When I was growing up my mom not only planned elaborate trips during summer vacations but often pulled me out of school to travel all around Europe. From spending weeks on a small vineyard in Languedoc, France learning about local food, wine, and the cultural differences between Languedociennes and Parisians to getting stranded in Rotterdam or very innocently discovering that Amsterdam’s famous red-light district is not in fact, a festive section of the city where people like to hang red lights for good luck, it was all part of the journey. My mom believed that not everything in life can be taught in classrooms and that it’s important to see places and interact with different cultures first-hand. She used to say that traveling gives you life experiences which are like the seasoning in a recipe and that life would be bland without it. And now as an adult, I’m so grateful for the experiences that my mom gave me as a child and I hope to pass that on to my daughter in the future.
Summers are reserved for traveling and discovering new adventures that broaden our horizons and while most people’s overseas travel plans have been put on hold due to COVID-19, it doesn’t mean that traveling is completely off the table. China is huge and there are so many amazing places to discover and fall in love with that you can stay within the country’s borders and still be wowed by all that you’re bound to discover.
In this issue of beijingkids we tackle the difficulties of traveling with a toddler as Julie Wolf shares her tips on how to plan a trip with kids as well as easy ways to keep them entertained. We interviewed a few of the city’s expat parents on their travel horror stories along with the hard lessons they’ve learned from their own personal little fiascos, so that other Beijing parents can learn from their mistakes and avoid unnecessary headaches. We also interviewed a travel insurance expert who gave us plenty of useful tips for choosing the best insurance plan for your family.
For those who are going to be staying put in Beijing, our beloved city is so full of cool things to do. If you’ve been living in Beijing for a while you might have started to take the city’s historical landmarks cultural heritage for granted. So, read up on a few tips on how to experience Beijing with fresh eyes and be a tourist in your own city, or contact one Beijing’s many unique tourism companies, and book the family a professional day out and about.
Finally, as the school year ends, we take this opportunity to say congratulations to the Class of 2020! Their final year in high school was filled with challenges that no one’s ever faced before but as they go off into the next chapter of their lives, these students can look back on all that they’ve overcome and know that they’ve become stronger for it.
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This article appeared in the beijingkids 2020 June issue
