It is widely known that any English conversation begins with The Weather. Such a fixation with the weather finds expression in Dr. Johnson's famous comment that “When two English meet, their first talk is of weather.” Though Johnson's observation is as accurate now as it was over two hundred years ago, most commentators fail to come up with a convincing explanation for this English weather-speak.

    Bill Bryson, for example, concludes that, as the English weather is not at all exciting, the obsession with it can hardly be understood. He argues that “To an outsider, the most striking thing about the English weather is that there is not very much of it.” Simply, the reason is that the unusual and unpredictable weather is almost unknown in the British Isles.

    Jeremy Paxman, however, disagrees with Bryson, arguing that the English weather is by nature attractive. Bryson is wrong, he says, because the English preference for the weather has nothing to do with the natural phenomena. “The interest is less in the phenomena themselves, but in uncertainty.” According to him, the weather in England is very changeable and uncertain and it attracts the English as well as the outsider.

    Bryson and Paxman stand for common misconceptions about the weather-speak among the English. Both commentators, somehow, are missing the point. The English weather conversation is not really about the weather at all. English weather-speak is a system of signs, which is developed to help the speakers overcome the natural reserve and actually talk to each other. Everyone knows conversations starting with weather-speak are not requests for weather data. Rather, they are routine greetings, conversation starters or the blank “fillers”. In other words, English weather-speak is a means of social bonding.

    Eco-Cruises

    It covers the areas from Lakes Entrance through to Lake King.

    Wild native animals are protected by law

    We may see dolphins and seals in the Gippsland Lakes system during the summer/autumn months, but more so during the winter/spring seasons: during these times we exercise great care not to disturb them.

    However, these are intelligent creatures and on many occasions they will interact with us. During this time, we show them respect they deserve and appreciate the opportunity to see these wonderful animals at play.

As a bonus, the amazing bird life is always there and changes through the seasons.

    We will do our best during the cruise to locate the animals for you to experience, but, of course, they don't always co-operate and are sometimes beyond our view. Therefore, unfortunately, we cannot guarantee sightings.

    How to book

    Phone 0413 666 638 for prices and bookings.

    Don't forget to ask about our family ticket special.

    Seniors and group discounts also available.

    Doing voluntary work abroad is a great way for you to learn about service learning and know better about the world and different cultures. Visit our websites for further details.

Global Vision International

    Experience everything in our adventure when you join us in a team of international volunteers under 18. Assist with the projects that will benefit poor children's development and education. Discover the area's splendid beaches, explore beautiful jungles and immerse(沉浸)yourself in the friendly local culture.

    Cost: $2,990             Tel: 1-888-653-6028       Email: info@guiworld.com

    Website: www. Volunteer and Adventure Experience in Costa Rica. Com

Broadreach Summer Adventures

    Since 2993, Broadreach has taken over 12,000 students on their worldwide summer adventure volunteer programs for middle school, high school students. Their 75+ program offerings include marine biology, sailing, medicine, culture, arts, community service and leadership adventures. Programs are located in 40 +countries.

    Cost: Staring at $3,880          Tel: 919-256-8200

   Email: info@ gobroadreahc. Com   Website: www. gobroadreach. com

Cross-Cultural Solutions

    CCS teen summer service trips are for high school students aged 15-17. The High School Volunteer Abroad program offers you an awesome opportunity to volunteer side-by-side with local people. You can also meet new friends on a teens-only group volunteering project in Costa Rica, India, Peru, Ghana, and so on. You'll participate in many cultural activities during the week and on weekends.

    Cost: Contact us for pricing and availability

    Tel: 1-800-380-4777

    Email: info@crossculturalsolutions.org

    Website: www. crossculturalsolutions. Org
United Planet

    United Planet offers volunteer abroad programs in four destinations for those under 18. Volunteers may work in nursing home, Community Service Stations or in environmental conservation projects. Destinations include Romania, Peru, Ecuador and Chile. Candidates 16 years and older can apply.

     Cost: According to the length of your stay   Tel: 617-267-7763

    Email: quest@unitedplanet. org            Website: www. unitedplanet.org

    Last summer I sat at a long picnic table near a breathtaking mountain. While the parents were eating dinner, the kids ran up a trail in search of a secret fort. Twenty minutes later one excited little boy, James, interrupted the adult conversation.

    “Mom, Mom, you can't believe what we found!”

    Lovingly, his mother smiled and whispered, “I can't wait to hear, James, but grown-ups are talking, and there will be a pause in the conversation. Please wait for the pause.”

    On my other side, another boy came running up to his mother with equal enthusiasm.

    “Mom, Mom, we had so much fun—”

    “I am talking! Don't interrupt,” she said.

    “But, Mom—”

    “Be quiet! Can't you see that I am talking?”

    “But Mom we found the—”

    “Shut up, Steve!” she yelled.

    My heart sank. I knew what was coming. James, on my right, patiently waited for the pause, enthusiasm still alive and well. Steve, on my left, walked away from the table, looking shamed, carrying with him stories of secret forts never to be shared.

    What markedly different messages to the child! “Wait for the pause” versus “Shut up” gets incorporated (包含)so differently into a child's developing sense of self.

    Harsh(刺耳的) words have bad effects. That's why I want you to promise to delete the phrases “Shame on you” or “You should be ashamed” from your vocabulary. I have seen countless patients whose parents' thoughtless words echoed in their heads and chipped(消除) away at their self-worth, even decades later.

    So we have to discipline ourselves to make our instructions constructive. One great tool is to look for positive behavior to reinforce. Don't ignore the things that your kids are doing right. Thank your children. Tell them that you noticed how they waited patiently or cleared their plate without being asked. Chances are that they will do it again. Let them feel noticed, appreciated, and valued. There's no better way to shape behavior.

    This was the first real task I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. As I searched the name, I found that there were two famous people having the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts(花生), while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice; let the coin decide. I flipped(掷) a coin and Ah! Tails (背面)! My report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.

    Weeks later, I stood in front of the classroom and proudly read my homework. But things started to get strange. I looked around the room, only to find my classmates with big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes and my stone-faced teacher. I was completely lost. "What could be causing everyone to act this way?"

    Oh well, I dropped the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, "My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American War of Independence." The whole world became quiet! How could I know that my teacher meant that George Washington?

    Of course, my subject result was awful. Sad but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to the headmaster Miss Lancelot, but she said firmly: No re-dos; no new score. I felt that it was not fair, and I believed I deserved a second chance. So I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months later, I sat in the headmaster's office again, but this time a completely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the terrible moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster told me I was good enough to skip(跳过) the 6th grade and started the 7th grade next term.

If any New Yorker of Asian descent( 血统) needs a safe way to get around, Madeline Park has got their back. Park created an Instagram account called “Cafemaddycab” amid a wave of anti-Asian hate crimes across the US. The account has one goal: to pay the Uber or Lyft fee for any woman or elderly individual of Asian descent in New York in order to help them get to their destinations safely if they feel “unsafe taking the train in NYC".

Park, who had spent a majority of her decade in New York as a “broke student”, knew all too well what it was like to have to take the train or walk home rather than calling a cab because it was too expensive.

Now, she's using money from her own pocket, as well as from other donors, to make sure the cost isn't preventing anyone else from getting a ride. She decided to do so after fearing for her own safety just the other week.

“That's it. I took the train to work last week and every minute of the ride I was stressed," Park said in an Instagram post.“I was afraid that someone was going to walk up and start attacking me.”

One incident still on Park's mind was when “someone set a 29 year -old Asian woman's backpack on fire in the train around Ktown". Park said she was done taking the train while these hate crimes were going on and so should you.

Park started out with $ 2,000 of her own money, which she used to help reimburse(报销) any Lyft or Uber ride up to $ 40 per person. Within two days, donors collectively poured in over $ 100, 000 to help with her efforts. Park started accepting more donations and she expected other cities to start their own cab initiative(倡议).However, it's no small task.

“You have to have the TIME to commit to this and preferably a few people you trust to work with you, and a big heart for our community # StopAsianHate,” Park wrote in an Instagram post.