a set of pants that will never again see daylight, a shockingly red hairdo, and the knowledge that I can multitask (model and translate Chinese) without too much difficulty.

Photos from modelling: http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a356/chinaadventure/Taiwan/Modelling/