It was a hot, humid day, and my brother Walt and I had decided that the only way to survive it would be to go swimming in a deep swimming hole across Mr. Blickez's pasture(牧场) and through some woods.

    The only problem with our plan was that this pasture was guarded by a huge, mean Hereford bull. Mr. Blickez had told us that Elsie was the meanest bull in the township, maybe even the county, and we believed him. But the hotter it got, the more we thought there was something fishy about his claim. For one thing, we remembered Mr. Blickez liked telling tall tales; for another, Elsie seemed like an odd name for a bull.

    Finally, I talked Mom into asking permission for us to walk through the pasture, but then another problem surfaced. Mom said she would talk to Mr. Blickez if we would take our cousin Joanie along with us. Joanie was almost two years older than me and a head taller. If her teasing ever got around my grade school, it would be all over for me. In fact, I still had a headache from a quarrel with her that morning. “I'm not going swimming with that dumb girl cousin.” I told my mom.

    “Either Joanie goes with, or you stay home alone,” Mom said in her serious tone. I gave in and we set out. On our way across the pasture, Walt yelled suddenly. Elsie had approached him quietly and was licking(舔) his back.Joanie and I dove under the wire fence, but while I was on the ground I looked up and saw that Elsie wasn't a big mean bull after all. She was going to keep licking my brother's back as long as he stood still.

    We had many good days growing up and visiting our secret swimming hole guarded by the so-called “big mean bull”. And as it turned out, for a girl cousin, Joanie hasn't been too bad. She's been one of my best friends over the years.

    One October morning, I got off the all-night train in Mandalay, a city in Myanmar. A rough man came up and offered to show me around. The price he asked was less than I would pay for a bar of chocolate at home. So I climbed into his trishaw(三轮车).

    As he was showing me around, he told me how he had come to the city from his village. He'd earned a degree in mathematics. His dream was to be a teacher. But of course, life is hard here, and so for now, this was the only way he could make a living. Many nights, he told me, he actually slept in his trishaw so he could catch the first visitors off the all-night train.

And very soon, we found that in certain ways, we had so much in common—we were both in our 20s, we were both fascinated by foreign cultures—-that he invited me home.

    So we turned off the wide, crowded streets, and came to rough, wild alleyways(小巷). I really lost my sense of where I was, and realized that I could easily get cheated or something even worse.

    Finally, he stopped and led me into a hut. And then he reached under his bed. Something in me froze. I waited to see what he would pull out. And finally he took out a box. Inside it was every single letter he had ever received from visitors from abroad.

    So when we said goodbye that night, I realized he had also shown me the secret point of travel, which is to go inwardly(向内心)as well as outwardly to places you would never go otherwise, to go into uncertainty, even fear.

    At home, its dangerously easy to think we're on top of things. Out in the world, you are reminded every moment that you're not, and you can't get to the bottom of things, either.

    A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men aboard were able to swim to a small, desert-like island. Not knowing what else to do, the two survivors agreed that they had no alternative than to pray to God.

    However, to find out whose prayers were more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.

    The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the island, and he was able to eat its fruit. But the other man's parcel of land remained barren.

    After a week, the first man became lonely and decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the island. But on the other side of the island, there was nothing.

    Soon thereafter the first man prayed for a house, clothes and more food. The next day, like magic, all of these things were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.

    Finally, the first man prayed for a ship so that he and his wife could leave the island, and in the morning he found a ship docked at his side of the island.

    The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island, considering the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings since none of his prayers had been answered.

    As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from Heaven booming, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"

    "My blessings are mine alone since I was the one who prayed for them," the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so he doesn't deserve anything."

    "You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings."

    "Tell me," the first man asked the voice, "what did he pray for that I should owe him anything?"

    "He prayed that all your prayers would be answered."

    For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us. So what you do for others is more important than what you do for yourself.

    I'm learning to drive in Switzerland. I think it will be a good idea to learn now because I have plenty of free time and am earning a little money to pay for lessons. I never learnt when I lived in the UK, so luckily driving on the "wrong" side isn't a problem.

    However, there are a lot of rules to remember. When you see a road to your right and there are no white lines on the ground, the cars to your right have the right to go before your car and you have to stop for them. In practice, lots of people forget this and cars either wait for each other while both drivers try to remember what to do, or beep (鸣喇叭) at each other if both try to go at the same time!

    When you drive round a roundabout, you should check all your mirrors. To remember how to do this, I often count them aloud—one, two, three—then a second glance at your blind spot when you're in the roundabout. One friend came driving with me and after about an hour asked why on earth I was counting. He had passed his test so long ago, he couldn't remember ever having to check three mirrors!

    Driving still seems scary to me so I drive quite slowly. I also don't know the countryside roads very well and don't know what's coming up round the comer or over the next hill. I drive slowly so I feel safe, but my driving instructor tells me to speed up or cars will bump into me from behind or try to overtake somewhere dangerous. So driving slowly is just as dangerous as driving fast!

    I'm not a very practical person so learning to drive has been a challenge. I don't have a lot of confidence and find it quite demotivating to do something that doesn't come naturally to me. To make driving more fun and interesting, I learn in Swiss German, so my instructor gives me instructions in Swiss. This way I've tricked myself into enjoying driving and hopefully will pass the test!

    A year back I received a full scholarship to attend the University of San Francisco. All of my hard work had paid off. My mom had spent a lot in my attending a private high school, so I made sure to push myself: I volunteered, got involved in various clubs, and graduated with honors. I was so excited to start a new chapter(篇章)of my life. I had totally packed two weeks before it was time to leave.

    Soon enough, the big day came, but it wasn't like what I had thought. The first two weeks were the most difficult days of my entire life. Every night I would cry myself to sleep. I was so homesick and I didn't know how to deal with my broken heart. To distract myself, I threw myself into my studies and I applied for a ton of jobs. In any remaining free time, I started forcing myself to the gym. I wanted to keep every part of my day busy so I wouldn't think how lonely I felt.

    Soon after, I began to limit food, and then I became worse. Finally, I went to see a doctor. When the doctor weighed me, I was crazy about the number of my weight. So I continued to lower my goal, and convinced that controlling this number was the solution for my homesickness. But when I was told that I had no choice but to spend time on my studies. I quickly started recovery in my mind.

    How could I do? I told myself that school was what I was best at. I decided to get rid of my homesickness and took exercise actively. My first term of college had passed by at last and I had gotten straight A's. That's why I want to share my story－to help other students feel less lonely.

Africa's Most Amazing Places to Visit

    Pyramids of Giza, Egypt

    The most famous of the structures at Giza, near Cairo, the Pyramid of King Khufu was built around 2650 BC from 2.5 million blocks of stone. Its sides face north, south, east and west.

    Sahara Dunes, Morocco

    The most user-friendly part of the Sahara is accessible from the northern edge of Morocco. You can camp out in Tazzarine, where runners from all over the world complete the weeklong Marathon every spring. The foot of the Merzouga Dunes is the best location for gazing at stars, totally free of light pollution.

    Lake Retba (Lac Rose), Senegal

    There are few pink lakes in the world and one of them, Lake Retba, also called Lac Rose by locals is in the Cap-Vert peninsula in Senegal. The best times to see the lake at its pinkest is during Senegal's dry season, between November and June.

    Nyika Plateau National Park, Malawi

    With a plateau cut by numerous rivers that reach Lake Malawi by way of waterfalls off the eastern edge of the mountains, Nyika, the largest national park in Malawi, is one of the most beautiful in Africa. The eastern border of the plateau forms the wall of the Great Rift Valley. The great domes of hills have gentle slopes, making Nyika perfect for both hiking and mountain biking as well as Jeep exploration.