I had the honor of being elected chief of my tribe(部落). With the title came great responsibility. It was my job to make peace with the Maori Tamaki tribe, whose village we visited. Their warriors leapt from a canoe and faced us down with fierce growls, bulging eyes and much swishing of sticks. They laid a palm frond on the ground and, as head honcho, I was compelled to accept this peace offering by picking it up, then touching noses with their chief. “Kia ora”, he said, welcoming us into the woodland home of his people.

    My “tribe” was my New Zealand tour group, who had forced me into being their leader. We'd been warned that the ceremony was a serious occasion and that to laugh or even smile would be considered rude to the Tamaki. After that it was non-stop fun as they showed their ancient customs and I received instruction in performing the haka, the war dance by the All Blacks rugby team.

    Then they pulled our dinner of lamb, beef and vegetables out of the ground. It had been slow-cooked in the heat that simmers just below the surface in the geothermal(地热的) area of North Island, a Maori tradition known as a hangi that goes back an extremely long period of time.

    Obviously, this form of it is put on for tourists but it was hugely enjoyable. The journey back to the hotel was alone worth the effort, our hilarious Maori elder driver being deserving of his own television show. “The wheels on the bus go round and round,” he got us singing, while he circuited(绕……环行) a roundabout three times.

    A couple of days from the end of my trip, there was still something missing, a New Zealand icon I yearned to see to make my grand tour complete. Riding over a hill, there it was – Aotearoa. The Maori name for New Zealand translates as “Land of the long white cloud”. Can I say “Kia ora, Aotearoa?” You bet I can.

    Food serves as a form of communication in two fundamental ways. Sharing bread or other foods is a common human tradition that can promote unity and trust. Food can also have a specific meaning, and play a significant role in a family or culture's celebrations or traditions. The foods we eat—and when and how we eat them—are often unique to a particular culture or may even differ between rural (农村的) and urban areas within one country.

    Sharing bread, whether during a special occasion (时刻) or at the family dinner table, is a common symbol of togetherness. Many cultures also celebrate birthdays and marriages with cakes that are cut and shared among the guests. Early forms of cake were simply a kind of bread, so this tradition hits its roots in the custom of sharing bread.

    Food also plays an important role in many New Year celebrations. In the southern United States, pieces of corn bread represent blocks of gold for prosperity (兴旺) in the New Year. In Greece, people share a special cake called vasilopita. A coin is put into the cake, which signifies (预示) success in the New Year for the person who receives it.

    Many cultures have ceremonies to celebrate the birth of a child, and food can play a significant role. In China, when a baby is one month old, families name and welcome their child in a celebration that includes giving red-colored eggs to guests. In many cultures, round foods such as grapes, bread, and moon cakes are eaten at welcome celebrations to represent family unity.

    Nutrition is necessary for life, so it is not surprising that food is such an important part of different cultures around the world.

    In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conductor decided to hold an international festival of music, dance and theatre in Edinburgh. The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.

    It quickly attracted famous names such as Alec Guinness, Richard Burton, Dame Margot Fonteyn and Marlene Dietrich as well as the big symphony orchestras(交响乐团). It became a fixed event every August and now attracts 400,000 people yearly.

    At the same time, the "Fringe" appeared as a challenge to the official festival. Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947, in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform, and they did so in a public house disused for years.

    Soon, groups of students firstly from Edinburgh University, and later from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre by little-known writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh.

    Today the "Fringe", once less recognized, has far outgrown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre, music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts. And yet as early as 1959, with only 19 theatre groups performing, some said it was getting too big.

    A paid administrator(管理人员) was first employed only in 1971, and today there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself. In 2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries. More than 1.25 million tickets were sold.

    Imagine yourself on the other side of the college admissions desk. It's not so glorious, apparently. At the very least, you need to be good-natured. Joseph Connolly, a guidance counselor at New Oxford High School in the United States, wanted to know the things that annoy admissions officers the most. He sent out a request to members of the National Association for College Admissions Counselors and received hundreds of responses. Apparently, college admissions officers were waiting for an opportunity to unload their frustrations. The responses fall into several areas:

    Communication

    Silly or stupid email addresses; sending emails that use texting shorthand, such as "im w8ing 4 some1 2 call me."

    Leaving a message with just a first name and no telephone number. For example, "Hi, this is Suzie. Please call me back."

    Acting distracted during a one-on-one interview; nervous habits like foot-tapping or "um", "like" and "you know", which make a bad situation worse.

    Not responding to emails from the admissions office.

    Over-involved parents

    The very common comment from parents, "We are in the process of completing applications."

    Parents attending interviews, and worse yet, speaking for their children.

    Essays

    Not identifying which question they are responding to.

    Writing about something they were great at in the seventh grade but haven't pursued since then.

    Life often requires people to join in unpleasant situations. Rather often, these unpleasant situations do not happen on their own, but happen because of other people's actions and words. Fortunately, there are useful ways to deal with conflicts(冲突).

    The best way to solve a conflict is not to let it happen. Nothing useful comes out of a conflict. It is a total waste of time and energy for both sides and thus everyone should try his best to prevent conflict. To do this, you will need to learn the points of view your potential opponents (对手) share and the benefits of understanding people around you.

    If the conflict has already arisen, one of the best methods to settle disagreements is to treat the situation with humor. It does not mean, however, that you must ignore（忽视） your opponent's arguments and make jokes about them; it means that you should be in a friendly atmosphere, saying difficult-to-express things with a bit of humor. Humor will help you reduce anger and re-think problems to make them look easier to settle, and set your opponent's mind to working on a problem with you, not against you. This way, a conflict can become an opportunity for building a greater connection between you and your opponent.

    If the situation turns verbally abusive (恶语中伤), put a stop to it. Firmly but calmly state: "You're very angry right now and you're saying things you don't mean. I'm going to excuse myself. We can talk again after you calm down." Then leave the room or ask them to leave.

    Thirteen can be a challenging age. Not only did I have to adapt to my changing body, I also had to deal with my parents' bitter divorce, a new family and the upsetting move from my country home to a crowded town.

    When we moved, my beloved companion, a small brown pony had to be sold. I was heartbroken and terribly lonely. I couldn't eat or sleep and cried all the time. Finally, realizing how much I missed my pony, my father bought me another horse, Cowboy.

    Cowboy was without doubt the ugliest horse in the world. But I didn't care. I loved him beyond all reasons.

    I joined a riding club. When Cowboy and I entered the events where the horse was judged by appearance, we were quickly "shown the gate". I knew nothing could turn Cowboy into a beauty. My only chance to compete would be in the timed speed events. I chose the jumping race.

    For the whole next month we practiced running and jumping for hours in the hot sun and then I would walk Cowboy home, totally exhausted.

    All of our hard work didn't make me feel confident by the time the show came. One girl named Becky rode a big brown horse in the race events. She always won the blue ribbons. I sat at the gate and sweated all out while I watched Becky and her horse charge through the court and finish in first place.

    My turn finally came. At the signal, we dashed toward the first fence, jumped over it without trouble and raced on to the next one. Cowboy then flew over the second, third and fourth fences like a bird and I turned him toward the finish line.

    No cheers filled the air. The end of our run was met with surprised silence. Cowboy and I had beaten Becky and her fancy horse by two seconds.

    I gained much more than a blue ribbon that day. At thirteen, I realized that no matter what the odds, I'd always come out a winner if I wanted something badly enough to work for it. I can be the owner of my fate.