SurvivingHurricane Sandy(飓风桑迪)

Natalie Doan, 14, hasalways felt lucky to live in Rockaway, New York. Living just a few blocks fromthe beach, Natalie can see the ocean and hear the wave from her house. “It'sthe ocean that makes Rockaway so special,” she says.

On October 29, 2012,that ocean turned fierce. That night, Hurricane Sandy attacked the East Coast,and Rockaway was hit especially hard. Fortunately, Natalie's family escaped toBrooklyn shortly before the city's bridge closed.

When they returned to Rockaway the next day, they found their neighborhood in ruins. Many of Natalie's friends had lost their homes and were living far away. All around her, peoplewere suffering, especially the elderly. Natalie's school was so damaged that she had to temporarily attend a school in Brooklyn.

      In the following few days, the men and women helping Rock away recover inspired Natalie. Volunteers came with carloads of donated clothing and toys. Neighbors devoted their spare time to helping othersrebuild. Teenagers climbed dozens of flights of stairs to deliver water and food to elderly people trapped in powerless high-rise buildings.

“ My mom tells me that I can't control what happens to me,” Natalie says. “butI can always choose how I deal with it.”

Natalie's choice was to help.

      She created a website page matching survivors in need with donors who wanted to help. Natalie posted introduction about a boy named Patrick, who lost his baseball card collecting when his house burned down. Within days, Patrick's collection was replaced.

      In the coming months,her website page helped lots of kids: Christopher, who received a new basketball; Charlie, who got a new keyboard. Natalie also worked with other organizations to bring much-need supplies to Rock away. Herefforts made her a famous person. Last April, she was invited to the WhiteHouse and honored as a Hurricane Sandy Champion of Change.

Today, the scars(创痕)of destruction are still seen in Rockaway, but hope is in the air. The streets are clear, and many homes have been rebuilt. “I can'timagine living anywhere but Rockaway,” Natalie declares. “My neighborhood willbe back, even stronger than before.”

    Sports can help you keep fit and get in touch with nature. However, whether you are on the mountains, in the waves, or on the grassland, you should be aware that your sport of choice might have great influence on the environment.

    Some sports are resource-hungry. Golf, as you may know, eats up not only large areas of countryside, but also tons of water. Besides, all sorts of chemicals and huge amounts of energy are used to keep its courses(球场) in good condition. This causes major environmental effects. For example, in the dry regions of Portugal and Spain, golf is often held responsible for serious water shortage in some local areas.

    There are many environment-friendly sports. Power walking is one of them that you could take up today. You don't need any special equipment except a good pair of shoes; and you don't have to worry about resources and your purse. Simple and free, power walking can also keep you fit. If you walk regularly, it will be good for your heart and bones. Experts say that 20 minutes of power walking daily can make you feel less anxious, sleep well and have better weight control.

    Whatever sport you take up, you can make it greener by using environment-friendly equipment and buying products made from recycled materials. But the final goal should be "green gyms". They are better replacements(代替物) for traditional health clubs and modern sports centers. Members of green gyms play sports outdoors, in the countryside or other open spaces. There is no special requirement for you to start your membership. And best of all, it's free.

    Bookie's, the campus bookstore is located at the Campus Activity Centre, main floor.

    Bookie's is the only place in Kamloops to buy your course textbooks. There is a booklist in the bookstore listing the books required for each course. If you need help in finding your course textbooks, ask any of the staff in the bookstore.

    There are more than just textbooks at bookie's. They carry a wide variety of stationary, art supplies and gift items. You can also buy telephone cards, postage stamps and bus passes. You must show your student card to get a discount for the bus passes.

TEXTBOOK RETURNS

1) Do I need my receipt to return books?

Yes.

2) How long do I have to return books?

Books purchased must be returned within ten working days of the date of the purchase.

3) What if I wrote my name in the book?

Unfortunately, we can not give you a full refund for books not in mint condition as publishers will not accept this for credit.

4) What happens if I miss the last day for return?

We may purchase the text book as “used” in accordance with our Buyback program.

5) Ｗhat if I discover that my book has missing pages half way through the semester?

We will replace the defective books, new or used, for a like copy of that title. Cash refunds are not given for defective books returned outside the normal return dates.

BUYBACKS

1) What books do you buy back?

We buy back all current edition textbooks. If we do not use them at UCC, we buy them back according to the value established in the North American marketplace.

2) How much do I get for my books?

If bookie's is buying the book for use at UCC, you will receive 50% of the current new retail price. In order to receive optimum buyback price, discs and supplements must accompany the book.

3) What happens to the books that I sell?

Books for bookie's are processed by our staff and sold to students at 75% of the new retail price.

4) What condition do my books need to be in?

Books should be in good condition, meaning that the cover is still attached and all pages intact. Notes and markings on the pages of the books are perfectly fine. Workbooks and study guides are generally not purchased back unless they are free of all markings. No sales receipt is required for these books.

BOOKSTORE HOURS

Monday–Thursday      9:00am–6:00pm

Friday                9:00am–5:00pm

Saturday and Sunday    Closed

    Before I had my son, I spent two years working with children with disabilities. I learned that shouting and threats of punishment would result in a disaster. Coming up against their behaviour could only make the job harder and their behaviour more extreme. I found something that worked, though.

    There was a very naughty boy in the nursery and a teacher who was generally very confident with the children was asked to take charge of him. One day the boy joined a session in the room next to mine. His appearance created an atmosphere of tension. He spent the entire session running around, hitting and kicking, and destroying property.

    I was in the craft room working with some other children when my co-worker told me that this boy's teacher was in tears, and could not get control of the situation. As we were talking，the boy ran in. I told my co-worker that I would take care of him.

    I closed the door. He was full of energy, throwing things around and making a huge mess. But I could see that he was doing all these to annoy me. He needed connection, and this was the only way he knew how to ask for it. So I sat back down and kept quiet. Then he slowed down and began making a rocket. I talked to him about it. We continued like this for a few minutes before I slipped into the conversation:

     “So what happened today?”

    It was purely a question, no blame or anger in my tone. I believe that if I had criticized him, the gate that was slowly opening would have shut firmly closed. He told me that the teacher didn't let him do what he knew well due to safety but asked him to do what he disliked. He also admitted that he had enjoyed making her run around and saw it as a game. I explained that his teacher had not seen it as a game and was very upset. This again was stated simply as a fact. I suggested that next time he had a session, he talk about what he hoped to do at the start，which might be easier for everyone. He agreed and was quiet for a moment. Then he looked at me with tears in his eyes before quietly asking if he could go to find his teacher to apologize.

    Phyllis Ramberg,85,lives alone in Hyattsville,Maryland,in the same house for many decades.“Children keep asking me,‘When are you going to move to one of those retirement villages?'I say,‘No,no.My friends are here, my church is close,'”Ramberg said."I've got everything I need,right in this neighborhood."A year ago,Ramberg was able to take care of her backyard.This year,she just can't do it herself."When illnesses happen,you just don't have the capability that you thought you had before,"she said.

    That's where "Aging in Place",a non-profit organization,comes in.Founder Lisa Walker says she and her friends are among the seven percent of Hyattsville residents who are 65 or older."A number of my neighbors are also around my age,"Walker said."We started talking about some of the concerns we had.Several of us had had issues with parents that were getting older and they were far away from them and didn't know how to take care of them or get support."

    Seniors can call Walker's organization with a request,for example,asking for someone to shop for groceries,do small chores around the house or drive them to the doctor.Then a volunteer is assigned to provide the help.Most of the calls are for rides to the doctor."They take me to all my medical appointments,"said Louise Battiste,who is almost 90.

    Aging in Place volunteer Sally Middlebrooks says that a review of new volunteers' background,such as driving records and any criminal history is just as important as the training they receive.“We want the seniors,people we call neighbors,to be assured that they are with safe,reliable people who are also caring people,”Middlebrooks said.

    The volunteers also gain some benefits."I've learned how to stay connected to people,your family and friends," Walker said."Do I stay close to them?Do I try to keep myself devoted to the community,relating to people younger than I am?"Middlebrooks said."I'm learning a lot about this whole process of aging,and I'm learning,to my alarm,that it's very difficult.But I'm also meeting people who amaze me with their flexibility and their sense of humor and their ability to stay very much alive despite aches and pains."

    Not all volunteers are retired.Courtney Wattai,24,is a graduate student at American University in Washington who studies care giving and plans to have a career working with seniors."That's kind of what I want to do because I want to make sure I'm able to improve their lives,"Wattai said.“I want to be involved in their lives,not just sitting at a desk doing things.I thought this would be a good way to give tribute to my grandparents and what they had done for me and my brother."

    It makes Walker happy to see the younger generation stepping up.She hopes that's how residents in her neighborhood will always care for each other.

    America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while—then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.

    Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily, but truly can't manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.

    Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don't show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes,

    For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for pure business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!