Gan Bian Si Ji Dou - My first crack at Chinese cooking

Since our arrival in Beijing, I've been continually suprised at how little convincing it's taken for my kids to try the local cuisine.  All of us have grown fondly attached to one particular Sichuan dish and we've been ordering it at restaurants all over town.  It's call Gan Bian Si Ji Dou (pronounced "gahn bien suh jee dough")and it's main ingredient is green beans, go figure! They are cooked using a method called "dry-frying", and it brings out a flavor that I think brings out the green bean's best features, and dry-frying is supposed to be the best cooking method for retaining a vegetables' vitamins and minerals.  It's the green bean reinvented!  It's tough for me to describe in words the flavor of this dish-It's crunchy, yet soft...well seasoned, yet easy on the kids' taste buds...healthy, yet satisfying.  The green bean doesn't have to be stuck on the Thanksgiving menu, casseroled with some soggy  french fried onions anymore (but don't get me wrong, Mommy loves those fried onions).

I just HAD to try my hand at this dish at home.  It took some convincing from everyone, particularly my husband.  At our local favorite reastaurant, this dish, which feeds all 4 of us, costs around 15 RMB (which is less than 3 bucks).  It is just so cheap and easy to eat out here, that you hardly get your money's worth buying the proper groceries and spending the time in the kitchen preparing it.  I kindly reminded him, though, that our time in China is called "In Country Training".  If I don't learn a thing or two from our time here than how will we be able to replicate it when we get home?  I still didn't have him convinced.  Not that I had completely sold myself either, for Chinese cooking is not my forte.  But I really enjoy the process of learning new recipes and shopping for new ingredients, so I pressed on.

My biggest obstacle was getting through the local market.  Here the closest thing we have to a local "supermarket" is called the Jinkelong-relatively small AND crowded with food and people.  The problem for me was everything at a local market labeled in characters.  But I went armed with some common sense for what ingredients I needed and what they looked like, and prayed I could find an english speaker if I ran into any problems.  I also had my first crack at using the iTunes Pleco App for my iPhone.  You can draw an unfamiliar character on the touchscreen or take a photo of it, and the App looks up its tranlation.  It was suprisingly not as tough as I thought to find everything I needed.  In fact, my biggest problem was mediating the boxing match my son decided to start with his sister.  It's a good thing Chinese people love kids, because mine seem to do no wrong in their eyes!  Still, I left the store a little frazzled but I was one step closer to Gan Bian heaven at dinner time.

Isabelle was a big help in cleaning the vegetables and sorting them into bowls as I chopped.  Hubby came home telling me it smelled like a true Chinese home, so I knew I was one the right track.

The Green Beans frying in a little oil

A few of the Other Ingredients: Soy Sauce, Sugar, Salt, Pepper, and finely chopped Garlic, Ginger, and Scallions

Some Sichuan Peppers-careful, a little goes a long way!

The Green Beans removed after frying.  Time to cook the Pork & Aromatics.

Cooked the finely sliced Pork and Garlic, Ginger, & Scallions

Dinner was a hit!  I served the Gan Bian Si Ji Dou over some brown rice, and Sonny brought home a cold dish of peanuts, carrots, and cucumbers to accompany.  I also bought some fresh kiwis and served that as a refreshing dessert, and come to find out my kids LOVE kiwis too (I have it pretty easy right now, my picky eaters have chanegd their ways).

The finished product, with one hungry girl!

I did a little research for different dry-fried green bean recipes, and I thought I'd post the one I used.  It's 1) a very simple version of the various recipes available online, and 2) most like what we get in restaurants here.  If you'd like to try it yourself to see just what the hype is about, follow the link here:  Gan Bian Si Ji Dou.  I have a few changes that are worth trying, as they were a hit for me!

1. I suggest you substitute whatever fresh green bean is in season and most local to your area for best results.  I used Chinese long beans, cut into 2 inch sections.
2. Also, this recipe called for chili paste, and instead I used 4 dried sichuan peppers, chopped.  They were readily available at our grocery store in a big package, and the sichuan peppers are more common in the dishes served here, so I stuck with what we are more used to seeing.  This is where you can also get creative, if you'd rather try Jalapeno peppers, dried new Mexico chiles, Texas chili powder.  If you do try a variation, let me know how it turns out.
3. I have a family of meat-eaters.  So a strictly vegetarian dish was not going to fly here.  I picked up about .2 Kilos, or 1/2 pound of pork cut into thin strips.  I added this and cooked thoroughly in the pan just before adding the aromatics (see recipe for after the beans are removed and before the aromatics are added)
4. It calls for peanut OR vegetable oil as your frying base.  I find peanut oil to be a little overpowering and heavy feeling, so I used vegetable oil and it was wonderfully light!  Try canola, vegetable, or even a very light olive oil if you're giving this a try.

I hope I've given some of you another dinner idea for this week!  It was so easy to make!  In fact, the rice took longer to cook than the grean beans.  The ingredients are so simple, and the dish is really worth trying especially now that the veggies are in season.  Please leave me a comment if you do try it and let me know how it turns out!  "Xie Xie" (Thank You) in advance!

China Music Festival: A musical and cultural experience

Arriving at PingGu

This is a long overdue blog. Now that we’ve moved into our home and settled in a bit more we hope to increase our blogging.

In April I met a hotel attendant at the Hilton. He’s a twenty-something year old kid making a living in Beijing. Since we were staying at the Hilton for nearly a month I ran into him often and would make small talk to get some speaking practice. One day I ran into him in the lobby and he invited me to go with him and another friend to the 2011 China Music Valley International Music Festival Beijing. This was the first music festival of its kind in Beijing and always looking for a cross-culture experience I thought it would be a great opportunity to observe China’s emerging youth pop-rock culture. So with the help of my new acquaintance I purchased a ticket and I was all set for the weekend.

Waiting in line to get in. Up ahead is the PingGu ski slope.

That Saturday I met my friend and another friend in the Hilton Lobby. Amongst the hustle and bustle of Beijing it’s often easy to overlook the restrictions imposed by the central government. However I was quickly reminded when one of the guys told me how exciting this was that a music festival of this size with high profile artists was taking place in Beijing. He mentioned that Bjork’s China tour was cut short after a “Free Tibet” outburst at one concert. We hadn’t even departed the lobby yet and it was great to hear this first hand perspective. I told the guy that I figured these types of events were good for the economy, tourism, revenue, etc. and that I thought the government would be all about anything that was relevant to social and economic development. He quickly responded that “they are about their development, they are all about harmony social harmony but anything that could even remotely threaten social harmony they are not about”. This friend of the friend was another twenty-something guy working for an American IT company. From the lobby we made our way down the street to KFC of all places. Not on my list of places to go in China but these guys were all about it. Of course right? What better than a crispy chicken sandwich, fries, and a Pepsi before rock’n out at the music fest? It wasn’t the local noodle bar and some Yanjing (Chinese beer) but the conversation was great and I continued to get speaking practice too. The IT guy expressed his slight chip on his shoulder for the fact that foreign companies impose a ceiling on Chinese employees. He talked about how tough it is to break through and obtain an upper-level management position. They both seemed a little insulted that a foreigner could come over to China work in upper-level management for a few years and still not know how to say much more than “ni hao”. I actually found that part to be interesting. Especially in the service industry where it seems it would be beneficial to speak the language.

There was a bit of a dust storm that day (ShaChenBao). When in doubt do as the locals do.

Waiting for a band to come on stage while it got progressively cooler outside.

Negative from Finland played earlier in the day.

Crowding in close for Avril.

A small feast in between bands.

After lunch we stopped by the local grocery market pharmacy and picked up some masks. It was supposed to be a bit dusty out that day. Then we caught a cab over to Agricultural Center where the buses were staged to head out to the festival. The Music Festival was held just north of greater Beijing at the PingGu Ski Resort. The bus ride was about an hour and a half. We arrived just in time for the third band in the day’s line-up. When we entered the gates we were handed a sticker with a letter on it. Our letter was “D”. We soon realized that there were two stages and the grounds were separated into four different areas that were barricaded and you could not traverse between the areas. “D” just happened to be the very back area. Well the guys I was with along with about fifty others weren’t having any of this. They quickly found the closest police up by the gate and began giving them an ear full. I guess from the perspective of the central government that’s a downside to the communist way of doing things. When you control all aspects of a society you're also expected to have all the solutions. Back in the states a police officer would be the last person I'd go to if I was trying to complain about my tickets. The crowd grew more and more agitated that the concert promoters mentioned nothing about segregated areas on the festival grounds. Eventually I just wanted to watch the bands and I urged the guys to give up and we’d find another way to get closer to the stage later on. As we departed from the rest of the mob we were criticized for being a bit fair-weather. This was interesting to say the least. It was like an instinctive communal mind-set amongst the crowd and they were in it for the long-haul. We made our way down to the stage grounds and found that an even larger crowd had convened just outside the “A” area which was closest to the stage. The crowd continued to grow restless and eventually it happened. Yes! They crashed the barriers and just like “a gold fish down the drain” in I went and the festivities began.

Being a native Austinite exoised to SXSW and ACL I have some perspective on music scenes. I mean come on, after all, you can’t be born and raised in the “Live Music Capital of the World” and not know a little something. So Beijing isn’t quite ready to compete with Austin, New Orleans, L.A., Seattle, and all the other great music towns just yet. The dusty grounds were just about the only thing that reminded me of ACL at Zilker Park in the heat of summer. It’s still spring time in Beijing so we didn’t have the heat to go with the dust. Of course then the Beijing Fire Department got smart and started hosing down all the dirt. This made for a nice muddy mess between the front gate and the stages. With that said the music line-up was nothing to shake a stick at. It included: Negative, a pretty good Finnish rock band; Rooney, a group from L.A.; and F.I.R. or (FeiErLeTuan) a super popular Taiwanese group that almost stole the show from the headliner. They were followed by Juliette Lewis who put on an electrifying performance (maybe a little too over the top for the audience though). Considering she murdered the language trying to say "thank you" (xiexie) and count to four (yi, er, san, si), Juliette Lewis was well received by the crowd. The headliner was Avril Lavigne. This was her first show in a couple of years and she was great. There were actually two performers after Avril but it seemed like me and the other 10,000 plus people in attendance made their way for the buses immediately after Avril wrapped it up. I made my way back to the Hilton to find Juliette Lewis with her panda hat having a drink in the lobby lounge.

Avril Lavigne on the big screen.

Juliette Lewis in her panda hat.

The experience proved to be a peek into China’s pop culture and was evidence of a growing craze for things western. From dyed spiked red hair to barricade crashing crowds and everything in between, there was a sense of rebelliousness and the desire for self-expression.

Beijing Apartment Living 101

Hey folks!  Sorry it's taken a few days to blog about our Beijing Apartment, but last weekend we finally moved into the place we'll call "HOME" for the next year.  I have to say it's been nice to finally unpack our suitcases, keep up with the laundry, cook a meal, and put the kids to bed in their own room.  We're definitely reaching our new sense of normal here in China, and moving in to our place was a big milestone in making us all feel stable. 

                                  

                                                   Our Apartment Building

The building we're in is located in the Chaoyang District in a great neighborhood that is blocks away from Worker's Stadium and another trendy neighborhood known as Sanlitun.  We have lots of shopping nearby, both high and low-end, in addition to a great range of restaurants from the local noodle bar to fine dining of cuisines all over the world.  The apartment building is equipped with it's own 5-floor department store and a grocery store that carries many western brands (but at a heftier price than having things shipped via Amazon grocery, be prepared to pay almost $10USD for a box of cereal here, yikes!).  Also in our building is a Starbucks, a Costa Coffee, Dairy Queen, and Comtoirs de France Bakery, all of whom deliver to our apartment for free (but again, slightly more expensive than the US equivalents).
 
Included in our lease is also membership to one of the best private gyms in the city, the Pacific Century Club.  They have a playroom for kids, an indoor lap pool, 5 hot tubs, a weight room, cardio machines galore, and group and private classes for hatha yoga, bikram yoga, pilates, belly dancing, salsa dancing, aerobics, circuit training, and the list goes on.  All of us have been most excited about this amenity and are taking full advantage of it.  I have gone to my first pilates class taught exclisively in Chinese.  Suprisingly, it wasn't difficult at all to follow along, and I was one of two in the class so our instructor catered to helping the two of us work on our form.  Here's a link to our gym's website if you want to see photos: Pacific Century Club
 
We've met alot of the other residents of the building and have been pleasantly suprised to find alot of American families with children Isabelle and Jacob's age.  This has been a huge relief for all of us, and the kids are already making good friends and having playdates with the neighbors.

Ok, so back to our apartment.  Here are the stats:  fully furnished, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 305 square meters (3280 square feet for those of us that don't do metric), bi-weekly housekeeping service, wine room, 2 tv's, lots of storage, and plenty of room for guests.  The Alba Beijing Bed and Breakfast is now open for business.  Seriously, we would love to have visitors, just let us know when you're coming!  Here are some photos of our new pad.  You'll have to excuse us as our shipment of household goods hasn't yet arrived and thus we aren't yet completely moved in. 

front entryway

      Dining Room

Living Room

Living Room with a view

Office area & Wine Room

Another view of the Office

Master Bedroom-Isabelle watching a movie

Master Bedroom-Still unpacking

View from our room

Master Bathroom

We call it the race track, and it wraps all the way around the apartment:)

Isabelle's Room

Jacob's Room

Guest Room Storage

Guest Room

Guest Room

Kids Bathroom

Kids Bathroom

Kitchen

Kitchen & Breakfast Area

Jacob showing off the other half Bath

Laundry Room

In the next month or so, we expect our household goods from the US to arrive, so the kids will be able to reunite with their toys, our kitchen will be fully equipped, and all the little comforts of home will hopefully make it in one piece and the move-in will be complete!  Also, now that we're moved in, I look forward to going back to some of the markets we have found around town and buying some Chinese "antiques" to warm up the decor a bit. 

Again, my apologies for being out of the blogging loop for the last several days.  My husband and I plan to do some catching up on our blog this week, so look for some more posts soon.  Thanks for bearing with us while we take some time to settle in!

Karen's Top 10 - Travel Gear for Kids

Hey folks!  I have some good news to share...In exactly 4 days we will FINALLY move in to our apartment.  Yes, that means that we've been in a hotel now for entirely too long, almost a month.  As our hotel room seems to get smaller and smaller by the day AND now that my husband officially began his studies, I have been on my own with the kids for the better part of the morning for the second week.  I have to say it's been a challenge getting around on my own, but suprisingly not impossible.  I decided right away to get out as soon and as often as possible with the kids, for the reasons listed above.  We all have a tendancy to go stir crazy if we don't plan to do SOMETHING. 
This time on my own has also given me a chance to put our kids' gear to the test!  Some of the adjustments to living in Beijing have come as suprises to us, but for the most part we came very prepared thanks to the advice of the families that came to Beijing before us.  Without their recounts of "trials and errors", we would not have known to come here as equipped and prepared as we did.  That said, I have compiled a list of the MOST useful gear that has made our overseas journey with the kids as smooth as possible, and I hope this information proves useful to the FAO families and others planning international travel with kids:

1.The Dueter Kid Comfort II-

  

I can't say enough about this go-to baby carrier when we need to get around the city. If you're like us and couldn't bring your car overseas, it's an essential if you plan to do long day trips with kids and your little one isn't a walker yet.  Our almost-two-year-old is walking allright, but refuses to hold anyone's hand, has a gut instinct to bolt toward the busy streets whenever the opportunity presents itself, and is still prone to nap whenever he deems necessary regardless of where we are or what we're doing.  Thus, this carrier has been a lifesaver.  It's got a great soft frame that fastens both around your waist and across your chest, so even our 30 pound butterball can be carried quite comfortably, with his weight pretty well distributed across your back, shoulders, and core.  Though Sonny carries it most of the time, I have also carried him in this and find that the frame can adjust to fit a woman's body well.  Also, Beijing is just NOT well-built for handicapped access, which means it's not always stroller friendly either.  We use this pack when we're riding the subway and sightseeing amongst Beijing's older infrastructure. 

2.  Baby Trend Expedition Double Jogging Stroller-

If you're at all familiar with the constantly fluctuating air quality in Beijing, you know that on good days you can look up and actually see a blue sky, while on the bad days you might as well be chain smoking as you are inhaling about as much from the air pollution and come home reeking of smoke from head to toe.  My point here is we don't used our jogging stroller for jogging outside anymore, as we've stuck mostly to the indoor gym and pool for our workouts.  And even though I listed some problems above with getting around the not-so stroller friendly city, with some advanced planning to ensure your route is good to go for strollers this one comes highly recommended by me.  When we found out Jacob was on the way, I was desparate to purchase the high-end brand BOB stroller, and for months I scoured craigslist, the REI used gear sales, and other sales ads to get my hands on one for a price I could live with.  I ultimately decided to put the 650 bucks to better use and only spend 190 on this bad boy, the Baby Trend Expedition.  It was everything I needed when I was running with the kiddos back in the States, and it has served us well navigating the obstruction-filled sidewalks and alleyways of Beijing.  The shock absorbers are much more comfortable for the kids on the bumpy sidewalks than any umbrella stroller could provide, but much like the umbrella, you can set the front wheel to a swivel position to more easily work around tight corners, or even grocery store aisles if needed.  If I had it to do all over again, I might have sprung for a narrow and compact Phil and Teds double stroller, which seats the kiddos in-line making it ride and turn like a single.  However, I can park my stroller outside of a restaurant or store with a little more peace of mind that I haven't left a $700+ nest egg where I can't see it.  Basically, if someone were to take ours, I'd surely be upset but it's nothing we can't replace still for less money than shelling out for the BOB or Phil and Ted's.

3.  Keen Shoes-

I know what you're thinking...I think.  If you're a frugal parent like me when it comes to outfitting your fast-growing kids, it's normally tough to justify a pair of $50 dollar kids shoes when they may only fit in them for a few months.  Our daughter went from a toddler size 9 to a 12 in what seemed like only 6 months!  However, I have to say that my kids are doing more walking now than I ever did when I was their age.  I have also personally sworn off kids socks, as every washer and dryer I use has a personal vendetta against me and ensures that I only get out 5 socks back when I was sure I had 6 when the laundry started.  So these shoes fit the bill for many reasons.  My 5 and 2 year olds put their own shoes on when we're ready to walk out the door, so it just became a hands-free operation for me...score!  When the temperatures drop, we'll have to adjust and find a good shoe that gets them through the winter months, but for the stifling summer we are sure to have in Beijing, what better way to get around than in a breathable sandal that protects feet more like a shoe? 

 My husband and I even have our own Keens, but we opted for a pair of hiking shoes and walking shoes seen below. 

They've taken us from hiking amongst the dense tropical forests in Hawaii to the Great Wall of China, and now we go shopping or out to eat in them because they are just that comfortable and easy to wear.

4.  Zip Away Pants-

Call them what you want: Pants, Shorts, Funny-looking.  They are all that and more....Functional!  I never saw a need to purchase these for myself before.  They always gave me flashbacks of those tear-away adidas pants our entire basketball team used to wear in middle school  (all you kids born in the 80's, you know!).  It wasn't until our move to Beijing, and our subsequent month-long stay in a hotel room with a suitcase of only a couple weeks worth of clothes that I realized there was a need for an article of clothing that was flexible enough to work with the highs and lows of spring temperatures in Beijing.  My kids, husband, and I all have some, and the lightweight versions are super easy to handwash (something my blog readers have seen is a skill any long-term visitor to China should acquire).  My husband can also attest to the functionality and versatility after he embarks on some very remote backbacking trips around Asia...blogs on this to come as early as June when he returns from his first trip.  My daughter's zip-aways even come with color coded left and right legged zippers so Mommy knows which side to return the zipped-off legs to.  We are happy with both our Columbia and REI brands we've purchased.  Try catching the after-season sales from REI for pants for the kids, where I scored them for around $15.

5.  First Aid Kit-

True, we are in a modern city with western medicine readily available, and we don't have to worry too much about catching some foreign water-born disease like Japanese Encephylitis.  But if your kids are like mine, it doesn't matter where in the world they are, they WILL get cuts and bruises along the way...and it seems to happen more often when we're travelling and in unfamiliar territory.  My aunt actually gave me this Johnson and Johnson kit when we visited her in Texas, but it needed restocking.  It actually worked out better to start with an empty kit that I could fill myself and cater to our specific needs.  In it, I put some individual antiseptic wipes, hello kitty AND spiderman bandaids, neosporin spray, single packed tylenol, advil, immodium, kids melt-away ibuprophen tabs, and travel sized aloe and sunscreen.  Check with your pediatrician for help restocking.  Ours at DLI was kind enough to give us the individually wrapped wipes and antibacterial gel.  The kids have indeed gotten little cuts and scrapes, and sometimes all it takes is a colorful bandaid and a kiss to make them not only feel like the "oweee" went away, but that they feel safe and secure, and life isn't all that different even though they're halfway across the globe.

6.  Wet Ones and Purell Hand Sanitizer-

I decided to list all sanitizing products as one of my top ten travel must-haves.  Even if you aren't bringing children with you to Beijing, you'll see right away that keeping your hands clean, especially prior to eating, is a must.  Allow me to ellaborate a little...has anyone ever heard of split pants?  Well, yes, they are still used enthusiastically here as a means for potty-training. 

Parents of these cute-bun-flashers pretty much let their kids "go" wherever they want.  In the grass, in the street, in the middle of the sidewalk, everywhere.  For some reason it's even more revolting to me to see a pile of poo now, because it's origin probably wasn't a puppy.  So the lesson learned is that no surface is safe here.  It isn't in the States either, but there are enough cultural and hygeinic differences here, that after riding the subways, climbing stairs, using the restroom, and not having access to soap and water right away, these antibacterial nuggets of glory can take care of 99.9% of the germs that spread common illnesses, and so far it's done wonders for us (the kids are also taking a multivitamin, but I'm hoping to cover this topic in greater detail on my future blog post about Nutrition).  Our little ones haven't gotten sick yet, and I attribute this to our vigorous, sometimes OCD-like use of santizer and wipes.  You really can't have enough, and thanks to our prime membership with Amazon.com, we have our free shipping replenishments on the way already!   You really can't pack enough of this stuff in my opinion.

7.  Charmin Travel Toilet Tissue-

Don't Laugh.  We've used this particular item more than I can count.  Remember one of my previous blogs where we discussed the public toilets here?  Well, basically anytime you step out of your comfortable Hilton Hotel or other "western brand" hotels and apartments, you can expect to find nothing but a hole in the ground when it's time to use the bathroom.  Seriously. 

And toilet paper is never a promise!  In fact, we've been suprised to find that a few of our favorite local restaurants actually do provide toilet tissue.  I was delightfully suprised to find, before we left the U.S,. that both REI and Bass Pro Shop carried this Charmin travel tissue in their camping section.  I highly recommend that Beijing travellers ALWAYS keep one of these in their purse, and if you're a single guy this means there's never been a better time to buy a man-purse, man-bag, day pack, whatever you want to call it.  If you have one thing on your person, make darn sure this is it.  You'll be trying new foods, and the fruits, vegetables, and meats "may or may not" be prepared in the same manner your stomach is used to.  Just take my advice on this one and stock up on these handy packs from Charmin.  If not, make sure you take some extra toilet paper from your apartment or hotel before you leave on your daily outings.

8.  The Kid's Camelbak-

 

The antidote for when my daughter is feeling hungry for some attention- give her a sense of purpose and importance of course!  Enter the hot pink kid's camelbak, seemingly MADE for her, with 50 oz. storage capacity that a 5 year old can carry with ease.  We remind her that without her contribution, we would be so thirsty on these short day outings.  It has seriously worked, and reinvigorated our daughter when she gets into a whiny mood when we're out and about.  She is so proud to walk around with it, as though she's graduated to yet another level of independence, differentiating her from her baby brother.

Now for the real purpose of buying this: drinking water is hard to come by in Beijing.  Most western apartments provide a bottled water delivery service, but after leaving the sanctuary of your home or hotel, you won't just be able to find bottled water anywhere.  It's always a good idea to bring plenty of water with you in case you get stuck out and about longer than planned, and for us the Camelbak works perfectly.  We also have an Osprey dayback with a 120 ounce bladder in it for longer stretches, but we decided on buying one for our 5 year old to help get her excited about going out on adventures (think Dora the Explorer).  Definitely something to think about if you've got kids!

9.  The Cross-Body Bag-

Ok, so this isn't exactly kids gear, but if you're a mom like me, you hold more kid's stuff in your purse than anything else.  What I've found, between airport travelling, long connections in airports, carrying other shopping bags around the city, and chasing after the munchkins, was that my favorite hobo bag was just not going to work as my "all purpose" purse.  I wanted something that wasn't going to constantly slip off my shoulders, and something secure enough to keep pickpocketing at bay.  Now, each woman has their personal preferences when it comes to purses, so I suggest you stick with what feels right for you.  I actually picked this one up from Marshall's for $25.  I figured I'd give it a test run, and if this type of bag worked for me I'd promote myself to buying one in leather.  So far, no complaints!  It holds everything I need for going out, some of which is on this list.  I won't necessarily direct other moms to go out and get the cross-body bag, but definitely think about what it'll be like carrying your purse around at an activity level that's about triple what you're used to in the States.  It's worked really well for me and has helped me feel like all my stuff is a little more secure and put together.

10.  Lollipops-

That's it!  No high-tech reasoning behind the good ole lollipop- what I consider the big guns in my arsenal when my kids are in the worst-timed temper tantrum mode.  And I don't like to just bribe my kids all the time.  But sometimes they are just beyond the point where you can reason with them, and this point coincides with an appointment we have at the Embassy, or an extra-long cab ride with a short-fused taxi driver, you get the picture.  It works wonders, and it still has such a newness with my kids that they're willing to sit still and savor the sweet sugary goodness, and Mommy and Daddy have a chance to breathe easy:)  Enough said!

Well that's a wrap on the top 10 most useful kids gear I've used during our first month here.  I'd love to hear some feedback or suggestions if you have your own travel secrets when getting around with little ones.