Expat Parent May 2014

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the really useful magazine May 2014

Inside Kellett School The Kowloon campus

176

Third-culture kids Made in Hong Kong

Mums who work (and how they manage)

summer ideas

NEW

MAGAZINE

Issue one

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Make a splash!

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Contents

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What’s on 6 Editor’s letter Expat Parent’s Adele Brunner says hello.

8 Calendar Happening in May.

pg44

12 Date night Leave the kids at home.

14 News Need to know.

19 Quiz Are you ready for May? 22 Must have Essential items for junk trippin’.

Family 24 Meet the parents Juggling work and childcare.

28 Feature Raising third-culture kids: the pros and cons of growing up expat.

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Education 32 School days Inside Kellett School’s new Kowloon Bay campus.

35 Principal’s office A word with Kellett School’s head, Ann McDonald.

38 Talking heads Expert tips on how to ace exams.

40 After School Ballet classes for kids.

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44 Me and My Hobby Learning the ropes with 15-year-old sailor Calum Gregor.

Food 46 Table for four Family-friendly beach restaurants.

50 Eating What’s in season.

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Contents pg56

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Home 52 The bald truth about fatherhood Simon Parry’s home thoughts from abroad.

54 Everybody’s talking about…

Tara Jenkins likes Facebook.

56 The home front Meet Hong Kong’s greenest family.

Adventures 58 Big day out Explore Route Twisk and the roof of Hong Kong.

62 Travel Where to catch big fish in Asia.

Money 64 Money and me Feeding Hong Kong co-founder Kevin Yeung shares his money tips.

67 Buy this, not that Gold bullion vs bitcoins.

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Resources

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68 Marketplace Your guide to shops and services.

72 Business directory Numbers that make life easier.

76 Distribution Where to find Expat Parent.

Back page 78 Day in the life ESF’s head girl, Belinda Greer.

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Editor’s letter Editor Adele Brunner adele@fastmedia.com.hk Senior Consultant Editor Jane Steer jane@fastmedia.com.hk Managing Editor Hannah Grogan hannah@fastmedia.com.hk Editorial Assistant Cherrie Yu cherrie@fastmedia.com.hk Art Director Kelvin Lau kelvin@fastmedia.com.hk Graphic Design Evy Cheung evy@fastmedia.com.hk

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ike many good ideas, Expat Parent started with a casual conversation about the trials and tribulations of having children. One new parent was in rhapsodies about their baby’s first birthday, another was groaning about the wonderful world of pre-teens in their got-all-the-answers glory, and a third seemed to have become a self-taught expert on British universities. Which got us thinking that there was no publication out there that catered for parents with children of all ages – and nothing that dealt specifically with the expat experience of raising a family in Hong Kong.

Because it never stops. Every age and stage of parenthood comes with its own set of highs and lows, problems to be solved, issues to be tackled and decisions to be made that shape your child. As parents, most of us muddle through, try our best and cross our fingers that our offspring turn out to be happy, popular and well-balanced individuals, who eventually earn enough to pay their own bills.

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Po Tsang po@fastmedia.com.hk Sales Manager Jonathan Csanyi-Fritz jonathan@fastmedia.com.hk

Being an expat adds another dimension to parenting, filled with rewards and challenges you may not have encountered “at home”. It is no mean feat to uproot yourself and your family from your country of origin and make a life elsewhere in the world; to forge new friendships, learn different languages and navigate unfamiliar systems, customs and cultures – particularly if you have to do it more than once. But with upsides such as having a babysitter on tap and holidays in some of the most beautiful spots on earth, becoming part of this nomadic, global tribe is not only a badge of achievement, it’s a no-brainer.

So here it is. Our first issue. Whether you’re about to experience parenthood for the first time or are on the cusp of becoming an empty-nester, Expat Parent hopes to inform and inspire you. We don’t have all the answers but each page and piece will try to earn a place on your refrigerator or to be cut out and kept.

Even if you take away just one piece of advice, a single tip to try or an idea for a family day out, we will consider it a magazine worth writing.

Adele Brunner

Business Development Manager Jackie Wilson jackie@fastmedia.com.hk Digital Content Editor Sharon Wong sharon@fastmedia.com.hk Accounts Manager Connie Lam accounts@fastmedia.com.hk Publisher Tom Hilditch tom@fastmedia.com.hk Contributors Carolynne Dear Kate Farr Simon Parry Tara Jenkins Chris Beale Sophia Ho Jodee Fong Kelly Li Vivien Yu Tinja Wright Printer Gear Printing, 49 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong Published by Fast Media Ltd LG1 Kai Wong Commercial Building, 222 Queens Road Central, Hong Kong Contact us Editorial: 2776 2773 Advertising: 2776 2772 Expat Parent is published by Fast Media Limited. This magazine is published on the understanding that the publishers, advertisers, contributors and their employees are not responsible for the results of any actions, errors and omissions taken on the basis of information contained in this publication. The publisher, advertisers, contributors and their employees expressly disclaim all and any liability to any person, whether a reader of this publication or not, in respect of any action or omission by this publication.

Expat Parent cannot be held responsible for any errors or inaccuracies provided by advertisers or contributors.

The views herein are not necessarily shared by the staff or publishers. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.

w w w.fastmedia.com.hk

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What’s on

May 11, Jun 8 & 22 Splash ‘n’ Dash Aquathons Swimming and running races for adults and kids.

Entry $155-$780 at www.revolution-asia.com.

May 1 Labour Day Public holiday.

Until May 4 Shakespeare in The Port

Exquisite afternoon tea. From $228 for two, including free hand cream. 3pm-5.30pm,

Feast, EAST Hotel, 29 Taikoo Shing Road, Island East, 3968 3777, www.easthongkong.com.

May 2-Jun 28 Le French May

Hong Kong’s first outdoor Shakespeare festival, including The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, The Taming of the Shrew and children’s weekend workshops. Free for under-12s.

Tickets $150-$300 from www.ticketflap.com.

Cyberport Podium, Pok Fu Lam.

Ooh la la! The annual celebration of French arts, opera, music, theatre, fashion and more. Tickets from www.urbtix.hk.

3752 9959, www.frenchMay.com.

Until May 11 Ocean Park Animal Discovery Fest

Screening of the iconic Little Tramp movie with live music by the Hong Kong Philharmonic to celebrate Chaplin’s 125th birthday. Tickets $120-$280 from www.urbtix.hk. Concert Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui.

Exhibition of seahorses and their relatives and behind-the-scenes tours. Adults $320, children $160. Ocean Park, Aberdeen, 3923 2323, www.oceanpark.com.hk.

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Until May 18 Cath Kidston Afternoon Tea Party

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May 2-3 Charlie Chaplin – City Lights

What’s on May 3 Smoothie Concert The young musicians of the Hong Kong Music Academy play pieces from Star Wars, Harry Potter, Les Miserables and more.

Tickets $150-$200 from www.urbtix.hk.

Hong Kong City Hall Theatre, 5 Edinburgh Place, Central, 2393 2891.

May 3-4 Children’s Symphony Concert by Chen Xi and the Hong Kong Children’s Symphony Orchestra (aged seven to 18). Tickets $110-160 from www.urbtix.hk, Hong Kong City Hall (3rd), Tsuen Wan Town Hall (4th), 2111 5999.

May 3-4 Hong Kong International Education Expo Exhibition for students and parents with more than 200 schools and universities from 15 countries worldwide. Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Expo Drive, Wan Chai, www.newayfairs.com, 2561 5566.

with small children balanced on parasols and other unlikely objects. Pak Tai Temple, Cheung Chau, www.cheungchau.org.

May 3-7 Cheung Chau Bun Festival

May 4 Sai Kung Sunday Market

One of Hong Kong’s most unusual, noisy and colourful festivals involves scrambling up Bun Towers, Chinese opera, lion and unicorn dances and a parade on May 6

A monthly market of gourmet food, craft beer, organic goods, clothes, jewellery and more. 11am-5pm. Hong Kong Academy, Wai Man Road, Sai Kung, saikungmarkets@ gmail.com.

Green Mondays at Spring Learning Centre.

May 4, 11, 18, 25 Island East Farmers’ Market Sunday market for organic produce, arts and crafts, live music, kids activities and more. 11pm-6pm. Tong Chong Street, TaiKoo Place, Quarry Bay, www.hkmarkets.org.

May 5, 13, 20 & 27 Green Mondays Kids aged two to six can learn to cook and eat healthily. Free 3pm-4.40pm. Spring Learning Centre, 181-185 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, 3465 5000, www.greenmonday.org.hk.

May 6 Buddha’s Birthday Public holiday.

May 6-11 Ocean Film Festival Fishy films across Hong Kong. Tickets from $65 at www.oceanrecov.org.

May 7 Mother’s Day Bazaar Fashion, food, jewellery and home accessories from independent vendors.

Register for a free personalised cupcake.

Noon-8pm. The Fringe Club, 2 Lower Albert Road, Central, www.shoppinghongkong.blogspot.hk.

May 9-12 Our Country’s Good Board the First Fleet from Britain to Australia with Faust International Youth Theatre. McAulay Studio, 2 Harbour Road, Wan Chai. Tickets $150-$190 from www.urbtix.hk, 2111 5999.

May 10-11 Spanish Fair “La Feria” Spanish gourmet delicacies, language courses, flamenco dancing, language games for kids and much more. Noon-8pm.

Ocean View Court & Sea View Terrace, The Arcade, Cyberport, Pok Fu Lam. Tickets $120-$200 from www.hkticketing.com, 3622 3072. expat-parent.com

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What’s on May 11 Mother’s Day Love Mum x

May 11 Open-Air Craft Market Handmade crafts, art and kids' activities such as make-your-own terrariums. D’Deck, Discovery Bay, www.ddeck.com.hk and www.handmadecrafts.com.

May 11 Cesar Millan Learn new tricks from the doggy world’s leader of the pack. Hall 10, AsiaWorldExpo, Lantau. Tickets $480-$880 from www.hkticketing.com, 3128 8288.

May 15-18 Art Basel Hong Kong The giant international art fair comes to town. HKCEC, 1 Expo Drive, Wan Chai, www.artbasel.com.

Art Basel

May 15-18 Asia Contemporary Art Show

May 17-27 Asia Week Hong Kong

A hotel’s worth of modern art. Conrad Hong Kong, One Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, www.asiacontemporaryart.com.

A new showcase for Asian art with exhibitions, lectures, auctions and special events at venues across Hong Kong. For details, visit www.asiaweekhk.com.

May 17-19 Hong Kong Contemporary Art Fair

May 20-25 Tap Dogs

Third annual exhibition of contemporary paintings, sculpture, installations and more.

Noon-8pm. Excelsior Hotel, 281 Gloucester Rd, Causeway Bay. Tickets $20-$60 from www.hkc.com.co.

Tap dancing with attitude in Blundstones, up ladders, through water, on dustbins...

Lyric Theatre, HKAPA, 1 Gloucester Rd, Wan Chai. Tickets $350-$850 from www.hkticketing.com, 3128 8288.

A world of services, across the world.

An International Canadian Law Firm Registered as a Foreign Law Firm at the Law Society of Hong Kong Registered as a Foreign Law Firm by the Justice Ministry of Vietnam Registered as a Foreign Law Firm by the Justice Ministry of the People’s Republic of China Recognized as a Foreign Law Firm by the Lawyers’ Council of Thailand

www.harveylawcorporation.com contact@harveylawcorporation.com +852 2116 1333

Montreal - Hong Kong - Beijing - Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi - Miami - Paris - Dubai - Istanbul - Bangkok - Manila - Annaba - St. Kitts

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Book Now Jun 7 & 14

Aug 12

Sep 24- Oct 22

Garage Sale

Ellie Goulding

Mamma Mia!

Book a table at this popular sale of secondhand treasures. 9.30am-3pm, LG3 Car Park, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clearwater Bay, 9045 5942, gujean@ust.hk.

She’s gonna let it burn, burn, burn, burn...

Star Hall, KITEC, Kowloon Bay. Tickets $540-$640 from www.hkticketing.com, 3128 8288.

All your ABBA favourites plus a big fat Greek wedding. Tickets $395-$896 from www.hkticketing.com, 3128 8288.

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Date night

French kiss Go Gallic.

(No kids allowed.)

Bonjour, mes chéris. C’est Mai… and in Hong Kong that means dusting off your high-school Français for the annual spring arts festival, Le French May. Until the end of June, le tout Hong Kong will be ooh la-la-ing at exhibitions and events presented by some of France’s finest visual and performing artists, which raises all sorts of possibilities for Francophile date nights with your significant other.

Get in the mood by wearing something French – a Breton T-shirt, Christian Louboutins, Chanel No.5 – playing Je T’aime or La Vie en Rose on the iPod, and perfecting your Gallic pfft. (Apologies to our French readers; we’ll drop the clichés now.)

Afternoon date

This year’s festival muse is the late Parisian furniture and interior designer Andree Putman. Check out an exhibition of her work in the revitalised PMQ (Police Married Quarters) in SoHo, then check into The Putman, the boutique hotel that bears her name and her chic designer touch, for room service and a bit of French kissing, perhaps.

Prefer a show? Take your pick from the French May performances: world hip-

Little Black Book Le French May schedule and tickets at www.frenchmay.com. For details of Le French GourMay, visit www.frenchgourmay.com.

The Putman, 202 Queen’s Road Central, 2233 2233, www.theputman.com.

In Bed with Designers, curated by BuyMeDesign, Mini Hotel, 38 Ice House Street, Central. Register at inbedwithdesigners.com. May 9-11.

Pierre, Mandarin Oriental, 5 Connaught Road Central, 2522 0111.

On Lot 10, 34 Gough Street, Central, 2155 9210.

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Top table, Pierre in the Mandarin Oriental.

hop dance champions Pockemon Crew from Lyon bust some moves, three opera companies collaborate on a co-production of Faust, numerous classical musicians offer a varied programme, and Marcel Marceau disciples Mangano-Massip interpret French poetry through mime. If that’s too out of the box (a perennial problem for mime artists), how about the gorgeous Oriental spectacle Marco Polo by the Nice Mediterranée Opera Ballet?

One of the festival’s more fun events is a three-day sleepover, In Bed with Designers, at the Mini Hotel Central. It’s an exhibition that sees 50 rooms transformed by established and emerging designers, who invite visitors to slip under the covers of their work. There will also be catwalk shows, forums, workshops and other events.

Dinner à deux

All that bed-hopping is bound to make you hungry, so stick with the Gallic theme for dinner. This year’s Le French GourMay ambassador is superstar chef Pierre Gagnaire. Try his innovative modern

Vive Le French May French food at Pierre in the Mandarin Oriental: think poached sea bass with shallot and liquorice crumble, beef tartar and sea urchin, or dessert of rum baba with frosted mango and pineapple, whipped cream with pink pralines, pink champagne and cachaca granita.

For something less grand (and more reasonably priced), book a table at NoHo bistro On Lot 10. “Boss man” David Lai has worked alongside Alain Ducasse and it shows in his menu, which might include whole steamed artichoke with truffle anchovy dressing, roast pigeon, wild hare or fish roasted in a salt crust. Tucked away in a laidback neighbourhood, this small, intimate restaurant with its white-linen tablecloths and large street-side terrace is perfect for dining à deux.

take your

spouse out the house

PGEM 2014 Study Programmes Have you decided where to spend the

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• Polish your English skills and experience American and British culture on our Language and Culture Tours!

• Love international relations? Why not join our International Model UN Programme in Washington, DC and expand your world view?

• Try our Summer Art Portfolio Course at the Cambridge School of Visual and Performing Arts?

• Thinking of a career in Law, Business or Finance? Join our Career Tasters Programme in the UK! and many MORE! Visit us at www.paradigm-gem.com

Unlock your dream SAT & ACT score now! www.paradigm-gem.com/teacherstogo o Take Diagnostic Test to assess your strengths and weaknesses

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Join the Euro crowd for a Ricard at Pastis, a buzzing bar on Wyndham Street with an authentic French vibe and home-cooked seasonal food. Or catch a movie in the French Shadows, Eye on China programme at Broadway Cinematheque in Mong Kok. Pastis, 65 Wyndham Street, Central, 2537 5702. French Shadows programme, www.frenchmay.com.

o Take quizzes and two full length timed mock examinations with essays graded by professional essay team

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News Sai Wan path reopens

Picture: Mark Lehmkuhler

Good news for hikers and beach-lovers: the trail to Tai Long Sai Wan is accessible again. The path, part of the MacLehose Trail Stage 2, which winds through some of Hong Kong’s most stunning scenery, had been blocked by angry villagers protesting at the incorporation of their village into Sai Kung Country Park.

So put your best foot forward and take advantage of the reopening before any further developments occur. It’s a great day out for families, with beautiful Sai Wan beach, Sheung Luk Stream rock pools for cliff jumping (for older kids), rocks to climb, noodle restaurants and ice creams to reward you at the end of your walk.

Catch a cab to the pagoda at the end of Sai Kung Sai Wan Road in the country park and walk (downhill) for 40 minutes to Sai Wan. You can then follow the trail over the headland to Ham Tin (pictured) and Tai Long Wan.

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News

Teen diabetes book

Green light for Water World II Things are looking good for the reopening of Water World, Ocean Park’s much-missed waterpark. A recent reveal of the latest concept designs heralded positive feedback from the Southern District Council.

The water park, which closed in 1999, is to reopen in 2017 with twice as many attractions as the old version.

“We liked the design very much,” says District Councillor Fergus Fung. “We were concerned about the traffic impact to the community-at-large. We also suggested building a pier nearby to boost waterrelated tourism, to have some kind of water route to get there and link the rest of the Southern District.”

This year, Ocean Park announced 25 new attractions including the world’s longest lazy river, 13 state-of-the-art giant water slides, two wave pools plus a surfing simulator and indoor and outdoor sandy beaches.

The new 440,000-square-foot park will be built into the hillside at Tai Shue Wan overlooking Aberdeen Harbour, giving visitors the feeling of shooting down the super-fast slides and into the sea. It will also have a premium zone with private cabanas and other handy facilities.

The climate-controlled, year-round indoor section will feature a wave pool, beach and several water slides. There will be a 500-seat Chinese restaurant, a food court and several smaller food outlets.

As the next step, Ocean Park will make a planning application submission for the project to the Town Planning Board.

Ocean Park, Aberdeen, 3923 2323, www.oceanpark.com.hk.

Present sense Dads, take note. It’s Mother’s Day on May 11. If you don’t want to go the chocolates and flowers route but need an inexpensive gift idea, help is at hand.

House Of Cards Distribution (which was set up by two Hong Kong mums) recently launched a collection of practical presents that mothers will love. Check out the Best Mummy mirror compact ($125), notebook and bookmark ($125) and a colourful collection of mugs (from $90). The company also has a loads of Mother’s Day cards, plus stationery and gifts for other occasions. Available from select branches of Bookazine and Dymocks around Hong Kong or contact Kellie Irwin at kellie@houseofcards.com.hk.

Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was nine years old, Ruhi Kumar, who lives in Hong Kong, set out to share her experiences in a book, The Bitter Sweet Life – A Teenager’s Journey with Diabetes, which she has just published at the ripe old age of 15.

In the book, she reveals how she manages the disease to overcome the challenges it presents and lead an active, healthy life.

“I feel that my knowledge and experience with diabetes can be used to help and inspire other diabetics,” she said. The Bitter Sweet Life – A Teenager’s Journey with Diabetes is on sale at Dymocks Discovery Bay and online at www.lulu.com/shop. Contact her on ruhi. kumar@dc.edu.hk.

Colour My World at Art Basel Let your kids channel their inner Picasso by getting creative at the Colour My World

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News programme at Art Basel on May 15-18.

Art Kids is a dedicated space for children aged five to 18 to create and collaborate in visual and performing-art activities, while Kids Explore is a one-hour tour around key artworks and installations at the event, led by art aficionados.

While the kids are busy, parents can enjoy Art Basel’s diverse collection of art from established and newly emerging artists as well as discussions about timely topics such as the contemporary art scene.

For more information, email info@colourmy-world.com or call 2580 5028. Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Harbour Road Entrance, Wan Chai.

Mother’s Day giveaway What mother wouldn’t love a set of classic white bedding from Sleep Naked’s luxurious collection? Found in five-star hotels the world over, Sleep Naked’s 400-thread-count, pure cotton bedlinens make perfect gifts for discerning mums. The

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set comes in single, double, king and superking sizes and includes one flat or fitted sheet (your choice), one duvet cover and four Oxford pillowcases. Prices for doubles start at US$180.

Even better, Sleep Naked is giving

away a bedding set to one lucky Expat Parent reader. To enter, answer this simple question: what year was Sleep Naked set up? Email your answer to marketing@ fastmedia.com.hk. For further browsing, visit www.sleepnaked.hk.

News students’ artwork, an action-packed day and picnic lunch for families on May 30 and an elaborate evening celebration for students, former students, parents and staff. For more information, email info@hlyis.edu.hk or call the school on 2658 6935.

Sleep good

Happy Birthday, Hong Lok Yuen The primary division of International College Hong Kong in Hong Lok Yuen is celebrating its 30th anniversary this month. The school has grown from humble beginnings as a

kindergarten in a house on the Hong Lok Yuen housing estate into a state-of-theart education facility for preschool tots to pre-university teens. For its anniversary milestone, the school has planned a variety of activities around the theme of turning 30.

Among the events will be an exhibition of

If you and your children are having bedtime issues, the Hush-a-bye-Baby Sleep Seminars on May 15-17 might be the solution. New Zealand's leading sleep expert, Kirsten Taylor, will cover the importance of sleep for babies and young children, sleep tips for mums and mums-to-be, common sleep problems such as refusal to sleep and overstimulation, and behavioural sleep-training techniques. You will also hear honest advice on many of the sleep aids available from a panel of independent experts, and will be able to try out some of the best-selling sleep products for yourself. Tickets are $90 from www.amotherstouch.com.hk/sleepworkshop.

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AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

RENAISSANCE COLLEGE

10% discount for students who enrol before 23 June 2014.

SOUTH ISLAND SCHOOL

OUR CAMPS ARE OPEN TO

ALL ENROL ONLINE

ESF Summer Sports Camps Join us for our high-energy, fun filled Summer Sports Camps. Move your body, play games, make friends, swim, laugh and have fun during our week-long programmes.

Our activities focus on improving gross motor skills and enhancing fundamental abilities in sport. Camps are for available for children ages 3 - 11.

It’s going to be a fun summer...see you at camp!

AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL 7 - 25 JULY, 9AM TO 12PM

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7 JULY - 1 AUGUST (WET & DRY) 4 TO 8 AUGUST (DRY ONLY) 9AM TO 12PM& 1PM TO 4PM

SOUTH ISLAND SCHOOL

7 JULY TO 8 AUGUST 9AM TO 12PM& 1PM TO 4PM

www.esf.org.hk

sportscamps@esf.org.hk Tel 2711 1280 18

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facebook.com/ESFSports

Are you ready for May?

The Monthly Quiz Question 1

You have forgotten Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 11. It’s 11.45pm. What are your options? a) Drive to the 24-hour Caltex petrol station. A bunch of flowers lightly scented with petrol will save the day. b) 7-Eleven. c) Pretend you celebrate British Mothers’ Day (March 30). d) Break out the scissors and glue.

Question 2 Where would you find one of these?

a) G et down to the harbour asap. Perfect selfie opportunity. b) Hit the supermarket, commence panic buying. c) P ick up the kids. Batten down the hatches. Break out the Monopoly. d) Typhoon! What typhoon? Head to Stormies, Lan Kwai Fong.

Question 6 What are these men doing?

Question 4 Yuck! There’s a bug crawling out of a pinhole in your wooden floor. What do you do? a) Scream. Grab kids. Move to hotel. b) Think karmic thoughts.

Allow the little fellow to crawl gently on to a piece of paper. Release him in the garden. You are the change you want to see in the world. c) Squish, spray, ignore. d) Call in the experts.

Question 5 Whose plant is this? a) East Timor. b) Indonesia. c) The endangered species list. d) Sheung Wan.

a) Food fight! b) Bun climbing, a new sport for athletic foodies. c) Avoiding the washing up. d) Competing to snatch the highest buns at the Cheung Chau Bun Festival.

Question 7 How will you celebrate Buddha’s birthday?

Question 3 Typhoon 8 signal is raised. What are you gonna do?

a) Street artist Banksy starts a garden. b) Urban farmer. c) E state agent adds “garden” to 150 sqft flat. d) Ikebana display by a lap sap lady. e) Inside Hong Kong Flora, the latest book

by German photographer, Michael Wolf.

a) Staying home – the incense smoke drives you crazy. b) Heading to a bar. Buddha must appreciate some fun, right? c) Visiting a Buddhist temple to pay your respects. d) Just a minute, let’s meditate on this.

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Are you ready for May?

1. Answer: D Luckily for you, mums love handmade cards, which will be treasured far longer than that beautiful bouquet you forgot to buy her. Here’s how to make a particularly cute one. On two separate pieces of coloured paper, draw around your child’s hand. Cut out the hand shapes. Cut a long rectangular piece of paper and fold it into about 10 evenly sized squares, reversing the paper after every fold to make a concertina or fan. Glue each end of the concertina to the hand-shaped papers. Write “I love you...” on the front hand, and “this much!” on the concertina. Then fold neatly and tuck inside an envelope. Ta da!

2. Answer: All of the above The critically endangered yellowcrested cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea) is found in East Timor, Indonesia and Hong Kong. They are a common sight in Sheung Wan (where Expat Parent has its offices) and elsewhere on Hong Kong Island. The birds are said to trace their origins to Government House, where wartime Governor Sir Mark Aitchison Young apparently released the yellow-crested cockatoos along with the rest of the bird collection just hours before surrendering to the invading Japanese on Christmas Day, 1941. Not only did the cockatoos escape the cooking pots, they thrived to become the largest introduced flock in the world.

3. Answer: C From May to November, or as long as the sea surface temperature is more than 26 deg C, typhoons regularly affect Hong Kong. The observatory raises signals warning of a typhoon’s approach. Typhoon signals 1 and 3 won’t blow your plans too

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The Answers

far off course, but when a T8 is raised, schools, workplaces, restaurants and public services close and most public transport is cancelled, although hotels (and Stormies) continue to function. Stay indoors. During a T8, wind speeds are 63118km/h and may gust at 180km/h.

(T9 and T10 are raised at higher wind speeds.) Keep an eye on the typhoon’s progress on local television and radio news, the Hong Kong Observatory website (www.hko.gov.hk) or mobile app, or by calling Dial-a-Weather on 878 200. Secure pot plants and outdoors furniture (or at least turn the balcony table upside down).

Some people open a bathroom fan or sheltered window to even the atmospheric pressure and prevent windows blowing out.

Consider protecting against flying glass by fixing adhesive tape to windows: this is really hard to get off next day, however.

4. Answer: D Bugs like to play in May. For a couple of evenings this month, termites spawn, gathering in dense flying swarms around lights then dropping their wings and searching hungrily for a new home. (If you find them trying to invade your home on flight night, we recommend vacuuming up the critters.) If not dealt with properly, termites can destroy your home. However, the infestation may not always be visible.

Signs include discarded wings near doors and windows, mud tubes on outside walls or emerging from wood, hollow-sounding floor boards and crumbling skirting boards.

Call in the experts to determine if you have a pest problem and how to rid your home of bugs: BioCycle Pest Control, 3575 2575 or 3599 9042 (for Discovery Bay), www. biocycle.com.hk.

5. Answer: E Hong Kong Flora, the new photography book by Michael Wolf, launches this month.

Wolf is renowned for bringing a fresh eye to Hong Kong, finding beauty in the city’s quirks from corner buildings to builders’ gloves, from public housing to the creative webbing on the backs of delivery trolleys.

Here he focuses on the city’s plants: pot plants tucked between pipes, growing out of air conditioners, locked behind shutters or wilting in plastic bottles with the tops cut off. The book launches on May 17, and the artist is opening his amazing studio to visitors at 3pm on May 16. Unit 4, 5/F Block A, Kailey Industrial Building, 12 Fung Yip Street, Chai Wan.

6. Answer: D It’s the Cheung Chau Bun Festival, people!

Held this year on May 3-7 on Cheung Chau Island, this colourful annual event draws tens of thousands of visitors. The climax is the bun-snatching race up bamboo tower “mountains” erected outside Pak Tai Temple. Traditionally, the island’s men would race up the towers to snatch the highest, luckiest buns, but following a collapse in 1978, injuring more than 100 people, the old haphazard race has been replaced by a safer, if less exciting, challenge by qualified climbers. Other events include Chinese opera, lion and unicorn dances, and the spectacular “parade of floating colours” (May 6), with small children dressed as legendary heroes gliding above the crowd. For details, visit www.discoverhongkong.com.

7. Answer: C Buddha's Birthday is celebrated on the eighth day of the fourth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, which this year falls on May 6. During the public holiday, Buddhist temples and monasteries will be buzzing. Lanterns will be lit to symbolise Buddha's enlightenment, thousands of worshippers will pay their respects and join the celebrations. For the most iconic local ceremonies, head to the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery in Sha Tin, the Miu Fat Monastery in Tuen Mun, or the Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island.

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Must have

Junk trippin’ Kate Farr packs a bag for boating season.

Jax Coco $120 for 6 x 250ml from supermarkets.

Shwood Belmont Sunglasses $2,250 from The 9th Muse, 12/F, 1 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central.

Brant Sunglasses $699, by Dirty Dog from www.dirtydog.com.

Kinder Than Solitude by Yiyun Li $208 from Bookazine.

Parakito Insect Repellent Band $145 from branches of Mannings, Mothercare and Escapade Sports.

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Must have

Kid’s Solarsuit $500 per set, from www.solarsuit.com.hk.

Caracas Basket $1,100, from Plage (based in Mirth, BT Centre, Wong Chuk Hang Road, Wong Chuk Hang).

Hong Kong Flag Beach Towel $350 from Sleep Naked, www.sleepnaked.hk.

Havaianas Flip-flops $268 from LCX, Level 3, Ocean Terminal, Tsim Sha Tsui.

Lomography Fisheye One Nautic Camera $438 from Lomography Gallery Store, 2 Po Yan Street, Sheung Wan.

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Meet the parents

Juggling acts How Hong Kong mums balance family and career.

The Wellsteds Chai Wellsted is president of Asia of one of the world’s largest private education organisations. Her husband, Michael, is a director at Jardine Lloyd Thompson. They have twin boys.

My husband, Michael, and I had always wanted children. Yet, it took a long time for me to get pregnant. I was in my 40s when it finally happened. I am the youngest of five children and my mother worked full time.

She was an amazing woman from whom I draw inspiration.

I was blessed with a stress-free pregnancy, with no nausea or tiredness and was able to work as normal. I travelled until the seven-month mark but, during the eighth month of pregnancy, I developed pre-eclampsia so my twin boys, Jack and Max, were delivered earlier than expected.

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I am not easily scared, but the first few months of motherhood were both exhilarating and frightening. I was faced with something totally out of my control – the not-knowing was as frustrating as the experience was joyful.

My career has played a pivotal part in my life. I was always going back to work. I took an extra month of maternity leave, but I took conference calls, answered emails and was kept fully up-to-date with work.

I sent photos of the babies as a way of keeping personally in touch.

I don’t have a panacea for how to juggle being a mother and a full-time professional: I have plenty of help and a strong support network. Four of my siblings live and work in Hong Kong and have families of their own. I also have my father, aunties and uncles and first cousins galore so I am never short of support, particularly as we all live fairly close to each other.

Two of my best friends live nearby and I have three wonderful helpers. One of the Annerley midwives came to the house after the twins were born to give me practical advice. I employed an older Chinese nurse for a week when they first came out of hospital while I was breast feeding. I also had a night nurse every weekend.

I want to be the best mother I can be.

I have been in charge of Jack and Max’s food from the day they were born. We make everything fresh and I often surf the net late at night to get ideas for recipes.

When I went back to work, I worried about whether they were eating enough as they were premature babies. If I was not in Hong Kong, I had the stats sent to me every morning regarding the amount of milk they’d had, when they drank, and how

It was both exhilarating and frightening. I was faced with something totally out of my control...

Meet the parents many wet nappies and bowel movements they’d each had. I wanted to feel involved even when I was not there.

I have arranged my schedules to attend every doctor’s appointment and innoculation, and when Jack got an infection at seven weeks old I stayed with him in hospital – the most stressful five days of my life. I am blessed with working for a wonderful company and having a superhero for a boss. It means a lot to me to have their support.

Michael installed a “nanny cam”, which allows me to see my boys in real time whenever I want. It has infrared so I can look at them while they’re sleeping. I’m not obsessive but it has been my lifeline when I’m out of town. I also talk to them frequently on the phone.

Michael and I try to plan our schedules so one of us is always at home. On the odd occasion when we have both been travelling, my family members check everything is fine. It’s a huge comfort.

I wake up early to play with the boys before work and come home promptly to have some quality time with them before bed. I get up for them at night and I often do their midnight feeds even though this means not getting enough sleep.

Weekends are planned around the twins. I take them out whenever I can and Michael takes each one in turn on hikes in the baby rucksack. I do the weekly food shop every Saturday.

Working full-time is not every woman’s choice. Having Jack and Max has really meant putting the modern-day mantra of “work-life balance” into practice. I may not always be there for every event, but I will always be there for them when it matters.

I love my job and travel a lot. It was a conscious decision to continue working and, although I sometimes feel guilty, I am comforted by the fact they are well looked after. I see time away as a chance to recharge my batteries. However, when I am at home, Jack and Max are the centre of my attention.

Having the twins “later” in life has advantages and disadvantages. We are fortunate enough to be able to give them everything they need. And waiting to get pregnant for so many years has taught me to not take everything in life for granted.

It is an honour and privilege to be parents and I am humbled by it every day. My family comes first and my work comes a close second. expat-parent.com

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Meet the parents

I like having a career, I’m good at my job and it provides a certain lifestyle for us

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The Toohers Helen Tooher is vice president of a multinational pharmaceuticals company. Her husband, Fergus, works for a German conglomerate.

They have four children.

Our eldest two children – Aisling, now 11, and Garry, 10 – were born in Ireland, where I had six months’ maternity leave for each one. Our two younger children – Ciara, seven, and Muireann, two – were born in Hong Kong, so I went back to work after 12 weeks. I tried to work as close as possible to their due dates but took a couple of weeks off beforehand. I always planned to go back to work. I had a good job, liked working and needed to work in Hong Kong.

It was hard to leave [each baby]. I had to cut short the length of time I could breastfeed because my job involves travel – I tried with my first baby to keep breastfeeding but it was almost impossible. I remember the first flight after returning to work, and I found myself sitting in the aeroplane loo, expressing milk but having to throw it all down the sink as I couldn’t store it. Miserable. I tried to build up as much milk stock in the fridge as I could by expressing and to feed at night but I couldn’t sustain it.

The key to being able to go back to work was making sure I had a capable helper, who was knowledgeable about my children. I felt secure about leaving my children with her and confident about going to work. I would have liked to spend longer at home [with my youngest two]. I knew they were well looked after, safe and comfortable – they weren’t suffering for me going back – but I felt bad.

As my husband, Fergus, also travels with work, we ended up employing a second helper. We try to work it that one of us is here all the time and 90 per cent of the time, that is the case. A driver would be great, though!

The fact that I’m at work full time has affected all my children’s behaviour at times. They occasionally play up and try to play us off against my helpers. We’ve had to lay out strict guidelines about behaviour and house rules so the adults as well as the children know what’s expected. If something goes wrong, you always think it would never have happened if you’d been around. You can beat yourself up about it but it probably would have happened anyway.

As my children get older, they have a better understanding of why I work. We talk about why I’m not around as much as some of the other mothers and I tell them it’s because I like having a career, I’m good at my job and that it provides a certain lifestyle for us. If they ever say they would like me to be around more – for example, to see them play football – I make an effort to go and watch.

I don’t feel as guilty about working full time as I used to because I’ve managed to come up with a good balance. People used to tell me children need you more when they are small but I think the reverse is true. They want to talk about issues relating to the onset of puberty, school, friendships, the world and so on.

I have quite a flexible role and the technology to work from home if I need to, particularly when the kids are sick. My boss supports it within reason.

Our weekends are all about the kids: activities, homework, spending time with them. We take our main holiday in the summer and we use camps during the school holidays. They’ve been to stay with their grandparents [in Ireland] on their own and I imagine this will happen more because it can be a long summer here, especially when their friends are away.

I always feel I could do more both at work and at home. But the reality is I don’t have enough time to achieve everything I want to in all areas of my life, so I know I shouldn’t worry. expat-parent.com

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ThirdCulture Kids Feature

Picture: Michael Wolf

Where’s home? If you have trouble answering that question, chances are you’re a third-culture kid.

Adele Brunner examines the pros and cons of growing up expat.

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Where’s home?

T

here may be nowhere like it, but where is home? Wherever you lay your hat?

Where your heart is? Where your passport says you’re from? For millions of children – and adults – the answer is not clear cut.

Historically, internationally mobile professions tended to be either military, missionary or diplomatic, but now it is increasingly common for people to leave the country of their birth to work overseas.

never lived in Perth, yet he still considers it to be home. Simpson is a “third-culture kid” (TCK), a term coined in the 1950s by American sociologists Doctor Ruth Hill Useem and her husband John.

With their three sons in tow, the Useems moved from the United States to India to study Indians who had received higher education in a Western country and expatriate Americans living in the subcontinent. Their research, results and subsequent experiences led them to create the term.

“The broad definition of TCKs is children who live outside their passport country, which includes immigrants and

Lewis was a TCK herself, born in the US to a British mother and American father and moving domestically every couple of years.

“I loved it but my brother hated it,” she says. “[Moving around] affects siblings differently.”

The most difficult to move are teenagers, particularly those aged 13 to 15, because they are going through so many physical and emotional changes.

Lewis researched the topic by sending questionnaires to TCKs in Hong Kong, China, Egypt, Britain and the United States, and discovered that teenagers found the most difficult thing was leaving their friends, whom they considered among the

Third-culture kids are great kids... because they are so multicultural they see things differently

Their children may be born ex patria or grow up in a “foreign” country that is far more familiar to them than their country of origin. Neither wholly of their parents’ culture nor that of the countries in which they live, these children assimilate and identify with a combination of their cultural influences.

Take nine-year-old Thomas Simpson, for example. He was born in Perth, Australia, to Australian parents but left the country for Indonesia with his family when he was three weeks old. From there, he moved to Thailand, the Philippines and finally to Hong Kong, where he has lived for the past three years. He has

refugees as well as expatriates,” says American clinical psychologist, educator and counsellor Lesley Lewis, who is based in Hong Kong and has been researching the topic for years.

“I focus on expatriates and Hong Kong Chinese children who go to international schools. The kids I study could have been born in their parent company and left at an early age, or born in a totally different nation. My kids, for example, have never lived in the US but carry American passports. These children don’t necessarily relate to their parents’ culture, but by socialising with multi-nationality peers they form a third culture of their own.”

most important things in their lives and, consequently, irreplaceable.

“When teenagers graduate from secondary school, it’s a logical ending and they are all doing it together,” Lewis says.

“But when you’re the only one to leave, it’s entirely different. Teens especially may get angry at their parents and will try to put on a brave face at their new school by masking their true feelings, acting tough and not crying. But look at them closely and you will probably see them hurting.”

Expatriate Desti Saint agrees. She was born in Hong Kong, moved to her parents’ native New Zealand when she was 12 and lived there for 10 years before heading to expat-parent.com

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Feature Britain for a few years, then back to Hong Kong and eventually to Singapore, where she lives now.

“I found [going to live in New Zealand] incredibly difficult,” she says. “I was very sheltered in Hong Kong and had a fantastic upbringing; I found leaving my friends very hard. Adolescence is bad enough and I hated it. Consequently, I rebelled against my parents when I was about 14.

“My husband was also born in Hong Kong, but went back to Australia when he was eight. He was much more accepting of his life there because he was at an age when he just slotted right in and didn’t have the problems I did.”

Saying goodbye properly is important, Lewis says. Whatever age the child, leaving in a good fashion – holding farewell parties, visiting favourite places for the last time, taking photographs – will have a positive impact. Problems often occur if the child is given only a few weeks’ notice or is plucked

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You know you’re a suddenly out of school without a chance to say farewell to teachers and classmates.

A transient lifestyle can mean children say goodbye to friends so often that they become afraid of forming close relationships, an issue that can follow them into adulthood. As a self-defence mechanism against the pain of loss they know will eventually come, they may become distant and introverted.

TCKs returning to their passport country can also encounter difficulties with misunderstandings on both sides.

Monocultural children who have never lived abroad may think TCKs are bragging when they talk about the countries they have visited and the experiences they’ve had. And TCKs don’t necessarily understand the local social or music scenes or may not be familiar with popular television programmes and slang that provide playground talking points and help

thirdculture when... kid • The question “Where are you from?” has more than one reasonable answer.

• You flew long-haul before you could walk.

• You’re not sure what country to support during international sporting events.

children and teenagers to fit in.

“Children aren’t always accepting, and the kids in New Zealand didn’t know what to make of me,” Saint says. “They thought I was weird.”

According to a report by Dr Useem on her website, www.tckworld.com, 90 per cent of the adult TCKs she questioned

• You bump into friends in unlikely countries at unlikely times.

• You can offer tips on getting over jetlag and speak with authority on the subject of airport lounges – and you’re only 12.

• You know that McDonald’s, milk and chocolate taste different from country to country.

• You remember past events by referencing the country you lived in at the time.

• You find yourself using foreign words in conversation or singing along to songs in languages you don’t speak fluently.

• You have no idea what a “staycation” is, but think nothing of popping to Bali or Phuket for the weekend. continued to feel out of sync with their age group throughout their lives.

“In the US I often feel like I’m living with only a split part of my personality,” said one adult TCK who participated in Useem’s survey. “The other half of me doesn’t know where to operate.”

Although Saint is a happily married

40-something, with teenage TCKs of her own, she also says one stumbling block in her life is not really knowing where her roots are or where “home” is. It’s an issue common to TCKs. However, the good news is that, in Lewis’ opinion, the advantages of this kind of upbringing outweigh the disadvantages.

Often bilingual or multilingual, most TCKs are well-travelled at an early age.

By coming into contact with a multitude of different people, they are socially confident and able to relate to others regardless of race or background. They tend to be less prejudiced and more welcoming of new people into their social circle, even as adults, because they understand what it’s like to be the new kid on the block.

“I like moving because you get to see other places and make other friends,”

Where’s home?

Simpson says. “You end up having so many friends from all over the world.” (His personal downside, however, is not seeing his Australian cousins often enough and losing things in transit.)

TCKs tend to be high achievers at school, with the majority continuing on to university and post-graduate education and, because they are brought up understanding and experiencing diverse cultures, they make good diplomats and business people.

“TCKs are great kids and are our future leaders,” Lewis says. “Because they are so multicultural they see things differently. The world wouldn’t be in half the mess it is in now if they were already at the helm.”

Lesley Lewis is an executive coach, educational psychologist and counsellor specialising in cross-cultural development.

She is the founder of Culture3Counsel (www.culture3counsel.com).

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Open day

Kellett goes K Kowloon Expat Parent visits Kellett School’s new Kowloon Bay campus.

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ellett School is a popular choice for families looking for a Britishstyle international education in Hong Kong. It was set up in 1976 by like-minded parents to provide high-quality teaching, rich in the arts and delivered in a smallschool setting. The first two classes had 44 mainly expatriate children and these families developed a strong sense of community that continues today.

In 1978, the school relocated to leased premises in Taikoo Shing and established the Kellett School Association, which was officially registered as an international kindergarten and primary school. Two years later, it moved to purpose-built premises at the Kellett School Pok Fu Lam’s current location in Wah Fu Estate. To meet the lack of international secondary places in Hong Kong, a senior school was established in 2007 to accommodate all the school’s Year six students, and last year Kellett opened a second state-of-the-art campus in Kowloon Bay with spaces for 300 prep students and 600 seniors.

British-style international education

Reading time.

Applications are accepted at birth for reception and prep classes and two years prior to entry into the senior school.

Applicants are placed on a waiting list and assessed when an offer of a place is imminent.

Kellett operates a debenture system (for details visit the website, www. kellettschool.com), with priority for siblings of existing students and children covered by a corporate debenture. Annual fees are $123,500 for the prep school, $160,800 for Years Seven to 11 and $168,800 for Years 12 to 13.

“We have a waiting list for almost all year groups [at the Pok Fu Lam campus], but we do have an occasional vacancy and we still have some vacancies in the senior school,” says principal Ann McDonald, who has been head of the school since 1996.

“Quite a few families moved from Pok Fu Lam to the Kowloon Bay school and Sai Kung was already home to a number of

Seniors’ Common Room.

Dressing making for seniors.

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Open day

Art lessons.

their specialist fields. Strong links with Britain are maintained to ensure staff stays abreast of the best practice and public examination expectations.

“We strive to equip our students with the skills and knowledge to thrive in a rapidly changing workplace, and help them to develop not just social awareness but global awareness,” McDonald says. “This new campus supports our aims and goals and our top-quality teaching staff.”

Paintings by seniors.

Kellett families. With the opening of the new campus, this number has grown and we expect it to continue to grow year on year, along with our school.”

The Kowloon Bay campus is spacious and bright, with multi-functioning sky-lit atrium spaces containing living trees in both the prep and senior sections. There are outdoor gardens, a sports pitch and running track on the roof, shaded outdoor areas for the prep students, plus sports halls, an indoor swimming pool with moveable floor that can be raised for younger children or lowered for water polo and other senior activities. There’s a world-

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class theatre with a moveable orchestra pit, black box dance studio and expansive music suites, plus an artist-in-residence programme. The teaching spaces have been built to support 21st-century learning with fully equipped science, design and technology labs, and separate libraries for the Prep and Senior schools.

“The architectural design works so well in supporting a learning environment with an emphasis on light and space,” McDonald says.

Kellett’s teachers are recruited locally and internationally. All have strong academic profiles and are proven within

Kellett School Address: Kowloon Bay Prep and Senior, 7 Lam Hing Street, Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong Phone: 3120 0700 Website: www.kellettschool.com

Principal’s office Q: What’s your own background?

A: I wanted to become a teacher from an early age and I taught for 15 years before becoming a principal. My time in Hong Kong started at the British Army school in Stanley Fort. I had a wonderful time teaching there in the late 1970s and early ‘80s. I returned to Britain until an opportunity arose at Kellett School in 1996.

I’ve been in Hong Kong 25 years in total.

ANN MCDONALD Principal at Kellett School

Q: What are some of the challenges of being a principal?

A: It’s a challenge to keep abreast of the rapid changes within the industry while ensuring students receive an outstanding education.

Q: What do you like best about Hong Kong?

A: Nothing is impossible in Hong Kong. It’s a dynamic and safe city.

Q: What has been the best advice given to you so far?

A: Always remember to pause and think before you speak.

Q: Give us one tip for handling stress?

A: I like to take a long swim. It helps clear my head and I find it relaxing.

Q: What are your hobbies?

A: When time allows: reading, music and long walks in the Hong Kong country parks.

Q: What do you like most about the position?

A: I thoroughly enjoy working with all the students.

Q: What talent would you most like to have?

A: I would love to be able to play the piano really well.

Q: How do you see the relationship between a principal and a student?

A: One of mutual respect.

Q: What quality do you most value in your friends?

A: Discretion.

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Sponsored column

New schools Good news! Several schools are expanding and new schools are due to open.

Carmel School East Asia’s largest and only through-train Jewish school, Carmel is a registered International Baccalaureate (IB) school for the Middle Years Programme (MYP; Years Six-10) and Diploma (Years 11-12). Carmel School has three premises on Hong Kong Island, including Elsa High School in Shau Kei Wan, which expanded in August 2013. www.carmel.edu.hk Discovery Mind Primary School (DMPS) DMPS Tung Chung opened in September 2013 in a purpose-built campus. Offering the British National Curriculum, it has six bright and spacious classrooms, a library, shared working space and large playground. Classes have a maximum of 22 pupils, with a school capacity of 132 pupils. www.dmps.edu.hk

Harrow International School Hong Kong Opened in September 2012, this is the third Harrow School outside England and the first British international boarding school in Hong Kong. It offers places for students from Years One to 13, with day-school, weekly and full-time boarding options for students from Year Seven. www.harrowschool.hk Hong Kong Academy Hong Kong Academy opened more than 10 years ago and offers the IB programme to students from kindergarten to Year 12.

Their new Sai Kung campus opened in August 2013 and incorporates the latest thinking in educational building design. www.hkacademy.edu.hk Kellett School Kellett School opened a second purposebuilt campus in Kowloon Bay in September 2013. The world-class campus has places for approximately 600 senior-school students with four forms in each year group, and an additional 300 prep students with two forms a year. www.kellettschool.com

International Montessori School (IMS) IMS Stanley opened in April but there are complementing campuses in Tin Hau, South Horizons and Mid-Levels. It follows the Montessori Primary Years Programme. www.montessori.edu.hk/IMS Nord Anglia International School Hong Kong (NAIS) Nord Anglia Education is to open a 660-place, British-style international school in Lam Tin this September. It will follow the British National Curriculum and offer classes from Years One to Seven, with Year Eight opening in 2015 and Year Nine in 2016. www.nordangliaeducation.com

Anne Murphy is the Director of ITS Educational Services. ITS offer a variety of education solutions – from single consultations, to step-by-step management of school placements and admissions. For details, email anne.m@itseducation.asia.

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Talking heads

Ace

How to the Principal

Roy White

Head of School, Hong Luk Yuen International School The key ingredient for success in examinations is preparation. Cramming doesn’t work, particularly for IB exams, where you truly need to understand ideas and put several concepts together.

Develop strategies for each subject. Discuss approaches with teachers and other students and decide which works best for you. If you play background music, what type of music allows you to focus? Chatting with friends on social media or the phone while listening to music or the TV will make it difficult to focus and studying will be inefficient.

Effective studying requires breaks, sleep and rest. Allowing the same amount of time for each subject is not the best strategy. What topics did the teacher stress? Spend more time on areas you find difficult. Try pretending to teach the topic – you will remember it and any confusion will be highlighted.

Often students leave out, misread or do not answer the question. Ask yourself: how many questions are to be answered?

Is there a question on the back page?

Are questions at the end of the paper worth more? Do I understand the options in the paper, if any? Do I understand the question?

For long-answer questions create a mindmap or bullet points and prioritise the points. And don’t forget your brain needs water to be at its best.

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the grandfather

George Hilditch

Great-grandfather How can you help your children ace exams?

Feed them fish. Lots of fish! Kippers for breakfast, prawn curry for lunch and ocean pie for tea. When I was growing up in the 1930s, fish was regarded as "brain food" by old wives. Years later scientists identified omega-3 as an active ingredient. I have seen three generations of children through their exams and I believe it really works.

So don’t stand by idly while your child or grandchild is studying. Help out. Cook them a fish.

the dietician

Jeanette Blanks

Medical Herbalist and Naturopath, Stanley Wellness Centre Memory and concentration depend on the nutrients we eat and on our blood-sugar balance. Low blood sugar starves the brain of fuel, increases anxiety and stress levels, and triggers exhaustion.

High-sugar foods – candy, white bread, pasta, crackers, rice, potatoes – cause a spike in blood sugar and then a crash.

Conversely, slow-releasing carbohydrates release a slow, steady stream of sugar into the blood. Choose whole grains (oats, quinoa, brown rice, bulgur wheat, multi-grain bread, muesli), pulses (lentils, chickpeas, beans), apples, pears and vegetables (all kinds) and pair these carbohydrates with protein or fat (nuts or cheese) to sustain the fuel source even longer.

Incorporate key brain foods into your diet. Nuts and seeds: flax, chia and sunflower seeds or oil, walnuts, hazelnuts, peanuts, almonds – as nuts, oils or butter.

Fish: salmon, sardines, mackerel, herring, cod, shrimp, oysters. Meat: lamb, veal, beef. Eggs (with yolk), grains and Marmite.

Veggies: capsicum, kale, spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, mushrooms, sea vegetables. Fruit: pomegranates, cherries, oranges, grapefruit, lemons, berries (red and blue), kiwi.

Diffuse your study area with essential oils to improve memory, concentration and alertness: rosemary, peppermint, basil, geranium, lemon, melissa and cedarwood.

Exercise to reduce the stress hormone cortisol in the body. And diffuse lavender oil in the bedroom to promote a good night’s sleep, which improves attention, alertness, concentration, reasoning and problem solving.

your exams Tips from our expert panel.

the COUNSELLOR

Laura Walsh

Mental Health Counsellor and Applied Sport Psychologist You’ve studied and feel prepared, but when you sit down to write the exam, you go blank! You can’t remember a thing, your heart is pounding and you’re gasping for breath.

In sport it’s referred to as a “choke”.

The pressure of being judged or marked leaves you unable to perform. Luckily science has found ways to alleviate the pressure.

Exams use our short term or working memories (located in the prefrontal cortex), which is the ability to remember something while processing information.

It is very important for problem solving, comprehension, reading and is a major building block of IQ. The prefrontal cortex is also where fears, thoughts and beliefs take hold, so if it is full of worries and doubts, there is no room for the exam information. Too much stress shuts down the very area of the brain you need to do well in an exam.

So what to do? Practise under pressure.

Write down all your thoughts and worries five minutes before the exam. Take a few moments and some deep breaths before rushing to begin. Outsource your cognitive load. If you’re writing a math exam involving many steps, write these down before you begin. And finally, write down all the things you are besides a student – daughter, son, brother, sister, friend, athlete etc. Getting the worries out of your prefrontal cortex frees it up for the exam.

Good luck!

the teacher

the Student

Karin Chun Taite

Keishel Lee

Canadian International School of Hong Kong, Grade 12 Student Testing yourself is a helpful way to ensure you remember and understand the material. Start studying early: planning your schedule will help you feel less overwhelmed. Calm yourself down by taking deep breaths. Get lots of sleep, keep calm and stay focused.

Head of Academics, The Edge Learning Center Practice past papers to establish the best approaches to questions and then, later, under timed conditions. Use your performance on these practice tests to prioritise what topics/skills need more attention.

Separate yourself from distractions – don’t study right next to temptation.

Find ways to remain positive. Look for enjoyable or valuable aspects of the topics you’re studying, and remind yourself of the longer-term goals you can achieve by succeeding in your studies.

Next Month's Question

HOW TO TRAVEL WITH TODDLERS Join our panel. Share your tips.

Email us at editor@fastmedia.com.hk

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After school

Tutu tutorials

A class at Red Shoe Dance Studios.

Cherrie Yu pirouettes through ballet classes for kids.

Carol Bateman School

DMR School of Ballet

The oldest ballet school in Hong Kong teaches the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) exam syllabus at a studio in the historic Helena May Building. Classes for everyone from toddler to adult classes, along with summer dance camps. Tap, ballroom, jazz and modern dance classes available.

Helena May Building, Garden Road, Central, 2525 3751, carolbatemanschool@ gmail.com, www.carolbatemanschool.com.

Established for 25 years, this Discovery Bay ballet school offers Fun Ballet as well as the RAD syllabus. Starting with Tots in Tutus, it offers classes for children of all ages from three to adult, plus summer camps. As well as a full-stage annual performance, children take part in a variety of events around Hong Kong. Tap, modern dance and jazz classes available. Shop 112, Block C, Discovery Bay Plaza, 2987 4338, info@ dmr-hk.com, www.dmr-hk.com.

Central Dance Studios Offers Ballet for Beginners classes for teens and adults, as well as pointe ballet classes for the more experienced. Also offers tango, hip hop, jazz funk and other styles, and can be hired as a party venue. Prices start at $120. 1/F Man Cheung Building, 15-17 Wyndham Street, Central, 2537 0713, centraldancehk@gmail.com, www. danceclassesinhongkong.com.

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Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts From diplomas to undergraduate degrees in dance, the HKAPA School of Dance offers a wide variety of dance styles and a choice of part- and full-time courses, spanning two to four years. Scholarships are available and the academy also runs a Gifted Young Dancer programme;

applicants need to be at least 14 years old to audition. The Corporate Communications Office, 1 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, 2584 8500, www.hkapa.edu.

Island Dance More than 14 venues across Hong Kong offer classical ballet from 18 months to adults, with classes from beginners to pre-professional. Its students take part in all sorts of local events, including the Lunar New Year Parade, Hong Kong Sevens, flash mobs and music and dance festivals. Try a free trial class before enrolling. Disco, tap, creative dance, hip hop, jazz tap and funk available. 2987 1571, dance@islanddance. com.hk, www.islanddance.com.hk.

Isla School of Dance Ballet classes from 18 months to teens, beginners to pre-professional levels.

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After school $170. Private classes available by arrangement, $700 an hour.

787 Po Tung Road, Sai Kung, 5467 4674, rbssaikung@gmail.com, www.russianballetschool-hk.com.

Lessons are strict but fun, with a chance to take part in the school’s annual performance, public shows and charity events. Also runs Fitness Ballet for beginners (from age 16), DanceSport classes and Chinese dance. Free trial class available. 9/F, CNT Tower, 338 Hennessy Road, Wanchai, 2915 0822, www.islaschoolofdance.com.

Southern School of Dance

Jean M.Wong School of Ballet Classes for ballerinas at all levels and ages from toddlers to teacher training, including classes just for boys aged eight to 16. Children’s classes follow the RAD syllabus, and there are master classes with visiting professional dancers for advanced students. The annual Stars of Tomorrow performance is a three-hankie weepie for proud parents. Jazz and hip hop classes available. 31/F Universal Trade Centre, 17 Caine Road, Central, 2869 6288, ballet@jmwballet.org , www.jmwballet.org.

Students at DMR School of Ballet. take part in showcases, competitions and public performances. Offers both RAD and the Australian Commonwealth Society of Teachers of Dancing (CSTD) exams, as well as jazz classes. 9/F, Kornhill Plaza, 1 Kornhill Road, Quarry Bay, 2886 8860, www.mcdancehk.com.

Red Shoe Dance Studios L'Ecole de Jeune Ballet For children who want to pursue ballet to a high level. Classes are graded by ability rather than age and, although RAD exams are offered, classes are run as training for dance (rather than training to pass exams).

All teachers are ex-principal dancers of the Hong Kong Ballet and their inspiration is apparently infectious. Try out before you sign up. 4/F, Sea View Estate, 4 Watson Road, North Point, 2234 6317, www. ejballet.com.

Mabel Cheung School of Dancing Ballet classes for preschoolers to adults following an exam-based syllabus, with plenty of opportunities for students to

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Kindi ballet and classical ballet lessons for children from three years old to adult at studios in Central and Wong Chuk Hang.

The school offers RAD exams, classes at all levels, private tuition, and a chance to work with visiting world-class teachers. Also offers jazz, contemporary, lyrical, musical theatre and hip hop classes. Call 2117 9216, or visit www.redshoedance.com.

Russian Ballet School The first Russian ballet school in Hong Kong brings the proven Vaganova system to the city for the first time. Classes are available for children aged from three to adult, including classes specifically for boys aged seven to 12. Trial sessions are

This long-established dance school offers classical ballet lessons for preschoolers to teenagers. As well as ballet examinations, all the children take part in annual shows for family and friends – don’t forget your hankie.

Tap, modern dance and contemporary classes are also available. Classes are held in Wong Chuk Hang, the Hong Kong Cricket Club and Clearwater Bay. For details, call 2872 6917 or visit www.southernschoolofdance.com.hk.

Tina’s Dance Studio For tiny dancers as young as two-and-ahalf years, Tina’s offers ballet classes throughout the week. Hip hop, Irish dancing and yoga are also on the menu.

15 Man Nin Street, Sai Kung, 2328 2250, tinasdancestudiosaikung@gmail.com, www.tinasdancestudiosaikung.com.

Twinkle Dance Company Budding ballerinas will have fun at these classes, which lead up to RAD examinations and performances. Twinkle Dance Company also runs summer camps – this year’s theme is Frozen – and dance-themed birthday parties at locations around Hong Kong, including Central, Aberdeen and Tai Po. Trial lessons begin at $230. Jazz and funk classes available.

For details and early-bird discounts on summer camps, call 6608 6689, or visit www.twinkledance.com.

We see the individual.

Hong Kong Academy offers a rigorous international education that engages students as unique individuals with different interests, goals, and approaches to learning. As an IB World School for students ages 3 to 18, Hong Kong Academy challenges all students to reach their potential and prepares them for life in a dynamic and diverse world.

To learn more about our school and community or to arrange a tour, please visit www.hkacademy.edu.hk or call 2655-1111.

learning, growing, understanding

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Photo Hakan Aldrin

Learn to sail

Hello sailor!

Sailor Calum Gregor, 15, competes internationally for Hong Kong. Here’s how he learned the ropes.

I started sailing at six weeks old when my mum and dad took me out on their boat.

I began racing when I was nine through Hebe Haven Yacht Club in Sai Kung. I started in Optimists [small, single-handed dinghies], but have since moved on to 420s, one of the youth International Sailing Federation (ISAF) World Championship classes for under-19s.

weekends and sailing camps during the holidays. The government also runs Water Sports Centres where you can learn to sail.

Clubs provide boats and life jackets, but a wetsuit is a good idea when it’s colder.

I sail for the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (RHKYC) at Middle Island. The 420 dinghy is two-handed and I have been sailing with Hugo Christensson since August. We sail 16 hours a week: seven hours on Saturdays, seven on Sundays and two hours every Wednesday. We train with the Hong Kong squad but we compete for the RHKYC.

I’m probably stronger because of sailing.

Our coach makes us do fitness training every day that we don’t sail.

It’s easy to learn to sail in Hong Kong.

Most clubs offer courses for beginners at

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I enjoy the technicality of the sport because the boats are infinitely adjustable. I also like going fast.

Internationally, the two major regattas each year for my age are the ISAF Youth Worlds (19-year-olds and under) and the 420 World Championships (open age category). Locally, the most important event the Hong Kong 420 Nationals, in which the class champion is decided. We

also take part in another five overseas competitions a year in various parts of Europe, Australia and Asia.

My proudest sailing moment was in January when we came ninth at the Australian Youth Championships in Melbourne in the 420 class. I also came fifth out of 117 boats in the Thai Optimist Nationals in 2013.

The only downside to sailing is that it can get very expensive when you become serious about it. You have to pay for plane tickets, boat charters and equipment.

My goals are to get into the top five at the ISAF Youth World Championships, to qualify for the Olympics and to eventually sail as a career.

Top: Calum Gregor training in Port Shelter.

Inset: Gregor with his hero, Olympic gold medallist sailor Sir Ben Ainslie.

Changing the class of boat I sail is probably the biggest challenge I’ve faced. The Optimist was fairly simple; there was a lot to learn about sailing a 420 and sailing with a crew.

The best advice I’ve been given is to train with the best people you can. If you train with people who aren’t as good, you will always beat them but you won’t get any better. If you’re with somebody better, you want to beat them and they won’t want you to so you push each other harder.

Learn to Sail -H ebe Haven Yacht Club www.hhyc.org.hk - Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club www.rhkyc.org.hk - Government sailing courses www.lcsd.gov.hk/watersport/en

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Table for four

Eat, drink and be sandy Kate Farr digs in at Hong Kong’s family-friendly beach restaurants.

Cococabana Food: Kid friendly: We Hongkongers are a lucky bunch. Not only do we live in one of the world’s most vibrant cities, but we have gorgeous beaches just a cab or ferry ride away.

Chef Jean Paul Gauci’s French Mediterranean restaurant Cococabana in Shek O is now in its third incarnation, after years on Lamma Island then Deep Water Bay beach. It’s new location is unbeatable

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and plays to Gauci's casual genius for laid back perfection.

Occupying the ground floor of the LCSD building right on the sand, it’s the perfect spot for families hoping to linger over a meal in an elegant setting after a day building sandcastles and playing in the waves on beautiful Shek O Main Beach. This is a wonderful place for a family lunch.

Fresh seafood features prominently on the menu, which (on our recent visit) included bouillabaisse, scallops St Jacques, sea bass with clams and standout piri-piri king prawns. While the catch of the day is

the star turn, there are some great meat and vegetarian options such as rib-eye steak, roast chicken, Corsican porkknuckle stew, slow-cooked ox tongue, and ratatouille gratin. Children are well catered for with high-chairs for the little ones and a crowd-pleasing kids’ menu featuring spaghetti Bolognese made with veal and chips made from real potatoes (no reconstituted fries here). The set menu is $398 for three courses.

G/F LCSD Building, Shek O Beach, 2812 2226. Open daily noon-11pm.

Left: Cococabana, Right: The Stoep

Cafe Roma Food: Kid friendly: Over on Ma Wan Island, CafĂŠ Roma in the Park Island resort sits right on the sand with an amazing view of Ma Wan Channel and Tsing Ma Bridge flying high overhead.

Overseen by executive chef Jaakko Sorsa (who also heads Nordic restaurant FINDS at The Luxe Manor), the restaurant offers highquality family dining at reasonable prices.

Kid-friendly touches include comfy highchairs and a menu of old-school favourites such as burgers, pizza, pasta and fish and chips, as well as dishes with more grown-up

appeal such as lamb shank and blackened chicken with grilled vegetable and chickpea salad.

Children can run free on the beach while parents kick back with a creative cocktail on the outdoor wooden deck that peeks through the palms to the sea. With

regular events that make the most of the beachfront location, including summer parties and pet-adoption days, this lazyafternoon venue is just a short ferry ride from Central.

Shop 7 & 8, Beach Commercial Complex, Park Island, Lantau, 3446 1226. Open Tue-Thu 1pm-11pm, Fri 1pm-midnight, Sat noon-midnight, Sun noon-11pm.

The Stoep Food: Kid friendly: Make a day of it at perennial family favourite, The Stoep, on one of Hong Kong’s longest stretches of sand at Lower Cheung Sha Beach on Lantau. Accessible from Central via ferry to Mui Wo, then a expat-parent.com

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Table for of Four four

Cococabana, laid-back perfection

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Table for four

bus or taxi ride, this South African barbecue restaurant is a Hong Kong stalwart that shows no sign of waning. Its informal beachbar vibe attracts barefoot diners, and you’re more likely to see buckets and spades than designer handbags hanging on the back of diners’ chairs.

The food comes straight from the braai (South African barbecue) and, no, you don’t have to cook it yourself. As well as the yummy grilled meats, there’s homemade bread, fresh dips and salads that taste even better with a jug of sangria, or one of the South African beers and wines. There’s no dedicated kids’ menu but the regular selection is broad enough to appeal to everyone, and there are plenty of highchairs to go around. Squint and you could be in Cape Town.

32 Lower Cheung Sha Village, Lantau, 2980 2699. Open daily 11am-midnight.

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Food

In season Jodee Fong samples May’s hottest foods.

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Fried gluten balls Cost: $6 a pack Chinese name: Saang gun Best served: pop them into Chinese hotpot and dip them into soy sauce

Red buns Cost: $6 each Chinese name: Hung bao Best served: piping hot in a steamer. These festive buns, filled with lotus-seed paste, are also popular ancestor offerings

Salted duck eggs Cost: $2 each Chinese name: Haarm dan Best served: with a plate of good old steamed minced pork

Handmade tofu Cost: $5.50 a block Chinese name: Dao fu Best served: braised with minced pork, grandma’s chilli sauce and lots of shallots

Oyster sauce from Lau Fau Shan Cost: $25 a bottle Chinese name: Ho yau Best served: with stir-fried mushrooms, garlic and broccoli (and pretty much anything else)

Yellow grapefruit Cost: $20 each Chinese name: Sai yau Best served: pair grapefruit segments with cold mango, pomelo and sago for a refreshing summer dessert

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What’s in season Lychees (荔枝) Summer time equals lychee time. And May is peak season. Lychees have many health benefits, including an excellent amount of vitamin C, antioxidants, potassium, magnesium and a low calorie level, making them a guilt-free sugar boost. Recent studies have even shown that lychees help prevent breast cancer. Choose the heavier ones with more brown patches since they are generally sweeter.

Want to pick your own? Take your family to Tai Tong Lychee Valley Farm (11 Tai Tong Shan Road, Tai Tong Tsuen, New Territories, 2470 2201, www.yl.hk/taitong) and for only $20 a head ($70 at weekends) you can pick as many lychees as you’d like.

Cost: about $40-50/kg from a regular stall or supermarket Best served: let us count the ways: eaten on their own, brewed for three months into lychee-flavoured wine, crushed in cocktails, as a cake topping, stir fried with vegetables… the list is endless. expat-parent.com

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Fatherhood, the bald truth

Uncool, dad Columnist Simon Parry’s not so triumphant return home.

I

t’s an indisputable truth that women put more physical and emotional effort into parenthood than men. Well, it’s not indisputable but I wouldn’t recommend disputing it.

My point is that we men also make sacrifices in our own admittedly small and inadequate way.

Take going away on business, for instance. Being away from home can be hell for a doting father like me: staying in a comfortable hotel, being able to concentrate fully on work, going out on the town and drinking heavily with the photographer you’re working with, waking up without having to fret about getting the kids to the school bus on time... Truly the stuff of nightmares.

Nevertheless, I can honestly say that I miss everything about home while I’m away. I miss the noise, the mess, the tantrums over the unfinished homework, the empty cardboard tubes where toilet rolls should be, the interminable debates about who’s going to do the washing up and who cleared the table yesterday.

I miss it all so much that, perversely, I find it hard to unwind in an environment engineered around my complete relaxation. Rather than luxuriate in my surroundings, I will find myself lying on my hotel bed and fretting over trivial things that shouldn’t matter but suddenly do – like what time cocktail hour in the executive lounge begins and why CNN ever hired Piers Morgan in the first place.

I mention this because I have been going away a lot lately. So much so that in the past month I’ve managed to miss not only my wife’s birthday but also my second son William’s 11th birthday – a rare double offence that is certain to draw down upon me dark and malevolent retribution at some point in the near future.

When you’re away from home too much, time shrinks and your mind wanders. You harbour unrealistic beliefs about how much you’re missed and reminisce over days when your children ran into

your arms shrieking “Daddeee …” whenever you were out of their sight for more than 20 minutes.

Events distort your perspective too. Sitting in an airport departure lounge preparing to return home, having missed yet another weekend with my family, I read a newspaper article about the final words to loved ones from passengers about to board Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370.

The words were heart-wrenching. One man asked his wife to put their infant son on a video call only to be told it was too late and the boy was asleep. Another, New Zealander Paul Weeks, father of sons aged three and 11 months, told his wife in an email: “You and the boys are my world.”

Poignantly, only a handful of the 239 passengers and crew appeared to have left final messages.

Most were presumably too busy or preoccupied with trivialities to make that final call or send that last message before what should have been a routine journey.

Moved by what I read, I used my last piece of SIM card credit to dial home. The call was answered by William, whose birthday I missed a fortnight earlier. “Dad,” he said with a note of annoyance accompanied by a distracted tapping. “I’m in the middle of a level.”

Hours later, as I trudged wearily into the living room and dropped my bags, elder son James reminded me in three pithy words how – if I had wanted doe-eyed adoration to greet me – I should have invested in a cocker spaniel rather than a teenager.

Mustering all his strength to look up from his laptop he shot me a look of withering disinterest and mumbled: “Welcome home, loser.”

I’ve managed to miss my wife’s birthday

Formerly the owner of dreams and a full head of hair, Simon Parry is a jaded, middle-aged journalist and father of four. He lives in Sai Kung with his wife, his children and his sense of profound disappointment.

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Everybody’s talking about

Fakebook updates With millions of Facebook users lying to seem more interesting, Tara Jenkins takes a wry look at her feed.

T

he latest pop survey from Britain says a third of people posting on Facebook are barefaced liars.

Aside from editing photos to make them more flattering (who doesn’t do that?), exaggerating one’s career or boasting about hectic social lives, these fibbers are fabricating status updates about domestic bliss or enviable parenting skills. Most people, apparently, feel under pressure to have more exciting lives.

So I’ve been looking at my Facebook friends’ posts with a cynical eye in an attempt to sort the liars from the purely dull. I found a good smattering of people lolling around in skiwear on mountainsides, others sipping cocktails on a Thai beach and a few falling out of bars in Lan Kwai Fong – so far, so expat. But the majority was life-enhancing stuff. One friend just got legal papers for an abused little girl she recently adopted, another is still working to help Filipinos devastated by the typhoon six months ago. And a whole stack of women have posted bare-faced selfies to aid cancer charities, which apparently have benefited to the tune of millions of dollars.

On the whole, my feed is a mixture of funny links, friends swapping wry parenting tips or exchanging genuinely useful information. (Who knew baking soda could prevent urinary-tract infection?) Most of it made me smile, so I don’t much care how exaggerated it might be. Facebook is there to entertain and if it comes with a healthy dose of ironic humour, so much the better.

Pressure to portray my life as more exciting? I feel under much more duress to be funny. After all, there’s nothing more boring than photographs of what someone’s having for dinner. (Come on, guys!)

Travel is a good source of amusing anecdotes, such as having a shellac manicure in Amy Child’s Essex beauty salon (of TOWIE fame), while observing a procession of generously sized, tracksuitclad ladies arrive for their vajazzle appointments (truly). Less funny is being fraped by my 11-year-old, who finds it amusing to create

Face-In-Hole pictures of himself in inappropriate “bodies” (strippers, muscle men, Usain Bolt) and post them on my page. Now there’s a good reason for having a security lock on your iPhone.

But if ever I’m in need of a proper belly-laugh, I go directly to Hong Kong Swap-It. No irony there. The people posting products are gloriously, astonishingly genuine. One woman was offering a box of tampons with only two missing (she was willing to meet in Central to exchange). Another man was touting two airline vanity packs (free when you don’t travel cattle class), with travel socks and earplugs that had only been used once. I’m willing to bet these are the people who feel more pressure to lead an exciting life.

It’s all on the wane though. Those in the know are acutely aware Facebook is on the skids and the early adopters (teenagers) communicate through Snapchat or Instagram instead. And where teenagers go, their slow-moving dinosaur parents must inevitably follow. It’s much harder to stalk your child on the new social media (and nigh on impossible through Snapchat), so there are fewer teen-related funnies out there in cyberspace.

Two of my favourites – having children at boarding school in England – are the Facebook pages Private School Problems and You Know You’re At Boarding School When... where privileged teenagers post ironic epithets about their lives at boarding schools. Much of it is genuinely funny: “Wearing Adidas jumpers trying to look badass, when we all know you live in a listed manor”, or “Sitting in the chem labs staring at a pepett [sic] of ethanol thinking this is the closest thing to alcohol you’ll see in six weeks”, and “Being continuously outshone by Asians in every class.”

Hmmm. Definitely no irony there.

Fabricating status updates about domestic bliss

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A 13-year veteran of expat life, Tara Jenkins is a dab hand at eating dim sum, hiking the Hong Kong trails and moving apartments every two years. Her parenting skills need some work.

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The home front

Living green

Meet the family with the perfect carbon footprint.

Words and pictures by Cherrie Yu.

R

ecycling is the last resort. Recycling is way over. The order has to be refuse, reuse, repair, reduce and then recycle.” That’s the mantra of green-living advocate Claire Sancelot, a Pok Fu Lam mother of three, who has been so successful in introducing a zero-waste lifestyle that her household of six people throws out less than a bucket of waste a day.

Sancelot began her green crusade by de-cluttering, giving away anything

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her family didn’t need, and found it liberating. It’s fun to be green, she insists.

It has certainly stretched her creativity.

The family’s notepads are made from old receipts stapled together, they grow their own vegetables (fertilised with leftovers), make their own lip balm, and instead of 730 cotton balls a year, Sancelot cleanses her face with a reusable sponge.

Avoiding shopping, she surfs the web for secondhand clothes (often designer), toys and furniture: curtains, baby cribs, cabinets, beds. Even her daughter’s Halloween costume, a cute

green tutu, cost just $20 secondhand.

She washes and reuses cloth diapers for her baby instead of buying disposable ones and even takes her own tupperware containers to the deli counter for transporting cheese and cold cuts instead of having them wrapped in plastic.

Having blazed a green trail, she’s encouraging the rest of Hong Kong to follow in her footsteps on her blog Hong Kong Green Home (www. hongkonggreenhome.com). She documents the family’s green journey, sharing tips on everything from composting to cleaning the

Yesterday’s food is tomorrow’s compost

Claire Sancelot , how her garden grows

house with vinegar and baking soda.

What began as a Sunday-morning blog last June has evolved into a growing online community. As well as offering advice, she has taken practical steps to help others go green, including organising deliveries of fresh produce from local organic vendors to about 30 households in her apartment complex.

She shares information about stores and brands with their own eco initiatives, such as makeup refills from Mac and skincare refills for local brand Native Essentials from So Soap. She is even

looking into making her own toothpaste.

“You save money, you save space and you save time shopping,” she explains.

“Sometimes we forget that the most important thing is to be together.”

At her daughter’s birthday party, for example, the children had so much fun decorating boxes for Box of Hope, blowing out the birthday candles and eating cake that her daughter didn’t notice there were no presents.

Not that Sancelot disapproves of presents. At Christmas, she hosted a toy swap, inviting her neighbours to buy each

Pre-loved toys

other’s pre-loved board games, puzzles and other toys. The event raised $7,000 for the Philippine Red Cross and sorted out the Christmas shopping. All the remaining toys went to the YMCA’s Toy Bank.

“I hope everyone can do the same and keep toys, and especially plastic, away from the landfills,” she says.

For details and more tips, visit www.hongkonggreenhome.com.

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Big day out

Take the

high road Hannah Grogan follows Route Twisk to the roof of Hong Kong.

I

t’s easy to get caught up in all the hikes of Hong Kong. The trails are numerous and plentiful but sometimes the guidebooks and magazines forget that a large number of folk in this fair city also like to get around on four wheels. So I thought I’d share my favourite Sunday drive for all the revheads out there.

What is it?

Located in the heart of the New Territories, Route Twisk is a mountainous road connecting Tsuen Wan to Shek Kong and on to Lam Tin. It crosses Tai Mo Shan Country Park, home to Hong Kong’s highest peak, aka Big Hat Mountain.

Despite an altitude of 957m, this is no lonely summit: it is almost completely accessible by car and, even better, drivers do not require a country park permit.

Good news for those of us who like to get out into the countryside without having to strap on hiking boots.

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Big day out

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Where is it?

Why go?

While the road is dotted with tempting barbecue and picnic sites, head for the big one at the top of Tai Mo Shan. Halfway up Route Twisk, take the turnoff onto Tai Mo Shan Road – part of Stage 8 of the MacLehose Trail. Follow the road uphill, past the visitors’ centre to a lookout point and car park. From there it’s a relatively short climb on foot to the weather station at the territory’s highest point.

There’s something for everyone on Route Twisk. Driving enthusiasts will get a kick out of the steep and winding road.

Photographers will go bananas for some of the finest views in the territory. And there’s plenty of open grassed space for energetic kids so it’s perfect for families. Load the car with a picnic, deck chairs, the kids and maybe a kite or two for a great day out.

When to go?

Choose a clear day when the views are at their most spectacular; from the top, there’s an almost 360-degree panorama of Kowloon, Hong Kong Island, big chunks of the New Territories and Shenzhen. On clear-sky weekends you are unlikely to be alone, of course, and with motorists, cyclists and keen hikers all sharing the road, things can get hairy.

What’s in a name?

Built in the 1940s mainly for military use, Route Twisk linked Kowloon with the former Royal Air Force Sek Kong base, now the People Liberation Army’s Shek Kong Airfield. It takes its name comes from the initials of its route: Tsuen Wan Into Shek Kong.

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Travel

Above and opposite page: Beale catches and hooks a sailfish in Malaysia.

It was this big...

Chris Beale reels in Asia’s big fish.

W

hen it comes to sport fishing, sailfish are top of the food chain.

Majestic and beautiful, they are the fastest fish in the sea, clocked at 60 mph, and travel thousands of miles like underwater albatrosses. They’re typically associated with exotic, faraway destinations such as the Bahamas, the Seychelles and Mauritius, but we had word the fishing in Rompin, Malaysia, was just as good if not better. We had to check out the truth of this fisherman’s tale.

We booked a three-day session with Dominic, recognised as the best guide in town; he charged just $9,000 per person, including transfers for the four-hour trip from Singapore, food and accommodation.

We headed out to the sailfish grounds with the sun beating down and clear water splashing over the bow like exploding

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shards of crystals. We stopped only to catch some bait fish, which we suspended beneath balloons. After an hour, we had our first bite.

Line screamed off the reel at lightning pace and an acrobatic fight began as the sailfish leaped clear off the water time after time. After 15 minutes, we had our first fish. Weighing 90 pounds, its flanks shimmered like burnished gold, with flashes of iridescent blue and black stripes. It was the first of 20 fish, all 80lb-100lb, we caught over the next two days, then released to fight another day.

On our last day, we went for the fisherman’s Holy Grail: catching a sailfish on a fly rod. This requires precision angling and dextrous teamwork. We set two “teaser” rods trailing large and colourful lures 50 feet behind the boat. These lures have no hooks; the idea is to attract a sailfish to repeatedly attack a lure, thinking it is a wounded fish, then draw it and the

fish to within 20 feet of the boat. With splitsecond timing, one fisherman swiftly reels in the lure as the angler casts the fly and replaces the lure with a smaller version and a hook. The fish’s attention switches to the new lure... it’s hooked.

Seeing a 100-pound fish surge towards the fly, take it, and turn headlong into the depths is awesome. What follows is half an hour of mayhem. The fish tears off like a submarine, alternating between incredible leaps and equally spectacular dives. As fly gear is so light, the boat must follow the fish, often for several miles, and the power of the fish reverberates through the rod.

I was extremely relieved when the guides got the fish on board.

It felt as if I’d hooked a crocodile

Travel It was the only one we managed to catch on the fly – but what a Hemingway moment.

The cats of Bungsamran I was a fanatical angler when I lived in Britain 20 years ago. My biggest fish was an 11lb carp, so when I heard about monster freshwater catfish in Thailand, I Googled. Nothing prepared me for what I found on Bungsamran Lake’s website: giant Mekong catfish running to more than 200lbs of pure muscle, with shoulders like Russian weightlifters and tails the size of industrial paddles. Three days later, I pulled up in a taxi.

Bungsamran is a well-tended complex with a tackle shop, bar and restaurant (with cold beer and a delivery service), and a lake ringed on two sides by lodges. The gear was something else: an extremely stiff 6ft boat rod, a monster reel, a float the size of a zucchini and a mashed-up-bread bait ball the size of a melon, which hits the water like a nuclear explosion.

You fish at half depth for catfish. They have mouths the size of buckets and surge up from below, engulfing the bait ball with a violence that often drags the rods of the unwary into the lake.

At 19lbs, my first fish was big by British standards, but my guide was dismissive: “Smallest fish in lake.” They got bigger: I caught a series of fish at about 30lbs, one or two at 50lbs and then a huge specimen at 105lbs. These are the hardest fighting of freshwater fish – when a fish is a hooked the guides sit down and light a cigarette knowing it will be 20 minutes until it is netted.

I caught 13 giant Mekong catfish on my first visit, and returned two more times to the lake. On one memorable day, I hooked a real brute. It took line no matter how much pressure I applied – it felt as if I’d hooked a crocodile with a couple of sacks of cement strapped to its back. It took 90 minutes, three guides and three nets to land a 180lb catfish. In the twilight, it looked like a cross between a large pig and a torpedo.

Arapaima in Krabi Gillhams Fishery in Krabi is breathtaking, with sheer-sided limestone karst mountains, eagles overhead and a lake in groomed grounds. Its waters hide the astonishing arapaima. This living fossil is the oldest fully scaled freshwater fish on the planet and can grow up to 500lbs.

Originally from the Amazon Basin, it has evolved to breathe air, a legacy of its habitat in flood basins that dry up for part of the year.

The fishery is owned by British expat Stuart Gillham, who sold his construction business to live the dream. He is one of the very few people to have bred a sustainable stock of these fish, which are very delicate, despite their size. They can drown if they overstrain their jaw muscles, and their spines can snap if not handled properly.

Gillhams is open from 7am to 7pm. At 6.55pm on day one, my rod was yanked off the rests, the electric bite alarm screeched and something took off at great speed in the dark. After an exciting half hour fight, the guides landed a beautifully marked 220lb fish. I found myself trembling as we took the trophy shot and gently returned this exceptional creature to its watery home.

But the angling gods had more in mind for me and at 7am next morning, something even bigger and more powerful snaffled my fish-head bait. The rod was bent at a distressing angle, and sweat was pouring off me as a large unseen force did it’s best to drag me into the lake. About 35 minutes later, my stomach lurched as a massive form swirled on the surface. It was a staggering 280lb, and six-and-a-half feet of pure muscle with scales the size of my hand, edged with a beautiful crimson hue.

It was the fish of a lifetime.

Who to call?

Rompin Dominic Pereira Dominic Pereira, +65 9027 6972, fishzonesportfishing@yahoo.com.sg Bungsamran Fishing Park 21 / 596 Soi Navamin Road, Bungkum, Bangkapi, Bangkok, 10240, +66 2734 9272, info@bungsamran.com Gillhams Fishing Resort 74 Moo 2, Tumbol Khotong, Krabi 81000, +66 28 6164 4554 info@gillhamsfishingresorts.com

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Money have ever bought?

I purchased a brand new Ferrari Spider when I turned 24. I'd saved up the money I was earning as an investment banker [to have another shot at] law school. When I decided I wasn't going to go to law school, I ordered the Ferrari.

Do you ever negotiate down bills in hotels, restaurants or private clubs?

Never at clubs but if I am presented with something that is substandard at restaurants or hotels, I ask the manager to see it and determine how I should be charged for it. They are usually very professional and the issues are promptly resolved.

What financial habits did you learn from your parents?

My father was a police officer and my mother was a teacher. I am grateful for my middle–class upbringing as it enables me to appreciate value. I'm a product of Hong Kong's entrepreneurial spirit. I never take things for granted.

What was the first business you got into?

At college, I was elected treasurer of Phi Kappa Theta, my fraternity. We used to lose money every year until I tightened our ship.

Money & me The founder of Feeding Hong Kong gives his financial insights.

K

evin Yeung is co– founder of the charity Feeding Hong Kong and a founding chairman of Archangels Access, a fund focused on Asian tech start–ups. He lives in Southside, Hong Kong, with his wife, Sherwin, and young son Jonathan.

Hang Seng Bank MasterCard. Back in 1998, I was working as an investment banker and charging so much to my American Express card they invited me to be one of their first Centurions in Hong Kong. I've enjoyed their exceptional service ever since.

How much is in your wallet?

HK$2,160 and US$650; I’m about to jump on a plane to New York.

Do you ever clip coupons?

No, but I do ask if there are any discounts offered if I use my credit cards. American Express has done a good job in this area.

What credit cards do you use?

Just two: American Express Centurion and

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Are you a spender or a saver?

Saver, I'm a self–made man.

What is the most extravagant thing you

When were you poorest?

I certainly felt poorest in 1996. I was accepted by Columbia Law School [before becoming an investment banker] and had to turn it down. I simply could not afford the tuition and I was not able to stomach getting myself or my family into debt.

What did you learn?

I learned to live with that decision and make the best of it. My goal for four years in college had been to become an incredible lawyer. Instead, I ended up being an investment banker – a career I had never previously considered.

What businesses are you involved in at the moment?

I'm co-founder of Archangels Access with my partner, Gabriel Fong, a former partner and head of private equity at Och Ziff.

We use our experience and network to help promising Asian start-ups. A perfect example is GoGoVan. We were its first investor. Last month, the company won the Best Mobile Marketing App award. It's Hong Kong's number one logistics app with

Money more than 300,000 users, 13,000 delivery vans and 7,000 daily transactions – not bad for a seven-month-old company.

us to collect large quantities of nutritious food to rapidly redistribute to smaller food charities. We are now Hong Kong's largest food-banking network, with more than 70 sponsors and able to rescue 15 tons of food a month to support 47 local food charities.

What was your best investment?

My best financial investment has been with a tech company that returned more than 3,000 per cent.

How much pocket money do you give your children?

None yet. My son turns four in July.

Worst investment?

My worst investment was also in tech.

Startups represent the most high–risk investment asset class there is. Sometimes you leave with zero. Failing is part of life.

Try to fail quickly.

Do you prefer to manage your own affairs?

Yes. I try to be hands on.

What is the difference between starting a charity and starting a business?

You need the same level of efficiency in both. Feeding Hong Kong (www.feedinghk. org) was approached as a start-up.

Gabrielle Kirsten, Christina Dean and myself

Do you have a renminbi savings account?

No. But my wife has.

identified Hong Kong’s growing hunger issues, particularly affecting our elderly and new immigrant families, as well as major inefficiencies in how existing food charities fought hunger. Our solution was to create a unified “food banking network”, where we would serve as sort of a FedEx for food.

Led by Gabrielle, we focused on efficiency and logistics. Feeding HK's scale enabled

Do you invest in stocks?

Not really. I prefer to invest in private equity investments that allow me to play a role in determining success.

Do you own property?

Yes. We enjoy a home on the Southside of the Island. My wife and I are homebodies.

What would you change about the Hong Kong tax system?

Nothing.

Concordia International School Admission Office: Tel: +852 2789 9890 Fax: + 852 2392 8820 Email: office@concordiaintl.edu.hk 68 Begonia Road, Yau Yat Chuen, Kowloon, HK www.cihs.edu.hk

Invites Applications for Grades 7-12

• Small class size of 15 to 22 students per class • Interactive teaching program with Mac 1:1 Program • American-patterned school offering Grades 7-12 • Students write the PSAT, SAT, TOEFL and AP in High School For franchise information please contact us at: info@bricks4kidz.hk HK Bricks 4 Kidz Lego® is a registered trademark of the Lego® group of companies which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse these programs.

CONTACT US TODAY FOR MORE INFORMATION Email: office@concordiaintl.edu.hk EDB Reg. No.21599

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Buy this, not that.

Gold

vs

Bitcoin

Bitcoin versus gold? How to buy them in Hong Kong and which is most fun.

Gold is not only a “safe haven”, it is also a fun – and very Hong Kong – shopping experience. Thanks to its refugee roots, Hong Kong is the world’s leading market for bullion. Gold bugs fly here with bags of cash from less financially free countries such as the USA (which, in 1933, seized all gold from its citizens), India (which taxes it), and the mainland (where nothing is safe), to buy gold at the lowest price and with the most secrecy. They then store it here and fly home again.

It all happens in Sheung Wan. The best place to go, or at least the most famous, is Kitco Metals (5L, Centre Mark II, 305–313 Queen’s Road Central, 2827 7800). For a world of big money, it is surprisingly low budget. Located above McDonald’s, Kitco looks like shabby shipping office, except it’s bristling with surveillance cameras and peopled by permed mainland ladies with Versace leggings and bundles of banknotes.

Visitors are buzzed into a room the size of a lavatory with a glass window through which an attendant displays various lumps of “element 79”. A kilo of gold, which is about the size of an iPhone, goes for about $340,000. An ounce the size of a $5 coin is about $10,000. Silver is also available in sizes from $150 coins to gigantic 500–ounce paving slabs ($84,000), which would need a wheelbarrow to shift. It is possible to pay by pre–arranged bank transfer. But no one does. According to the attendant, “it’s all cash”. And that’s half the fun.

Kitco will store gold for a fee. For more Sheung Wan excitement, stuff your bullion into your bra or down your boxers and head up the road to The Storage Ltd (G/F–2/F, Bangkok Bank Building, 18 Bonham Strand West, 3579 5511). For $900 a year, it offers a classic, no–questions–asked, safety–deposit box. Depositors get their own distinctive key and can revisit as often as they like (although it’s closed at weekends). Best of all, it has a little sound–proofed room where you can open your box in privacy, handle your coins and murmur like a post–coital Shirley Bassey: “Gold! I love gold!”

First, hook up with a stranger online. Then, meet up at Central MTR. Nope, this isn’t some foolish Craigslist liaison – it’s how to buy bitcoin in Hong Kong.

We started buying bitcoin in November 2013. Why? Well, risk is buzz. And it was a fun investment to talk about at parties. But mainly, we invested because bitcoin is the first internet–age solution to a problem every expat understands. Moving money from one country to another is slow, antiquated and expensive. With bitcoin you can whistle $100,000 to the US in seconds at a transaction cost of less than $7, or send £50 birthday money to your nephew in Britain for pennies. No HASH code. No iban. No BIC. In fact, no bank. This sounds like a great idea.

But buying bitcoin in Hong Kong is hard. As yet, there is no reliable bitcoin exchange or bitcoin ATM in the territory. So the only way is through LocalBitcoins.com, a kind of eBay for bitcoin traders.

Prices are about 10 per cent above the US exchanges.

Here’s how it worked for us. We created an account with a gmail address, clicked “buy bitcoin in Hong Kong” and chose trader “Ronald Lee” from among the “most trusted”. The first time we traded, we just bought one bitcoin from Ronald. A bitcoin was instantly transferred to an escrow account and an email appeared from Ronald with his HSBC bank details and What’s App number.

We zipped down to a local HSBC ATM, made a transfer to Ronald’s HSBC account, photographed the receipt and sent it to Ronald

by What’s App. He then released the bitcoin from escrow to our LocalBitcoins.com account. Boom! We just had exchanged a bunch of money for a number on a screen.

So we got more adventurous and bought 10. But this time as part of the deal we asked Ronald to meet us at the MTR. Ronald Lee turned out to be a 29–year–old geek from North Point. He certainly looked the part: glasses, nerdy haircut, jeans, trainers, crappy T–shirt. “I did some work a couple of years ago and got paid 1,000 bitcoin,” he said. We wished him well.

Now we have to wait until a shop arrives in Hong Kong where we can spend them.

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Marketplace To advertise, email marketing@fastmedia.com.hk or call 2776 2772.

Professional Birthday Party Entertainment

Children’s Entertainers Full Party Service:

Party Theming, Entertainment, Decorations, Venue

ww

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w .r u

mpleand

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friends.com

Marketplace expat-parent.com

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Marketplace

GET LISTED call 2776 2772 email marketing@fastmedia.com.hk 70

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Business Directory

Auskick Hong Kong headcoachauskick@gmail.com www.auskick.hk.com Escapade Online www.escapade.com.hk ESF - Sports Program 2711 1280 | Sports@esf.org.hk www.esf.org.hk

To advertise, email marketing@fastmedia.com.hk or call 2776 2772.

Events Asia Contemporary Art Show May 15th-18th www.asiacontemporaryart.com Shopping Hong Kong: - Mother's Day Shopping Wednesday May 7th at The Fringe Club, noon-8pm - Summer Collections bazaar.

June 4th at The American Club.

9326 3093 info@shoppinghongkong.net www.shoppinghongkong.net

Children’s Toys and Supplies Bumps to Babes 2552 5000 (Ap Lei Chau Main Store) www.bumpstobabes.com Apple & Pie 3103 0853 | www.appleandpie.com HK with Kids - Toys www.hkwithkids.com/toys.htm Toys R Us www.toysrus.com.hk Smile Garden 2151 1098 | www.smilegarden.com.hk

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Beau Party adriana@beauparty.com www.facebook.com/beauparty Eezy PeezyParties 2580 2530 info@eezypeezyparties.com www.eezypeezyparties.com

Everfine Membership Services Limited (Evergolf) 2174 7880 | enquiry@evergolf.com.hk www.evergolf.com.hk

Rumple and Friends 9471 1192 | matt.mainstage@me.com www.rumpleandfriends.com

Stanford Swim School 2267 8866 | www.stanfordswim.com.hk

Maternity and Pregnancy

Fashion and Accessories Mothers En Vogue 2866 7171 | info@mothersenvogue.com.hk www.facebook.com/ mothersenvogueHongKong

Travel and Relocation

Annerley Maternity and Early Childhood Professionals 2983 1558 | info@annerley.com.hk www.annerley.com.hk Bloom and Grow (Asia’s leading nursery and maternity producer) www.bloomandgrowasia.com Canossa Hospital 2522 2181 | canossahospital.org.hk

Allied Pickfords 2736 6032 | alliedpickfords.com.hk

Hong Kong Adventist Hospital 2574 6211 | www.hkah.org.hk

Avis Car Rentals 2890 6988 | rentacar@avis.com.hk www.avis.com.hk

Linea Negra (Maternity fashion) 2522 7966 | www.lineanegra.com.hk

Crown Relocations www.crownrelo.com Expert-Transport & Relocations 2566 4799 | contact@expertmover.hk www.expertmover.hk FTC Relocations 2814 1658 | sales@ftcrelo.com www.ftcrelo.com Ika Moving Ltd. 2323 2233 | info@ika.com.hk www.ika.com.hk

Sports and Fitness

Store Friendly 8202 0811 | info@store-friendly.com store-friendly.com.hk

Advanced Tennis Performance 6135 7606 atpltd.tennis@hotmail.com www.advancedtennisperformance.com

UniGroup Relocation 2418 4333 hongkong@unigrouprelocation.com www.unigrouprelocation.com

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Parties and Entertainment

Matilda International Hospital 2849 6301 | www.matilda.org Mayarya (Post-pregnancy fashion) 2968 0929 | www.mayarya.com Nine Months (High-end maternity fashion) 2868 5988 | www.ninemonthshk.com Sabrina Swims (Maternity swimsuits) 2115 9975 | www.sabinaswims.com Sanatorium Hospital 2572 0211 | www.hksh.org.hk Sono Vaso (Maternity fashion) www.sonovaso.com.hk Tsuen Wan Adventist Hospital 2276 7676 | www.twah.org.hk Union Hospital 2608 3388 | www.union.org

Home and Interiors

Brooks Thompson Ltd 2851 3665 | iqbalhk@netvigator.com Chictack 9848 9683 | cecilia@chictack.com chictack.com/store Everything Under the Sun 2544 9088 info@everythingunderthesun.com.hk www.everythingunderthesun.com.hk Eco Living 2792 7998 | askus@ecoliving.hk www.ecoliving.hk Hidestyle 2790 3801 | www.hkhiderigs.com Home Styling 9673 9443 | Email@thehomestylist.org www.thehomestylist.org Indigo Living Ltd. 2552 3500 | info@indigo-living.com www.indigo-living.com JCAW Consultants 2524 9988 | jcawltd@biznetvigator.com www.modernhome.com.hk

Bayley & Jackson Dental Surgeons Ltd. 25261061 | www.bjdental.com SPOT Centre 2807 2992 | contact@spot.com.hk www.spot.com.hk Stanley Wellness Centre 2372 9700 info@stanleywellnesscentre.com www.stanleywellnesscentre.com Watermark Community Church 2857 6160 wow@watermarkchurch.hk www.watermarkchurch.hk

Beauty A Mother's Touch 2851 9654 clientservices@amotherstouch.com.hk www.amotherstouch.com.hk Bronze mobile spray tanning 6234 8594 bronzemobilespraytanning@yahoo. com.au www.bronzemobilespraytanningandha irextensions.com.hk Flex Studio 2813 2212 | info@flexhk.com www.flexhk.com

Opus Design Limited 2121 1497 | info@opusdesign.com.hk www.opusdesign.com.hk

Forever Living 2369 9638 | www.foreverliving.com

Patio Mart 2555 8988 | patio@kh-group.com www.patiomart.com.hk

Hong Kong Laser Eye Centre 2526 3333, 2628 1111 www.hklasereye.com

Rimba Rhyme 2544 4011 | www.rimbarhyme.com

Queen’s Castle Organic Day Spa 2719 4444

Smiling Winds Landscape & Maintenance 60569010 smilingwindslandscape@gmail.com

Sabai Day Spa 2104 0566 | www.facebook.com/ SabaiDaySpaStanley

Wofu Deco 2768 8428 | info@wofudeco.com.hk www.wofudeco.com.hk Xava Interiors 852 2858 9866 | info@xavainteriors.hk www.xavainteriors.hk

Sense of Touch Spa 2791 2278 www.senseoftouch.com.hk Tala’s Hair & Beauty Centre 2335 1694 talashair@biznetvigator.com www.talashair.com

Important numbers to cut and keep EMERGENCY SERVICES

(Police, Ambulance, Fire)

999

Business Directory

Allure Living (Central) 2153 1022 www.facebook.com/AllureLiving

Community & Health

Fire: 2723 2233 Rescue: 2735 3355 Marine: 2803 6267

Car Mechanics

Adrian Sing: 6030 0484 Golden Sun: 2792 2808 HP Cars: 2558 0222 Sai Kung Motors: 2792 2998 Sun On Motor Services: 2792 4280

Doctors

OT&P General: 2155 9533 Central Health Medical: 2824 0822 International Doctors Limited: 2537 7281

Government Departments

Government Call Centre: 1823 Health Department: 2961 8989 Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department: 2311 3731 SPCA Emergency Hotline: 2711 1000

Hong Kong Observatory

Website: www.hko.gov.hk General enquiries: 2926 8200 Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal Enquiries: 1828 200

Hong Kong Tourism Board Visitor hotline: 2508 1234

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Business Directory

Hospitals

Public: Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, Chai Wan: 2595 6111 Prince of Wales, Sha Tin: 2632 2211 Queen Elizabeth, Jordan: 2958 8888 Queen Mary Hospital, Pok Fu Lam: 2255 3838 Ruttonjee Hospital, Wan Chai: 2291 2000 St John's Hospital, Cheung Chau: 2981 9441 Tseung Kwan O Hospital: 2208 0111 Tuen Mun Hospital: 2468 5111 Tung Wah Eastern Hospital, Causeway Bay: 2162 6888 United Christian, Kwun Tong: 2379 9611 Private: Hong Kong Adventist Hospital, Stubbs Road: 3651 8888 Hong Kong Baptist Hospital, Kowloon Tong: 2339 8888 Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital, Happy Valley: 2572 0211 Matilda International Hospital, The Peak: 2849 1500 St Teresa’s Hospital, Kowloon City: 2200 3434 Union Hospital, Sha Tin: 2608 3388

Police Departments

Education ITS Education Asia 2116 3916 es@tuition.com.hk itseducationasia.com Bebegarten 3487 2255 | info@bebegarten.com www.bebegarten.com/contact.aspx Berlitz Languages Limited 2826 9223 | info@berlitz.com.hk www.berlitz.com.hk

Concordia International School 2789 9890 office@concordiaintl.edu.hk www.cihs.edu.hk

PowerBrain Rx Ltd 2302 0180 info@powerbrainrx.com www.brainrx.com/hongkong

ESF - Summer Language 2711 1280 | Language@esf.org.hk www.esf.org.hk

The Reading Room 9199 5900 seasidereadingroom@gmail.com www.thereadingroom.com.hk

Eton House International Pre-School 64821729 enquiry@etonhouse.com.hk www.etonhouse.com.hk

Post Office

Gaia Language Company Limited 2530 9888 | www.gaialanguage.com

Hong Kong International Airport General Enquiry Hotline: 2181 8888 MTR Train Service & Airport Express, 24-hour passenger hotline: 2881 8888 Urban Taxi: 2398 1881 New Territories Taxi: 2657 2267 Lantau Taxi: 2984 1328 Taxi Lost and Found 24-hour hotline: 3620 3744 Utilities China Light & Power, 24-hour hotline: 2728 8333 LPG Gas: 9097 2235 Water Supplies Department Customer Services Hotline: 2824 5000

Generations Christian Education 2537 2552 office@generations.edu.hk www.generations.edu.hk

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Safari Kid 2177 0001 info@safarikid.com.hk www.safarikid.com.hk Spring Learning Ltd 3465 5000 www.spring-learning.com.hk Southside Mandarin 852 3427 9619 info@southsidemandarin.com www.southsidemandarin.com

HKU Space 3762 6262 | hkuspace.hku.hk

Top Schools 8120 3712 hello@topschools.hk www.topschools.hk

Hong Kong Academy 2655 1111 office@academy.edu.hk www.hkacademy.edu.hk

Tutor Time www.tutortime.com.hk

Hong Kong UU International Academy 51850885 | iuuokok@gmail.com www.uuokok.com Hong Lok Yuen International School 2658 6935 | www.ichk.edu.hk

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Morningstar Preschool and Kindergarten 9736 5241 info@MorningstarSchools.com www.morningstarschools.com Paradigm Global Education and Management Company Ltd 2877 8836 info@paradigm-gem.com www.paradigm-gem.com

Everest Education 6013 7827 | mdrin1998@yahoo.com

Transport

Kellett School www.kellettschool.com

Canadian International School of Hong Kong 2525 7088 | schoolinfo@cdnis.edu.hk www.cdnis.edu.hk

Website: www.police.gov.hk Police Hotline: 2527 7177

Website: www.hongkongpost.com General Enquiry Hotline: 2921 2222

The International Montessori School 2861 0339 info@montessori.edu.hk www.montessori.edu.hk

Woodland Pre-Schools 2559 4855 | woodlandschools.com Yew Chung International Children’s House/Kindergarten 2338 7106 | enquiry@hk.ycef.com www.ycis-hk.com

Pets & Vets

Animal Emergency Centre 2915 3999 Best Friends Veterinary Hospital 2792 8555 Creature Comforts 9773 0372 Ferndale (Kennel) 2792 4642 Kennel Van Dego 2792 6889 Homevet 9860 5522 | pets@homevet.com.hk www.homevet.com.hk Pets Central 2792 0833 Sai Kung Animal Medical Centre 2791 0308 Stanley Veterinary Centre 2813 7979 (Shop) | 2813 203 (Clinic) info@stanleyvetcentre.com stanleyvetcentre.com Vet2Pet 6999 1003

Wild C Ltd. 8170 0104 | info@wildc.hk www.wildc.hk Wild Grass 2810 1189 | info@wildgrass.hk

Extra-Curricular Colour My World 2580 5028 info@colour-my-world.com www.colour-my-world.com

2331 2068 tuttimusic.tko@gmail.com www.tmusic.com.hk/

Castelo Concepts www.casteloconcepts.com Pacific Gourmet 2898 0221 homedelivery@pacificgourmet.com.hk www.pacificgourmet.com.hk

Professional Services Harvey Law Group 2116 1333 contact@ harveylawcorporation.com A-1 House Doctors Contractors Handyman Service 2573 5235 housedoc999express@gmail.com

Dr Fix It All 2525 0055 | sales@DrFixItAll.hk www.drfixitall.hk/contact_us.php

Blockheads (Bricks4Kidz) 25235200 | cwb@bricks4kidz.hk www.bricks4kidz.com

Heliservices 2802 0200 | www.heliservices.com.hk

Clearwater Bay Equestrian Centre 6398 6241 | info@ceec.hk www.ceec.hk

L Squared 5499 0261 | homesolutions@L2q.hk www.L2q.hk

Starlit Voice 2108 2182 | www.starlitvoice.com

Lung Hing Engineering 2792 9787

Charity

Food and Beverage

The Butcher's Club 2552 8281 | steve@butchersclub.com.hk www.butchersclub.com.hk

Savills (Exchange Square Branch) 2801 6100 | www.savills.com.hk

BioCycle Pest Control 3575 2575

Tutti Music

Heifer International Hong Kong 2368 0227 | www.heiferhk.org

South Stream Seafoods 2555 6200 fish@south-streamseafoods.com south-stream-seafoods.com

Locations 9819 7870 | www.locations.com.hk

Business Directory

Animal Behaviour Vet Practice 9618 2475 cynthia@petbehaviourhk.com www.petbehaviourhk.com

The South African Shop 9457 0639 info@thesouthafricanshop.com www.thesouthafricanshop.com

Hotels and Private Clubs The Country Club at Hong Lok Yuen 2675 8899 | www.cchly.com Hebe Haven Yacht Club 2719 9682 | www.hhyc.org.hk

Ord Minnett 2912 8989 | bpatterson@ords.com.hk www.ords.com.hk Professional Wills Limited 2561 9031 | enquiry@profwills.com www.profwills.com Regus 3507 6150 | www.regus.hk Tri Style - Fitting Models 9777 2486 Tung Tai Key Cut (Locksmith) 2792 4886

Real Estate Habitat Property 2869 9069 | habitat-property.com Hong Kong Sotheby's International Realty 3108 2108 | hksothebysrealty.com

Vandalies Plumbing 6319 4745 Village Holdings Insurance 2893 5225 info@villageholdingshk.com villageholdingsinsurance.com

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Distribution Hong Kong's expat parents in one readership.

We mail Expat Parent directly to readers’ mailboxes.

New Territories

Our main distribution channel.

Kids can bring Expat Parent home to their parents with their homework!

Sai Kung

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Readers can pick up a copy of Expat Parent in the lobbies of their buildings.

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Hong Kong Island

Newly arrived families use Expat Parent as a guide to parenting in Hong Kong.

Aberdeen / Ap Lei Chau

Discovery Bay

Elite PT Studio Larvotto Sift Toof Contemporary TREE

Dymocks Figos Seaside Cafe Jaspa’s Mirch Masala Paisano’s Sense of Touch Subway Zak’s

Admiralty / Wanchai Classified Crown Relocations Dymocks Kisses Cupcakes Oolaa Petite Proway Relocation & Real Estate Services Star Crest The Morrison The Zenith

Causeway Bay / Tai Hang Classified Escapade Sports Residence de Causeway Serenade Y.I

Central / Sheung Wan A Mother’s Touch Barista Jam Blooming Buds Cafiene Classified Dymocks Escapade Sports Gateway Supermarket Holly Brown Jaspa’s Kisses Cupcakes Paisano’s Pepperoni’s Rockababy Seasons Fitness Sense of Touch • Lan Kwai Fong • The Ovolo Sift Dessert Bar Sushi O The Cupping Room The Dutch Wagyu Wagyu Lounge

Deep Water Bay Beach Club Park N Shop 1 Shouson Hill Road East

Happy Valley BIVA Classified Jaspa’s The Broadville

Island East Island Lodge Grand Seaview Heights Sift The Floridian 18 Upper East

Tai Tam Hong Kong Cricket Club Rosecliff

TST / Kowloon Aqua Marine Carmel-on-the-Hill Kisses Cupcakes The Long Beach (LBPD) The Forest Hills

Mid Levels / The Peak 31 Robinson Road 62B Robinson Road Ladies Recreation Club No. 29 Severn Road Oolaa Po Garden Robinson Place Ying Piu Mansion

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Day in the life

The ultimate head girl

I

get up about 6.30am, later at weekends. I am a morning person. I’ve generally got so much on my mind that as soon as my eyes open, I’m ready to go – after a cup of tea.

I haven’t made up my mind where to settle, so I’m staying in a serviced apartment above Elements in West Kowloon. I don’t think I will ever tire of the view of the harbour.

I travel to work on the MTR. I have an open-door policy – once people start to arrive in the office, they tend to come looking for me.

If I’m visiting a school, which I love to do, I head straight there. My priority was to visit every ESF school in my first six weeks. I’ve been to some schools several times and that’s something I want to continue. I want to keep that connection with the staff and children.

The only typical thing about my day is the heavy schedule of meetings.

I had a plan for my first 100 days. A big part of that was building relationships and understanding better the context of the

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ESF chief executive officer Belinda Greer on a typical day in one of the most controversial posts in Hong Kong education.

ESF and Hong Kong but it was also about defining what the ESF is.

We are entering a new phase, which is really exciting as there are opportunities for us to develop. We have to make sure we take everyone with us – schools, parents, board, all the advisory committees – and that everybody gets a chance to say what their aspirations are for the ESF. The ESF has a proud tradition in Hong Kong. People speak with warmth about their time at the schools and we can’t afford to lose that history. But we need to start looking forward. It’s about building and strengthening our position so the ESF can go on into the future.

We have an operational and strategic plan that takes us to 2015 but I’ve started to look beyond that. I think it is important for ESF families to know the people making the decisions are mindful, thoughtful and very considered about this task.

I am a parent. I’ve got a passion for education. I want the best for every child that comes into the ESF. I always think we can do better so I would never sit back and say everything is great.

I wanted to be a teacher from a very early age. I started teaching in the Middle East but went back to Scotland and subsequently became a principal, then an HMI [Her Majesty’s Inspector of Schools] and, after six years, director of education for Stirling Council. I loved the hands-on work with children, but I believe I can make a bigger difference to more children by taking a more strategic role.

I find Hong Kong busy and fast but I love it. I felt at home from the minute I stepped off the plane.

My husband retired at Christmas and he has now joined me in Hong Kong. We have five adult sons in Britain, but I don’t think they’ve registered I’ve left the country.

What’s lunch? Generally, I grab a sandwich – today I’ve only had time for a banana.

My afternoons are pretty similar to the mornings with a lot of meetings. I finish work most days about 6pm or 7pm, but it can be 9pm when there are board meetings.

I prefer a simple, healthy dinner with my husband although I try to attend as many school events as I can. I probably had the best meal of my life when I took my husband to Caprice for his birthday. At weekends, we explore.

I attempt to be in bed by 10pm. As soon as I get to bed, that’s it – I sleep till morning.

Reading The last book I read was Enduring Love by Ian McEwan. I love his work and went back to this book as I’d never finished it previously because I found it too disturbing.

Listening I’ve got eclectic taste. I love opera and am a Dire Straits fan.

Watching I don’t watch a lot of television. I saw Argo on a plane recently and really enjoyed it.

ESF SUMMER PROGRAMME 2014 ESF SUMMER PROGRAMME302014 June – 9 August www.esf.org.hk

30 June – 9 August

Summer Camps run from 30 June to 9 August Enrol Online

Learn, Discover, Explore, with an ESF Summer Programme The 2014 ESF Summer Programme takes a “fun through learning” philosophy in providing an engaging and enriching summer camp. With a variety of core and specialist courses to choose from, students will find many opportunities to learn, discover & explore throughout the summer.

Date: Ages: Time: Venues:

30 June to 9 August 15 months to 16 years 9:00 am to 12:00 pm Beacon Hill School Discovery College Hillside Kindergarten Renaissance College South Island School Tsing Yi Kindergarten Wu Kai Sha Kindergarten

Courses include: Core Language Programme Playgroup Art Cooking Drama Science

Writing Debate and Presentation Entrepreneurial Skills Spanish for Beginners Cambridge Preparation

Sign up for as many weeks as you’d like, as each week is different.

www.esf.org.hk expat-parent.com

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