beijingkids Magazine online

1. Giddy Up
Saddle up and ride a horse at Equuleus. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced rider, qualified bilingual instructors can guide you through the basics or help refine your skills. Daily 7am-12pm, 2pm-6pm (call ahead). Equuleus International Riding Club, Sunhe Zhen, 91 Shunbai Lu, Shunyi District (8459 0236, 6432 4947, equuleushorse@yahoo.com.cn) www.equriding.com 顺义区顺白路91号孙河镇

2. Tango with Life-Size Dinos
Get up close and personal with some of history's largest and fiercest reptiles. At Dino Dream Park's three exhibition halls, kids can oogle a collection of fossils as well as interact with life-size mechanical dinosaurs. Closes August 31. RMB 90, RMB 60 for children under 1m and senior citizens. 9am-8pm. 300m north of National Stadium (Bird's Nest), Olympic Green, Beichen Lu, Chaoyang District. Tickets on sale at Piao.com.cn (400-610-3721, ponypiaoen@hotmail.com) www.en.piao.com.cn, www.dinodreampark.com (Chinese only)朝阳区北辰路奥林匹克公园

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When Juliette Gordon Low founded Girl Scouts in Savannah, Georgia 98 years ago, she probably never imagined that it would become the largest organization for girls in the world. The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts has over 100 million members in 145 countries. A branch of the national Girl Scout Organization, USA Girl Scouts Overseas (USAGSO), was established in Shanghai in 1925 and later in Beijing. Last year alone, Beijing's branch consisted of ten troops with over 200 members. The Girl Scout's Three Keys to Leadership are: Discover, Connect and Take Action. Girl Scouts is about empowering girls - encouraging them to be their own leaders, exploring a broad range of activities and pursuing community projects of their own interest.

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The packers came last week to cart away all of our earthly belongings. It took almost two days for them to box everything up and stash it all in containers on the back of their truck.

And now, we wait. There's still a week to go before the plane takes off with us on it. That's just one short week to say goodbye to the people and places that we've come to know so well.

Our house is full of ghosts, so full I can't stand to be in it for long. Here's the office where I wrote these articles, Skyped my sister and changed countless diapers. Here's the kitchen, with containers of frozen soup still stacked in the freezer as dishes dry on the counter. That empty space over there? That's where I liked to sit and read when I had a few, rare, quiet minutes to myself.

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I've always felt there to be a solid division between the sweet and savory schools of breakfast. There's your bacon and eggs and then there's your waffles, pancakes and fruit. I always looked sideways at people who ordered a side of bacon with their waffles and dipped them in maple syrup. Probably as a result of my Chinese taste foundations, I've never really had a sweet tooth. Growing up, mine was a household where it was never too early for savory offal soup, and so it was that eggs and noodles were chosen over cereal and muffins time and again. But recently, I've noticed that my breakfast and brunch classics don't seem as appetizing in the hot steam of a summer's day. I wasn't looking for salad at 10am, but when faced with temperatures north of 35°C, bacon, eggs and beans didn't sound like they'd sit comfortably in my stomach.

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Shokoofeh Khajat
What do you do?
I'm a computer engineer.
Where are you from?
Iran
How many children do you have?
One daughter - she's 7 years old.
How long have you been in Beijing?
Nine days - we're just visiting.
Where do you like to shop?
Wangfujing. Chinese brands have great prices and good quality.
Do you have a favorite spot in Beijing?
We like the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace.
Where is your outfit from?
Wangfujing
What has been your favorite outdoor activity?
Swimming at the Doubletree by Hilton Beijing.
How do you stay cool in the summer?
Air-conditioning.

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