Finally on the way!

After a few delays and plan changes, I am finally on the way!!!

I'm posting from the airport... I made it through security without anyone confiscating my wand. Of course, to the average Muggle it is nothing more than a wooden stick. :) Soon I will be able to share pictures and videos from Japan! :D

If I'm able to use wifi on the flight, I'll be sure to post more later. So excited!

Graduations and Preparations

            First things first, NEWTS are over and they went well… I graduated (summa cum laude) yesterday!  Yay!   For any naysayers out there, here’s some evidence.  I circled me in orange to avoid a grueling round of “Where’s Waldo?”

As for the preparations, I have all the major tasks out of the way… dentist appointments, stocking up on three months worth of contacts, etc.   Packing is turning out to be a tad more difficult than I had imagined.  I’m used to traveling using undetectable extension charms, but since I will have to go through Muggle airport security and customs, that could end badly.  As of right now, one carry-on size bag is filled to the brim with nothing but shoes… a definite first for me!   Packing lightly becomes trickier when you’re required to bring “fashion wear” for castings.  

Here’s a rough list of odds and ends I am either required contractually to bring or required to bring for the sake of my sanity:

·      Passport & visa

·      Makeup kit

·      Correcting kit

·      Bridal kit

·      Black pumps

·      White pumps

·      Fashion wear

·      Nude bra

·      Black bra

·      Nude underwear

·      Strapless bra

·      Stick-on bra

·      iPad (+charger)

·      iPhone (+charger)

·      Laptop (+charger)

·      Sunscreen/moisturizer

·      Makeup remover

·      Pajamas

·      Shampoo/Conditioner/Soap

·      Tampons

·      Socks

·      Shaving razor

·      Blow dryer

·      Tylenol/Excedrin Migraine

·      Black & white tanks

·      Electric adapters

·      Toothbrush & toothpaste

·      Hairbrush & comb

·      Vitamins

I’m quite nervous I’m going to forget something important.  If anyone comments and reminds me of something to bring that I don’t already have on my list or in my suitcase already (meaning something I legitimately forgot), I’ll get you a present in Japan.  haha 

Battle of the Brides

Word of warning to the wise: Never enter a bridal store the day after a royal wedding. 

If you recall in my last post, I mentioned that I needed a bridal bustier.  Well, after searching every women's clothing store in Diagon Alley and then the mall, I nearly gave up until I remembered the David's Bridal store across the street.  Bad idea!  It was a mad house!  Perhaps people got overzealous about wedding dresses after watching too much of the Royal Wedding yesterday, but I had never seen such a zoo.  I finally managed to find a lady who was booking fitting appointments to grab a bustier for me, and I was delighted that it fit! :)

Ta-da! Nope, that's not me, but the fitting room where they stuffed me didn't even have a mirror.  So that's what a bridal bustier is... Too bad I waited in the checkout line for forty-five minutes to buy one item when everyone else was ordering clothes for entire wedding parties.  *face-palm*  But at least I ran into my friend Cheryl, so it wasn't a total waste of time. :D

Oh!  Before I forget, we have the winning answer for what the mysterious "belly band" is.  A big thank you to Rae Westcott, another international model who's with the same agency as me in Japan.  She just graduated from fashion school in Osaka.  I'll have to ask her if I can post a picture of her in one of her amazing designs. :)  Without further ado, Rae's answer to what a "belly band" is:

"I think by 'belly band' they mean a haramaki, which is pretty much a girdle. In Japan they aren't so much for squeezing like a corset, but are more casual - for body-line-smoothing and keeping you warm in winter."  

So I'm going to be getting one of those in Japan since the ones here are not designed for people as bony as me. >.<

Things to Bring

Among the many things anyone would have to pack for a 3-month trip, my contract lists a few items I'm required to bring.

Here's a quick list of things I'm contractually obligated to have for castings "as directed by the Agent":

1.  Makeup kit 

2.  Correcting kit 

3.  Bridal kit

4.  Black pumps  

5.  White pumps 

6.  Fashion wear

Four out of six of these I have covered.  I even bought a new pair of white pumps.  

However, perhaps I should have taken Muggle Studies because I had no idea what correcting kits and bridal kits were.  Anyway, I emailed the agency to ask about this (they aren't accustomed to receiving messages by owl), and this was the response:

"...Models usually use towel, belly band, Nu-bra and some kind of underwear to fit your body in the prepared dress.  Also use bridal bustier."

Ah-ha!  So at least now I know I need nude undergarments, a stick-on bra, and ...a towel?  I'm most curious to find out why I will be needing a towel.  Also, what in the world is a belly band?  Is it like a girdle? lol I can assure you that the last thing I need is a girdle.  Maybe if a store sells reverse girdles to make me look bigger....  Oh, and a bridal bustier!  I had to google that one.  It sounds like a cross between a girdle and a bra.  

If anyone has any clue as to what this mysterious belly band might be, please comment and let me know!  I think I may have to come up with a prize for the most correct and the most creative and entertaining answer... ;D

Salutations and Explanations

Hello! Welcome to Models, Not Muggles: the first blogging experience of its kind!  As you may have guessed, I am a model (and not a Muggle), and I'm about to embark on an adventure in Japan.  For three months, I will be living in Japan with a modeling agency.  Not only will I be adjusting to working in a foreign culture, but for the first time I will be living among the Muggles.  Although I don't leave for a few more weeks, I invite you to join me now as I document my preparations for the journey.  Who knows what mayhem will commence?

Before I continue any further, let me introduce myself.  My name is Sarah.  Here is a photo of my two sisters on either side of me.

 

Aren't we adorable?  :)  I'll miss them while I'm away, but I can't say if they'll be too sad to be rid of me... ;)

As for the modeling work, I'm not exactly new to the line of work.  Here are a few examples of some of my past work:

 Oh look!  It's me holding me!

I'm on 9 book covers now in the U.S., U.K., Sweden, Poland, Germany, and France.  I've also been seen in magazines, Delia's catalog, online stores, and on the runway for various designers.  I've been told that this makes me sound cool...  Well, unfortunately, that is just not the case.  If you get to know me, you'll realize I'm actually way too big of a dork ever to be cool. :)

Anyway, hopefully that's enough for now.  I'll be sure to add updates as my departure date approaches and I prepare for the trip.  Between now and then, I have to study for my N.E.W.T.s!