Meet Kelly Bettio.

Originally coming to China on a tour with a Latin dance team, this Brazilian actress fell in love with the country and decided to move here indefinitely. For the last 2 years, she traveled and lived in various cities around China before claiming Beijing as home 6 months ago. Kelly loves the capital city best because of its dynamic mix of old and new; when asked to describe Beijing in one word, she immediately responded: “unbelievable.” However, her most unbelievable moment since immigrating here happened in Shanghai: dancing with longtime idol Brendan Fraser after filming her part in his newly released movie, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

When she isn’t on the set of blockbuster Hollywood films in Shanghai, she can be found riding bikes through Beijing, swimming in Kunming Lake (she asserts she was undeterred by the mysterious green goop in the water and the fact that she had clothes on), or sipping beers on outside patios in Sunlitun. If she ever begins to miss Brazil, she battles homesickness by eating at Alameda, dancing at Salsa Caribe and spending time with the close knit Brazilian expat community in Beijing.

If you would like to meet Kelly in person, for the next few weeks you can find her among the international staff at Club P, which is located at Tango and open exclusively for the Games.

Tracy Winn loves to find the weird and wonderful characters who make Beijing great. Be sure to check out her other blog for more reflections of a laowai on the highway.