Time zone:

    Eastern Standard Time (EST): GMT+l0 hours.

    There is no daylight saving time in Queensland.

    Legal drinking age:

    18 years and older. Always keep your ID with you to prove your age.

    Alcohol (酒) shops & hotels are the only places where alcohol can be bought.

    Dangers:

    Dial 000 from a fixed line or 112 from a mobile phone. Police, ambulance, fire.

    Electricity:

    240/250 volts AC 50Hz Universal outlets for 110 volts (shavers only) standard in hotels, apartments, motels.

    Telephones:

    Australian international code is 61.

    Road rules:

    Left hand side driving. There is a 50kmh speed limit in most living areas and on open highways 100-110 kmh, seat belts must be worn all the time. If you want to hire a car, take along your driver's license.

No smoking:

    Indoors: Indoor areas are no smoking.

    Poker Machines: Poker machine areas are no smoking.

    Outdoors: Non-enclosed eating and drinking areas are no smoking.

Swimming safety:

    ALWAYS SWIM BET WEEN THE RED AND YELLOW FLAGS and pay attention to the life guards' advice. Gold coast beaches are guarded by skilled life guards and volunteers at weekends.

    Kenyon Scudder once told me a story about his friend, Michael. Michael happened to be on a train sitting next to a young man who seemed worried. Finally the young man told the friend that he was a convict (罪犯) returning home from a prison for away. What he did had brought shame on his family, and they had neither visited him nor written to him. He hoped, however, that this was only because they were too poor to travel and too busy to write.

    When he was set free he had written to tell them he wanted to go home. To make matters easy for them, however, he had asked them to put up a signal (信号) for him when the train passed their little form. If the family had forgiven (原谅) him, they were to put up a white ribbon (丝带) in the big apple tree near the railway. If they didn't want him back, they were to do nothing, and he would stay on the train, and go far away.

    As the train neared his hometown, his suspense became so great that he was afraid to look out of the window. He asked Michael to watch for the big apple tree. They changed seats. In a minute, Michael put his hand on the young convict's shoulder. “There it is,” he said, his eyes filled with sudden tears. “It's all right. The whole tree is white with ribbons.”

    The trouble with school is that you can't choose the people you get to see every day. If you're unlucky enough to be stuck with classmates who don't really “get” you, you've just got to try to make the best of it.

    But that doesn't mean you need to “fit in”, or at least in the way that people think. If you try to transform yourself into a clone of everyone else, it won't help you make friends. It'll just make you feel like a fake.

    You also shouldn't shut down or refuse to be friends with everyone who doesn't like you. If you do that, you'll just make yourself miserable. Instead, you've got to work on being comfortable and confident with whom you are while ignoring（忽略）all the haters. Keep on speaking up, asking questions and getting to know people better. If you send out positive energy, then people will generally send some back to you. A couple of them will stay the same, and you're allowed to forget about them.

    If you feel like you've doing all that but still not getting anywhere, then don't give up. Just expand your circle. Get a part-time job at a cool-looking place, join an after-school art class or youth group—do whatever it takes to find a couple of like-minded people to connect with. Even if you don't find anyone right away, you'll still be getting some more social experiences under your belt, and that's always a good thing.

    A fun book called Uncool, by Erin Elisabeth Conley, has some tips for folks like you who want to stay positive at school while being true to your personality:

    Throw caution to the wind.

    Don't tolerate others' mistakes.

    Have patience with people who are different from you.

    Don't change just because someone else thinks you should.

    Know that even though you may be a misfit, there's always some place where you will be welcomed in the world.

    In Chinese customs, red is the main color for weddings. It is used in different ways as it signifies love, joy and happiness. The bride's wedding gown（女礼服）is often red, the wedding invitations, gift boxes and envelopes are red and the bride and the groom's homes are decorated in red on the wedding day.

    Before the wedding, the married couples from the groom's family visit the bride's place with gifts in red baskets and boxes. One of those baskets has milk honey. Three days before the wedding, the women from the bride's family bring return-gifts to the groom's family.

    On the wedding day, the groom arrives at the bride's place on his way to the chapel（佛堂）. The groom has to give gifts in cash wrapped in red paper to the bride's friends for letting her go. The bride and the groom then leave for the chapel together.

    The wedding ceremony is attended only by the couple's immediate relatives. Just after the wedding ceremony, the bride serves tea to her parents in-laws as a tradition. The couples will then go to get wedding pictures. Then a reception（宴会）will follow.

    In the reception, a welcome speech is followed by a cake cutting ceremony. A Chinese wedding cake has many layers（层）, and each one represents a step to success for the newly married couples. So couples cut the cake from the bottom.

    Travour.com describes and provides information on the wedding traditions of the Chinese and around the world. Below are some wedding traditions performed in Italy.

    Though pigs may never fly, a two-year-old pig in Franschhoek, South Africa is proving they sure can paint! Meet Pigcasso, the world's first known pig artist whose masterpieces are selling for thousands of dollars to benefit Farm Sanctuary S. A. , Africa's only registered shelter for rescued farm animals.

    Joanne Lefson, who saved Pigcasso from a slaughterhouse(屠宰场) two years ago, discovered the animal's artistic talent accidentally. The South African activist says, of the numerous toys presented to keep the then four-week-old piglet entertained, it was the paintbrushes that seemed to attract her the most. "They were the only thing she didn't eat," Lefson quips.

    The rescuer decided to present the pig with canvas and paint and see what happened. To her delight, Pigcasso began creating works of art that can best be described as "abstract expressionism". Now weighing a hefty(重量）450 pounds, the celebrated pig, who loves to paint the area's scenic landscapes, has a dedicated "studio" at Farm Sanctuary S.A. where she resides. Lefson says, "I do not force her to paint. She paints when she wants to."

    Pigcasso's artwork, which has thus far been sold online, is currently on display at Cape Town's picturesque Victoria ~ Alfred Waterfront. Dubbed "Oink", the pop-up exhibition will run through March 5before heading to London-Paris-Berlin, and Amsterdam. Lefson says its main aim is to highlight the effect of animal agriculture on the planet and inspire change.

    While Pigcasso is the first pig and first nonhuman to headline an exhibition, she is not the first animal to create masterpieces. Elephants, sea lions, and even penguins have shown similar artistic talent--in exchange for some treats, of course!

    Some people have a very poor sense of direction. Unluckily, I am one of them. I have visited a place many times but I may still get lost there the next time.

    When I was a little girl, I never dared to ask strangers the way. And so I used to walk around in circles and hope that by chance I would get to the place I was going to.

    Now, I am no longer too shy to ask people for directions, but I often receive helpless or even wrong information. So I try to avoid giving people wrong directions. If anyone ever asks me the way somewhere, I would say, "Sorry, I am a stranger here."

    Once on my way to work I was stopped by a man. He asked me if I could tell him the way to the Friendship Building. I gave him my usual reply. But just as I walked on only a few steps, I realized that he had asked the way to my office building. However, I had no time to turn back and look for him. I was rushing to meet with someone at my office and I didn't want to keep him waiting.

    When I just got to my office, the secretary(秘书) showed in the man who had asked me for directions. Imagine how embarrassed I was and how surprised he was when we saw each other at the first sight.