Family Life
Say Hello to Beijing’s Smallest
Léopoldine Mocquiaux
French. Born on Nov 17 to Caroline and Thierry Mocquiaux at Beijing United Family Hospital.
Oh, the Possibilities!
For the Chin family, eating out is extremely rare and is an event reserved for special occasions only. Growing up, I would only see the inside of a restaurant once, maybe twice a year. While I secretly wished for the nights out that other families seemed to enjoy, I was getting spoiled with home-cooked meals day in and day out.
At our house, there was never a need to leave the kitchen. My mom would simmer, bake and broil dishes to perfection, while my dad would fry, boil or whip up anything from lo mein to shrimp scampi in mere minutes. Due to his profound love of cooking for others and the speediness with which he cooked, my dad became the de facto cook of the house.
The Gift of Hope
The holidays are a time to be with family, but what about those who have none? Charitable organizations, volunteer groups, and NGOs are often the only source of care and comfort for orphans and critically endangered babies. There are several ways to help: volunteering, donating, organizing a fundraising event, or simply spreading the word. Read on about five local organizations that support sick, disadvantaged, or orphaned children. Give the gift of warmth, education, medical care, and a full belly this Christmas to those who need it most.
Notable projects: Providing critical medical care to babies is Little Flower’s priority. The charity also offers group foster homes for physically disabled children who are unlikely to get adopted, hospice care for children with incurable medical conditions, long-term care for physically and mentally disabled children, and help for special cases – such as children from poor families with medical or educational needs.
A Festive State of Mind
The winter months in Beijing have a special appeal. Invigorating temperatures that spawn new dance crazes at bus stops, wistfully silver-tinged coal-scented air and the oh-so-delightful arctic gusts and blasts that remind you of why you would rather spend the season in Beijing than anywhere else. For those rare few who dare to yearn for home at this time, Beijing can still surface a few comforts. Especially in the expatriate crowd, there is quite a selection of celebrations going on. We’ve recently caught up with a few waywardly festive families to learn a bit more about how they make the winter holiday season extra special.
The Palestrant-Rothschild Family – Hanukkah
The Palestrant-Rothschild family has been living in China on and off for many years. Their current assignment began four years ago, bringing the family here from a prior posting in Chicago. Stacy has been through three different rotations here, and Tomar is on his fifth. For the most part, daughters Shiraz, age 5, and Meital, age 2, are true Beijingers despite their American passports.
The Schneider Family
Gabriella and Marcel Schneider have been living in Beijing with their children Simon (16) and Tim (15) for over six years. They are originally from Switzerland. Gabriella is a designer and Marcel is the CEO of TUI China, a travel company that offers trip packages throughout Asia. Here are the family’s favorite things to do in Beijing.
Favorite Way to Relax
We escape to the wild part of the Great Wall and relax by hiking, climbing, and running.
Say Hello to Beijing’s Smallest
Annika Yara Land
German. Born on September 7 to Tina Land and Andreas Liepe at Beijing United Family Hospital.
A Christmas Conundrum
Christmas for me has always been a gigantic family affair with an even bigger itinerary. On Christmas morning, I would be the one shaking my parents ‘til they awoke, a girl who on any other day requires a forklift to get out of bed. After an enthusiastic lap around the Christmas tree and the cascade of presents lying under it, I would sit, wait and wonder why my parents could not get out of bed any faster! My brother and I were already up, counting the presents and eyeing our pregnant stockings.
Say Hello to Beijing’s Smallest
Aiden Lennox McEwan
Scottish/Singaporean. Born on Apr 2 to Josephine and Scott McEwan in Beijing.
We’ve Got You Covered
Understanding, obtaining and utilizing health insurance can be a confusing and expensive challenge for expatriate families in Beijing. There are a wide variety of vendors and options available for review, but it is like looking into a basket of Chinese vegetables during harvest season. All these choices look similar on the surface, but taste totally different. To help navigate the scene and gain insight into your healthcare choices in the capital, beijingkids spoke to two families with totally different experiences.
The Cronan-Dixon-Garner Family
This Cronan-Dixon-Garner family (pictured here) hails from Australia and has been living in Beijing for over five years. Dave Garner owns an investment management company called New Wave Capital, which handles mergers, acquisitions and divestments, capital raising, strategic consulting and investment. His wife Ren Cronan-Dixon stays busy with a variety of organizations around Beijing, Miles (7) goes
to the British School of Beijing and Reuben (4) attends Children's House International Montessori Kindergarten. As such, the family had to find private insurance coverage.
Full-Time Fathers
Growing up in the United States during the 1950s, Michael Killfoil recalls: "My father worked, my mother worked. There was no stay-at-home dad. There was no stay-at-home mom. There was a mom who ran the house like a drill sergeant, and the dad never got involved in any of it."
