November, 2009
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.
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:
Parents Around Town
Uwe Rommel
Where are you from?
Germany.
How many kids do you have?
Two girls. Lisa is 11 and Nele is 6.
What do you do?
I’m a telephone man. I work with large communication systems.
How long have you been in Beijing?
Only 14 days!
What do you like to do with the kids in winter?
We like to go sledding, and my older daughter loves skiing.
What do you miss about Germany?
The beautiful mountains and trees.
Best shopping in Beijing?
I come to Solana to buy toys for the girls.
Shan Shan
A Hearty Fall Salad
I don’t know about you, but I am a total sucker for those “Melt away the fat!” and “Eat your way to a flat belly!” headlines on the cover of women's magazines. With a hopeful heart and a serious suspension of disbelief, I flip to the corresponding pages, almost believing that my pants will feel looser upon hitting that magic article.
And you know what I find every single time, without fail?
Grilled chicken. That’s the secret to everything. Grilled. Chicken. Sometimes accompanied by steamed broccoli, sometimes carrot slices, always bland looking – there’s not even an optimistic mustard pot in the picture. True – grilled chicken is the most easily identifiable, controlled protein you can get your hands on, but the chicken that appears in these diets is the stuff of science, not food. It’s all about calorie counting, and treats the joy of eating like an invading army that needs to be battled.
The Krauss Family
Although the Krauss family is relatively new to Beijing
(they arrived nine months ago), the crew has already explored a fair amount of the city. Jason, the founder of Home Abroad (a
premier provider of expatriate housing in China, http://homeabroad.us) and Susan, a social worker at the Care for Children Family Services Clinic, hail from the US. They have two sons - Gavin (4) and Lucas (1). Here are their family favorites.
The Melting Pot: How much should cultures mix?
The opportunity of living in a world away from the familiar comforts of home, engaging with an alternative culture and picking up the most spoken language in the world are among the main reasons why expatriates decide to make the move to Beijing. Whether or not we achieve these aims when we arrive, however, is a rather different matter. Living in foreign-dominated compounds, hanging out with a circle of expat friends and the difficulties of learning a new language means that foreigners don’t integrate as well as they would like. A group of students from Beijing City International School discuss the pros and cons of integration.
The Circuit
The Circuit is a chance to sneak a peek at what’s been happening on the family and school scene. Want to see your event on these pages? Send an e-mail with the date of your past event and a brief description to imogenkandel@beijing-kids.com by Nov 16.
Making Mooncakes and National Day at WAB 
In celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival, students from WAB’s early childhood center and elementary school made mooncakes. In September, WAB commemorated National Day with a whole school celebratory assembly. Music and dance performances were highlights of the event honoring the 60th anniversary of the PRC.
Etonkids Family Fair
On Oct 17, families from across Beijing enjoyed a wonderful day outside at Etonkids’ “My Little City” family fair with traditional Chinese music and dance performance from CNethnic.
Spirit Day and DEAR Day at YCIS
Adoption Options
I adopted my first daughter from Anhui province (Lydia, now almost 9) in 2001 and my second daughter from Hunan province (Adeline, now 5) in 2005. My father, mother and sister came with me to adopt my first daughter; we later visited the orphanage where she had lived. Had it been possible for my parents to adopt a child as well that very day, they would have done so in a second. We were all overcome with a desire to change a child’s life. This feeling of wanting to love, care for and adopt a child who has been institutionalized is a very natural feeling and one that has led to the creation of many happy families.
Finding Affordable Health Care in Beijing
As budgets tighten in the current economic environment, luxuries and inflated expat packages are also shrinking. Some people are scaling back their spending by moving from the suburbs to the central business district, relocating to a smaller apartment, or eliminating a car and driver. Healthcare is a high cost in any budget, and when you are paying as much or more than in your home country, it’s worth your while to explore whether it’s possible to cut expenses there as well – without sacrificing quality. In fact, it’s never a bad idea to reevaluate your medical needs and the toll they take on your budget, especially if you are paying for it yourself.
Gongti
Forget about the late night crowds that flock to the flashy nightclubs surrounding Workers’ Stadium. In the light of day, Workers’ Stadium can be a lot of fun for families. This convenient location is a great place to take a leisurely stroll or watch the locals flying kites (at the north entrance). Also known as Gongti, Workers’ Stadium is the venue for Beijing’s football (soccer) matches. The stadium was constructed in 1959 for the 10th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China and was last renovated in 2004 in preparation to host the 2008 Summer Olympic football games. When it isn’t packed with 60,000 football fans, the stadium and surrounding area make for a great day out. Satiate that hot dog craving, jump into a ball pit, dig into a great read, and finish up with a hearty pizza pie. But your first stop has got to be the Blue Zoo, Beijing’s aquarium.
Putting Down Roots
November holds a special sentimental place in my heart. Elsa and I first arrived in Beijing four years ago this month. I remember us getting off the plane clad in our thickest coats, scarf and mittens. I was determined to prove I was no naïve English fool: We were prepared for the harsh Chinese winter.
It was one of those crisp sunny days you sometimes get at this time of year and my friend met us in a T-shirt.
I’d only planned to stay in Beijing to the end of my maternity leave, a mere three months away. But before I knew it I had a flat/job/ayi, an insatiable craving for bing and a stock (and rolling) answer to the inevitable how-long-are-you-here-for question: “Oh, another one or two years.”
At some point between our third and fourth year that response changed. I found that living with a hovering end-point made it hard to make decisions or put down real roots. So I took off the arbitrary time brakes. My new reply is, “We are here for dot dot dot.”
Learning Disabled in the Capital
Many expats in Beijing have trouble choosing which school their children should attend; after all, there are so many choices, each with quality teachers and gleaming facilities. But for a smaller group of expats, those whose children have a learning disability of some kind, it can sometimes seem as if there are no choices at all. “Three years out, and we’re still not sure we’ve found the right school for our child, who doesn’t quite seem to fit in anywhere,” said one parent of a special needs child, who asked not to be identified.
Ms. Nutrition: Postnatal Nourishment
You made it! Your beautiful baby has been born. After months of fussing over food labels, you are finally free!
But hold on. You will need plenty of energy and stamina over the coming months. Even if you don’t breastfeed you will still be eating for two in many ways. And that means loading up on the right nutrients and getting a well-balanced diet. If you’re breastfeeding, you only need to add 300 calories on top of your pre-pregnancy requirements. That isn’t much: A banana with peanut butter on it or a tuna salad sandwich will do the trick. Simply eating lots of fruit, vegetables, whole grains and some protein will be fine for most women’s post- pregnancy recovery needs.
Fast Food: Xiong Guangzhou’s Thai-Style Prawn Salad
“This is a tasty recipe that is very easy to make at home. Mom just needs to spend 15 minutes or less on preparation. A good handful of chopped fresh coriander is simply fantastic! ” - Xiong Guangzhou, executive chef of The Orient Kitchen
I Want to be a Kung Fu Master
Dropped off on the bus to the Shaolin temple in Henan by his father (himself a kung fu teacher) at the tender age of 8, Xie Qingtuan became a 32nd generation Shaolin Martial Monk, former member of the acclaimed Shaolin international performance team and a First Grade National Athlete. After leaving the temple to study physical
education at Beijing Sports University, he now teaches kung fu to over 100 students at a number of international schools in Beijing. He is currently working on setting up his own Kung Fu club for international school students aged 6-14 in Beijing in order to share his passion. Xie wowed the students at Dulwich College Beijing with some spectacular moves and answered questions on Chinese kung fu, life in the temple and the real reason why Shaolin monks are all bald.
On the Beach in Boracay
The Travelers:
Christopher Lay and Savvy Him with their daughter Reina (2.5 years).
The Plan:
When family friends shared their Boracay itinerary for the
October holiday with Christopher and Savvy, they decided to join in the island excursion with only a week to book the trip. The day before departure, their friends had to cancel due to illness while typhoon Parma was bearing down on the Philippines. Undaunted, Chris and Savvy packed their bags and headed to the airport. Nothing short of flight cancellations would deter them from spending a week on an island where Reina could dig in the sand and frolic in the surf. They managed to just miss the storm and only suffered a two-hour flight delay.
Tell Me if This Hurts
Stop. Take a breath. Relax. Everything is going to be fine.” These thoughts interrupted the panic-stricken anxiety that raced through my head when the doctor told me Reina needed surgery.
For most parents, any time we take our infants or toddlers to the hospital, it’s an ordeal. No matter what Savvy and I do to prepare Reina, she dislikes doctor visits. Sure, she enjoys playing doctor with her toy stethoscope and thermometer; she even checks my blood pressure regularly and tells me if I need to go see a real doctor, but she hates going to the hospital. If we even drive in the direction of Beijing Family United Hospital, she says, “No hospital, no hospital.” And why shouldn’t it bother her? When an adult visits the doctor, more often than not, it ends with a prescription for some pills. But when a toddler trudges into that examination room, they know it is going to end with someone in a mask sticking a needle in their arm. Whee!
A Consultation with Beijing United Family Hospital
Dr. William Chickering,
Beijing United Family Hospital
What can families do to avoid catching H1N1 2009?
Extreme personal measures, such as not leaving home or wearing a face mask, do not seem justified by the risk so far. The virus is mild enough that most people can view getting sick as natural immunization.
For the high-risk, there are some basic measures you can take. Doorknobs, handrails and subway poles are common sources of illness. It’s important to note that the virus on a doorknob cannot infect you unless you bring it to your mouth or nose. Get into the habit of not touching your face while out and about and then washing your hands as soon as you return home. Infectious disease experts advise washing your hands ten times a day. This sounds a bit difficult to me, but every little bit helps.
Good Eats
Bring the Kids: Argo
Themed on the ship of Golden Fleece legend, Argo is a rare vessel in this part of town - a genuine family-friendly restaurant. A bright, split-level dining area dedicates the galley (downstairs, landlubbers) to families with several large tables and a carpeted corner full of toys, games and cushions. A kids’ menu (for under-12s) plays it safe with spaghetti and meat sauce or cod fillet and fries (RMB 32), but why bother when chef Kipouros Ilias’ authentic Greek food goes down such a storm with little ones? You won’t go wrong with a dish of mild hummus and soft, floury pita bread (RMB 28), and the creamy baba ghanoush is a great way of getting your little ones eating eggplant. Other child-friendly dishes include spanakopita (RMB 35), layers of flaky pastry baked with feta cheese, spinach and herbs, and dolmadakia (RMB 32), grape leaves stuffed with herby rice. Be sure to order a plate of tender, lemony calamari too (RMB 35) – just tell them it’s chicken! Take note that most dishes come with un-pitted olives, so you might like to request that these be left out, or better yet, put into a big bowl for the grown-ups.
Village Bliss
The Travelers:
Dominic and Laura Johnson-Hill and their family: Rosie (2), Winnie (4) and Prudence (9).
The Plan:
Fly from Beijing to Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province, then drive three hours to reach their destination: the bucolic village of Qingyuan.
Accommodation:
They stayed with a family in the guesthouse of a 400-year-old residence. “We basically moved in with them,” says Dominic. The family spent five days in the village enjoying three square meals a day for a grand total of RMB 1,200.
Food:
The food was seasonal and spicy. The Johnson-Hill family ate fresh fish caught the same day.
The Best Part:
Dominic raves that the village was absolutely beautiful. “We arrived at night. There was a beautiful river where fish come up and nibble the vegetables that you’re washing in the river and there are water buffalo having a rinse. It was idyllic,” he says.
SOS International Talks H1N1 2009
Dr. Johann Snyman
Medical Director, China Clinics
Is H1N1 2009 a serious health risk, or is it just hype?
H1N1 2009, correctly called Pandemic (H1N1) 2009, is a mild illness in the vast majority of people who contract it. However, the same virus which causes a mild disease in most people is also capable of causing a serious pneumonia in others which can be fatal.
About three quarters of all the people who developed severe flu had an underlying health condition - for example they were pregnant, obese, or suffered from a chronic problem such as diabetes or lung disease. One quarter of all severe cases have been in people who had no underlying risk factors. According to the Australia Influenza Report 2009, about 60 percent of severely infected children had previously been completely healthy.
Most people who are infected will have mild symptoms – however we need to watch for signals of severe infection in everyone, not only those with risk factors.
Combating the Common Cold
These days, more and more people are seeking alternative treatments to cure their illnesses. There are a wide variety of treatments that fall under this category, but few are a complete system of medicine that can treat the entire body from head to toe. Cold and flu season is fast approaching – a perfect time to use our universal friend, the common cold, as the yardstick to examine and compare TCM, naturopathic medicine and Western medicine.
Beijing Buzz
In the times we live in, nothing fires the imagination of cool kids quite like a disused industrial wasteland turned arty space complete with cafes and bars. But you’ve been to 798 so many times that you started seeing Yue Minjun’s “laughing face” in the mirror. Welcome to Fangjia 46, a former factory yard located in a hutong off Andingmennei Dajie. Although it’s a haven for hipsters, it’s also a good place for families to explore. Don’t miss Old-Toxin Tin Toys or Cenci Coffee for a cozy afternoon. Get down before the crowds show up – we think Fangjia could emerge as one of Beijing’s hutong hotspots into 2010 and beyond.
Top 5 Places to Savor Sumptuous Soup
As the temperatures in Beijing begin to drastically drop, it’s time to say goodbye to ice cream and cold noodles. A warming soup will keep kids cozier than the heaviest of coats and thickest of scarves.
Circle of the Sun
Ask people their favorite nursery rhyme, and they’ll rattle off a verse that’s short, melodic, often funny and coupled with body movements. These very qualities are precisely why nursery rhymes are a great way to entertain and bond with your children. Australian/Canadian Helen Robertson discovered a Parent-Child Mother Goose Program in Canada, with her son, now 4. When she and her husband moved to Beijing two years ago, Robertson, who saw how much joy these rhymes brought her child and other parents, took a training course and began the Beijing program in 2008.
