In Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring

It’s snowing in Beijing!  Even though the temperature is quite cold here (at least compared to California), it rarely snows because the weather is dry.  We were all very excited, since snow comes about once a year in Beijing.  After we finished our homework and studies for the day, we went outside to play in the snow.  The snow was very thin, but we still had a lot of fun.  My sister wrote her name on the snow. My brother wrote his Chinese name on the snow. There was snow on the benches and on the bicycles, too. A cat left some footprints in the snow. We made small snow cupcakes by pressing snow into a cup, and then taking the packed snow out.  On one of them, we added a small snow strawberry on top. On another, we added some snow icing. We also played catch with the snow cupcakes we made.  It was not easy, because the snow often crumpled to pieces if you didn’t catch the ball the right way.  The next morning it s

In mid-January, we flew south to Fuzhou (my Dad’s hometown) from to visit our Grandparents and other relatives.  The airplane ride was pretty short, only 3-4 hours long. When we were there, we had a chance to try a special food.  It is called zhe .  My Dad said that it was one of his favorite foods when he was growing up.  The outer layer is made from sticky rice flour, and the inside is made of sticky rice (sweet). Fuzhou is by the ocean, so there is plenty of fish to eat.  However most of the fish have plenty of bones; at least 3 or 4 times as much as salmon has. My uncle brought us to the sand banks of the Ming Jian River.   There were a couple of people picking clams to bring back home to eat.  We found a lot of clams, too. But, of course, we didn't eat them. We also found a pumas rock.  When we put it on the water, it floated. My brother and my younger sister wanted to take some of the clams home for pets.  Dad said that they c