Jessica Pan
The English Pianist
Love, war, betrayal, glamour and the occasional lapse of kleptomania set against the backdrop of Hong Kong - The Piano Teacher is an epic first novel that isn't easy to put down. Author Janice Y.K. Lee transports readers to the bustling streets and high society life of mid-century Hong Kong. Claire, a newlywed piano teacher, arrives in Hong Kong in 1952 and blossoms in the exotic, sweltering locale while becoming entangled in a complicated love affair with her student's chauffeur, Will Truesdale, a handsome but damaged Briton. The novel alternates between their affair and Will's earlier whirlwind romance with Trudy, a striking Eurasian socialite, during the Japanese invasion of World War II 11 years earlier. Pan Out
As it’s been said many times before, with the new year comes new beginnings. This rings true especially for me and this magazine this January. My two-and-a-half years in Beijing and almost two-year stint at beijingkids is up, and I’m headed down south – to Australia.
As expats, most of us know that we will eventually bid goodbye to our fair city. This issue, our annual family-friendly restaurant guide, speaks to one of the aspects that is hardest to leave behind – the exceptional food, rich in both variety and flavor.
When my friends back in the US inevitably make some joke about Chinese food (“In China, they just call it food”), they also assume that the cuisine here is a generic mish-mash of the fast-food Chinese joints in airports or malls – greasy noodles and plain chicken fried rice. I must confess that I, too, initially didn’t know what to expect.
Beijing Bad Moms
Usually when moms gather together, most of the chatter revolves around their children, and rightfully so – other parents are a great source of sympathy, advice and camaraderie. But Varvara Shavrova, a full-time studio artist and the mother of two sons (ages 12 and 8), isn’t interested in this sort of socializing. “I want to talk about life – what have you done, what film have you seen, what book are you reading,” says the Russian native who has lived in Beijing for almost five years.
Shavrova is the force behind a new sort of socializing group for mothers in the capital, the cheekily named Beijing Bad Moms, an idea that has been in the making for the past three years but only came to fruition last March.
The idea struck her when she and her children attended the birthday party of one of her friend’s daughters at The Vineyard Café.
Yummy Mummy
Rock & roll is my blood,” says Australian Danijela Pavic, the mother of Dane (12), Mila (10), and Maksim (7) who has lived in Beijing for two years. Although she was initially hesitant to undergo a makeover due to the “cheesiness factor,” she just celebrated a milestone birthday and decided to embrace the offer. Danijela usually dons jeans, Converses and Ramones T-shirts that she shares with her son, Dane, and although she was a cosmetic consultant at David Jones in 1991, her daily regimen now is only undereye concealer and mascara. “Mornings are crazy. I prepare lunches for the kids and they also want a three-star breakfast, like omelets or pancakes,” she laughs, “and then I have to get them out the door in time for the bus.” The Sydneysider with Serbian heritage stays in shape with classes at Alona Pilates Studio three times a week: “I want to defy gravity as much as possible,” she jokes. She wanted a glamorous evening look, so hairstylists at Private I Salon and a makeup artist accentuated her olive skin and dark hair to help her achieve her goal. A gift certificate for an aromatherapy massage at the The Spa at Hilton Wangfujing completed the day of a luxury. Danijela’s list of things to do includes learning to surf and traveling more – but now she can cross off “Be a starlet.”
The Funny Man Talks
Have a five-minute conversation with American, Richard Robinson,an entrepreneur who has lived in Beijing for nine years, and you won’t be surprised to discover that his labor of love is Chopschticks, a comedy company that hosts stand-up comedians in Beijing. Robinson, who performs stand-up himself, lightens the mood often, whether with self-deprecating comments or traditional “So a guy walks into a bar…” jokes. The father of two, Declan (5) and Aidan (3), sat down with beijingkids (moments before he was due to speak at an entrepreneur conference) to discuss the latest label to add to his profile: children’s book author. Robinson penned Beijing ABC’s, a fun, rhyming book. Money from the book will go to the charity Magic Hospital, a foundation that strives to improve the quality of life for sick, hospitalized, handicapped, orphaned, abused and at-risk children.
Chrismakkah
I have a vivid memory of lying across my mother’s lap in the backseat of our Chevy Suburban (before SUVs were an environmental faux pas) on a chilly Texas night. My father was driving, my two older brothers were probably horsing around in the “way back” seat, and my mother’s parents, visiting from Los Angeles, were riding with us. As we drove home from dinner, I distinctly remember our family singing, “Silver Bells” and “Holy Night” while my mother ran her fingers through my hair.
However, no one in the car had ever celebrated a traditional
Christmas. My maternal grandparents are Jewish, as is my mother – and my brothers and I were being raised Jewish. My father, on the other hand, had been raised Catholic in a Chinese household. But memories like these are common from my childhood – lighting the menorah for Hanukkah with a Christmas tree in the background, finding stockings filled with Hanukkah gelt, and singing Christmas carols and our favorite Hanukkah songs. We knew that we were the luckiest kids in the world because we had both holidays. Kids at school would gape in awe, sputtering, “You get Christmas and Hanukkah?! You must get so many presents!” In reality, we probably received the same amount of presents, only they were given at different times and with a different wrapping paper color scheme (blue and white vs. red and green).
Canadian Cover Girl
Sharon Hill, mother of Joshua (16 months) and Kristen (3-and-a-half-years) is a registered nurse who has spent her time in Beijing volunteering at orphanages. This Filipino-Canadian is blessed with smooth, perfect skin, and spends about five minutes each morning getting ready: “It’s all the time I have before I need to get my daughter to school,” Sharon says. The stylists at Franck Provost Paris in Raffles City put more life into her long locks but kept the length. As for makeup, this good Samaritan likes to keep it simple with concealer and mascara, but for her makeover with Shu Uemura, she decided on an elaborate evening look. “I don’t even recognize myself,” Sharon exclaimed. “It’s really fun to look like the girls in the magazines.” As for the secret to her perfect skin? Oil of Olay. “I’ve been stealing it from my mother’s medicine cabinet since I was a little girl. I still use it everyday,” Sharon says.
Get the Look:
Doctor's Orders
My father is a doctor, and in our family, any scrape, cough, rash or other minor ailment was dutifully examined by dad, who usually gave one or more of the following prescriptions: don’t get the cut wet, take an antihistamine, drink more water or get more sleep. Usually, the advice was and still is: “Get more sleep.”
When I attended college 3,000 miles away from home, I still felt the need to consult my father about all health problems/issues. According to his protective instincts, anything and everything could potentially be fatal if not closely monitored. During my junior year at university, I noticed a strange bump on the back of my head. My dad advised me to visit the university health clinic, worrying that since the bump wasn’t a bruise, it could be a lymph node gone wayward or even a brain tumor. The university physician felt the bump, asked me a few questions, and took my vital signs.
Mei Lan’s Mulan: Rewriting Chinese fairytales and myths
It's rare that someone gets the chance to write their own versions of fairy tales, but that's exactly the project Mei Lan Frame completed in 2007. Frame, who has taught students in Japan, Hawaii and Beijing, has always had a fascination with myths and tales. The writer, who is half-Chinese, moved to Beijing in 2003 and was an ESL specialist teacher at the Western Academy of Beijing. While on a Fulbright fellowship in India in 2007, she edited and contributed to two books, Chinese Fairytales and Chinese Myths, a project that allowed her to learn more about Chinese culture and be part of the long tradition of evolving stories.
School Days: High School Curriculum Guide
International Baccalaureate
International Baccalaureate (IB) has three programs - the Diploma Programme (IBDP) builds on the skills offered in the first two programs.
Students must study three subjects at Higher Level and three at Standard Level; successfully complete a 4,000-word original research essay; be involved in Creativity, Action and Service; and successfully complete a Theory of Knowledge course.
