This year the taxi prices in China rose 1¥ (6 cents).  Though this may not seem like a lot to most of you, it was enough for my mom to decide that it was “high time” we had bus cards.  So each of us got a bus card and began to use the bus a lot more often (especially to our favorite shopping place, Emart).  The price difference is significant (to us at least); most of the time you can take a bus for 2¥ (about 30cents) or take a taxi for 10¥ ($1.30).  Anyway, after taking a bus for awhile I noticed something.  Usually when you swipe your bus card you can see, on a small screen, the price of the ride as well as your balance, however for some people both the price and balance had zeros.  Well it didn’t take long to notice that all those people were senior citizens; so I concluded that some buses allow free rides for old people.  Furthermore, when you swipe your card the machine beeps to notify the customer that it has scanned the bus card.  However for the senior citizens, when their cards are swiped, the machine will either say 老人卡，meaning “Old person’s card”, or it will say 您好, “(respectful) hello”.  The longer I live here the more I understand the special culture China has that treasures the elders of their community.

I have blogged quite a few times about my "hobby", henna (though I don't know if I do it often enough to be called a "hobby"), but now I'd like to talk about Rachel's hobby.  This past year she has become very interested in styling hair.  Not only does she replicate styles that she sees online, she also creates new ones; and I think she does it beautifully!  During the summer she has found hair styles she likes in blogs or other pictures.  Some times she tries these styles on her self, but other times she needs a model… guess who gets to be her model?  Yes, I get to wear the beautiful hairdos when Rachel is willing to try them on me.  Once, Rachel and I were flipping through magazines and she saw a hair style she particularity liked.  Rachel wanted to replicate the style and I was eager to have it.  Despite the fact that the magazine picture didn't even have a view of the back of the hair, Rachel completed the look elegantly!  ( I'll never have to go to a hair salon before banquet again! ) I think that she has a wonderful talent with hair and I am blessed to have a sister that is so good at (and willing to do) hair styles!

I have blogged quite a few times about my "hobby", henna (though I don't know if I do it often enough to be called a "hobby"), but now I'd like to talk about Rachel's hobby.  This past year she has become very interested in styling hair.  Not only does she replicate styles that she sees online, she also creates new ones; and I think she does it beautifully!  During the summer she has found hair styles she likes in blogs or other pictures.  Some times she tries these styles on her self, but other times she needs a model… guess who gets to be her model?  Yes, I get to wear the beautiful hairdos when Rachel is willing to try them on me.  Once, Rachel and I were flipping through magazines and she saw a hair style she particularity liked.  Rachel wanted to replicate the style and I was eager to have it.  Despite the fact that the magazine picture didn't even have a view of the back of the hair, Rachel completed the look elegantly!  ( I'll never have to go to a hair salon before banquet again! ) I think that she has a wonderful talent with hair and I am blessed to have a sister that is so good at (and willing to do) hair styles!

This year for Rachel's birthday Maddie and I (Michael was in Shanghai) wanted to do some really special decorations.  So we spent a while looking at blogs and finally came to one about party decor, among other things.  Something that really stood out to me as a classy/elegant party snack were cake pops.  If you are not familiar with this little "sweet tooth delight" then you may think of it just like it's name; it is a cross between a cake and a lolly pop.  Any ways, Maddie and I felt that these were a necessary treat for this special event so we went to work making them.  Let me tell you it looks and sounds easier than it is!  First we made a cake, cooled and then crumbled it up.  To the cake we added frosting.  This created a thick and sticky blob of cake (more delicious than it sounds!).  Then we formed balls and put them on wooden chopsticks (for the cake pop handle).  Now, here's the difficult part: the chocolate coating.  It definitely takes a learning curve to do this step.  Our first 5 cake pop were too big and the chocolate to thick that they all broke and did not stay on the stick.  This became very frustrating, as you can imagine.  So, Maddie and I added milk to the chocolate and made the cake balls smaller.  Both highly improved our results.  The cake pops finally stayed on the sticks, and though they were not as beautiful as the recipe picture (when is it ever as pretty as the picture?), they still tasted amazing!  The next day we made bright pink icing and drizzled it on top of the chocolate cake pops to complete the finished look.  Though after making the first five cake pops I was ready to totally give up, I am glad I kept trying and finally produced delicious, and not altogether ugly, cake pops for one of Rachel's birthday surprises!

Tips for those of you who would like to try making Cake Pops:
1. White chocolate is probably better than melted milk chocolate chips
2. You may add paraffin wax to the chocolate to beautify the end product
3. Thin your chocolate
4. Make smaller cake balls
5. Put your cake pops on sturdy sticks 

This year for Rachel's birthday Maddie and I (Michael was in Shanghai) wanted to do some really special decorations.  So we spent a while looking at blogs and finally came to one about party decor, among other things.  Something that really stood out to me as a classy/elegant party snack were cake pops.  If you are not familiar with this little "sweet tooth delight" then you may think of it just like it's name; it is a cross between a cake and a lolly pop.  Any ways, Maddie and I felt that these were a necessary treat for this special event so we went to work making them.  Let me tell you it looks and sounds easier than it is!  First we made a cake, cooled and then crumbled it up.  To the cake we added frosting.  This created a thick and sticky blob of cake (more delicious than it sounds!).  Then we formed balls and put them on wooden chopsticks (for the cake pop handle).  Now, here's the difficult part: the chocolate coating.  It definitely takes a learning curve to do this step.  Our first 5 cake pop were too big and the chocolate to thick that they all broke and did not stay on the stick.  This became very frustrating, as you can imagine.  So, Maddie and I added milk to the chocolate and made the cake balls smaller.  Both highly improved our results.  The cake pops finally stayed on the sticks, and though they were not as beautiful as the recipe picture (when is it ever as pretty as the picture?), they still tasted amazing!  The next day we made bright pink icing and drizzled it on top of the chocolate cake pops to complete the finished look.  Though after making the first five cake pops I was ready to totally give up, I am glad I kept trying and finally produced delicious, and not altogether ugly, cake pops for one of Rachel's birthday surprises!

Tips for those of you who would like to try making Cake Pops:
1. White chocolate is probably better than melted milk chocolate chips
2. You may add paraffin wax to the chocolate to beautify the end product
3. Thin your chocolate
4. Make smaller cake balls
5. Put your cake pops on sturdy sticks 

Last year, 9th grade, I was so happy to be able to take my Dad's Freshman course, Digital Citizenship.  In his class I learned a lot about the software and hardware of computers and how they work.  Additionally we talked a lot about digital social networking and the enormity of the internet.  It boggles my mind to think that my Dad used a type writer for one of his previous jobs!  On the other hand, it is almost more mind boggling to think of how computers, like a living organism, stores and finds information.  Anyways, over the past year taking his class and in the experience of owning a laptop I have come to shocking realizations of the mammoth digital network.  For example:  I recently got a Tumblr account.  Tumblr is a cite where people post, reblog, and comment on (mostly) art work.  I found it very interesting how this cite created an environment of sharing your work and encouraging others with theirs.  In this aspect I have understand how easily talent can be shared and appreciated today.  Being in a school with a "one laptop per child" program I have also discovered a "con" to the digital network: it becomes a mask (for some).  In a school where everyone from middle school up uses a computer I have observed (in more than a few cases) people who become more confidant online than in real life.  It's not always bad; say there was someone who would never sing to anyone's face but they record their songs and share them, that's not bad at all.  There are some, however, that do and say things they wouldn't in real life.  Whether it's bad things, or just uncharacteristic of their personality – the internet is not a second chance on reality!   I say – "If you wouldn't say it, don't type it".

Last year, 9th grade, I was so happy to be able to take my Dad's Freshman course, Digital Citizenship.  In his class I learned a lot about the software and hardware of computers and how they work.  Additionally we talked a lot about digital social networking and the enormity of the internet.  It boggles my mind to think that my Dad used a type writer for one of his previous jobs!  On the other hand, it is almost more mind boggling to think of how computers, like a living organism, stores and finds information.  Anyways, over the past year taking his class and in the experience of owning a laptop I have come to shocking realizations of the mammoth digital network.  For example:  I recently got a Tumblr account.  Tumblr is a cite where people post, reblog, and comment on (mostly) art work.  I found it very interesting how this cite created an environment of sharing your work and encouraging others with theirs.  In this aspect I have understand how easily talent can be shared and appreciated today.  Being in a school with a "one laptop per child" program I have also discovered a "con" to the digital network: it becomes a mask (for some).  In a school where everyone from middle school up uses a computer I have observed (in more than a few cases) people who become more confidant online than in real life.  It's not always bad; say there was someone who would never sing to anyone's face but they record their songs and share them, that's not bad at all.  There are some, however, that do and say things they wouldn't in real life.  Whether it's bad things, or just uncharacteristic of their personality – the internet is not a second chance on reality!   I say – "If you wouldn't say it, don't type it".

A few days ago Mom, Maddie, and myself all headed out on an errand at a shopping street called BingZhunDao.  We were picked up by a female taxi driver with a spacious and clean car. The first half of the journey was uneventful.  However as we stopped at a red light the driver pointed out of the taxi and said something to my mom, then my Mom jumped out of the taxi. When she hopped back in she was holding a pair of white sunglasses.  Apparently both the driver and my Mom had seen them in between the car lanes as we drove up.  The driver wanted to see us all try them on and we laughed about the coincidence.  It wasn't but five minutes after when all the sudden the driver herself hopped out of the taxi at a stop light and jumped back in holding a pair of pink sunglasses!  We were all laughing as each of us tried them on, at the request of our driver.  Then the taxi driver told us to take a pair. Not wanting to reject the gift, I took the white pair (seeing that the pink sunglasses suited her better).  It turned out to be a very funny trip to BingZhunDao!

A few days ago Mom, Maddie, and myself all headed out on an errand at a shopping street called BingZhunDao.  We were picked up by a female taxi driver with a spacious and clean car. The first half of the journey was uneventful.  However as we stopped at a red light the driver pointed out of the taxi and said something to my mom, then my Mom jumped out of the taxi. When she hopped back in she was holding a pair of white sunglasses.  Apparently both the driver and my Mom had seen them in between the car lanes as we drove up.  The driver wanted to see us all try them on and we laughed about the coincidence.  It wasn't but five minutes after when all the sudden the driver herself hopped out of the taxi at a stop light and jumped back in holding a pair of pink sunglasses!  We were all laughing as each of us tried them on, at the request of our driver.  Then the taxi driver told us to take a pair. Not wanting to reject the gift, I took the white pair (seeing that the pink sunglasses suited her better).  It turned out to be a very funny trip to BingZhunDao!