Shanghai Teenage Kids

As a Westener in China, one has to get used to be kind of a Rock Star for no other reason than simply being naturally blond haired or a foreigner. At the beginning this is kind of fun, but soon starts to get annoying. I experienced my crucial point in Shaolin when a group of chinese students, who were visiting Shaolin as tourists, wanted to take pictures with me (back then, I had long hair which was even more special to them). Having no problem with that, I gave them the opportunity, was it also a possible way of getting in contact with them. But I finally realised that I was mere a clown, an object to them: One girl who bought a ridiculous cowboy hat wanted me to put it on, whithout even asking my permission. I didn't let her do this to me. And at that point, I turned it the other way round.

Back in Shanghai after the Shaolin-trip I got asked on the streets for pictures. But I just let these chinese people do it if I could take a photograph of them, too. While I was walking around and having fun with my camera, there was a group of three teenagers who seemed interesting - their style, their extravagance, and simply them having fun on a sunny day in front of Shanghais' one-of-his-best view, seemed very pleasant. I observed them a while, until I went to these guys and asked them if I could photograph them. They weren't even considering to ask me, obviously true shanghainese, and seemed quite perplexed with it. But they posed in front of my camera and I could take this picture, you see above.

This pic is one of my favorites I took in Shanghai almost three years ago. It reminds me now of the vitality of youth, and how they were designing their time on Earth at this very moment, enjoying the three of them as friends. I like that the girl in the middle just had a heart drawn under her left eye, and the boy wore a suit coat just for style and fun which is for chinese students as rare as it is in Germany.