modelinginmexico
Modeling, Mexico, Jill Billingsley, Jill Scott,Archive for January, 2012
For Mi Novio
I celebrated an anniversary with the guy at Starbucks -my main means for communication while the internet is not hooked up. And below is landmark I pass by on the way to the gym, about a 15 min stroll away from the apartment.
The Angel of Independence, most commonly known by the shortened name El Ángel and officially known as Columna de la Independencia, is a victory column located on a roundabout over Paseo de la Reforma in downtown Mexico City. It commemorates the centennial of the beginning of Mexico’s War of Independence, celebrated in 1910. (Sondra you should get a kick out of that tidbit.) Each vertex at the quadrants base has it’s own sculpture symbolizing peace, law, war, and justice. On the main face of the base, which faces downtown Mexico City, there is an inscription reading La Nación a los Héroes de la Independencia (“The Nation to the Heroes of Independence”). In front of this inscription is a bronze statue of a giant lion led by a child, representing strength and the innocence of youth during War but docility during Peace. Crowning the column stands Nike, the Greek goddess of Victory. It is made of bronze, covered with 24kgold (restored in 2006) and weighs 7 tons. In her right hand the Angel holds a laurel crown above Miguel Hidalgo’s head, symbolizing Victory, while in her left she holds a broken chain, symbolizing Freedom.
Here is a idea of what the police can be seen wearing in the city, equipped with a large rifle and full entire.
This was a casting for a Mexican type of beer. Outside it looked quit ran down and had a large metal gate guarding what looked to be a really old building. Once inside we saw this and this is the outside… deep inside the building was even more beautiful! 
I pass this fountain whenever I have to walk to the local bus station and although the sign behind it takes away from the sight, it actually is very pretty in person.
Mexico Ciudad
Everyday I am exposed to the vast differences between Mexico and my country.
Negatives :
-The homes here are guarded with high thick metal gates, camera’s, and entry codes to grant access.
-The cars have the right of way on roads so pedestrians cross at their own risk, regardless of the present walk sign.
-The walk man is green, as opposed to our white.
-The naughty words in Espanol are to only be said by men
-Schools have high gates with barbed wire above
-Soldiers are everywhere, with large guns (This is not a bad thing, because they are doing their job keeping the cartel out of the city, but something that causes nervous grief to those who haven’t been here)
Positives:
-There’s hidden art everywhere: sculptures, buildings, landscaping, fountains, statues, churches. It’s amazing to see the detail here and realize how boring and simple home can be.
-People here are more approachable, if your lost they are helpful
-The city is touchy feely with hugs and kisses, it’s custom to kiss a lady’s check as a greeting, and if you are a man greeting another man, than a pat on the back.
Tips the citizens give us:
People travel with their backpack on their chest, that way you can watch over your belongings.
Bags and purses that hang at your side are meant to be brought forward slightly with your hand resting on the zipper.
Phone calls are for only when you are standing still and aware of your surroundings, else wise someone may come from behind and knock it from your grasp.
Taxi’s are a dime-a-dozen, but it’s much much safer to call for one rather than wave one down.
Clothing should be somewhat plain and modest to prevent extra attention (even to go see the modeling agency I wear sweats on a hot sunny day)
Jewerly shouldn’t be worn and
when there is music playing in a club with doors wide open you don’t get close or look in. I basically stand far away from anything to prevent being pushed in. 😛
And of course, traveling in pairs is much safer than singles.
Castings are still happening and keeping me and the roomy busy, mind you this week we have been napping a lot in the afternoon because we are getting off early. Did a Mexican beer casting today and a grocery market casting. =) For those of you interested. First time we went out to our castings alone and we discovered the Metro.
Crash Course
The “glamorous” life of a model went somewhat off course on the 17th. Due to Edmonton’s fabulous weather my flight arrived an hour late and with turbulence, resulted in the aircraft arriving in Seattle much later than scheduled. Half of the plane missed their connecting flights! Myself included. I got to enjoy my stay at the -2 star Hotel Seattle Airport where I fashioned together a bed from 2 benches and a blanket out of a zip up dress I had in my carryon. I woke up every half hour to the incredibly loud people and machines the airport has to offer until finally giving up on my 4 hour sleep. While in and out of consciousness Seattle got hit with a pile of snow. No wonder I was freezing! And of course, with snow there ar
e delays. I did get to sit on my flight at the correct time the following morning, but with deicing, I had a nice lengthy wait of an hour before take off was even considered. What can I say? I am glad to be away from our horrible snow.
…. twelve hours later….
I touched down in Mexico. Paranoid from all the warnings, looking behind my back, I begin to think I stand out even more than before. I follow the crowd, scared to take out my passport because officials will steal it. I fill out what paper work I was given, handed over the passport and away I went to have my bags searched again. While lifting my bags onto the belt I hear yelling on the other side of the wall. A strike! Signs are everywhere, people marching, some yelling, I think even a couple whistles are thrown in there. Now I am nervous, but before I had time to even get scared Martin, a driver for the agency, picked me up with his only English word I understood… Jill.
We got into a taxi and I immediately noticed how laid back everyone is. A young man ate his lunch right at his stand while sitting on the window ledge, an older lady applied her lipstick at her desk before starting her shift, p
eople napping outside under trees. It’s a nice change from how I felt the last time I had to work. Stiff with little leyweigh for mistakes and unprofessionalism. The car ride was so refreshing. Out of the airport -finally- and I could feel the warmth of the sun. The city streets are filled with graffetti tags on buildings but not so much to take away from the beauty of it all. As I leave the airport and get closer to my destination the city goes from what you would expect (poor and a little ran down) to passing breath taking sculptures, a mall structured of only windows, a downtown building that looks straight out of the future. I imagine the building would fit in well with New York.
I don’t luck out completely as the model apartment is somewhat lackluster in comparison to what I just saw, but I have currently have only one roommate who is so chilled that instantly I feel like we just clicked. We share a bedroom, a washroom, a kitchen, and even a living room. The place is much better than what we thought we may end up with, the only exclusion is the ever visiting cockroaches. 😛 Hey, as long as they stay out of my shit and off my body, I guess I can live with squishing a couple a day. All and all the 18th is finally done and tomorrow I set out to see my newest agency and hear what their thoughts are on my book and current look.
19th
What a fulfilling day! I woke up to Arianna awaking up from MY alarm. Lol, for those of you who never knew, I am a horrible morning person. I started my day at 6:30am with probably the coldest shower you could ever image. My new goal is to not sweat – thus needing little shower time. Ha! After 8 I left with the roomie to catch a taxi and head to Polanco. That’s right, the horrid taxi that we heard/read so many bad things about. My feeling so far on them are pretty standard. They may try to rip you off (but so do most taxis at home) and they drive like crazy madmen but if you look out for the marked taxi’s with the drivers license displayed in the window, I think people will be fine. (HOWEVER, a taxi driver did warn us to beware of pistols held towards our head, THANKS!)
The scenery along the route is stunning. Every other block seems to have some unique attraction: alluring parks, bewitching fountains, decorative statues, or churches that look as if it would have taken years of meticulous construction.
Considering it’s Mexico, the weather was not as hot as you’d think. I froze in my barely there shorts and crop top. Lesson learned! Plus, once arriving to the agency they suggested looking a little less conspicuous anyways. 
I met my booker, Irma and everyone the agency had to offer. The owner, the other bookers, and our city guide tour, Angie. The language barrier is certainly present with us Canadian’s trying our best to listen to what we are being told. While going through my portfolio I catch a couple positive words exchanged from booker to booker and after seeing what they have done, was ecstatic to realize they left me with only 2 blank pages in my whole port. I assume that is nearly 20 images that pass their liking. I was asked to stand in a bikini and heels for all of 20 secs and everyone seemed to be okay with what they saw. What a relief! And with my new book in hand and clothes back on I am told of my first few castings. We both were given 2 places to get to but by days end, attended 4 castings overall (taking us to 6pm) and many castings that we will have throughout the week. Today we shot a video casting for a company similar to Staples here, a commercial video casting (acting… yay!), a L’Oreal casting call where they mainly looked at your port, and a Coca Cola commercial casting where I had to dance!!! A long day of castings, taxis, walking, buses, and asking for directions. Thankfully for Angie we had a little bit of Spanish on our side, for the week to come without help has me a little worried while still being excited. I can honestly say I truly am starting to feel like a model, and if I could nail down a casting I’d officially be a working international model.
And tomorrow I do it all over again! I have braved the cuisine for lunch and dinner, drank guava juice and explored a few markets close by to fill our fridge. I haven’t worked this hard in months, and now I am beat. Siesta time. Buenas noches.
AND I LEARNED THAT CUTE BUTT IS bonita bomba in Spanish. I think it’s important everyone around the world knows this. =)
20th
-Went to a casting call for some high end large business that was 2 bus rides away and took nearly 3 hours in total to get there and return home.
-Went to a quick casting call and tried on a dress, I think we may have booked that gig.
-Video casting for Pilsner (I had to speak horrible horrible Spanish on the fly. Hilarious… not so confident on that one)
-Went to bank (Friday’s are paydays!)
-Got cell phones (I no longer look poor with my flip phone, I have a Mexican phone number and a nice easy to text pink phone for the next 5 months. No Iphone still =(… turns out… THEY ARE FREAKISHLY expensive here since being such a new technology. Over 1000 CAN $.
21-22
WEEKEND! Days off and time to explore Mexico City, starting off with Starbucks! Ha.
Ps: Air quality here is not near how bad one would image. Pleasant surprise for me, but of course, no stars at night.
Hola Mundo!
The start to my new life and adventure begins with a plane ride that is more than double the length of time it takes to travel to Mexico, and touches down twice in Seattle and LA. (Probably to cut costs for the agency) But I am not complaining. I actually enjoy airports and the feelings of nostalgia I get knowing that I am traveling for work purposes. I always felt like I was meant to do something somewhat out of the ordinary — Mission Possible!
I’m exhilarated to see what a secondary market has in store for me. For those of you who don’t know what that means, the primary markets for modeling are places like Paris, NY, & Milan… where height is a factor, and weight is near sickly standards. Mexico offers the prospect for shorter models with promise to really expand their book and hopefully make some money!
This could be a dream come true, and if I was single, be a situation that wouldn’t phase a recluse like myself. However, I leave the love-of-my-life at the airport and we’ll have to endure 5 more months of separation. Do-able, not always pleasant though. On that note, I will have my first blog bid adieu to the boy. This May Be Gushy!
Hey — Scarcely do I post relationship status’s on facebook, I need some outlet!
I leave behind an incredibly supportive boyfriend who never ceases to astonish me. How a person can be so selfless is an amazing characteristic to possess. He never questioned me leaving. He never asked me to stay. He doesn’t ask me to quit, because he knows it’s my dream. He loves me and wants to push me out of my comfort zone. On the days where I question, “Is this what I want?” He answers for me, “You know you have to do it, don’t think like that it. There’s no question!” Without hesitation none-the-less. It didn’t matter that I just spent the summer away from him, he self scarifies everything for me.
Our relationship is ever developing and where there are others who never experience independency from their mates, I realize how much they miss out on. What a bonding effect time apart culminates in. Ironic eh?! You always hear absence makes the heart grow fonder, but how often do you experience it? This will be my fourth time now that I get the chance to re-appreciate my extremely small family of cats & Eric and just wanted to thank Eric for being the pillar of strength throughout this all. Love You!
With that said, I’ll end this blog by saying, “Adios & Te amo!” Thank you to the friends and family who came to see me and gave goodbyes. This will be the hotspot to learn about the real city of Mexico and my job/ life. Enjoy my random thoughts! ❤
Jill
modelinginmexico 