Foto’s Blog: Foto amuses many in unique exposure in Myanmar (Burma)
NEW Phodographer Xander Meise Bay in Bago, Burma August 2010
Xander completed volunteer legal work in Phnom Penh and then took Foto to a monastery school outside of Bago, Burma. Bago was a royal capital in the 16th and 17th centuries, and today it is the home of the second largest Buddha in the world.
We arrived unannounced with the Dog Meets World photo project and happened upon the place during meal time and recess. Burma does not receive many foreign visitors, and even fewer make it out of the capital to places like Bago, so the children found me and the little stuffed mascot dog Foto to be quite the oddities. But, after minimal persuasion (Foto can be quite convincing), the students were only too happy to have their pictures taken and began clamoring with each other to be the next in line.
They were mesmerized by the images. It is my understanding that these are the some of the first pictures they will have of themselves. As aside, I also introduced Foto to staff at a Yangon hotel and restaurant. The Pink Floyd-listening waiters found him especially amusing.
You’ll notice that many of the people have on their faces what looks like streaks of yellow-tinted paint. Most commonly worn by women and children, this is traditional Burmese makeup that is also worn by men and that the locals describe as Burmese sunscreen.