December, 2008
Articles from prior issues of beijingkids can be found by checking out the archive links below for the month and year you are interested in.
I Want to Be a Filmmaker
Patrick Carr makes movie magicHere’s an original movie plot: A boy from Bridgnorth, Shropshire in the UK attends Oxford, studies Chinese and becomes a strategy consultant at Bain in London. Three years later, seeking something more than an uninspiring office job, he heads to Hong Kong, dabbles in teaching kindergarten and real estate investing before starting his own film company. Cut to Patrick Carr, 31, who now lives in Beijing and has made three Hollywood movies and his own independent films in L.A. and all over China. He spoke with Grade 6 students from Beijing BISS International School about what it’s like behind the scenes, how filmmakers raise money, and how he landed his brief stint in acting. Jessica Pan
Holiday Party Essentials
1. Lino Black Ostrich Scarf – RMB 1,000; Lino Haute Couture, North gate of Longbo Plaza, Dongsanhuan Beilu, Chaoyang District
2. Diamond Gold sequin hairband – RMB 60; 4/F, Yashow Market, 58 Gongti Beilu, Sanlitun, Chaoyang District
The Adoption Question
Does Elsa want a sibling?
For a couple of years now I’ve been toying with the idea of adopting. I would love Elsa to have a brother or a sister. I have one of each, and have developed a theory that as adults we naturally seek to replicate the family size we grew up with. This theory has as its scientific basis my mother’s habit of setting six places at dinner. She grew up as one of four siblings, and obviously felt that in producing a mere three children, she and my father were left one short of a full set.
As a single parent, my options are somewhat limited. I have friends who have gone the sperm donation route, but although I’d love more of my own children, having Elsa has satisfied at least 90 percent of the biological urge. Adoption seems therefore the best solution, but I’ve been finding it hard to decide whether to go ahead. At the moment, it’s relatively easy to balance work with time for Elsa. When I’m not working, I can focus on her in a way that would be impossible with a second child claiming my attention. And we’re actually very happy as things are, so do I really want to tempt fate? As it is, I don’t always feel I deserve such happiness, knowing that Elsa will probably suffer later as she comes to grips with not having a father. Part of me worries that I’m overreaching, risking what we have by seeking more.
Baby, You're a Homeowner
Living way north of Line 5
I seem to remember being told at school that it might be handy to have a thing called a “life plan.” I must remember to mention that to my son Daniel one day. Helpfully for clueless parents, there is a ready-made one-size-fits-all pattern that is especially popular in China: Get a proper job, get married, buy a place and then have kids. In that order.
It makes sense if you think about it, but it’s boring, isn’t it? Being contrary sorts, my wife Su and I haven’t quite done things according to the book. After falling in love as students in Japan, we got hitched – in Tokyo’s famous red light district, Kabukicho, as it happens. (It’s where the town hall is, honest.) I left a steady job and then we ran off to China, where I eventually started to freelance. (It’s okay, don’t worry: My missus has a salaried position.) A few years later, quite intentionally, we had a baby. And as every new parent could imagine, the script – if ever we had one, which we didn’t – was left in tatters in a forgotten corner, presumed unread.
The Young Spirit of A Christmas Carol
Junior thespians take the stage
Comedian W.C. Fields once said, “Never work with animals or children.” That sentiment is often heard on the set of Beijing Playhouse’s A Christmas Carol, a production that opens this month. That’s a good thing – at least for the kids. “When child actors are good, they’re just adorable, and they steal the scene,” says Chris Verrill, the theater's founder.
Marking Time
A family’s life in Christmas ornaments
Everywhere the Gorman family goes, we take our Christmas trees with us. The first is an eight-foot-tall, bendable plastic spruce, bought on sale one hot Washington summer right before we moved to our first overseas post ten years ago. The second, purchased a few years later, is smaller, sized to fit in a tight corner somewhere.
They might sound tacky, these plastic trees of ours, but they are really quite beautiful. They go everywhere we go because we haven’t always lived in countries where it’s possible to buy Christmas trees. And we are a family that needs a tree.
Ask Ms. Nutrition: Holiday Food and Weight
I have lost around 8kg in the last 6 months through cutting down on jun
k food and exercising more. I don’t want to force low-fat foods on the rest of the family, but how will I resist temptation during the holidays?
If you have spent the last six months educating yourself about healthy eating, there is no reason for it to go out of the window now. Aim to maintain your current weight, but not lose more, over Christmas. Spend some time thinking about how you can fit Christmas meals into your meal plan and exercise regime, paying particular attention to portion sizes.
In the Kitchen With Dad
From NY to BJ, Chef Billy’s culinary adventure continues
It’s after lunchtime on a chilly autumn day and William Bolton is enjoying a warm cup of green tea in his restaurant, Chef Too, located near Chaoyang Park. Afternoons are the only quiet times of the day for Bolton, who’s known to many as Chef Billy. By evening, the restaurant will be filled with customers and Bolton will be back in the kitchen, making some of the finest steaks found in Beijing.
“For me, the one thing I always used to miss in Beijing was a really good steak. That’s what I built this restaurant around,” says Bolton, a New York native. “I wanted to make one of those New York-style neighborhood restaurants: simple, consistent and serves a great steak.”
Fruit, Rice and Everything Nice
In praise of porridge
It seems like almost every Chinese festival is related to food – dumplings for Spring Festival, moon cakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival and zongzi (sticky rice wrapped in leaves) for the Dragon Boat Festival. Taking place each December 8, Laba is a Han Chinese festival where tradition calls for rice porridge.
In ancient China, people celebrated the harvest and made sacrifices to the gods and their ancestors for good luck in the following year. Some parts of China regard Laba as the beginning of Spring Festival. The twelfth month in the lunar calendar is called “là” (腊), and eight is “Bā” (八) in Chinese, which is how the name Laba was derived.
To make Laba rice porridge, glutinous rice is boiled for hours with various beans, millet, Chinese sorghum, dates, peas, dried lotus seeds, walnuts and almonds. Adding meat yields a savory flavor, while sugar sweetens the porridge.
Primate Personalities
Jane Goodall on chimpanzee families
In her decades spent studying chimpanzees, primatologist Jane Goodall has witnessed chimps behaving in ways that many of us might describe as almost human – expressing distinct personalities, waging war on one another, even “adopting” orphans into families. She recently spoke with beijingkids about what human children have in common with young chimpanzees and what bad mothering looks like in the animal world.
Goodall, who founded the Roots and Shoots program in Beijing for kids with an interest in the environment, will attend the Conservation Dinner at the Traders Upper East Hotel on December 5 and deliver a public lecture, “Hope for Nature,” at Peking University Hall on December 6.
Expat Economies
Make your money work for you in times of financial turmoil
I’ve been hiding the bank statements from my husband. Watching the balance drop is stressful enough without getting into arguments over what we should be doing with the money that’s left. Should we keep investing steadily in mutual funds? Move our funds to our savings account? Or find some middle ground? We don’t have any easy answers right now. No one does.
Though the financial crisis unfolding right now in the United States might seem far away, the credit crunch has affected expats of all nationalities here in Beijing. Thanks to the recent troubles of the US banking system, your retirement accounts and college funds have probably taken a hit, and the money that you squirreled away for a rainy day has probably dwindled. By a lot.
Distance Learning
The lazy student’s guide to running a marathon (well, a half-marathon, but what’s 13 miles or so between friends?)
In a moment of mid-semester madness at Durham University in the UK, I signed up for the Great North Run, a 21km (13.1 mile) road race on behalf of Cancer Research UK. It was a decision based on a mess of naïvete and not very good logic. I was, after all, unfit, lazy and had never run farther than the pub in my life.
Shortly after signing up I realized that I would first need to see how far I could comfortably run. Knowing that the GNR should take approximately two hours of solid running, I aimed to get as close to that as possible in a test run.
The results? Nowhere near. Plus it hurt. When I staggered back onto college grounds 30 minutes after setting off, I was hit with two epiphanies. First, running was harder than it looked. And second, I was going to have to put a lot of effort in if I actually wanted to finish the race. All this was interspersed by rather rude words that I won’t write down.
25 Ways to Make Beijing Your Home for the Holidays
Winter fun, good deeds, and warm holiday treats
1. Touch-of-Scrooge Movie Marathon
Traditionalists will gravitate toward classics like Miracle on 34th Street, but if the family’s in the mood for something different, here’s a list of flicks with minimal sap. Michelle Tsai
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989): The ultimate dysfunctional family holiday.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993): Tim Burton’s twisted vision of the holiday is candy for anyone drawn to the subversive.
Scrooged (1988): Dicken’s A Christmas Carol is reset and amped up in the decade of excess. Bill Murray plays a heartless TV executive in this dark comedy.
Bad Santa (2003): An alcoholic thief and a dwarf with a potty mouth play Santa and elf at the mall. You’ll bust a gut laughing if you’re not too offended.
Love Actually (2003): This romantic comedy set in a Yuletide London is surprisingly disarming, thanks to a star cast and a peppy soundtrack.
10 Great Things to Do in December
1. beijingkids Santa PartySanta Claus is coming to Beijing on Dec 13! In a pre-Christmas visit, Santa will join beijingkids at All-Star Ice Rink at Solana. Enjoy a complimentary lunch from A Thousand and One Nights, hot chocolate and a swirl on the rink with Santa. RMB 50 per person for two hours of skating (includes skate rental). Ages 3 and up. Tickets are required and limited to the first 180 people that sign up before Dec 11. Skating starts at 10am. Call Serena Li at 5820 7700 ext 853 or e-mail marketing@beijing-kids.com to reserve a spot.
You Are What You Eat
Whether you see Bambi’s doe eyes every time you reach for meat, or chow down on hamburgers without thinking twice, discussing eating habits can spark a meaty debate. Is eating animals morally wrong? Should the animals you eat be raised humanely? Does a vegetarian diet benefit the environment? And what happens when you put three meat-eaters and one vegetarian in the same room? beijingkids sat down with four students from St Paul American Preparatory School to find out.
Traipse through Yonghegong
Beijing’s winter is cold, but that doesn’t mean you should be confined to the inside of your house. On a pleasant day, a long walk can do wonders for you and your kids. Immersion Guide’s Beijing By Foot and beijingkids recommend a kid-friendly route near Yonghegong (the Lama Temple) that combines history, culture, food and entertainment.
9am: Start at Lama Temple
Built in the 15th century, this Tibetan-Buddhist temple has undergone many restorations. In addition to its historical charm, Yonghegong’s main appeal lies in its grand architecture, sculptures and display of calligraphy – all demonstrating the artistry of Chinese craftsmen from the Qing dynasty. Don’t miss the 26-meter-tall Buddha statue carved from a single piece of wood in the rear of the complex.
Baked Apples With Mince
A spicy, boozy, Anglo-Saxon sweet
I often serve as a cultural interpreter for the food-obsessed Chinese, and the question “So what do they eat?” comes up in one out of every three conversations with locals. Thanksgiving? Turkey. Easter? Leg of lamb. Valentine’s Day? Chocolates and those annoyingly dry heart-shaped sugar cookies sprinkled with neon pink sprinkles that turn your entire mouth radioactive.
First Christmas
I was a late bloomer when it came to celebrating Christmas. At my Catholic kindergarten in Taiwan, we had too much fun singing and dressing as angels to think there was anything religious about the occasion. After my family moved to the US, we adopted the holiday in its barest form: gifts and a big meal. It wasn’t until I started trekking down to West Virginia for holidays with my boyfriend’s family – now my in-laws – that I grew attached to the traditions of Christmas.
Bonjour to the Denis Family
The Denis family moved to Beijing from Toulouse, France, more than a year and a half ago and loves the cultural melting pot that is Beijing. Sebastien works for Airbus China and Salina looks after Elena, 5 and Erwan, 3. This French-Malay family lives in Dongzhimen.
When Feeling Homesick
We go to La Mansarde for dinner since we like the cozy environment, then we lunch at Café Peranakan, opposite the Russian Market.
Weekend Ritual
We have lunch at Matsuko Japanese
restaurant because our kids can’t get enough sashimi and sushi. Then we go cycling or read at Alliance Française.
Nanluogu Xiang
No one knows who opened the first store on Nanluogu Xiang, but the area has a little-known history as the nabe of the rich, from princes and generals to the last empress, Wan Rong, and Chiang Kai-shek. Today, the mix of culture, business and art in the historic area has turned this long street into one of Beijing’s most popular neighborhoods. The xiang, or alley, stretches nearly a kilometer long. Sixteen hutongs branch off from the main street, which explains the area’s other name in Chinese, 蜈蚣街 (Wúgōng Jiē), or Centipede Street – the walkways resemble the insect when seen from above. Day or night, the street bustles with activity as both locals and tourists frequent the many toy stores, cozy cafes and funky boutiques along this street. When hunger strikes, take the kids for a snack of British chips or chow down on authentic Indian curry.
Thinking Outside the Harvard Box
Once upon a time, every prospective college student dreamed of attending either Oxford or Harvard. Fortunately, high school students are realizing that the ideal college experience is more about finding the right fit with a university – a place where individual interests and a school’s strengths overlap perfectly.
Throw in the added factor of applying from overseas, however, and things become even trickier. The students at the international schools in Beijing – generally either local students applying as international students to colleges overseas or expat students who return to their home countries for university – must pinpoint their personal and academic interests and sell their strengths as applicants. Of course, they also have to spin their experience in Beijing to their advantage.
