A Little History Lesson

I've loved history ever since I was a little girl. My mum used to let me watch Titanic, Marie Antoinette, Elizabeth, and the Duchess (all with some scenes fast-forwarded) for  girly movie nights. After watching the movies, I would go to the library and try to find a book about the topic of the movie. It was always one of my favorite things to do. So today, I figured it would be fun to do a little history lesson on my favorite eras in history.

Image courtesy of Movie Mail, Quo Vadis

Ancient Rome.

“ Fate will find a way”- Virgil, Roman Poet

What People Think: WAR! Murder! Assassination! And oh, let's get drunk while we do it.

Reality: While the Romans were very much so into war and conquering, their society was so much more than that. For starters they had very strong religious beliefs. The Romans were what we would consider polytheistic, meaning they believed in many gods. There was Jupiter and Mars; Venus and Minerva; and lastly, Pluto (of course the Romans had way, way more gods than this, I just can’t possibly list them all).  Most of you probably know of these gods interesting moral standards, so I’m not going to delve into any of that. 

Also interesting about Rome is their rigid class system. Back in those days it was near impossible to move up in the class system, even through marriage (often times, restrictions were place on who you could marry). At the top of this system the emperors and Patricians sat. They were the super rich, and spent most of their time listening to poetry, hanging out in their villas, etc. Below them were the Plebeians. Today they’d be consider blue-collar workers, but back then you called them Plebeians. At the very bottom were the slaves, and hopefully you’re smart enough to figure out what life was like for them. 

Image courtesy of Les Femmes Velours

The French Revolution & Marie Antoinette 

“Great and memorable night, we wept and hugged one another. What a nation! What glory! What an honour to be French!” Ernest-Francois Duquesnoy on August 4th 1789 

What People Think: People go starving. A lady says: “Let them eat cake!”

Reality: Contrary to popular belief, Marie Antoinette was not a cold-hearted devil queen. Born into the Habsburg family (a.k.a people who ruled most of Europe until WWI), the French queen was married by 15 and crowned at 18. She was known for her extravagant spending habits (she bought over 300 dresses a year), and was reviled by the people. However, Marie Antoinette was also a compassionate person. She funded and oversaw the education of a poor boy as well as tended to an injured peasant, something most nobility wouldn't dare do. 

Marie Antoinette, in my opinion, is a victim of history. Despite her relative ignorance in state affairs, she was blamed for the debt issues in France. Often slandered by papers as an "Austrian whore", Marie Antoinette was depicted as doing everything possible to bring on the downfall of France, including vetoing tax acts made to improve the overtaxation of the poor. In many ways, this bad press was the reason she lost her life on the guillotine in 1793.

Image courtesy of Confessions of a Ci-Devant
Versailles

Oh, and by the way, Marie Antoinette never said "Let them eat cake!"

Want more?

History.com Marie Antoinette (highly recommend!)

Marie Antoinette, Sophia Coppola Film (my favorite film)
Marie Antoinette Smithsonian
PBS Roman Empire

Pumpkin Cupcakes: A How To

As most people know, I like talking about my opinions (which generally contradict others). But after last week's super serious controversial post, I figured I'd write about something lighter: baking. As I mentioned when I first started this blog, I love to bake. It's so calming and peaceful, and I never get the chance to do it! So after I finished up all my Friday errands, to the kitchen it was!

Today I'm going to be making my favorite recipe of all time: Pumpkin Cupcakes. I originally found this essay on the Food Network for a cooking class at school. We were being forced to make recipe with pumpkins in it. Originally, I balked at the idea. Pumpkins? Yuck! However, after searching everywhere  for a good pumpkin recipe, I found this one. Originally they were pumpkin bars, but I made them as cupcakes because they're easier to eat. I've made these in many different climates and altitudes and they've always turned out amazingly. Everyone enjoys them, even pumpkin haters (like me). Another great thing is most of the ingredients are easily found around the house. 

Here's what you'll need (edited from Paula Deen's original): 

• Four eggs
• 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar (code for table sugar)
• 15 ounces of canned pumpkin (you might have to by more than two cans of pumpkin, as they generally come in 8 ounce cans). 
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ~1 cup of water (this is just a starting point, I add more or less depending on the thickness). 
• Cupcake holders
• Cupcake baking tray(s)

And for the yummy delicious icing...

• 8 ounces of cream cheese (I like the Philadelphia brand)
• 1/2 cup of butter
• 2 cups of powdered sugar 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

First things first, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. I know it's lame, and sometimes I forget, but life is always easier with a preheated oven. 

Now you can start by mixing together all your "wet" ingredients (the pumpkin as well as the sugar, oil, and eggs). Then add your dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and powder, ground cinnamon, and salt). You will need an electric mixer to do this. This is the least interesting part of this recipe in my opinion. The pumpkin doesn't smell too good, either. 

                                   

The next step is to to organize the yummy cakes into cupcake holders. I bought the super fancy cupcake holders from Whole Foods (they're called tulip cupcake holders). Since it's Whole Foods, I shouldn't have been surprised that I paid $4 for them and only got about ten. I didn't use them all for this recipe, because I like how much cupcake they can hold, but I wouldn't recommend them. They're not worth the cost. 

                                 

Let your cupcakes bathe in the oven for about 15-20 mins. Don't take them out yet though! After the 15 minute mark, I check on my cakes every five minutes. Every oven cooks differently and you don't all your hard work to go down the drain. 

                                 

Once your cupcakes are ready you can ice them. Simply mix all your icing ingredients together, and spoon it onto the cake. Perfection! 

I hope you enjoyed this post. It's a bit different from what I usually do, but I feel like it was a good break from all my political ranting. Let me know if you'd like to see more of my baking adventures!

A Friday in the Life of Alexia

I've been thinking of doing this post for WEEKS now, and I've only just gotten around to it. Basically, the premise is that I'm going to show you what a day in my life looks like, and compare it to that of others around the world. Please note that I'm trying to include snippets of other people's lives that relate to mine, but sometimes I can't find one that's 100% perfect. Also, this is a rough idea of what my day looks like. I might've fudged some details (like times). 

Friday

6:17 AM
Breakfast

Dad wakes me up in the mornings, as I am always too sleepy to force myself out of bed. I brush my teeth, do my hair (quickly, I tend to not draw out my hair-care experience like my mum), and throw on the first comfortable thing I see in my closet. After I pack my stuff, I trot upstairs for my oatmeal breakfast. As I'm sitting at the breakfast table I think back on a video I'd watched the night before about the Russians marching into Ukraine. The entire thing seems so remote to me, yet it isn't happening all too far away. Could I do something about Ukraine?

"Everyone loathes getting up in the morning. However, I am not as fussy about it as my brother, who, despite being in medical school, still refuses to set his alarm and depends on the entire household to wake him." - Mahnoor S, Pakistan. 

7:35-9:05 AM

English

First period I have English class. We spend most of the period discussing To Kill a Mockingbird. In some ways I find it kind of strange that we're tiptoeing around the issue of racism like church mice. I wonder if things would be different if some of us were African American. Then I notice- not one of us is. What is it about race that causes the Honors English class to be filled with white children, whereas "regular" English is primarily made of a mix of ethnic groups? 

"Most citizens of Argentina aged 15 or older can read and write. The country has one of the better educated populations in Latin America. Indeed, education is prized as one of the most important assets people can have."- Country Reports Argentina

9:10-12:20 AM

Math & Human Geography

Second and third periods I have Math and Geography. Math goes by as usual. We are given a partner and a booklet to fill out. Then my math teacher reviews it with us. Human Geography is a little different, as most of our class period is spent discussing the previous night's reading. We always get a little off topic and end up talking about world issues instead. 

This little guy sits on my bed all day!

"Generally, classes are held in classrooms, and occasionally outside for Physical Education and sporting activities, Natural Science laboratories, and Technology. The classes are taught by lecture, and are the only source of information for students who are financially unable to purchase the text"- Marguerite, Foumban

12:20 PM

Lunch!

Self-explanatory. 

4:00- 7:00 PM
Hospital

From 4-7 I do volunteer work at my local hospital with my friend Stella. Usually I go to track before hand, but today I had to go home a little earlier. We ferry food trays from the kitchen to patients, manage the front desk and gift shop, and talk about silly things. I really enjoy my work at the hospital because it means that I get to hang out with Stella and eat lots of good food. But seriously, I do enjoy interacting with patients. Most of them are really nice and bring a smile to my face. 

"After school and on non-school days, we work with the family on domestic and field tasks. With my classmates, we study in the school's library. We study our lessons alone or in a group. We do our homework. Sometimes we take long walks." - Marguerite, Foumban

Well, that's it for today! Sorry today's post is a little longer than usual, I just wanted to be able to flesh out the differences and similarities between my day and that of anothers elsewhere. 

Washington D.C. and Tenure

Image courtesy of CNN, School of Thoughts

Recently my parents and I got talking about tenure and the not-so-recent-but-still-relevant Washington D.C. bill. As far as I'm concerned, the creator of this bill is a genius. I don't know all the ins and outs of the bill, but from what I understand it gives teachers two career paths: a lower salary and tenure or a much higher salary (based on student performance) and no tenure. Tenure basically makes it impossible to fire a teacher unless they either sexually abuse multiple students turn into Jack the Ripper. Both of those are high unlikely, making it, like I said, almost impossible to fire a tenured teacher.

Tenure is an issue for two reasons: first, because it makes teachers on tenure feel like they can get away with anything, and secondly, because it means that when budgets get cut, tenured teachers are kept around, and better teachers are cut. Case in point: one of my favorite teachers this year is fairly new. (S)he teaches us a lot, and is decently nice. However, if it came down to it s(he) would get fired before another teacher who has a history of verbal abuse with students. The only reason for this is tenure. 

Another case in point: a couple years ago I had a teacher who wore very inappropriate clothing to  school. Every day she would come to school in mini skirts and low cut tops. Not only that, but she had a poster up in her room about weight loss. Weight loss.  At the time I was fairly young, so didn’t pay much attention to it, but thinking back on it, that poster could’ve been bad for many young girls self esteem. I don’t know if it has since disappeared from her room, but I can’t believe that no one mentioned it earlier, and discussed it with her. 

I like the Washington D.C. proposal because it prevents teachers from striking by not getting rid of tenure completely, and solves the issue of teachers enot getting paid enough. Because honestly, fifty-thousand dollars a year is nothing for the job teachers have. Many bright intellectuals would love to become teachers, but avoid the job because it doesn’t pay as much as it should. 

Anyways, those are just my thoughts on the topic. Feel free to sound off in the comments! 

Read more:

Washington DC bill

Is Teacher Tenure Still Necessary?

Books!

As I'm sure I've said before, I've loved books ever since I was a little girl. I haven't done a full post on my favorite books yet, so I figured I might as well do one today. 

The Grisha Trilogy 

Image courtesy of Alexa Loves Books

I love how creepy cool these books are. You never know if a character is good or bad, even the main character (Alina). The basic summary of these books are that there are people with magical powers called Grisha. There are a couple types of Grisha, each with different abilities. Alina, however, is special because she's a Sun Summoner, the only one who can get rid of a horrible area called the Fold that's been separating the kingdom for years. Of course, things don't go as planned, and Alina deals with some evil people. 

The Princess in the Opal Mask 

Image courtesy of Mundie Kids

This was the last book I read in 2013, and it was one of my favorites. The story is very cute, and although it's not worthy of a Book Oscar (is there such a thing?), it does make for a really fun read. The book follows two girls, Elara and Princess Wilha. While Elara is a orphaned servant, Princess Wilha is born into royalty. However, Princess Wilha is always forced to wear a mask, and many whisper it's due to her unbearable ugliness, which she can't see when she looks in the mirror. I can't say too much without giving it away, but there's lots of mystery, political intrigue, and fancy masks. 

The Lunar Chronicles 

Image courtesy of Laurdes

The best way to describe these books is futuristic fairy tales. The series follows the story of Cinder, a cyborg living in New Beijing. In New Beijing, and all over the planet, there has been an outbreak of letumosis, a disease no one has survived. While this horrible disease is going on, Earthen leaders (who work together) have been trying to stop war against the Lunars, and their horrible queen Levana. Each book focuses on a new heroine, while still focusing on Cinder's story. The next book is due out winter of 2015. 

I hope you enjoyed learning about my favorite books, and hopefully, you'll decide to read one yourself!

* Links (on titles) go to author websites! 

Growing Up

As most of you know, I grew up in a small rural town called Hong Kong (population: 7,000,000). I left fairly young, but I've still managed to remember a lot about the experience. So here I am, finally writing a post about it. I figure the best way to talk about this is in tidbits. Here it goes:

A Bit of Background
When I tell most people where I was born I usually get two responses: "Why you no look Asian?" and "Do yah speak China?". As far as the first question is concerned, I don't look Asian because my parents were Caucasian expats from England and Australia. So, as genetics would tell you, I came out looking Caucasian, not Asian. Although, my mum did once mistake an Asian baby for me, but that's another story. As far as the second question is concerned, no I don't speak Chinese. Since Hong Kong was a British colony until the end of the twentieth century, most people I grew up around spoke English, not Chinese, causing my inability to speak "China"

Me and my Filipino amah (nanny)

No Chinese In School
I attended two schools in Hong Kong: an Australian one (to satisfy dear old Dad) and a British one (to satisfy my proper tea-drinking mother). Because the British school wanted the Chinese students to learn English, they weren't allowed to speak Chinese. Although Hong Kong isn't Communist like the rest of China, this strikes me as a very Communist thing to do, and, not to sound patriotic, makes me appreciate the freedom of speech rights I have in America.

Me flying first class on Cathay Pacific, an HK airline my dad flys for

Banana Trees
While China seems to have a knack for eradicating nature, it's still apparent when you visit that it is a beautiful country. Growing up, I remember being surrounded by banana trees, roosters, and lush gardens. I also remember the beautiful cobblestone markets and the occasional breathtaking beach (although, if you plan on going to Hong Kong, don't plan it as a beach vacation. Most of the beaches are disgusting, as it is custom in China to throw all your trash, sewage, and shopping carts into the sea. Nothing against the Chinese, but most of urban China is like this.) Point is, China can be a beautiful place, if you know where to look.

Image courtesy of Garden of Eden

Pacific Place
Pacific Place: a giant mall filled with every store imagined. I consider it responsible for my existence, as my parents met in a taxi que outside of Pacific Place. Also, I consider the bookstore there responsible for my love of books, as I spent a lot of time there buying Rainbow Magic books.

Me kissing my baby brother

There you have it: a snapshot into my life in Hong Kong. My friend Liz also lived in Hong Kong when she was older, so if you want to see what it was like for her click  here. 

In Which I Give Some Advice on Doing Well in School

Image courtesy of Lily Pultizer

Tip One: Get a Planner

Honestly, I don't know where I would be without my beloved planner. It keeps track of all my information & community service hours, reminds me what tests I have and when, and lets me easily plan my extracurriculars. I use the Lily Pulitzer planners (pictured above), however, you don't need to buy a fancy planner in order to get the benefits. A simple one dollar notebook will do (just be sure to write dates on the pages!). 

Tip 2: Cram

You shouldn't be cramming every night (if you do, it's a bad habit, get rid of it). However, sometimes, cramming is necessary. If teachers are throwing multiple tests at you everyday, it's hard to study in advance for a test on Friday when you have one on Tuesday you need to study for. It's better to try and learn the material for Tuesday's test as best you can, and then move onto studying for Friday's test. 

Tip 3: Read, Read, Read

Image courtesy of Solidarity Rising Book Drive

I love, love, love, love (need I go on?) to read. It's my all time favorite hobby. However, reading isn't just a hobby, it's a learning tool. Not only will reading teach you to become a better writer, but it improves your memory and makes you smarter. Even better? You don't necessarily have to read non-fiction to get something out of the experience. Reading fiction gives you the exact same benefits. 

And if you don't know what to read, here are some of my favorites:

Outliers by Malcom Gladwell (just started this- great nonfiction!)

Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (cute fantasy for all ages)

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (my favorite sci-fi)

Legend by Marie Lu ( good for boys & girls)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Anne Barrows and Mary Ann Schaffer (WWII book, good for adults and teens) 

These Broken Stars by Amy Kaufman and Megan Spooner (advertised as "Titanic in space") 

Tip 4: Ask Questions

Fine, maybe I ask a little too many questions, but I find it helps me learn. By having the teacher go in depth about concepts I don't understand, I'm able to better fully understand the material, and do better on the test. 

Tip 5: The Internet is Your Bestie

Image courtesy of CGP Grey

When I don't understand a concept and don't have time to go and talk to my teacher about it, I use Google as my teacher. YouTube especially has some great videos that explain most concepts for high school math, science, and history. My favorite channels are CGP Grey and Crash Course- I find they explain concepts better than most teachers! 

I hope you enjoyed these tips! I find them to be very helpful; however, don't feel the need to follow all of them. Find what works for you and stick with it. 

Find more tips here.