A week in the sun relaxing in the beautiful March weather of Varadero, Cuba is a fantastic vacation for anyone. Luckily, my wife, two friends and I had the chance last year.

      To see Cuba, you have to talk to the Cubans. Our friends met us at the airport even at 1:00 a.m. which started our trip on a positive note. After a few days at the hotels, we got to know a local tour guide, Victor.

      The trip started off on a sunny morning. Our return trip would be along the coastline from Havana, but out trip to Havana would be through the countryside and the small towns. This trip was designed for us to visit the Cuban countryside.

      At first Victor brought us to Revolutionary Square, where Fidel Castro made his yearly speech praising the ideas of the revolution.

      Our second stop was the Bocoy Rum Factory. We walked through and learned how 5000 bottles of rum(朗姆酒) are produced every day. The smell of rum, and the huge barrels were interesting.

      The final stop was the market in Old Havana. Here my wife and I went away from our friends and we toured through this large shopping center. From store to store we saw so many items that all had a clear Cuban feel to them. We bought a picture and some special local things, and then we took off to meet up with Victor.

      As a tourist I was able to have a quick look at Cuban life with the help of Cubans. I felt lucky to have the chance. It was an interesting experience in my life.

    Rob Frenette had problems with bullies (欺凌) at school for eleven years. He was often lonely and scared. When he was fifteen, however, he decided to do something about his problems. He walked into a newspaper office and told them about the bullying. His story went into the newspaper and soon all the TV stations in Canada wanted to talk to him about his experiences. They also wanted to hear his ideas to stop bullying.

    After that, Rob continued his studies at school, but in his free time he helped other people with bullying problems. With a friend Katie Neu, he made a website called www.bullyingcanada. ca. Visitors to the website can find advice, stories and poems about bullying in both English and French. When people are upset, they can talk on the phone or online to Rob and his team. Every weekend Rob has to answer e-mails to the website. He also speaks to children, teachers and members of government around the country about bullying.

    Rob's most important message is "When bullies are unkind to you, it isn't your fault. There's nothing wrong with you, so you should try to keep trusting yourself. And remember that people care about your problems. You just have to find those people."

    One of Rob's ideas is Blue Day, a special day for stopping bullying in schools. Students have to wear blue clothes and in class they learn how to stop bullying. More than 150 Canadian schools now celebrate Blue Day, but Rob won't stop until there's a Blue Day in every school in Canada.

    The greatest saleswoman in the world today doesn't mind if you call her a girl. This is because Markita Andrews made more than $ 80,000 by selling cookies when she was 13 years old. Andrews and her mother shared a dream of travelling around the world. Once, while reading magazines, Andrews found that the person who sold the most cookies would win a free trip for two around the world. She decided to have a try.

    To make her dream come true, Andrews went door to door every day after school and repeated, "Hi, I have a dream. I'm earning a trip around the world for my mum and me by selling cookies. "Then she asked, "Would you like to buy one or two dozen boxes of cookies?"

    Andrews kept asking for a whole year, no matter how heavily it was raining or snowing outside. Her hard work paid off. She sold 42,000 boxes of cookies that year and she won her trip around the world.

    Andrews is no smarter than thousands of other people. The key to her success is that she has found the secret of selling: Ask. Ask. Ask! Many people fail before they even begin because they fail to ask for what they want.

    It takes courage to ask for what you want. And, as Andrews has discovered, the more you ask, the easier it gets.

    Kwanzaa is a celebration of African American history and culture. It begins on December 26th and continues until New Year's Day, January 1st.

    During the festival, a family member, usually the youngest child, lights candles in a special candleholder. Each night a candle is lit. Traditionally there are three green candles, three red candles and a central black candle. They represent the seven Kwanzaa principles (原则). The principles are believed to play a big role in building strong, successful families, neighborhoods, etc. In the evenings, adults share stories and explain how to follow the seven principles in daily life. On the sixth day, which falls on New Year's Eve, family and friends get together to enjoy a large meal.

    Kyle, a third grader, wrote this about Kwanzaa, "When we celebrate Kwanzaa, we have many people at home, light the candles, and have a nice dinner. We learn the meaning of Kwanzaa and remember family members. We say something good about them. Last year, we remembered my grandmother."

    In 1966, Dr. Karenga created Kwanzaa. He was studying the history of Africa at that time. Dr. Karenga wanted to create a holiday to bring African Americans together and celebrate their history and culture. He called the holiday "Kwanzaa". In fact, the name comes from an African language, and it means "first fruits of the harvest (收获季节)".

    William Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers in English literature. His plays can be divided into three categories: histories, tragedies (悲剧) and comedies. Shakespeare wrote eighteen comedies, although two were lost. These comedies usually have happy endings and a light-hearted tone and style that are quite different from his tragedies.

    All of Shakespeare's comedies have five acts and the most important or exciting point always takes place in the third act. The hero does not appear until after other characters have talked about him. Shakespeare had some themes that he usually wrote about: the fight between good and bad, love's great effect on people, and the difference between first appearance and a person's true personality or face. Shakespeare also wrote his play in a certain style. For example, Shakespeare used words in such a clever and humorous way that they had more than one meaning. Some of the characters changed their appearances so that people didn't know who they were.

    Even though the tone is lighter in these plays. Comedies in Shakespeare's day were quite different from modern-day comedies because their purpose was not to make people laugh. Shakespeare's comedies are very emotional (有感染力的) and often include serious topics to think about.

    There are many different kinds of disasters around the world. As an adult you know what to do during a disaster, but what about the children? Some adults think it would probably never happen to them, so they don't teach their children what to do. Before it's too late, here are ways to help you prepare your children for a disaster.

    Educate: It is always good to let your children know about possible disasters. This doesn't mean children have to live in fear. When teaching them about disasters, keep the conversation positive (积极的) by telling them there is a solution (解决办法) to the disaster. Keep the conversations short, allow for questions and answer them honestly.

    Prepare: Always be prepared. And that is the best piece of advice for children. For example, when preparing for bad weather, get the tools you need, like candles, radios, food, water and medicine. Teach your children what is needed in certain disasters so that they know what is available for them, if ever needed.

    Plan: You should always have a plan for you and your children for any dangerous situation. Write out a simple list that they can read. The plan could start with "listen to an adult's advice and/or call 119".

    Practise: Once you have got the correct safety tools and worked out the right plan, practise every few months. Practising what to do during a disaster with your children will help them if the time comes.

    Disasters can't be avoided but they can belessened once you are prepared and ready for one.