I’m so thankful that a friend of mine, Kendra, is doing the illustrations for my upcoming book, Snapshots of China! To help her with that process, we usually have a video call to throw around potential ideas for the artwork for the different stories. After we think of ideas, Kendra also asked me to get some pictures for things that she can’t access in the States.
Kendra lived in China for several years, but she isn’t here now, and seeing a picture of something makes it easier for her to visualize and draw that image. So we make a list of pictures that she needs, and then I’m off on a scavenger hunt to see how many of those things I can find.
Some of the items are pretty easy to find, but some of them are a little more challenging. Kendra asked me to get a picture of baozi, which is a kind of steamed bread. I was having a hard time getting the picture because I don’t eat dim sum (also called morning tea) very often. And dim sum is the best place to get pictures of nice baozi. I finally found one at the airport as I was leaving on vacation to another city. The restaurant had an overpriced baozi on display in a glass covered heating area. I snapped a picture while a slightly confused worker tried to sell it to me.
I also thought a picture of decorative fingernails, which are popular among college girls, would be difficult to get. Since it’s summer vacation, I don’t see my students, so I can’t get a picture from one of their nails very easily. I thought about scrolling through social media posts and looking for a picture of someone’s nails. The problem with that was that if I did find one, I figured I should probably ask for permission to use the picture.
These thoughts were still rolling around in my mind when I was on vacation in Xiamen, a city in southern China. The temperature outside was above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and my friend and I had found refuge in a little café. We were chatting and enjoying our cold drinks when two girls sat down next two us. The tables were close, and I noticed that they both had fancy fingernails. They were perfect! But how to ask a stranger to take pictures of her fingernails for a book I’m writing? How would I even phrase that request in Chinese?
I hammered through the questions in my brain and looked up the Chinese word for painted fingernails. My friend and I agreed that it would be better to wait until one of us left so we wouldn’t have to sit next to each other if the conversation turned awkward. The girls were about to head out, but I wasn’t paying attention until my friend pointed it out.
“Excuse me, do you mind if I take a picture of your fingernails?” I asked the girl in Chinese.
I started to explain why I wanted the picture, but she was already holding her nails for me to take the picture. I fumbled to unlock my phone and found the camera. I also asked her to hold her phone because that would work better with the picture that I wanted my friend to draw. I was thrilled that she was willing to comply and seemed happy to share her nails with me.
I realized that she probably thought I just liked her nails and wanted to use the design for my own nails. I really did like her nails, but I can’t imagine having nails that long. It would make typing, texting, playing the piano, brushing my hair–really everything –more complicated. But I’m so glad she was willing to let the crazy foreigner take a picture of her nails!