My first introduction to Chinese art was an early morning walk in Beihai Park in Beijing. There, I saw elderly people writing on the pavement with paintbrushes which were a metre long! I soon learned that they were doing water calligraphy − writing in water. The words have meanings, but they are also art. The calligraphy quickly disappears, of course. But tomorrow, the old people will be back.

    Temporary art like this is very popular in China. Every winter, Harbin, in northern China, is visited by sculptors and tourists from around the world. They come for the Harbin Ice Festival, when the city has huge sculptures made out of ice. The sculptures are bigger than houses, and they take weeks to make. Harbin's freezing winter temperatures make it very difficult for the artists to work outside. But the weather also means that the sculptures will be protected until the spring.

    Of course, not all Chinese art is temporary − some of it has been around for a very long time! Near the city of Xi'an, I visited the amazing terracotta warriors, or soldiers. In 200 BC, 8,000 statues of soldiers were made by sculptors out of a material called terracotta. They are as big as real people and they all have different faces. An important king had the statues produced to protect his body after he died. They stayed under the ground with the dead king for over 2,000 years, until they were discovered by a farmer in 1974.

    At the China Art Museum, in Shanghai, I saw wonderful 16th-century Chinese paintings of tall mountains, trees and cliffs. The paintings were beautiful, but they didn't look very realistic to me at the time. 'Mountains aren't like that,' I thought. But that was before the last stop on my trip: the mountains of Zhangjiajie National Park.

    These mountains were used by film director James Cameron in his sci-fi film Avatar because they look like something from another planet. On my last weekend in China, I took a cable car up into the mountains there. Trees grew on the sides of hundred-metre cliffs, and strange towers of rock appeared out of the morning fog. It looked just like the pictures in the China Art Museum. For a moment, I felt like I was inside a Chinese painting!

    During your four years in the college, you'll have many exciting choices to make, the first of which will be your course selection for your first semester. The beauty of this choice is that you can't go wrong! No matter which one of our First-Year Options you select to apply for, you will create a rich intellectual experience to begin your college career.

    Option 1: Liberal Arts Seminar

    The Liberal Arts Seminar is a multidisciplinary(多学科的)course that explores the cultural history of the Mediterranean through fictional and nonfictional books.

Fall schedule: When Registration opens, you will select between one and four additional courses to complete your schedule.

    Option 2: FLL Hager Scholars Program

    The FLL Hager Scholars Program is designed with our most ambitious students of languages and linguistics in mind, and is designed to create for them both a sense of community and opportunities for intellectual growth.

    Fall schedule: When Registration opens, you will select between one and three additional courses to complete your schedule.

    Option 3: Ignatius Seminars

    Offered only in the first semester, Ignatius Seminars introduce students to the depth and diversity of Georgetown's dynamic intellectual community.

    Fall schedule: When Registration opens, you will select three or four additional courses to complete your schedule.

    Option 4: Traditional First-Year Academic Program

    With this program, you'll take your first step into the college's rich and varied core courses and explore your fields of interest in free optional coursework.

    Fall schedule: When Registration opens, you will build a schedule of four or five additional courses from the full college curriculum.

    Being stuck at home doesn't mean that learning stops. In fact, it's just the opposite. Here are some activities and resources to foster kids' imagination and build their curiosity at home.

    Let's Get Down to the Science

The science lab at school may be closed, but you can still put on goggles and a white lab coat and learn at home. This Test Tube Experiment Kit will make you feel like a genius in no time. Kids will get the chance to learn about basic chemistry, physics, and more by creating pop-resistant bubbles, bouncy balls, and other objects.

    To Infinity (无穷) and Beyond

Earth is a part of the Milky Way galaxy, but did you know there are around 100 million galaxies in the universe? There are so many fun and fascinating things to learn about space that the possibilities truly go to infinity and beyond. A great way start your child's educational space adventure is with this Real Life Sticker and Activity Book.

    Take a Walk on the Wild Side

    Biology class is in session! Here's your chance to get up close and personal with a great white shark without putting on a wetsuit. This 4D Great White Shark Anatomy Kit allows you to get an inside look at what makes these predators of the deep so powerful. And then take an even deeper dive into a shark's world with I Am Shark.

    Take advantage of this time at home and find new ways to keep exploring the world around you.

SHARK CONSERVATION IN SOUTH AFRICA

Take a two-week trip that you will never forget as a volunteer with sharks on a beautiful stretch of South Africa's coastline. Head out to sea to witness one of the world's most powerful (and most misunderstood) creatures on this inspiring project, enjoying watching them from both above and below water.

The DAY-BY-DAY schedule

Day 1: Arrive in Cape Town on a Sunday. You will be collected from the airport and spend your first night in a guest house in the city centre.

Day 2: You will be collected bright and early from the guest house and taken down to the project. The drive takes about 90 minutes. You will receive a welcome and head out to sea to witness your first sharks!

Day 3: Most days you will be out on the boat with the sharks, depending on weather. Help out with the full range of tasks on the boats, and in conservation initiatives on land too.

Last day: On the final day of your project you will be taken back to Cape Town for your onward travel.

The price is £ 829, including the voluntary work programme with accommodations, airport transfers, one night in a guest house in Cape Town, breakfasts daily and lunches when on the boats. Your trip can be extended at a cost of £ 375 per week.

It is an amazing experience! Some volunteers planned to stay for 4 weeks, extended to 6 weeks and still didn't want to come home. If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help, we're very happy to help.

Call us at 01273 823 700.

Email us at rosy@responsibletravel.com.

Fauja Singh, 109, who broke marathon records and was called the "Superman" before hanging up his running shoes six years ago, will be the subject of a Bollywood film, Fauja, tracing his remarkable career.

Mr. Singh, born in India in 1911, was a keen amateur runner in his youth, but gave it up. Getting over a series of personal tragedies including the deaths of his wife and two of his children, he returned to his former passion in his eighties.

He moved to the UK soon after and now lives in Ilford, east London. He arrived for his first training session in Redbridge in a three-piece suit, and his first race was the London marathon in 2000. Three years later in Toronto, he broke the world record for the 90-plus. In the early 2011, when he turned 100, Mr. Singh set eight world records in a day. He ran the 100m in 23.14, then added the 200m, 400m, 800m, 1,500m, the mile, the 3000m and 5,000m world records. Three of the events had never been attempted by anyone over the age of 100 before. Days later, he became the first centenarian (百岁老人) to complete a marathon, again in Toronto, with a time of 8:25:27.

Mr. Singh retired from competitive running in 2013 but continued jogging for pleasure. He owed his extraordinary longevity to a vegetarian diet and avoiding smoking, alcohol and fried food.

Of marathon running he has said: "The first 20 miles are not difficult. As for the last six miles, I keep talking to myself, 'Keep it up, old boy!'"

Here are the Disney movies recommended by Brandon Dammit for this weekend. 

Fantasia 2000

Budget: $80 million

Score: 75%

I remember disliking Fantasia 2000 in theaters as a young child, but I have developed a much deeper appreciation for the fantastic music as an adult. Disney has employed advanced sound tools to produce a movie that was under-appreciated at its first appearance.

Pete's Dragon

Budget: $65 million

Score: 60%

I love Disney as much as the younger generation. But it's disappointing to see flavorless remakes like The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast harvest billions at the box office while more soulful remakes like Pete's Dragon is largely ignored. 

The Rescuers Down Under

Budget: $38 million

Score: 70%

I won't lie to you, kind reader. The Rescuers Down Under is the only movie that I've never seen here and my honor won't allow me to pretend otherwise. According to Disney, it's about the world's bravest mice, Bernard and Bianca, who race to Australia to save a boy and a rare golden eagle from a cruel hunter. So, you know, normal Disney stuff. 

The Great Mouse Detective

Budget: $14 million

Score: 72%

Picture this: a young mouse named Olivia is committed to discovering the truth of her father's disappearance in 1897 London, and she got the help from his friends, Dr. Dawson and Toby. It's basically Disney's Sherlock Holmes.