Dragon us away!

Here is a beautiful dragon that Yameng, my sweet chinese friend and former teacher-assistant sent me.

Yes, it is a first for our family! For this Chinese New Year, we have not joined the mass exodus, but rather stayed in Beijing.
In fact, this is the time of the largest migration on earth - the entire country moves east to west, south to north, north to west; most people return to their villages, migrant workers leaving their construction sites, ayis leaving families they care for, waiters and service people taking a pause, store owners closing shops. Regular life takes a halt - everyone hops on an overcrowded train, and goes home.
Well, it should be that simple. This year again, buying the train ticket was like playing lotto: tickets are made available 10 days before departure. Now imagine the entire country trying to board trains to arrive home (wherever it is in the country) at the same time. In the past years, people have started lining up as early as midnight to get a ticket in the morning. Now this year, they started allowing online booking and phone booking... 14 days in advance. Which means that those who needed it most - the migrants, illiterate and without a computer - could hardly get a ticket when the ticket office opened 4 days later.
All this is important stuff for these people. Celebrating the new lunar year in family is a major event, but it is also the only real holiday most workers get in the year. For several of them, it means going to see their child, whom they had to leave with the grand-parents, as schooling  in the city is too expensive for children of migrant workers. What a hardship! I cannot imagine been away from my kids for a few weeks, even less a full year!!!
So this year, for our lovely Ayi, we felt generous. As we were not able to let her go for her usual 2 weeks  (the official holidays are 3 days, and most workers will work over the previous and following weekends to make up a full 7 consecutive days off-work, but her and others are often able to negotiate a longer break). She is from Anhui, a southern province, a long journey home. To help her maximize her stay, we offered her a round-trip plane ticket (shh! it is a secret - other ayis should not know, some might get jealous!). I even took her to the airport; as it was her first-ever plane ride, a little coaching ensured a smooth departure.  Here she is ready to go!

For us expatriates, Chinese New Year means something different. Oh! What promises we heard: noise and chaos, impossibility to sleep at night due to the number of loud bangs from the fireworks, no stores opened, no restaurants, no local travels due to lack of tickets or crowded destinations, overcrowded temple fairs, blablabla. But despite the bad omen, we stayed on. And ...  in retrospect (even if it is not completely over - the fiesta lasting well over 2 weeks!), these days in Beijing have been simply fa-bu-lous! yes yes, FA-BU-LOUS!! What a bliss!!!
First, for a whole week and half, there is NO traffic!!! just that is absolutely amazing. Then, as there is not much happening, everywhere we went, it was just low key, no crowd, no stress.  And having the kids with us at home, without our work schedule interfering, was nice: no suitcases to pack, just the regular small chores (lunches, laundry) but yet the feeling that we were all there for each other, together... And then, furthermore, work-wise, everything is kind of slow, so even if there is work for some, it is usually not too stressful.

And the best of all, for me, is the fact that we got a personal firework by our place every night. The first night was interesting: it started out in a crescendo - small and sporadic, coming from a few directions around us, sometimes in the street just below our place. Then as midnight approached, it came from everywhere, from behind every building I could see from our windows, from down in our street and from across the stadium and form further away, and it was popping all over and went completely wild when midnight rang. It was truly beautiful, loud and magic. Yet, my three men were sleeping like princes waiting in vain for their princesses. And even if I went to wake up mon petit prince Noam to let him watch this magic scene (I like to play the princess), he could not care less, and just wanted to get back in bed. So I ended up sitting by myself in the TV room, sipping some wine while gazing at this urban orgasm of lights, toasting the new dragon in town.

Mommy, Noam, He is What?

Last week, I just picked up the boys' Israeli passports. These are their fourth ones. No, I do not mean their fourth Israeli passports. No, these are their fourth passport, after their American, their Canadian, and their Polish ones. A real bunch of globetrotters. And it makes me look like a poor mother, with only one passport!

This is a picture I took of family's passports... We are a family of four, for those who do not know us.

For those unfamiliar with the passport business, nope, you can't buy these online (or else we would not have so many people lining up our embassies). As they were born in the States, the kids automatically got the citizenship, and now for most travels, they have been using this passport. Since Pauli and I are respectively Israeli and Canadian citizens, the kids also qualify for those two nationalities. Of course with different countries, different rules, so even if they would have been born here in Beijing, they could never be Chinese, and even if one of us two parents would be Chinese, they would eventually have to make a decision between one and another, as China does not allow dual citizenship. The Polish one? Well, Pauli's parents are of Polish origin, and since Pauli also has this citizenship, the kids automatically qualify for it. The only drawback to all of these is the amount of paperwork. But as you see, it is possible.
Now, time will tell what use they will be able to make out of them. Already last week, when I applied for Russian visas (we are traveling via Moscow to Israel next week), I realized that Polish passports were better, granting for cheaper visas (50$ instead of 150$ or so!). And only later I will come to realize that for this specific destination, Israeli passports are best (free)... 

So indeed our kids are globe-trotters. They already have logged many visas, many long flights, and many immigration officers. But are they only that? Defacto, they are citizen of the world. Later, when one will ask them where are they from, they might have trouble answering... Today, Noam says he is Canadian (proud mommy) but is he really? I was just reading about similar questioning in a blog...

Kids born from parents of different cultures already have a faire bit to process. If they live in one of the parents' birth country, the answer might become easier with time, as they immersed completely in that primary culture. However, when these mixed couples raise their kids in a (third) different culture, then things becomes more tricky. Are our kids Israeli or French-Canadian, or simply American? Are they Jewish or Christian? Can they be all of that together?

Take Emmanuel. Born in the US, he spent most of the 20 months of his long life in China. One month last summer in Canada, one month at birth in the US, 3 weeks in Israel last year and 2 more soon. So he is maybe more Chinese than others. But is he? We obviously do not eat dumplings daily and do not do like the Chinese in most of what we do. But he needs his daily rice! We do not dress Chinese, we do not cook Chinese, we do not spit in public, we do not even speak good Chinese... Well, I might drive now like a Chinese, but I don't think it applies.
In fact, outside of our respective cultures, I came to realize we need to find (and create) references and markers to maintain some of our own cultural identities, and to create our own unique family identity. So, to the despair of my dear husband who finds religion cumbersome, I try to ensure the kids get a bit of a Jewish culture at specific holiday times. But yet I also celebrate our usual Christian holidays, and try to also include some of our traditions. The tricky part for a parent is to know what is important, and how to carry that cultural baggage without too much effort. So it appears it is easier to make a Christmas tree than to make a Seder dinner... We still have to work on that.

One of the main determinant of a culture is its language. So here in Beijing, we try to maintain the Hebrew and the French language. We do it because both are important for me and my husband, respectively, in how we define ourselves. But also because we feel that it can be a strong baggage for our kids' future. So to avoid confusions, I address the kids in French, and Pauli in Hebrew. It has been great for me, now my Hebrew is at the level of a 3 and half year old. Then me and Pauli converse mostly in English. So the kids get exposed to the English language in that way, but also in kindergarten, where Noam has now extensive conversations in English with his little friends. And then of course, by being in China and having a Chinese nanny, we all speak a bit of Chinese, sort of. The kids are really good at it. What is really amazing is that amongst all this mix of languages, the kids seem to make sense of it. When Noam was about a year and half, he could already ask for water in French, in Chinese and in Hebrew, knowing whom to ask in which language.

We have this book at home. It is 42 pages of Hellos, in 42 languages. The book is filled with cute little drawings of kids faces, and not other text than the various forms of greetings. When I first read it first to Noam he asked me right away: "Mommy, Noam, he is what?" I pointed at the little girl with the frizzy hair that says "Shalom", the one with straight brown hair that says "Bonjour", the little boy with a cap that says "Hello" and the little almond-eyed girl that says "Nihao" and told him that he is lucky because he is all of those all together, and that makes him quite special. I am not sure he understood well what it meant but in any cases, he looked happy to be 4 different little guys at one.   

Wen wen shui

Some things are not supposed to be complicated. But here, simple things might be. And you might never expect what the next "new complication" will be.
I have been living in Beijing for over 2 years now (exactly 2 years and 2 weeks, actually). Since our arrival there are a few things that I got accustomed to. (food to some extend, language still working at it, traffic maybe, pollution not sure, spitting really not). Well, I am sure there are a few things I got accustomed to, right?
Actually, one simple thing as slowly grown on me: the Chinese have the habit of drinking hot water rather than cold water. Here, in restaurants, hot water is brought to you when you wait. In meetings. At the doctor's office, while waiting. In various situations where you wait, hot water is brought to you. There is even at times a genuine confusion between "water" and "tea water" (but more on that on another post).
In fact, there is a traditional chinese medicine belief behind this. There is the shared understanding that a cold drink will harm your body. Ice drinks will bring down the temperature and slow down the energy and blood circulation inside the body, essentially it will be like pouring ice onto the fire of your internal body. In fact, it is believed that ice-cold drinks may cause several health problems, such as over weight, cough, headache, stomach problems, weak immunity and even infertility.
So, over the last 2 years, I have slowly moved away from drinking cold drinks to more warm drinks. It does feel better, in some ways. And it makes sense too.
However, it is not always that simple to get the kids to drink hot water... So for them, I often request "wen shui", which can be translated as room-temperature water. And as much as it would seems simple for the occidental mind, this is nothing simple. At times, despite my request, I only get hot water. Other times, the order is just forgotten. Last time we were out, they just told me they did not have "wen shui". So I asked them if they had hot water. Yes? And if they had cold water. Yes? So, I told them, put a bit of both in a glass to make "wen shui", right!? 
So what do you get??  2 bowls of water, one hot, one cold. and two empty cups, to make our own "wen shui"...
sigh...

One Child Policies : Not Everyone is Concerned

There are several things we think we know about China, but that we in fact do not understand well. The One-Child policy is one example. I am bringing this topic up as recently various events prompted my interest.

A few days ago, a worker came to our house to fix our table. As usual, our conversation topics, limited by my failing Mandarin skills, turned around my son. After answering the regular set of questions, I prompted him with similar ones. I was very surprised to hear that he had two children of different ages (thus not twins). My curiosity aroused, I asked him if he had two wives. He laugh and went on a long explanation that I could not understand fully.

So I conducted my own personal research about the One-Child Policy and its implementation.

Introduced in the late 70's to control the rising numbers of the Chinese population. It was intended to alleviate social, economic and environmental problems that would only increase if the population was allowed to grow at its original pace - which was of about 5 children per women. The Chinese government said it has since prevented more than 400 million birth. Its critics are saying that it is responsible for the high girl abortion rate, force sterilizations, and the population's gender imbalance.

The policy is mainly enforced by heavy fines based in relationship to the families income. In addition, the government carries out inspection and registration work (subtext here reads as in some instances you might have to present certificate of non-pregnancy, or be obliged to disclose contraceptive measures used). Families can choose to brake the rules of the policies, but the costs, not only financial, are enormous for a middle class citizen. Parents who are civil servants will most likely loose their jobs and titles. The family has to pay for the education of the child, but also for the health care of all the members of the family. Children born illegally, who are not registered will be denied a Hukou (family registration), education, a national ID and probably many more things a regular Chinese citizen might need to make his way into life. The Hukou determines what and where a person can do in life.

As I was asking questions around, and reading here and there, I came to realise that the One-Child Policy does not always apply. Supposedly, as per the information provided by the Committee of the One-Child Policy, only 35,9% of the Chinese population is concerned by the restriction.

There are several different types of exceptions. Families issued from one of the 26 official minorities are granted exceptions from that rule. Tibetans, Uyghurgs, and many other less known minorities can benefit from this exception. In most rural areas, families who have as first child a daughter can have a second child. For example, Henan is a province with such exception. Second children are subject to birth spacing (usually 3 or 4 years apart). This came as a possible solution to the massive girl abortion and girl orphan rates in the rural areas. These rates are specially high as a boy is not only the heir of the family but also a social insurance for the old age of the parents (as opposed to a girl who will go live with her in laws). The second-child exception was also proposed as the practice of the adult child taking care of its aging parents and grandparents was becoming difficult to bear by one single individual. Indeed, the one-child policy leaves the older generation with more of a dependency on retirement funds or charity, as the state welfare is limited and sometimes failing.

Recently, in the regions affected by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, families who lost their child, or those who were disabled or severely injured were given exception from the policy. It is a specially significant policy, as more than 23 000 children went missing after the earthquake. Recently, children both issued from a single child family are now allowed to have two children. Finally, children returning from abroad are not subject to the policy. And children born abroad from Chinese parents and not seeking Chinese citizenship are also excepted. Since early 2007, there was some talk in the PRC to abolish the one-child rule or to at least soften it to a two-children policy.

We can think of several consequences due to these policies. They are not all bad, neither all good. The deep core of the issue is related to the control of the population, and comes with negative connotations. But we might want to ask ourselves how could such a large country, with such a large population, could alleviate most of its citizens from poverty over three decades, if not partially thanks to its population control?

On the other hand, today kids are treated like "little emperors"... Already at the root a family centered society, in the single child family, the child easily become over-indulged or spoiled. For us, our experience of life in Beijing has translated as an easy one, where our child is surrounded, appreciated, and given attention as we would never have expected. Despite all this attention and the criticisms of a spoiled generation, as the first generation of one-child policy children (born in the 1980s) reaching adulthood, it is difficult to see that they are less equipped for life in general.

As for us, now that I am pregnant again, I see envious glances in our direction. Family values are still running high. Old ladies congratulate us proudly for taking on an extension to ours. They even ask us for when would be the third one!!! Until I give birth, we can only offer them a smile, feeling blessed by our freedom of choice.

The Art of Diplomacy - A Chinese Perspective

Chinese Letters...

I just completed the reading of a very interesting book: "Lettres chinoises - Les diplomates chinois découvrent l'Europe (1866-1894)" by Feng Chen-Shrader [Chinese Letters - Chinese Diplomats Discover Europe (1866-1894)].

I found this book very enlightening.

In the second half of the Nineteenth Century, two years after the end of the Second Opium War, the Tianjin Treaty impose some diplomatic legations to Beijing. In 1866, for the first time in its history, China must send emissaries in Occident. At the time, it was perceived as a sign of submission. Furthermore, Europe, as a region ignoring confucean values, was perceived as barbarian. To become a diplomat was not a desirable position, and the mandates of the first Chinese diplomats was mostly limited to recording their observations of the European society.

Feng Chen-Shrader has studied and analysed the correspondence of these first diplomats mandated by the Middle Kingdom. The Europe they discover is told with a very different perspective and very different principles than those of the Europeans themselves. Their correspondence puts some historical perspectives on the cultural perception Chinese might have of us, and on some stereotypes that might still convey today despite the time that has elapsed since the writing of the diplomats letters.

For example, it is really interesting to read how the diplomats perceive the notion of democracy. The use of the Chinese language seems to add confusion to their comprehension of it, as if there would be no real appropriate word to describe this notion without putting some negative connotation to the concept. Moreover, the notion of a democratic Parliament headed by a Queen, such as in England, seems to be also creating some bewilderment. How can a Queen obey to the people? At the same time, the concept of a democracy headed by a monarch (as opposed to one that is entirely elected) leaves the Chinese diplomats more confident that such system could eventually be applied to China, since a system without a monarch does not seem to be feasible for them.

Also it is really interesting to read how these men were sent without much of a role except the one of observer, as if China did not want to involve itself in the diplomatic exercises played in Europe, by fear of showing a position of submission towards other countries. Because of that, the Chinese diplomats reported to their country in an almost anthropological way of Europe and its customs.

The book gives us many details of various elements surprising to the diplomats. For example, Paris night lights and wide streets, its sewers, as well as London's cleanliness, its public parks and its public buildings, its postal services and various other public services created to facilitate the life of the population were all pleasant discoveries. The notions of public welfare and public services never reached such extent in China, and the European city and its public services was perceived in such a positive way that most diplomats conveyed it back to their home country. By their descriptions, the diplomats give us an idea of the city in China, which at that time was still a maze of lanes, with not public services, no postal services, no public transport. In fact, it is also noted that Chinese cities were mostly administrative centres, where scholars families are not always inhabiting, and were a mostly rural population is still living. Furthermore, the divide between the Chinese city and the country side remained indistinct as the major commercial wealth of china is not of urban origin but of rural origin.

On other topics, the diplomats are also surprised by the women desire to adapt their wardrobe to fashion, by the notion of gallantry, by the foods and table manners, among other things. These are new concepts to them. Notions such as celibacy were new to the Chinese, as well as all the courtship predating a marriage were surprising to them. Furthermore the diplomats were surprised to see how much space is given socially to women, which is not even possible for a Chinese person to imagine. It creates genuinely complicated situations, such as when a Chinese diplomat asked to bring along his wife to a formal evening did so, and later was recalled to his country, as in China such exposure of a women is considered indecent.

One of the diplomats summarize his surprise to several aspects of London daily life: "In England, everything takes the exact opposite of what applies in China. In the political domain, the people goes before the monarch. For birth parents prefer having a girl rather than a son. A the dinner table, it is the host, and not the guest, who occupies the honour seat. The writing goes from left to write. To read a book, we start from the end and go the the first page. During a meal, dishes are put forward the wine. All this is explained by the fact that England is at the exact antipodes of China. The sky above this country is in fact under the earth. Its customs and traditions are completely the opposite of those we know in China."

Following the author's analysis, we get to understand that the Chinese have a important resistance to change, even more to change coming from abroad. Before the presence of the first diplomats, there was little credit given to Europe and its development. When they land in Europe, the diplomats see how much there is to be learned from Europe, on so many level. They are amazed by the existence of civilization other than the Middle Kingdom, and to see that it can no longer be considered barbaric. Their many attempts to understand Europe are limited by their political perspective by which they must affirm the Chinese pre-eminence. They bring everything back to a possible Chinese source or reference. It leads to some interesting comments.

For example, the concepts brought on by Christianity are compared to a Chinese philosopher, Mo Di, who encouraged simplicity and universal love, as well as the cult of Heaven before filial love. The reasoning here is that Christianity must be a simplistic version of the more ancient and profound Confucianism, another reason why European civilization must be indebted to the Chinese culture. Of course, little is discussed regarding the sacred character of the religion. In fine, the world, for the Chinese, seems to still be divided between orthodoxy (Confucianism) and heterodoxy (all foreign religions or ideas)...

Similarly, notions of democracy are discussed as originating from a specific period in the Chinese history, the Xia period, between XXI-XVI Century BC. At the period of the Three Dynasty, (XX to III Century BC) there is also mention of the Mencius Dogma, which says that the people must be placed before the emperor. This is what is similar to the regime holding in England and in Italy at the time of the diplomats. They are trying to reassure themselves with some kind of parental link with what they are seeing in Europe. Despite their analogies, these eras were some brief windows of democracy in China, long gone since, first eliminated by the Xin Dynasty with an totalitarian government (211-207 BC), and followed with various similar imperial or one-party models.

Finally somewhere in the book, the author brings on the comment of one diplomat, who acknowledge the time spent by the Chinese youth while trying to learn their language, studying and practicing calligraphy, while the occidental youth learns all sorts of practical knowledge to master completely a field of knowledge. This is not to say the Chinese are less intelligent, and that there is a need to feed an inferiority complex or orgueuil. This is said in reference to the development and the strenght (puissance) of Occident, and the refusal of the Chinese scholars to follow their exemple. The diplomat goes on saying that this attitude is really not worthy of a great country such as China. I have to admit that I smiled while reading this portion of the text - Oh! Do I find that the time spent on learning this language is endless!!!

To conclude this was a very interesting journey into the mind of the first Chinese diplomats, both discovering their political ideas and their representations, but also the European culture, which from their perspective can be indeed quite strange and fascinating.

Harbin and the YouTaiRen

As you all know, Pauli is from Israel, raised in the Jewish culture.
Here in China, he often gets comments that, at times, could be perceived as racists, if only be of the innocent look in the face of those giving them away. "Jews are good, they make lots of money". "Jews are smart, they are good in business". And various variations on the same theme. 犹太人 "YouTaiRen", the Jewish People.
Pauli often jokes that I am more Jewish than him, taking him to the holiday dinners and making sure we have all the required Judaic paraphernalia around the house. In any cases, this last week, we joined a few friends for two(!) Passover dinners (Seders), and I have to admit humbly that my enthusiasm got watered down by the length of the readings, and by the delays incurred in the food service. I mean we did not really have anything to eat until 21:15 on the first evening!!! Anyhow, that aside, the Jewish community here is very well organized, with several groups of people meeting in various places. There are also numerous Israelis in town, as we were able to witness at our first Seder dinner.
But the Jewish community in China has been here for numerous years. In fact since the beginning of the century, numerous Jews, mostly from Russia, and later from Germany, came in Northern-China. They settled mostly in Harbin, several hundreds of kilometers North-East of Beijing. The city today still has a few buildings which withstood the passage of time and testifying of the Jewish passage.
Interestingly a few weeks ago, while strolling in PanJiaYuan Market with my parents and Pauli, we found a couple of old books talking about the life of the Jewish community in Harbin. Numerous photos showed buildings, people and other elements of importance to the community then.


More interestingly, last Sunday, after our Easter brunch, Pauli's old university teacher, Zvi came over for the afternoon. He taught Pauli several years ago, in Israel. He had landed that day in Beijing from Tel Aviv, to do some studies in the area of Chongqing, with Pauli's team. Both of them flew off there the same evening. The interesting part to this story is that while answering my question about if this trip was a first in China, he told us that he was born in here, in China! He had spent the first ten years of his life in Harbin! Me and Pauli were both astounded. He glanced at our book, commented on a few people, pointing at a famous rabbi that used to come to visit his parents, remembering a building or a name. His dad was an immigrant from Russia, while his mom, daughter of a Russian immigrant, was born in China. Zvi lived there for the first few years of his life, and then moved with his family in Israel. I am still amazed that he did not appeared emotional about this first return to China. I probably would have been. I wish he had stayed longer with us so to tell us more about his childhood and life in China.
Zvi came over with a wonderful present: a Hanukia - the candle holder for Hanukah, from the Museum of Jerusalem. A wonderful present, more meaningful than he could have imagined, as last Hanukah I have gone to the four corners of Beijing trying to find one, unsuccessfully.

Easter Bunny

There are traditions that we don't want to loose. And then there are places where holding these traditions does not come easy. Easter in Beijing is not particularly difficult, the weather is good, the trees are blossoming, we can find chocolate eggs if we know where to look for them. But for me Easter always has been a family matter, not even really a religious one. Yes at times, I attended the Saturday evening mass or the Sunday morning one, but the real meaning of it for me, always has been to gather the family around a good meal. So I decided to set a large table and organize my own Easter event.
In Quebec, at Easter we usually serve a ham, cooked in beer, maple sirup and pineapple. After getting a special ham from the German butcher (who sells the best meat in town in my opinion), I invited enough people to make sure the piece of meat would get eaten before the end of the day.
A great group of friends came over. Polish, British, Québécois, Americans (and two from Ilinois!), what a great mix. Noam was in even with a crowd of 5 friends into his play area. We cheered champagne to our friendship while the kids were getting high on chocolate! Not that I want to brag about it, but the ham was so good it was gone before I could take a picture of it! You can ask my dad for the recipe!

Happy Easter everyone!

祝你们新年快乐 －Happy New Year of the Ox!

So we are packed. My men are both asleep. I finally figured what to take what not to take. We are ready to escape the big party. 

Indeed. 

The Chinese New Year celebrations are the biggest celebration of the year. People travel across the country to reunite with their family during this occasion. For a week, nothing happens in China, except celebrations. Chinese New Year also marks the beginning of the spring season, thus it is also referred to as Spring Festival. This year is the year of the Ox, and the big day is January 31. 

We, of course, never celebrated the CNY, but here is what I gathered about the celebrations. The following foods have very important symbolic meaning and must be shared at the New Year Eve meal: rice cakes, dumplings, eggs, meatball, fish, wine, tangerine, apple, peanut, watermelon seeds and candies. As the Chinese are really superstitious, they require that, at the New Year Eve dinner, each family member be represented, and in case of absence, a plate and seat must be reserve for them. Some other of their customs include cleaning the house (my ayi was really working hard this week), posting Chinese lucky numbers, igniting fireworks (to scare the demons that could harm this new year), giving money into a red envelope (hang bao) to kids, and visiting family and relatives. Temple visits and prayers are also very common during this time of the year. Red lanterns, paper cuts and lights are displayed all over town, and it is quite pretty.

We are escaping Beijing and the fireworks, the crowds in the public areas, the craziness of it all. At the same time, I will keep somewhere a little curiosity about the whole event. Maybe next year?

De New Year of the Ox

De New Year of the Ox

De New Year of the Ox

See you when we are back from Bali.

Gliding Away

Near our house there is a beautiful park called Ritan Park. It is one of the few places I visited (apart from the numerous apartments) when we came here in our pre-assignment trip. It is such a wonderful place, with a crowd of people of all ages spending their day there. I promise to write more about the park, in future post. This island of greenery is transformed by each season. Today I want to share with you some local winter speciality that goes on onto the frozen lake of the park: chair skating!!!

Is it that the winter is too short to have people practice and master some skating skills? Or it is just simply a more safe and easy way to enjoy the pleasure of the ice? I am not sure! 

We headed there this morning, with good intention and a perfectly blue sky and warm winter sun. We were ready for the adventure! But our ride ended up being rather short, as Mr Noam, scared, was yelling and grabbing me the whole time!!! We landed safely after a full tour of the small lake. Noam was so happy to be back on land and having his two little feet on the ground!

After our ride on the ice and a little walk around, we paused for some warm tea in a cute little place called the Stone Boat, as it is sitting right on the water (on the third photo). Noam, as usual, grabbed the attention of the waitress and was given numerous mandarins and lots of smiles. We will be back in the summer, when a variety of local artists are invited to play on the little terrace. 

When To Get Rid of Your Xmas Decor

In France, January 6 is a day to celebrate the La fête des rois, marking the Epiphany, the moment when the Three Kings reached baby Jesus. It is also marking the end of the holiday season and the moment when it is time to take that Christmas tree down. 

Of course in China there is no such tradition. In fact there is no Christmas tradition in the traditional Chinese culture, but as Chinese are people who are generally really festive, they jump on the occasion to decorate their cities and throw a party. However as the early days of January are behind us, it is time to move to serious things: the preparation for Chinese New Year. 

Chinese New Year is the most anticipated festival in all China. For a full week, most people will travel back to their hometown and visit their family. All over the country, Christmas decorations are currently being replaced with red lanterns, firecracker tubes, red envelops and other Chinese New Year decorations. This year is the year of the Ox. Before it is all down, I wanted to share with you some of the exuberance with which the Chinese decorated the city for Christmas. And eventually I will share with you in a future post some of the best CNY decorations.

2009 New Year Resolutions

Like every time, the new year is an occasion for some introspection. Taking stock of the past year, it is certain that we have gone through some quite important changes, as a family. 

Now with the new year started, I am also considering taking some new resolutions.

1) eating better (those who know me know that I can take a few more pounds);

2) going to bed earlier (as I am never in bed before 11h30 or midnight, and even);

3) learning more intensively and intently Chinese (I still have 36,000 words to learn);

4) sharing time with Noam while we do new interesting activities together (rather than the usual mall playground).

There might a few more but I think it is enough for now. Lets see how the first few months go. 

For the Chinese, 2009 leads to some interesting resolution. 9 九 jiu, is pronounced djio. Similarly pronounced (same tone same sounds), 酒 jiu means alcool. So supposedly some Chinese have made the resolution to drink more in 2009. What an interesting twist to the exercise!