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    It is probably the strangest sport anyone has ever invented. And at first sight, it looks like the easiest. Competitors have to do two things. The first is to stand still. The second is to place their hands anywhere on the body of a car, and keep it there.   

    This is where things start getting difficult. Lots of people are doing the same thing. And the winner of the "handathon" contest is the person who can carry on doing it for the longest time. That person gets to own the car.

    It still seems to be an easy thing to do. At the beginning it is. Anyone can stand still. But when the contest has been going for four or five days, standing still seems like the most difficult job in the world. And keeping the hand in place over this time becomes an act of serious attention. After a few days, the hand seems to belong to someone else—someone who wants to go home and get some sleep.

    Competitors are allowed to take a five-minute break every hour to eat, drink or do whatever else is necessary. No one is allowed to lean on the car for support. Winners need to be able to show great powers of attention. They also need to be able to develop special skills.

    Maybe the popularity of the handathon is due to the fact that it is not necessary to be a trained athlete to enter. Competitors in the Longview handathon certainly don't seem to do much preparation. Most say they will prepare by "getting lots of sleep". Others say they will "eat healthy food" or "pray for success". The whole event gives ordinary people the chance to do something interesting and win something in the end.

    Handathons are competitions, but there is little rivalry(敌对) between competitors. They help each other out and keep each other's spirits up. People who drop out early return with food, drink and encouragement.

    Deserts are found where there is little rainfall or where rain for a whole year falls in only a few weeks' time. Ten inches of rain may be enough for many plants to survive if the rain is spread throughout the year. If it falls within one or two months and the rest of the year is dry, those plants may die and a desert may form.

    Sand begins as tiny pieces of rock that get smaller and smaller as wind and weather wear them down. Sand dunes (沙丘) are formed as winds move the sand across the desert. Bit by bit, the dunes grow over the years, always moving with the winds and changing the shape. Most of them are only a few feet tall, but they can grow to be several hundred feet high.

There is, however, much more to a desert than sand. In the deserts of the southwestern United States, cliffs (悬崖) and deep valleys were formed from thick mud that once lay under a sea more than millions of years ago. Over the centuries, the water dried up. Wind, sand, rain, heat and cold all wore away at the remaining rocks. The faces of the desert mountains are always changing –-very, very slowly —as these forces of nature continue to work on the rock.

    Most deserts have a surprising variety of life. There are plants, animals and insects that have adapted to life in the desert. During the heat of the day a visitor may see very few signs of living things, but as the air begins to cool in the evening, the desert comes to life. As the sun begins to rise again in the sky, the desert once again becomes quiet and lonely.

    School uniforms are becoming more and more popular across the USA. That's no surprise, because they offer many benefits. If all students are dressed in the same way, they will not pay too much attention to their clothing, and some of them will not be laughed at for wearing the "wrong" clothes.

Some people are against the strict rule of school uniforms, but they do not realize that students already accept a kind of rule —- wanting to look just like their friends. The difference is that the clothing students choose for themselves creates social barriers(阻碍）; school uniforms tear those barriers down.

    Some parents are unhappy about uniforms, saying that school uniforms will affect their children's "creativity". First, as noted above , the clothes students choose to wear do not necessarily express their individuality(个性). They just copy their classmates. Second, students have the rest of the day to be as creative as they like. While they're in school, their job is to master reading, writing, and math; this should take up all the creativity they have. Mastery of those skills will be good for the students to build up their creativity in every way.

    As in other places, uniforms remind the wearers of their purpose and duties. For example, when a man or woman puts on a police uniform, he or she becomes, for a time, the symbol(象征) of law and order. The uniform means to the wearer his or her special duties and sends the same message to everyone the wearers meets. People with different jobs wear uniforms of one kind or another. For students, the school uniform reminds them that their task for the six or seven hours they are in school is to get an education.

Keeping secrets is a burden

    “Don't tell anyone”. We hear these words when someone tells a secret to us. But it can be hard to keep a secret. We're often tempted to “spill the beans(说漏嘴)”, even if we regret it later.

    According to Asim Shah, professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine, US, keeping a secret may well “become a burden”. This is because people often have an “obsessive and anxious urge to share it with someone”.

    An earlier study, led by Anita E. Kelly, a scientist at the University of Notre Dame, US, suggested that keeping a secret could cause stress. People entrusted(受委托的) with secrets can suffer from depression, anxiety, and body aches, reported the Daily Mail.

    But with secrets so often getting out, why do people share them at all? Shah explained that people often feel that it will help them keep a person as a friend. Another reason people share secrets is guilt over keeping it from someone close to them. A sense of distrust can develop when people who are close do not share it with each other. “Keeping or sharing secrets often puts people in a position of either gaining or losing the trust of someone,” according to Shah.

    He added that talkative people could let secrets slip out (泄露).But this doesn't mean that it is a good idea only to share secrets with quiet people. A quiet person may be someone who keeps everything inside. To tell such a person a secret may cause them stress, and make them talk about the secret. Shah said that to judge whether to tell someone a secret.

    Shah said that to judge whether to tell someone a secret, you'd better put yourself in their position. Think about how you would feel to be told that you mustn't give the information away. Shah also recommended that if you accidentally give up someone's secret you should come clean about it. Let the person know that their secret isn't so secret anymore.

    Do you want to do some volunteer work while exploring Africa? Then join in our 21-Day Flagship Program. Step onto the flat, sandy land of Ghana, and you'll immediately hear the laughter of children everywhere. This laughter will be the constant of your trip and a steady source of energy while you volunteer among one of Africa s kind communities.

    Community Service

    Volunteer in primary schools, working with children of different ages to help improve their English skills, tutor those who might be falling behind and contribute to each school's needs, including making improvements to the facilities. Split your time between teaching and campus refurbishment (翻修) projects to serve every aspect of the school, and learn all about education in Ghana.

    Hands-on Learning

    Participate in workshops such as batik cloth dyeing (蜡染), drumming, dancing and crash courses in the native language, Ewe or Krobo. You'll be given a Ghanaian name by the local chief of your village, and visit a seamstress (女裁缝) to have custom clothing made out of colorful fabrics you purchase. On the 21-Day Flagship Program, you'll hear about the nation's history as a center of the slave trade, and visit Fort Prinzenstein to truly understand the weight of this topic.

    Adventure

    You'll also experience the natural surroundings of Ghana with a beautiful waterfall hike: On your 21-Day Flagship Program, go on a two-night trip where you'll get to visit a monkey shelter.

    Lodging

    Global Leadership Adventures (GLA) operates two Home Bases for the 21-day program. Both are located outside of the capital city of Accra in rural village settings. Accommodations are basic, but clean and safe. Students sleep in rooms with roommates, and have access to shared bathrooms with cold-water showers.

    Dates

    June 26-July 16, 2019

    July 9-July 29, 2019

    July 20-August9, 2019

    Duration: 21 days

    Tuition: $5,399

    Community Service Hours: 60

    For more information, please call 1-858-771-0645 or send an email to info@experiencegla.com.