When I found out I was moving to India, it was beyond a nightmare. It was something I couldn't even imagine. The impression I had of India were only based upon a few summer visits to my grandparents, filled with heat, pollution and dirt. Even though I was only six years old, I know this would be a complete change from my comfortable life in Maryland.

    During my first six months in India, my expectations were met almost exactly. I hated my new apartment; I missed my school and friends back in Maryland, and I was sick of all the dirty marketplaces that filled the streets of New Delhi.

    After those six months were over I finally realized that I was going to be in India for a while. I knew that I had to start making the most of my new life. It was then that I became completely involved in my school. My school, the American Embassy School, was filled with international students: Europeans, Australians, Chinese, and Americans just like me. But they all welcomed me with open arms. It was amazing to be among such diverse students, who had such incredible experiences to share.

    Now, when I look back at my time in India, all I can think about is how fortunate I am to have had such a wonderful experience. My move to India not only allowed me to see a completely different side of the world, but I was also able to establish unbreakable bonds with so many interesting and amazing people. Even now, after quite some years, I am still in contact with my closest friends from the American Embassy School. I cannot even imagine what I would be like without having lived in India. I would have missed out on meeting so many extraordinary people, and I would be a completely different person today.

    HEARST CASTL, CA

    Hearst Castle is open for tours daily, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

    Tour A -- The Grand Rooms

    View the ground floor rooms of La Casa Grande where Mr. Hearst's guests met their host and were entertained during their stay. See the Assembly Room, where guests met for cocktails, the Refectory, where meals were served, the Morning Room, Billiard Theater. Your knowledgeable guide will bring this big house to life sharing stories about Mr. Hearst, his many guests, and the art collection it contains.

    Prices: Adults: $25.00; Children: $12.00.

    Tour B – The Upstairs Suites (套房)

    This tour features rooms on the upper floors of Casa Grande. Travel through guest suites on your way to the Library where Mr. Hearst housed a collection of 2,000-year-old Greek pots.

    Visit Mr. Hearst's private third floor suite including his bedroom and private study where he held business meetings. Learn about the genius of architect Julia Morgan and the way she put Mr. Hearst's art collection into the design.

    Prices: Adults: $20.00; Children: $10.00.

    Tour C – Evening Tour

    This tour allows visitors to experience the Castle at night as a visitor to the Castle in the 1930s might have. It features highlights from the experience, Upper Floors of Casa Grande, and Garden tours.

    Evening tours are offered on most Fridays and Saturdays during March – May & October – December.

    Prices: Adults: $36.00; Children: $18.00.

    Tour D – Accessible Holiday Twilight

    This tour is wheelchair accessible. Visitors who have difficulty climbing stairs, or who cannot stand or walk for extended period, may also benefit from this tour. Accessible transportation is provided from the Visitor Center to all areas of the Holiday at Hearst Castle tour. Call 866-712-2286 for additional information.

    Prices: Adults: $30.00; Children: $18.00.

    For most of her life, Suanne Laqueur's passion for storytelling was shown on the dance floor.

    Although Laqueur began writing at a young age, dancing always took center stage. She majored in dance and theater at Alfred University and taught at her mother's dance studio in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, for years. But when her mother was ready to retire and an opportunity opened for Laqueur to take over the studio, she realized she had no interest in taking on the business side of her art: “Owning a studio is a lot of work—financially, logistically. I love the teaching, the choreographing(编舞), the staging, but I didn't want to own it.”

    Yet Laqueur's disinterest in running the studio changed when she became a self-published author. In the fall of 2013, she decided to pursue Self-publishing as a way of sharing her first completed novel with friends and family. During the process, she realized that following her true passion—telling stories through writing—made the business of the art worthwhile, and owning that business meant she could direct her writing career however she chose.

    Starting with her second self-published novel, she began investing more time in marketing and building her audience. Her investment paid off. Since 2014, Laqueur, now 49, has self-published six novels, which collectively have hundreds of ratings and reviews on Good reads. Her 2016 novel An Exaltation of Larks stole the show at the 25th Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards, topping more than 2,300 entries to win the grand prize.

    “You have to write the most truthful story to you, and I think self-publishing allows that freedom,' she says. “If you work with traditional publishing, it's more about what's marketable, There are trade-offs, which everyone will tell you, but by self-publishing I have control of the book, I have control of the story, and I'm cool with that.”

    THREE years ago Jenny Salgado, a Dominican shop assistant, moved to Highland town, a neighborhood of Baltimore. When she arrived the shop she works in, it was one of only a few Spanish businesses. Now there are many more. "It's good now if you speak Spanish," she smiles.

    Baltimore has been losing people for 60 years. To address this, its mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, wants to make it the most immigrant-friendly city in the world. Its libraries provide Spanish-language exercise classes. To help those with no papers, the city is introducing micro-loans (小额贷款) which require no credit checks; city police would no longer routinely check the immigration status of citizens or enforce any federal immigration law unless required to. The then governor, Martin O'Malley made it possible for illegal immigrants to get driving licenses.

    Such welcoming policies are spreading. Such cities as Cleveland, Dayton and Philadelphia all eagerly try to please immigrants. Rick Snyder, the governor of Michigan, has asked the federal government to offer 50,000 visas to people who agree to live in Detroit. His administration has made it easier for skilled migrants to get professional licenses.

    When a city's population falls, both tax receipts and services fall. Half-deserted neighborhoods breed (滋生) crime, driving yet more people to leave. No city has escaped this death circle without attracting new residents, says Steve Tobocman of Global Detroit.

    Several studies suggest that when immigrants arrive, crime goes down, schools improve and shops open up. In Detroit, immigrants living near the tiny separate city of Hamtramck have formed local watches to guard against thieves. Their neighborhoods are not just safer; they are also among the only places where it is as easy to buy fresh vegetables as drugs and alcohol.

    But attracting new immigrants to the cities which most need them is hard, argues Audrey Singer of the Brookings Institution. They care about the same things as everyone else: safe streets, good schools and jobs. Cities which have lost population for decades struggle with all of these.

Most children love stories. Stories are entertaining and fun, but can they be more than just fun? Findings from a new study led by Rebecca de Leeuw, an assistant professor at the Radboud University, indicate stories in movies can also be meaningful for children. 

The researchers contacted children between 4 and 15years old after they watched the Disney film Inside Out. This film takes place mainly in the head of an 11-year-old girl, where her emotions—Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, personified as different characters—conflict on how to help her best in her new life after her family moves. The story follows the "hero's journey" —a classical narrative（叙事的）framework, which involves a hero who goes on an adventure, overcomes challenges, and return s changed. So the research team chose this film. When making this film, the film-makers had in-depth discussions with psychologists to make the emotion animation consistent with scientific knowledge. 

The research team asked mostly open-ended questions to encourage the children to share their thoughts, including the key question: "Was there a part of the movie you had to think about?" Children looked at stills of important scenes and were invited to explain in their own words what happened. If they liked, they also rewatched scenes of the film. 

While watching, children made sense of the feelings, motives and behavior of characters in the film, using their social intelligence skills. They also further developed these skills when they were challenged in making sense of the story. Children also mentioned they appreciated seeing acts of pity, kindness, love and bravery in the film. Just like adults, they were even touched to tears by these qualities. 

One of the children in the study even expressed that Joy inspired her to never quit in her own life. The more insights children gained while watching, the more meaningful the story became for them. Altogether, stories in movies can be a quick way for children to gain life experience and wisdom.