The May issue of beijing kids

The May issue of beijing kids is out and available in all the usual places where expat families might be.

This month's cover stories tack "Beijing survival." There's a piece about worst-case scenarios, and another about how best to hire an ayi. For anyone living in Beijing, or thinking about it, this is a month that is especially worth bookmarking for future reference.

For "Alternate Routes" I write about our own personal survival aid, Karen.

As we started using our GPS back in China, our excitement was tempered by something unexpected.  

I could not stand the voice of our GPS. 

Randy chose "Jill, American woman," but I found the voice absolutely grating. She barked directions with a bossy, belittling intonation

<snip> 

At one point I thought we could at least be amused by "Karen, Australian woman." I joked: Perhaps she would say, "No worries, mate" when we made a wrong turn.

Oh yes, Karen is our GPS. Some families couldn't imagine living in Beijing without their ayi. For our family, our GPS is our greatest helper. There are times I wish Karen were real, so we could reward her with fat bonuses or at the very least our thanks for all the good things she's done for us. There are few interesting places we could find in Beijing and beyond without her help.

Follow this link to read my whole column on page 45. Does Karen actually say "no worries" or ever address us in the Australian second person familiar pronoun "mate?" Am I crazy for referring to a little black box with a touch screen as a "she?" Read on!