Culture

My partner, Guo Jian, has been priming me for the “moon month” or zuo yuezi (坐月子).

When my in-laws were here a couple of weeks ago (the precursor to their more permanent visit before the baby’s arrival) and we were downstairs helping to unload the car, a perfect stranger noticed my advanced pregnant shape, the presence of parental figures and Guo Jian and I helping them with their things. This stranger very confidently turned to Guo Jian and half-asked and half-stated, “Your parents have come to help you through the moon month?” To this woman, there could be nothing more obvious. Guo Jian just smiled and nodded. His parents glowed with pride.

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This guest post by Singapore-based Franco-American expat Cordelia Newlin de Rojas once again came to our attention from the excellent blog InCultureParent and was originally published there. It is used here with the permission of the author, whose bio appears below.

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A few months ago, I had a major case of Food Bewilderment.

My family was visiting from Canada at the time, which prompted one of dad’s business contacts to invite us out for dinner. We took a long cab ride to the middle of nowhere. (Later on, I found out that “the middle of nowhere” was actually somewhere near the Summer Palace.)

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While enjoying this nice and week-long Chinese holiday, here are ten things you might not know about it:

1.    October 1, 1949 is not the day the PR of China (PRC) was founded. The PRC was founded on September 21, 1949. The celebration of PRC government’s founding was on October 1, 1049, so it was chosen as the date for National Day.

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Growing up in Anhui province, Mid-Autumn Day has always been a big festival for my family. When I was a child we liked sitting on the balcony of our apartment at night to enjoy the full moon while eating moon cakes and pomegranates. After a night of chewing and spitting red seeds that stained my hands, my mouth would go numb. Somehow the moon doesn’t appear so clear to me now, but the tradition of eating on this day remains.

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Having recently written an article on the pros and cons of city versus suburb living, it was timely that I finally did something that’s taken me 3 ½ years to do – visit The Forbidden City.  Yep, there…I said it.  I’ve lived here this long and had yet gone to one of the most historical sites in one of the most historical countries ever.  Sad, isn’t it?  I can offer my excuses of having young children that would hate the walking and “boring” displays (and now, having gone there, I still say they’d make the trip unbearable).  Or waiting for the perfect weather.  Or just getting too busy with daily life.  These are valid reasons, yes; and they are also convenient excuses.  I simply hadn’t taken the time to get there.  And that is one of the “cons” of living in the ‘burbs – sometimes you just don’t take in what Beijing has to offer.

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When pregnant with my first daughter, I bought several baby name books. I spent hours poring over each and every name, making lists of what I liked, what the names meant, how they sounded together. Americans tend to simply select names they like, often some sort of connection with family names. Sometimes, as with celebrities, totally bizarre names are chosen. It’s good to be different, they must figure.

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In Mandarin, instead of saying 'humph', you say heng（哼) when exasperated. If you want to say 'hey look', as in 'hey look, here's your jacket', you say nuo (喏) .

It's interesting to think that there are Chinese characters for even the most inane vocal expressions; somebody had to figure out a way to visually represent even things like the sound you make when you spit (pei 呸). Check out this list of interesting Chinese particles to learn more of the huffs, guffs, sighs and cries of Mandarin. Use 'em properly in speech, and people might have to take a second look to make sure you're not a local.

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As anyone who has ever tried to get me to go to anything knows, if it involves lunch or some other meal – even tea and cookies – I’ll be there. So when I saw the invitation to join the beijingkids Club at the new Italian restaurant Alio Olio for a special workshop for third-culture kids and their families, I knew Reina and I had to attend. Not necessarily because we know anything about third-culture kids or have questions, but because we love Italian food. 

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