I am 22. I used to work in a hotel. It was boring.

One day a guest and I had a conversation. She asked me, "Do you like your job?" I was sad because I knew the answer. "No".

     She was 74 and gave me the most beautiful advice that I remember in all my life:"You are too young to hate your job, young man. Go to get your passport and start your adventure(冒险 ). "

     So I did.

     Since I was a little kid I was dreaming to know Europe. So next day I had my passport. And one week later, my plane tickets.

     It was impossible to have a long holiday.  So I resigned(辞职).  My boss said I was crazy. My friends said that I was not responsible. I just paid no attention to those voices.

     It was Europe in winter. Not the best time to travel there. But Europe in winter is really cheap.

     I packed some books, a camera, 4 shirts, 2 pants, a coat, gloves, 2 pairs of walking shoes, candies and music to give away.

       I had little money.  I just walked and walked.  I went to high mountains and big cities. I saw some beautiful sunsets(日落). I heard some of the best musicians (for free). I discovered that there was still love in the world. I realized that sunrises are not always blue or yellow. Sometimes they mix.

      I spent 22 days and $1,500 (including the plane tickets). What I did to save money:

      1. Used CouchSur fing(沙发客 ).

      2. Ate 20-cents bread.

      3. Went to Burger King to get free potato chips and water.

      4. Learned to cook.

      5. Talked with local(当地的) people.  They always know where to do cool and cheap stuff(事儿).

      6. Only went to free museums (only in England).

      Until this point in my life, I never had a clear idea of how to deal with my life. Now I do. I want to be a photographer so that I can inspire(激励) people with my pictures. Thanks to this travel. Thanks to that lady.

Mr and Mrs Albina, with 64 children, have the world's largest family. Not one of their children is adopted（领养）.
When people hear about the Albinas' large family, the first question they ask is, "How is it possible? How can one woman give birth to 64 children in her lifetime?" The answer is simple: Every time Mrs Albina gave birth, she had twins or triplets.
Soon after the Albinas got married the children came quickly, in twos and threes. The first 21 children were boys. Mrs Albina loved her sons, but she wanted a daughter very much.
The Albinas spent the early years in Argentina. Then they decided to move to Chile. To travel from Argentina to Chile, they had to cross the Andes Mountains. Mr and Mrs Albina and their 21 sons made the difficult, two-week joumey on mules. One night there was a terrible snowstorm in the mountains. During the snowstorm, Mrs Albina gave birth to triplets, a boy and-two girls!
The oldest Albina children are in their thirties and forties. They are on their own now, but 18 of the Albina children still live with their parents The family lives in a two-room shack in Colina Chile. The shack has electricity but no toilet or running water. The children wash in a small bowl in the dusty backyard.
At times there is very little food in the Albinas' small house. When there is not enough food for everyone, Mrs Albina makes sure the youngest children do not go hungry. "The smallest eat first, and then the bigger ones. We've always done it that way," she says. Obviously, the Albinas do not have enough money for their big family. Why, then, do they continue to have children?
The Albinas do not use birth control because it is against their religion (宗教）.They could let other people take care of their children, but Mrs. Albina will not allow it. "When my two brothers and I were babies," she says，"our mother left us at an orphanage（孤儿院）and never returned. We lived there together until we were five. Then a couple adopted my brothers, and I was left behind. I was heartbroken. I promised myself that when I became a mother, I would never give my children away. Even if I didn't have much money, I would always take care of my children myself." Mrs Albina has kept her promise.

    Mr. and Mrs. Turner live outside a small town. They have a big farm and they are always busy working on it. Their son, Peter, studied at a middle school. The young man studied hard and did well in his lessons. It made them happy.

    Last month Peter finished middle school and passed the entrance examination (升学考试). Mrs. Turner was very happy and told the farmers about it.

    Yesterday morning the woman went to the town to buy something for her son. On the bus she told one of her friends how clever and able her son was. She spoke very loudly. All the people in the bus began to listen to her.

    “Which university (大学) will your son study in?” a woman next to her asked.

    “In the most famous university in our country!” Mrs. Turner said happily.

    “The most famous university?”

    “Oxford University (牛津).”

    Most of the passenger (乘客) looked at her carefully. Some of them said to her, “Congratulations!”

    A woman said, “I'm sure he'll know Fred Smith.”

    “Who's Fred Smith?”

    “He's my son.”

    “Does he study in the university, too?”

    “No,”said the woman. “He is one of the professors.”

    Liu Mingxiao, 13, is a pretty and smart girl. She comes top in her class. But many students try to stay away from her because her mother has AIDS(艾滋病). Liu's father has died of AIDS. But Liu didn't get it.

    AIDS means fear(惧怕)for most people. “Nobody wants to play games with me. They call me bad names behind my back. Even a teacher who used to like me turns her back on me now. It makes me feel sad.” said Liu.

    Liu's mother didn't know what happened to her daughter until one day Liu came back home with her nose bleeding(流血的)，“ She fought with a boy who said something bad about her father.” said Liu's mother. “My heart really hurts. My daughter did nothing wrong!”

    For many of these children, the biggest problem they now face is how other people look at them. Many of them have to drop out of school(辍学)because they can no longer stand others' indifference(冷漠).

    “People are afraid of AIDS because they know little about it,” said Wang Chongrun, head of a group to help children living with AIDS. Wang went to the villages and gave lessons about AIDS to the people there.

    “Many of these children are just as healthy as others,” Wang said.

    “Even if they have AIDS, it's still safe to eat and play with them. They need our love and understanding. A friendly smile means a lot to them!”

    My friend's grandfather came to America from a farm in Thailand. After arriving in New York, he went into a cafeteria in Manhattan to get something to eat. He sat down at an empty table and waited for someone to take his order. Of course nobody did. Finally, a woman with a big plate full of food came up to him. She sat down opposite him and told him how a cafeteria worked.

    "Start out at that end," she said, "Just go along the line and choose what you want. At the other end they'll tell you how much you have to pay."

    "I soon learned that's how everything works in America," the grandfather told my friend later," Life's a cafeteria here. You can get anything you want as long as you want to pay the price. You can even get success but you'll never get it if you wait for someone to bring it to you. You have to get up and get it yourself."