Doing voluntary work abroad is a great way for you to learn about service learning and know better about the world and different cultures. Visit our websites for further details.

Global Vision International

    Experience everything in our adventure when you join us in a team of international volunteers under 18. Assist with the projects that will benefit poor children's development and education. Discover the area's splendid beaches, explore beautiful jungles and immerse(沉浸)yourself in the friendly local culture.

    Cost: $2,990             Tel: 1-888-653-6028       Email: info@guiworld.com

    Website: www. Volunteer and Adventure Experience in Costa Rica. Com

Broadreach Summer Adventures

    Since 2993, Broadreach has taken over 12,000 students on their worldwide summer adventure volunteer programs for middle school, high school students. Their 75+ program offerings include marine biology, sailing, medicine, culture, arts, community service and leadership adventures. Programs are located in 40 +countries.

    Cost: Staring at $3,880          Tel: 919-256-8200

   Email: info@ gobroadreahc. Com   Website: www. gobroadreach. com

Cross-Cultural Solutions

    CCS teen summer service trips are for high school students aged 15-17. The High School Volunteer Abroad program offers you an awesome opportunity to volunteer side-by-side with local people. You can also meet new friends on a teens-only group volunteering project in Costa Rica, India, Peru, Ghana, and so on. You'll participate in many cultural activities during the week and on weekends.

    Cost: Contact us for pricing and availability

    Tel: 1-800-380-4777

    Email: info@crossculturalsolutions.org

    Website: www. crossculturalsolutions. Org
United Planet

    United Planet offers volunteer abroad programs in four destinations for those under 18. Volunteers may work in nursing home, Community Service Stations or in environmental conservation projects. Destinations include Romania, Peru, Ecuador and Chile. Candidates 16 years and older can apply.

     Cost: According to the length of your stay   Tel: 617-267-7763

    Email: quest@unitedplanet. org            Website: www. unitedplanet.org

    Humans are much worse at estimating risk than we think we are. While we overestimate the risk of rare but disastrous occurrences, such as being attacked by a shark, many of us seriously underestimate the risk of behaviors that reduce our lifespan (寿命), such as smoking.

    In fact, there are two types of risks — acute and chronic. Acute risks are those that may kill you immediately, such as a car accident.

    Chronic risks don't kill you immediately but rob you of your life a little at a time. If you choose to eat an unhealthy diet, for instance, you may appear to be getting away with this, but you risk developing illnesses in future that may shorten your life.

    The problem is we value things much less when they occur in the future. Distant events are abstract — we don't know how and when they might affect us -~ so we care less about them.

    Take smoking for example. It is just about the worst choice you can make for your health. Every two cigarettes that you smoke takes 30 minutes off your lifespan.

    In contrast, eating vegetables is clearly very good for you, with each serve increasing your lifespan by two hours. This is a massive health gain and clearly should be a strong motivator for you to eat healthily.

    Drinking coffee is also good for you, though with limited health gains. Each cup of coffee (assuming you drink reasonably), is associated with approximately a ten-minute gain in your lifespan.

    Even drinking alcohol may add to your lifespan, with each serve adding 30 minutes to the length of your life. But this health gain is only true for the first drink; following drinks shorten lifespan. Alcohol also causes an acute risk when consumed in excess. Too much drinking gives you a 25 in one million chance of sudden death.

    We shouldn't be too nervous about exposure to risks. Life is all about making decisions about risks and rewards, and we all have a different starting point for what we consider acceptable risks to take. Even if we don't always make the healthiest decisions, at least we can make ones that are fully informed.

    If you live in a big city, there are many thing to drive you crazy on your daily route, and it's not just overcrowded subway trains.

    Vicky Zhao is a mainlander working in Hong Kong. For her, one thing she can't put up with is people standing on the wrong side of the escalator(自动扶梯) in subway stations. "Escalators help us move faster and save time. It isn't a place to rest," the 24-year-old says. "I often see tourists block the way with their suitcases or chatting on the escalators during rush hours. It annoys me to no end."

    Admitting she is not the patient type, Zhao says things are much better in Hong Kong than in cities on the mainland where "stand right, walk left" signs are often ignored.

    The logic behind the "stand right, walk left" escalator etiquette(礼仪) seems obvious. Even though you may want to catch your breath while you're transported up or down, you should still consider others and leave enough space for people in a hurry, so that they can run and catch the train.

    Many cities' escalators, including London's and Beijing's, use the "stand right, walk left" system to speed up the flow of people. (Australia is an exception and you should stand on the left side instead.) But some cities discourage people from moving on escalators out of safety reasons. In Hong Kong's subway stations there are regular announcements asking people to "stand still" on escalators. Even so, most people in this fast-paced city observe the "stand right, walk left" etiquette.

    But the people who stand on escalators defend themselves by telling the walkers not to be so impatient. The BBC quotes one stander as saying: "If the person is in such a rush, why not just take the stairs? Even when the escalator is packed and there's nowhere to move, I see these same people complaining about not being able to pass."

    Whatever the escalator etiquette is in the place you live or visit, do what most people are doing and always be mindful of others: leave enough space between each other, don't stay at the end of the escalator, and if someone is blocking your way, a simple "excuse me" is enough.

    Christa Marie Eastburn has added a new name to the list of people she sends Father's Day cards to—a father she grew up never knowing. In North Kansas City, the 57-year-old woman thought her father died 54 years ago, but this summer she learned he is alive. "I have a real father to send a card to this time, "she told the newspaper last week. “But I still don't have everything that goes with it—like the memories.” Her parents, Karl Beinfohr and Ingeborg Mueller, got married in Germany in the 1940s when World War II was on and a year later Marie was born—a daughter who grew up thinking her father, a German soldier, died in the war.

    This year, Eastburn found and got in touch with relatives in Germany, hoping they could tell her about her father. One day, a letter arrived in her mailbox.

    "All these years of quietness, "Beinfohr wrote, "I don't know what you have lived through. The news that she had a father who lived an ocean away brought tears to Eastburn's eyes.

    Eastburn and her father began writing to each other. In his letters, Beinfohr tried to explain the years lost. Finally, last month, Eastburn went to Germany to meet her father. They looked through old photos. Beinfohr showed his daughter one of her old toys he had kept.

Best Way to Save Money

    Although the best way to save money can vary from person to person, depending on age, family size and other characteristics, there are still some easy things that all shoppers can do to keep more money in their bank accounts.

    Avoid Impulse (冲动的) Purchases

    When you shop, a best way to save money is to have a plan in mind to help you avoid impulse purchases. For instance, you might leave your credit cards at home and only carry the exact amount of cash that you will need for your planned purchase. Some shoppers agree to discuss any purchases over a certain dollar amount with their spouses (配偶) first.

    Know When to Pay for Quality

    Sometimes the best way to save money in the long term is to spend a little more money right now. A good piece of furniture can stay in the family for decades. A high-quality pair of shoes will last longer than a bargain pair and prevent foot pain. Leaner cuts of meat and organic produce provide health benefits for your family.

    Buy Secondhand

    Check classified ads, thrift stores and garage sales for used clothing, toys, furniture, and much more available at a part of their original cost. For the most secondhand savings, check out groups like Freecycle where members offer unwanted items for free to anyone willing to pick them up.

    Borrow Instead of Buy

    If you're only going to use something once, try to borrow it instead of spending your money on it. Borrow a tool from your neighbor. Swap books with a friend. Check out the resources at your local library. You'll also be reducing disorder in your home.

After years of teachers asking for the right answers, students aren't used to someone asking for the wrong ones. Students' failure tends to create mental burden that negatively affects learning. Lifting the burden requires us to face failure bravely and encourage students to accept it as a natural part of getting educated. While educators have to make sure that students have the right content and support to avoid long-term failure, it is just as important to accept mistakes as a normal part of education.

Sadly, our culture is so focused on success or perfection that students generally aren't taught about failure. To fill the gap, I share with students a Samuel Beckett quote "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better". It suggests one becomes better after each failure. I also play a video on game designed by Extra Credits, which shows people can quickly declare their ways as a failure if they don't work out and then learn from. them to move on. Both the quote and the video can help students get a more positive attitude towards failure.

Teachers can help students accept failure better. In her piece "5-Minute Film Festival: Freedom to Fail Forward", Edutopia author Amy Erin Borovoy had a set of videos-and articles on the subject of failure. Borovoy reminds readers that "a true thinker learns as much from failure as from success." Taking these short videos as monthly or weekly reminders can, be a great way to start "how have we failed and what have we learned" discussions with students.

Teachers can actually use a technique called "Effective Failure" to teach about failure at any time. In my writing class, I often have students volunteer to pick out the worst writing of their own. This lets writers deepen their understanding of why a sentence, word choice, or paragraph construction has failed, and it inspires a sincere interest in better writing. This makes failure work well in class.

Also, remember that students are not the only ones who can learn from their mistakes. As those who teach students, we should do that too.