Jolie-Pitt Love

HOLLYWOOD star Angelina Jolie put her arms around the shy toddler and whispered the Vietnamese phrase, "Khong sao dau, khong sao dau".

These words of comfort, meaning "no problem, no problem", were the first that newly-adopted three-year-old Pax Thien Jolie would hear from the stranger who was now his mum.

Today, Pax is adapting to an A-list life in America with a world-famous father in Brad Pitt and his three new brothers and sisters.

Pax might have been bashful in the orphanage, but staff say that he got on well with the other children there, so he should have few problems when introduced to his new siblings.

They also say that he is football mad - which should please new dad Brad who last year told the Mirror that how he wanted enough children to form a "soccer team".

And the youngster, whose favourite food is fried noodles and yoghurt, has started learning English - he can already count from one to 10 for his new mum. But what else awaits him?

Stepping into Brad and Angelina's life is like walking into a world museum, according to one friend of the actress who says: "They've always said that they want their children to be citizens of the world and they're starting that education young.

"Angie wants her kids to grow up understanding the world they live in and she and Brad are starting where it counts - at home.

"It's definitely not your typical American family."

That's no understatement. The couple - who have homes in LA and New Orleans - have taken control of almost every aspect of their children's lives in a bid to make them truly international citizens.

Everything from their education and meals to even playtime is planned to the last detail, leading some observers to dub the family "Angelina's Benetton brood".

Their eldest boy, five-year-old Maddox, who Angelina adopted from Cambodia in 2002, goes to a normal school, but he also has tutors on hand to teach him his native language.

BECAUSE of his mum's globetrotting lifestyle, Maddox's teachers often accompany him and his sisters - two-year-old Zahara (or "Zee") and 10-month-old Shiloh - all over the world.

"Angelina has decided she doesn't want her children to be just American kids," adds the friend of the 31-year-old Tomb Raider actress.

"The children are being taught their own languages and about their own cultures as well. The most important thing is that Brad and Angelina make learning fun.

"They are certain that all the kids will get enough exposure to American culture just by living in the US and interacting with other American kids at school."

It means the couple's only biological child, Shiloh, who was born in Namibia last May, will learn about both African and US cultures - as will Zahara, who was adopted in Ethiopia in 2005.

Even what the kids eat reflects Brad and Angelina's views. Children's fast food favourites like hamburgers, French fries and sugary soft drinks are out, with the emphasis placed on grains, salads and vegetables instead.

"Angelina makes a point to feed her kids all different types of foods," continues the friend.

"She goes to an Asian market in LA to stock up on noodles, dumplings, seaweed and sushi. She even goes out of her way to buy fruit native to Asia.

"They love eating together as a family. At tea time, Zee sits in her high chair, putting her hands in her spaghetti - her favourite dish - and it goes all over her, in her hair, all over the floor. She sits there playing with it while Brad and Angie just let her. They say, 'Aw, Zee's happy' and leave her to it. They think it"s letting her be expressive."

Angelina in particular holds strong opinions about allowing the children to "express their personalities". And if that means breaking some parenting rules then so be it.

As the friend says: "Angelina says she doesn't want to restrict Maddox in any way. He wears what he wants, no matter what that may be.

"One day last year, Angelina took him along to a photoshoot she was doing in Paris to advertise sunglasses.

Maddox decided he wanted to be a wolf. By the end of the day a bunch of adoring make-up artists had painted his face with make-up, streaked his hair white blond and painted his nails white and black to turn him into a wolf. He was running around and howling. Ange just smiled."

When not filming, Brad and Angelina are often spotted in a small LA suburb dubbed Little Ethiopia, picking up CDs of traditional Ethiopian music.

Their distinctly unconventional tastes are reflected in the New Orleans home they bought for £1.8million cash in January.

Located in the city's French Quarter and fitted with a huge spiral staircase, lift, gourmet kitchen and two-storey guesthouse.

It is already filled with bookcases stuffed with language books covering everything from Mandarin, Tagalong and Russian.

"Brad also bought a huge globe and a world atlas which are in the living room," says one friend. "As for religion, he and Angelina are exposing them to just about everything - Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Hindi.

"Angie says they are going to leave it up to the kids to decide which religion they are most comfortable with."

AS Angelina, who was appointed a UN Goodwill Ambassador in 2001, says: "We want each kid to know their country's religions and to feel some responsibility.

"We'd like to have a base in the States but I'd like to have a base somewhere else, too. I'd love to send the kids to an international school and live in the middle of nowhere in Africa or Asia, just coming in for work."

Twice-married Angelina is renowned for her bohemian lifestyle, but their existence is a world away from 43-year-old Brad's small-town upbringing in Missouri.

Despite this, the star of hit movies including Fight Club and Se7en is taking fatherhood extremely seriously. He prepares meals for the children and enjoys quad biking with Maddox and playing with remote-controlled cars.

"Brad's taken a few cooking lessons so he could learn how to prepare foods from different parts of the world," says the friend.

"Angelina wears the trousers in the relationship and Brad is happy to go along with anything that will make her happy.

"She's quite a tempestuous person and there are times when they have the odd argument, but despite what some people have been saying, they're madly in love."

Angelina's temper is said to have erupted during the adoption of Pax when the exasperated actress repeatedly woke up Brad in America with phone calls.

"He very much wanted her to wait until he was through with the movie he was filming, but she just went right ahead with signing the adoption papers. Brad said to her, 'Angie, you just never follow the script'."

She ended up having to defend her decision to adopt again to local reporters, telling them: "Everyone would agree that children need to have a family. I have the ability to help children to fulfil that desire - why should I say no?"

Certainly her and Brad's new Louisiana home has been decorated with their brood in mind.

The children share a huge bedroom, specially designed by their father, a budding architect.

Dominated by a world map with their native countries marked, it is also adorned by trinkets from the places the youngsters were born - including a painting by renowned Ethiopian artist Afework Tekle.

Angelina hopes that bringing up her children in such an international household will see one of them will grow up to be a UN ambassador.

It is into this strange but loving home that a young lad from Ho Chi Minh City will be welcomed in the next few weeks.

ANGELINA'S HOUSE RULES

IN: Organic vegetables such as oriental squash, Chinese broccoli and snow peas

OUT: Fast food including burgers and fries

IN: Fruit juice

OUT: Sugary soft drinks

IN: Arts and crafts

OUT: Barbie dolls and toy soldiers with guns

IN: Educational TV programmes, especially Sesame Street

OUT: Cartoons

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