Saturday, March 24th

    We have arrived in the hot, wet city of Bangkok. This is our first trip to Thailand. All the different smells make us want to try    the    food. We are going to eat something special for dinner tonight. The hotel we are staying in is cheap, and very clean. We plan to stay here for a few days, visit some places in the city, and then travel to Chiang Mai in the North.

    Tuesday, March 27 th

    Bangkok is wonderful and surprising. The places are interesting. We visited the famous market which was on water, and saw a lot of fruits and vegetables. Everything is so colorful, and we have taken hundreds of photos already! Later today we will leave for Chiang Mai. We will take the train north, stay in Chiang Mai for two days, and then catch a bus to Chiang Rai.

    Friday, March 30th

    Our trip to Chiang Rai was long and boring. We visited a small village in the mountains. The village people here love the quiet life—no computers or phones. They are the kindest people I have ever met. They always smile and say “hello”. Kathy and I can only speak a few words of Thai, so smiling is the best way to show our kindness. I feel good here and hope to be able to come back next year.

Worlds of Fun

    Location: Worlds of Fun is located off Highway 435 in Kansas City, Missouri.

History: Worlds of Fun was opened on May 26, 1973, at a cost of 25 million dollars, which was founded by Hunt Midwest Company. In 1982, Hunt Midwest bought a nearby water park，Oceans of Fun, In 2013, Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun were combined to a one ticket admission, providing all guests with 235 acres of amusement and water rides.

Hours: Worlds of Fun is open from April through Halloween.

Tickets: Buy and print online. Always try to buy your tickets in advance, to save time when you get to the park.

Reservations: Worlds of Fun sells “Fast Lane” cards that save riders' time by allowing them to bypass the majority of wait for most of rides and attractions. Ride as many times as you want all day long.

Strategy (策略): Most visitors tend to begin the day with Prowler, the hottest attraction in the park. However, you'd better use that trend and head to the Patriot first. After that, try the Dragons. Then work your way back to the Prowler. After riding the Prowler, there is only one coaster left, Mamba. Hit it next. If the park is not very crowded, you can ride Boomerang on the way to Mamba. After riding Mamba, head back for a ride on the Wolf. By then you will have tried most of the popular rides and attractions in the shortest possible time.

News: In 2017, Worlds of Fun is adding Steel Hawk, a ride that will take guests up 301 feet in the air and spin (旋转) them at a 45-degree angle for a 60-second flight. Wait to have a try!

    England continues to be one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. London in particular is one of the most visited cities and draws people in with its appeal, history, and pubs. England's smaller cities, like Bath and Oxford, are equally as attractive with a lot of culture and fewer crowds. Liverpool, birthplace of The Beatles, has a rich musical history. The countryside has wonderful natural beauty. Here are some tips on traveling in England.

    Free museums—Public museums offer free admission in every city throughout England and the UK. It's a great way to learn about the country's most influential artists and history, and spend a rainy day without paying a cent.

    Book early—Book all transportation well in advance, even if you don't plan to use it. Fares can be around ￡2 with a little planning. The Megabus not only runs buses but also provides trains throughout England and is the best choice for cheap travel throughout the country.

    Pub food—Eating in England can be quite expensive, but for good cheap and filling meals, visit the local pubs, where you can get a good meal for less than ￡10. Besides, the pubs are a great way to meet people!

    Get a Taste of UK card—The Taste of the UK card offers up to 50% off at selected restaurants. You don't need to be an English to get the card, and you needn't pay the first month's membership fee, which is perfect for most travelers.

    Take a free walking tour—Many major cities in England offer free walking tours. They usually last a few hours and are a great way to see the city.

    One night, the first floor of the house suddenly caught fire. The fire was big, and soon became a sea of fire. On the second floor lived a little girl and her grandmother; the little girl's parents had died, and she lived together with her grandma. In order to rescue the little girl, the grandmother was burned to death, leaving the little girl crying for help loudly.

    How could people enter the house? At the very moment, a man carrying a ladder rushed to the flames and got into the window. When he appeared again in the eyes of the people, the little girl was in his arms. He gave the child to the crowd, and then disappeared into the night.

    This little girl had no family. Two months later a meeting was held to find a person to adopt (收养) the girl. A teacher was willing to adopt this child, and said she could give her the best education; a farmer wanted to adopt this child, saying that village life would let the child grow up healthily and happily; a rich man said, “I can give the child everything that others can do.”

    A lot of people who wanted to adopt this child said about many benefits of their adopting the child. But the little girl's face had no expression. At this time, a man, through the crowd, walked straight in front of the little girl, and opened his arms for the little girl. People were puzzled, and they found that the man had terrible scars on his arms. The little girl let out a cry, “This is the man who saved me!” She suddenly jumped up, and buried her face in his arms and sobbed. Naturally the man adopted the girl.

    America's top education official says many schools are spending too much time teaching the "basics"—reading, math and writing. It might seem opposite to what educators have been promoting. But U.S. Education Secretary John King says children really deserve access to a well-rounded education that includes music and arts because it will help them go into being well-rounded, well-educated persons.

    King spoke about his own education when explaining why schools need to teach more than math, reading and writing.

    King grew up in New York. Both his parents died when he was quite young. In his house, things were often crazy and frightening. It was his teacher, Mr. Osterwei, who helped him escape his difficult life. Quite often, the teacher took him and his classmates to the theater, the zoo, the ballet and famous Museum of Natural History. "Those were powerful, life-changing experiences, "King says. King graduated from Harvard University. He received his law degree from Yale University. He took charge of New York State public schools from 2011-2015. The U.S. Senate approved him as Education secretary last month.

    Many schools spend almost all funding on the "basics" because they lack money for other subjects, King says. Or they want students to do better on tests used to compare student performance.

    Students need to connect their studies and things that matter to them personally, such as music if they are to become "sophisticated(水平高的) thinkers". A 2013 report by UNESCO says today's world needs people able to solve new and unusual problems. It says arts can help students find those answers. In the report, UNESCO said teaching the arts in China, South Korea and Japan is different.

    From that in many Western countries, the emphasis(重点) in those three countries is "on joyful experiences and children's interests." In the West, educators are more likely to connect the arts to reading, writing and math. A 2014 report tried to compare how well countries teach children how to solve problems. It found Singapore, South Korea, Japan, China, Canada, Australia and Finland with the highest scores for 15-year-olds. Singapore led the way with a score of 562 out of a possible 1, 000. The average score was 500. The United States had a score of 508.

My wife and I were at a crowded grocery store not long ago. It was a weekday evening, cold and wet—and tense. People were carelessly blocking aisles, cutting one another off with their carts.

    Things got worse at the checkout line. The cashier scanned a man's discount card, but he misread the savings on her screen as an additional charge. He decided she was acting deliberately and began to argue.

    "She is being spiteful (恶意的)!" he yelled. "This is unbelievable."

    Other customers looked away as the cashier tried to reason with him. She called a manager, who accompanied him to customer service. Shaken, she moved to the next customer in line.

We've all witnessed uncomfortable scenes like this in public places. The grocery scene was another example of how our trust in others has eroded. But it was also a teachable moment on how we can rebuild our faith—starting with just one person.

    Back at the grocery store, my wife and I reached our uneasy cashier. I grabbed a bottle of water from a nearby cooler and handed it to her. "We felt bad about how that man treated you and wanted to buy this for you." I said. Her face lit up, and we talked as she scanned our items. She told us she had been working that evening through severe foot pain and would be having surgery later that week. We wished her well in her recovery, and she thanked us as we left.

    Those are the balancing acts, the moments of responding social and emotional pain with healing, which will add up to restore trust among people. You can start that pattern in someone else's life, even in a place as ordinary as the neighborhood grocery store.