(just a heads up... I love my team...
and my next few blogs are going to be about everyone and the work they've done)
First person is my dear Sarah...
Sarah Gnädig is from Karlsruhe, Germany.
She did the Voice for the Voiceless DTS in Kona in 2012 and did her outreach in Panama.
They made a short documentary there on the adoption law and through this time God touched her heart. She is passionate about fighting for justice and bringing the truth to people who are lost. She loves to travel, meet new people, learn about their cultures, see how God changes people’s hearts, and she loves photography.
Sarah likes to go to bed early and wake up early. She also does Insanity. She's super adventurous and is always up for doing something fun.
She's a hard worker, and has a real heart for the people we meet.
Sarah is also preparing herself to lead our "student led outreach" to Amsterdam.
Some of my favourite things Sarah says (in a German accent):
"Come on guys! You can DO IT!"
"Oh my Holy Cow"
"Ahhh, Sarah Panera"
"Let me sing happy birthday in German to you"
Anyway, I love Sarah.
Here is a photo story she did in Thailand.
She spent time getting to know Ashi.
Here is a bit of his story.
All photos and captions are by SARAH.
Enjoy.
The Chiang Mai Cabaret show is the only one in Chiang Mai, Thailand`s second largest city. The Cabaret show is on nightly performed at a small bar inside the busy city`s night market. Every night there are up to 20 dancers getting dressed before a performance. Ashi, 22 years old, a ladyboy dancer from Chiang Mai puts on his make up and gets dressed before the show.
Ashi began to work at the cabaret show 1.5 years ago. He went to a dance audition to become a dancer in the show. Every night he puts make up on and get dressed like a woman. Ashi taught himself how to put make up on and he researched for different looks to identify more like a women. At his place in front of the mirror there are many different cosmetic tools that he uses for different make up.
Ashi looks in the mirror to get ready before the cabaret show starts. Ladyboys are very visible and much more accepted in Thai culture, they are called the third gender. Ashi left his parents early, to find work that he can support them financially, weekly. His parents and his older sister accept him for who he his and that he is a ladyboy dancer. They accept it but at the same time they do not have much contact with each other. Ashi is living with his boyfriend in his own apartment together close to the bar.
Every night Ashi looks perfect and he looks after every detail that it fits well on him. He knows exactly what he wants to look like and he is doing it with a lot of passion and patience. Ashi is a boy most of the time during the show but also in his private life. In his free time he wears boys clothes and does not wear any make up. During a walk at a mall he stopped at a shoe store and he tried some high heels on. For Ashi is it normal and common to look at dresses and high heels for the show. Ashi is taking care of his body that he can fit in any dresses wich he likes and that means sometimes for him to not eat anything. He is watching what he eats, so that he can fit in any women clothes at the show and to look like a lady.
L
astly he puts on his dress to go out and invite people for the show. In Thailand is it more common to see many ladyboys on the street and there is a big tolerance. This comes from the main religion in Thailand - Buddhism. His tattoo on his back is a buddhism tattoo and there is a cat and a mouse on it. The cat has a great significance in Buddhism, because the cat is a guard for the owner and if the cat passed away, it will say a good word for his owner to Buddha for the next life. Ashi believes in Buddha and this tattoo has a big meaning for him. When Ashi is done with everything, he looks like a totally different person.
Before the cabaret show starts all of the ladyboy dancers are at the night market to invite the tourists to their breathtaking show. The ladyboys are standing in two different spots at the market and sometimes they dance to give people an impression. Every evening before the show Ashi is a lady to invite the tourists, handing out flyers. It is huge attraction and the people stop to take a picture of them. Some of them go to the bar to watch the show but most of the time the people walk by.
Right before the show Ashi goes backstage to take off the lady outfit and dresses like a man. He is a male background dancer and support the lip singer most of the time. Ashi loves to dance and his biggest dream is to have his own dance company and to teach people dancing.
Ashi and Nataly are performing a new song at the cabaret show. All the dancers and lip singer learn new songs very fast for the performance. Sometimes Ashi is the main person on the stage but mostly he is supporting the singer with dancing. When Ashi is on the stage he is full of passion and he has a lot of fun with dancing.
After the show all the ladyboy dancers are in front of the bar and every visitor can get a picture with them for a tip. The ladyboy dancers have sometimes a good amount of visitors but sometimes not. It is a hard business for them. For Ashi, it is it important to have a good night with a lot of customers to earn money so that he can support his parents but also to pay his own rent. He is sharing his apartment with his boyfriend who is working as a DJ at the cabaret show. After the show all the ladyboy dancers practice the show for the next night and then their work is over but sometimes Ashi has a visitor where he has to dance for him and it can take the whole night. Ashi changes his day to a night and his night to a day life.
ALL PHOTOS ARE BY SARAH GNADIG
Besides this story, Sarah has completed many projects. She did a story on a Hippie camp in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she wrote a story about some drug addicts and gang members who lived under a bridge in Lima, Peru, and she created and edited her own support video and a video for the team.
Thanks for reading!!!
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