beijingkids November 2008
New beijingkids Hits the Stands
This month Tania McCartney dreams up a Sleeping Beauties slumber fest that should please little girls everywhere. We've also got a roster of high-energy games that will rev up your kids for hours. Be sure to consult Chona Rodriguez's five rules for playdate etiquette.
In a feature by Donna Scaramastra Gorman, expat wives open up about the relationship challenges of living abroad, from money woes and control issues to isolation and identities in flux. And editor Amani Zhang explores the experience of expat kids who attend Chinese schools.
Plus: Finger puppet critters, no-oven Thanksgiving meals, Q&A with a fashion designer, a teen debate about money, family-friendly places in the Village at Sanlitun, and local muralist Jiang Zhuqiang’s take on creating art and family.
Not A Native Speaker
Am I Malaysian enough?
Kepada pelawat-pelawat, kami ucapkan selamat datang ke Malaysia. Kepada warga Negara Malaysia, kami ucapkan selamat pulang,” chirped the overhead speakers of the airplane upon landing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
“Visitors, welcome to Malaysia. Malaysians, welcome home,” translated the English announcer. Ironically, I, a Malaysian, could not understand the message welcoming me in my own “native” language.
I was on my yearly holiday in my own country. Owing to my father’s work, my family moved to China when I was 3, and since then we’ve taken a two-week-long holiday in Malaysia every year. For my whole life, I have been attending international schools: an American school in Qingdao, a Canadian school in Dalian and finally a British school in Beijing. Therefore, English can be considered my first language. Being ethnic Chinese and living in China, I can also speak Chinese fluently. But what is the point of being bilingual when I can’t speak my native language, Malay?
The Xu’s
Originally from Shanghai, Bing Xu, Lisa Li and kids Vivian (10) and Matthew (9) returned to China in 2005 after ten years in Detroit, Michigan. Bing works for Chrysler and Lisa is a relocation consultant for Pricoa. This Chaoyang-based family loves Beijing’s rich culture and blend of the traditional with the ultra modern.
Would you like to share your Beijing Favorites? E-mail editor@beijing-kids.com.
Beijing Snack Food
We really like jiaozi, jianbing and lüdagun, a red bean sauce rolled up in sticky rice dough. It’s cold and sweet.
Place for Weekend Fun
The kids love Chaoyang Park because it has everything they want – outdoor and indoor play, swimming in summer, ice skating in winter and great restaurants nearby for lunch. The park also holds international festivals that are great fun.
For Better & For Worse
Your dishes may break in a move. Here’s how to ensure your marriage doesn’t.
Jennifer* had just moved to a new city where she knew no one when her husband of four years sprung the news: He was leaving on a three-month assignment to another country. Furious, this Beijing resident and mother of two did the only logical thing she could think of: she locked her husband out of the bedroom.
The couple worked through their problems and stayed together – they’re even expecting their third child early next year. But, recalls Jennifer, it wasn’t easy weathering that three-month separation with neither family nor friends nearby.
Going Local
Is total immersion in Chinese schools right for your kid?
When Mareno Rathell came to Beijing from the US in 2005, he had big hopes for his kids’ education. He enrolled his youngest son, 9-year-old Zevi, into a local Chinese school in Haidian district, where Zevi was one of the few foreign students. It seemed like an ideal situation – his children had a chance to learn about Chinese culture and develop fluent Mandarin skills, while benefiting from the strong training in subjects such as math and science that Chinese schools are known for.
“I believe that Chinese kids receive an excellent grade and middle school education,” says Rathell, “and my kid could only benefit from studying with them.”
But the reality was far from ideal. In a completely unfamiliar cultural environment, Zevi encountered far greater difficulties than Rathell had expected.
