I've personally traveled through many countries that have had U.S. government warnings issued for them, and I've been perfectly safe. Specifically, in the last year, I have travelled safely to both the Philippines and Mexico, and traveled to many South Pacific islands during the tropical cyclone (热带气旋) season and only experienced two days of light rain in six months! This is, of course, anecdotal, so it's important that you do your research before booking your trip.

    One thing I recommend doing is checking for recent posts on travel forums (论坛), such as Lonely Planet's Thorntree, to see what people are saying about the country you'll visit in terms of safety. The U.S. government may make out that an entire country is extremely unsafe when in reality, it's a small part of it that tourists will be unlikely to visit. Read the travel warnings, too, to see which parts of the country the government recommends that you avoid.

    Additionally, it's worth speaking to your travel insurance provider before you leave to check that you'll be covered during your travels to these countries. Some insurance .companies won't cover you if there's a severe warning for the country, but some will. Travel insurance is a necessity, so it's definitely something to check out before you leave.

    Keep in mind that the U.S. government will help you with emergency evacuation (撤离) from a troubled country, but it comes in the form of a repatriation (归国) loan via the Office of American Citizens Services and Crisis Management (ACS), which can be called to rescue you from a bad situation abroad. Remember by heart that you'll have to wait overseas for the money to arrive and eventually repay the loan once you're home safely. Just another reason to get travel insurance!

    As he applied sunscreen to his young daughter's face, Dara O'Rourke, a professor of environmental and labor policy at the University of California, Berkeley, found himself wondering if the lotion(霜) was safe. He realized there was no readily available answer. The result—two years, a team of chemists, lots of testing and venture capital(风险投资) later—is GoodGuide. com. Launched in 2008, this is a website with a smart phone app that rates 140, 000 consumer products (only in America) according to their safety, environmental sustainability and the ethics of the firms that make them. Now GoodGuide has created a new “purchase analyzer” app designed to inform consumers not just about the values attached to products, but also about whether they are the virtuous(有信誉的) shoppers they say they want to be.

    Using the new app requires selecting a series of characteristics, which range from whether the user favours organic products to buying only from firms with a good human-rights record. Consumers then scan the bar code on a product with the camera in their smart phones. The app identifies it and checks in a database to score it. Much therefore depends on the quality of the data, which GoodGuide gathers from various sources, including government reports, scientific studies, and research by its own staff. If the product scores badly, the app will recommend an alternative item which is rated more highly. The app also tracks a consumer's purchases to see how well he lives up to his selected values, giving a sort of personal virtue rating.

    So far, GoodGuide has mostly been used by shoppers who are keen to know about any issues connected with products they buy. They are mothers concerned about a child's health, older people facing a chronic(慢性的) illness or supporters of a cause, such as animal rights. The hope behind the app is that the idea of finding out about a product's background will become the mainstream.

    Consumers rarely change their buying habits, even when provided with scientific and other data, says Mr O'Rourke. So he has drawn on insights from behavioral economics, which show shoppers can be greatly influenced by peer pressure and by information passed on to them by people they know. The app tries to take advantage of these pressures. The virtue rating will inform consumers how well they are doing according to the values they espouse(拥护). That measurement encourages them to do better. Soon, the rating will be able to be shared with others on social media sites such as Facebook, which could inspire a shopper to consume more thoughtfully.

    When life takes you away from home, take technology to help guide and entertain you. APPs can help make your trip easier and more fun.

    Trip It

    Trip It is a helpful APP to organize travel plans. Sign up for a free account at the Trip It website and download the APP to have all of your travel plans handy in one place.

    Google Translate

    When traveling outside your home country, you may need some language assistance. Google Translate is an APP that can help you understand a language other than your native tongue. The Google Translate APP translates between 103 different languages. Copy and paste text into the APP to see a translation. You can also handwrite text onto the screen.

    Fotor

    The Fotor APP lets you edit your photos and add filers for special effects. The APP has been updated recently with new editing features so users can edit their photos more easily. Fotor has added a slider to give users greater control of the edits. Editing effets can be saved as favorites to use them easily later.

   Offline APPs

    Traveling often means you are offline and away from the Internet. When camping in the wild, flying on a plane, sailing on a boat or riding in the car, you may not have an Internet connection. If you are traveling outside your home country and away from Wi-Fi, you should use Offline APPs to avoid large bills for using international data.

    Gifts. com provides more than just ideas. Sure, our unique (独特的) and unforgettable gift suggestions are a big part of why people love us, but we also offer endless ideas and tools to make every day a reason to celebrate. Here are our Great Christmas Gift Ideas:

    Christmas Gifts for Parents

    You love your parents like no one else, and you want to give them something special for Christmas. But what would make their holiday bright? Finding them the perfect Christmas gift will be easy this year, with all our top picks in one place.

    Christmas Gifts for Parents Under $45

    Holiday Gift Baskets

    The gift basket is a great way to give a gift to a group. Our gift basket ideas come from all the top stores online, so you can easily find everything from fruit gift baskets to wine gift baskets in one place.

    Gift Baskets Under $50

    Ideas for Teens

    Trying to find the right gift for a teen? Teens can be a challenge (挑战). What do they want? What could they use? They're all unique, but we think we've got something for them, even though they're a special group that are hard to deal with.

    Top Picks for Teens Under $20

    The Secret Santa Exchange (交换)

    The Secret Santa is a great way to exchange gifts in the office, when it's often impossible to give everyone a present. We've got an office guide right here to help you find proper gifts for the workplace. And then there's always the gift basket, with things that are sure to please everyone in the office.

    Business Gifts Under $25

    Whether you're on a long road trip or stuck in traffic while driving home from work, a low phone battery (电池) could mean disaster for the bored driver. At first, it may seem harmless to plug your phone into your car's USB port. But unless you're desperate, charging your phone in your car might be a big mistake.

    Why? First, the USB port in your vehicle probably provides less electricity than your phone really needs to charge. As a result, your phone might stop working while it charges, or worse—hardly charge at all.

    Brad Nichols, a technician at Staymobile, told Reader's Digest. “This is mostly due to the fact the phone is using more power than the car charger is supplying it.”

    Nichols also says that your phone could receive too much power, especially if you're using a “Cigarette Lighter” port to charge up. Most Cigarette Lighters can supply up to 10 amps (安培), while most chargers use one to three amps. A damaged charger can provide inconsistent power to the phone, leading to sudden power increase that could cause damage to the inside parts, or on the rare occasion, destroy it.

    Charging your phone while on the road could use up your car's battery, too. If your engine is off, but you still use the radio—the phone will draw power from your car's battery as it charges. This usually isn't a big deal for those who own new cars with healthy batteries Nichols says. But if your car is an older model, you might want to avoid charging your phone through its USB port.

    Most importantly, it, s not safe to use your phone while operating a vehicle. “Anytime a person's hands leave the wheel or eyes leave the road, it becomes very dangerous for them and the other people around them,” Nichols says. Bottom line: Play it safe, and wait until you get home to plug in.

    LEADING INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS 2019

    Jerudong International School(JIS) , Brunei

    “Achieving Excellence” is the motto of JIS, Brunei. A developing boarding school of 1,700 students, 40% Bruneian, JIS has made itself a leading school in Asia. With almost 200 highly qualified teachers primarily from the UK, the 120-acre single campus (校园) close to both coast and rainforest offers a unique educational environment. There is a Performing Arts Centre, 27 science laboratories, libraries and classrooms.

    The American International School (AIS), Austria

Founded in 1959, AIS is the oldest English-language school in Austria. School programs focus on academics, but also on the development of students' creative and leadership abilities and emotional intelligence. The school recognizes students' special learning styles, trying to make instruction different and allowing students to reach their full potential in different areas.

    Singapore American School (SAS), Singapore

    Founded in 1956, it is one of only a few good non-profit schools in Singapore. For over six decades, SAS has provided students from preschool to Grade 12 a good American education with an international view. The school supports professional development financially and continually sends teachers across the globe to discover new ideas and best practices from influential educational institutions.

    Santa Clara International School (SCIS), Spain

    In the school, when you walk into a classroom, you'll see hands raised, small groups assembled (集合), and presentations underway. You'll find teachers creating cooperative partnerships with students, encouraging them to discover and connect. You'll observe children working on meaningful hands-on projects that build skills and excite creativity. The teaching philosophy is that learning happens everywhere: in the classrooms, in the city, in a museum, on a farm, or just a walk around the neighborhood.