When my brother and I were young, my mom would take us on Transportation Days.

    It goes like this: You can't take any means of transportation more than once. We would start from home, walking two blocks to the rail station. We'd take the train into the city center, then a bus, switching to the tram, then maybe a taxi. We always considered taking a horse carriage in the historic district, but we didn't like the way the horses were treated, so we never did. At the end of the day, we took the subway to our closest station, where Mom's friend was waiting to give us a ride home—our first car ride of the day.

    The good thing about Transportation Days is not only that Mom taught us how to get around. She was born to be multimodal (多方式的). She understood that depending on cars only was a failure of imagination and, above all, a failure of confidence—the product of a childhood not spent exploring subway tunnels.

    Once you learn the route map and step with certainty over the gap between the train and the platform, nothing is frightening anymore. New cities are just light-rail lines to be explored. And your personal car, if you have one, becomes just one more tool in the toolbox—and often an inadequate one, limiting both your mobility and your wallet.

    On Transportation Days, we might stop for lunch on Chestnut Street or buy a new book or toy, but the transportation was the point. First, it was exciting enough to watch the world speed by from the train window. As I got older, my mom helped me unlock the mysteries that would otherwise have paralyzed my first attempts to do it myself: How do I know where to get off? How do I know how much it costs? How do I know when I need tickets, and where to get them? What track, what line, which direction, where's the stop, and will I get wet when we go under the river?

    I'm writing this right now on an airplane, a means we didn't try on our Transportation Days and, we now know, the dirtiest and most polluting of them all. My flight routed me through Philadelphia. My multimodal mom met me for dinner in the airport. She took a train to meet me.

    For the first time in the history of the Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou marathons, fourteen blind runners competed in the Nov 6 Hangzhou Marathon this year with the assistance of personal guides. Each runner was supported by 4 or 5 volunteers. Among them was Yan Wei, from a running group called “Running in the Dark”, which specially provides training for blind runners.

    During trainings, blind runners are each accompanied by three volunteers. One volunteer is responsible for removing any obstacles（障碍物）on the road and controlling the pace. The second volunteer acts as a lookout for other runners or vehicles on the path while the third, who is attached to the blind runner by a safety rope, takes note of the trainee's running gait and pace.

    Zhu Peihua, the leader of the group's Shanghai branch, first developed a passion for running last year when he took part in a guided running activity. Zhu said that he was so fascinated with the sport that he even bought a treadmill（跑步机）so that he could train at home. “Running gives me the chance to be outside and take in the fresh air. The activity has also made me more willing to talk to people. It's simply good for health, ” said Zhu.

    The popularity of guided running activities for blind people has been growing since last year. Cheng Yi, a volunteer at Running in the Dark's Hangzhou branch, said that both the numbers of blind runners and volunteers to become assistants to them are rising continually. However, he added that volunteers face a more physically demanding task compared to a regular runner. Some of the other challenges involve being aware of the verbal(口头的) instructions one gives.

     “At the beginning, I kept saying ‘here' and ‘there' instead of ‘left' or 'right' which is much more specific and relevant to the runner. A blind runner once collided with another runner because of my mistake. Luckily, no one was hurt,” said Cheng. Through everything, according to Cheng, he and many of the blind runners he has guided become close friends with shared topics and increased understandings.

Our Annual Cultural Events

    A Night in Rio

    We are proud to bring the energy and enthusiasm of Brazilian Carnival to Charlotte with A Night in

    Rio! Get a taste of Carnival through dancing, live music, authentic food, drinks and marketplace. Put on your green and yellow, and join us for the unforgettable experience of Brazilian Carnival!

    Date: Saturday, February 24, 2018

    TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLY AT THE DOOR

    Location: Neighborhood Theatre, Charlotte

    Time: 7 PM

    Ritmo & Sabor

    We are thrilled to bring the annual celebration Ritmo & Sabor Festival! Featuring dance performances and FREE dance lessons and delicious, authentic Latin cuisine, this festival will be a fantastic celebration for the entire family to enjoy! Food and beer will be available for purchase. Come out to enjoy a great summer evening of Ritmo & Sabor!

    Date: Saturday July 2, 2018

    Location: International & Cultural Center, Charlotte

    Time: 5-11 PM

    FREE ADMISSION

    Las Américas

    Join us in the annual celebration LAS AMÉRICAS! We display our history and identity of Latin America through musical performances, story-telling and poetry. Enjoy yourself with local artists, shop your way through a market of arts and crafts and join in some of the finest Latin American cuisine.

    Date: August 18, 2018

    Location: Midwood International & Culture Center, Charlotte

    Time: 2-7 PM

    Admission is FREE.

    Latin American Festival

    Festival Latinoamericano returns for its 28th year, with musical artists and dance performances, a diverse authentic selection of Latin American food, visual artists, and a street festival environment with activities for the whole family.

    Location: Symphony Park at South Park Mall, Charlotte

    Date: Saturday Sept. 29 (1-8pm)

    Admission: $10; Children aged 8 & under are free.

    Against the supposition that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia warm the climate, scientists have discovered that cooling may occur in areas where burnt trees allow more snow to mirror more sunlight into space.

    This finding suggests that taking steps to prevent northern forest to limit the release of greenhouse gases may warm the climate in northern regions. Usually large fires destroyed forests in these areas over the past decade. Scientists predict that with climate warming, fires may occur more frequently over next several centuries as a result of a longer fire season. Sunlight taken in by the earth tends to cause warming, while heat mirrored back into space tends to cause cooling.

    This is the first study to analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate. Earlier studies by other scientists have suggested that fire in northern regions speed up climate warming because greenhouse gases from burning trees and plants are released into the atmosphere and thus trap heat.

    Scientists found that right after the fire, large amounts of greenhouse gases entered the atmosphere and caused warming. Ozone (臭氧) levels increased, and ash from the fire fell on far-off sea ice, darkening the surface and causing more radiation from the sun to be taken in. The following spring, however, the land within the area of the fire was brighter than before the fire, because fewer trees covered the ground. Snow on the ground mirrored more sunlight back into space, leading to cooling.

    "We need to find out all possible ways to reduce the growth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere." Scientists tracked the change in amount of radiation entering and leaving the climate system as a result of the fire, and found a measurement closely related to the global air temperature. Typically, fire in northern regions occurs in the same area every 80 to 150 years. Scientists, however, found that when fire occurs more frequently, more radiation is lost from the earth and cooling results. Specifically, they determined when fire returns 20 years earlier than predicated, 0.5 watts per square meter of area burned are soaked up by the earth from greenhouse gases, but 0.9 watts per square meter will be sent back into space. The net effect is cooling. Watts are used to measure the rate at which energy is gained or lost from the earth.

    For many of us, our workplace can be dark, depressing and dull. Windowless rooms and airless open-plan floors can kill motivation and cause a loss to worker performance, possibly even their health.

    But a refreshing trend is taking root in workplace design: nature. There's a growing evidence showing that workplaces which include natural elements, such as plants, light, colors and shapes, have noticeable and measurable benefits for both companies and their employees.

    The positive effects touch on everything from worker happiness and creativity to increased productivity, improved profits, and the improved ability to attract the best workers. It's all based on the principle of biophilia(亲生命性) — the born relationship between humans and the natural world and other living systems. And it's easier to achieve at the office than you think.

    “People just don't like using lights in a building with no plants, no views, no natural light,” says Sir Cary Cooper CBE, professor at Lancaster University in the UK. He led a 2015 study on the impact of biophilia in the workplace that surveyed 7,600 workers in 16 countries and found that even small nature-inspired changes can have a great effect.

    Responding to the Human Spaces Global Report, those who worked in environments with natural elements reported a 15% higher level of well-being, a 6% higher level of productivity and a 15% higher level of creativity. One third of them said the design of an office would affect their decisions to work for a company. Even so, 58% said there were no live plants at their workplaces and 47% reported having no natural light.

    An earlier, 2014 study by Cardiff University in Wales also showed that plants in the office make people happier and more productive. But more research is needed into biophilia, experts say.

Libraries

    Public libraries

    Most towns in Britain have a public library. A library usually has a large selection of books and other resources, which library members can use and borrow for free.

    Britain's First Public Library

    The first public library in Britain opened in Manchester in1852. It's first librarian was a man called Edward Edwards, Edwards attended the library's opening ceremony and two famous writers called Charles Dickens and William Thackeray were there too.

    How to Join a Library

    To join a library, go to your local library and fill in a form. You'll receive a library card which is needed when using library services.

    Mobile Libraries

    Not everyone can get a library. Some people live far away from towns and cities. Other people find it difficult to go out because they have an illness or a disability. Thanks to mobile libraries, these people can still borrow books.

    Unlike most libraries, which store books in buildings, mobile libraries usually keep their books in a mini-bus. The back of the mini-bus has shelves for the books, and it is big enough for borrowers to step inside and look around. A driver takes the mini-bus to a certain place at a certain time, so people know when to expect it. They can then return their books and borrow some more.

    All Aboard the Library!

    A school in London didn't have space for a library inside the building. However, everybody agreed that it was still important to have a school library. So the head of the school, Graham Blake decided to park an old bus on the school car park and changed it into a library. Pupils helped to paint the bus, and after eight months, the new library was ready.