Journey to Asia in 2018

    Follow the Silk Route

    Though they were ruled by Russia for more than 100 years, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have remained far more connected to their earlier histories. This 11-day journey, with guidance from Times-selected experts, will take you deep into the heart of these Silk Road nations.

    Journey 11 days

    Time Apr. 15, May 20 and Sept. 23, 2018

    Travelers 20

    Costs $ 6,495

    Saudi Arabia and the Emirates: The Past and Future of Oil

    Oil transformed the Arabian Peninsula, bringing wealth to the traditional area as well as problems with the Western nations that needed it. Learn more on this journey accompanied by New York Times - selected experts. Explore the conservatism（保守主义）that existed in Saudi Arabia, and then see the modern architectural city Abu Dhabi.

    Journey 10 days

    Time Oct. 23 and Nov. 6, 2018

    Travelers 24

    Costs $11.695

    Seventy Years of the State of Israel

    In 2018, Israel will observe its 70th anniversary as a nation. But its history goes back more than 5,000 years, and even now, its future promises many difficulties. On this nine-day journey, travel with experts from the New York Times, a leader in its even-handed coverage of Israel, Palestinians and the Middle East. Enjoy extraordinary opportunities to hear from opinion makers, scholars, grassroots activists and media experts.

    Journey 9 days

    Time Mar. 18 and Oct. 7, 2018

    Travelers 25

    Costs $6,995

    Kashmir: The Religious Melting Pot of India

    One of the most populous nations on earth. India also has some of the most varied religions on earth. On this 13-day journey: explore this nation's colorful religious history, from Delhi to Kashmir, with expert guidance and unparalleled access to remote areas.

    Journey 13 days

    Time Mar. 24, Apr. 14 and Oct. 6, 2018

    Travelers 20

    Costs $7,895

    A layover（临时滞留）or flight delay can be extremely fun in these international airports.

Munich Airport, Germany

    Aviation（航空）lovers passing through Munich can take a behind-the-scenes tour to learn how the airport operates. Visitors can also tour three historic aircraft and a retired rescue helicopter, climb up to a 28-metre high observation platform for an up-close view of take-offs and landings, and watch films on aviation in the airport's 60-seat cinema. Travelers can also kill layover time at an 18-hole mini-golf course, or even stop in for a teeth cleaning at the airport dental office.

    Changi Airport, Singapore

    After a long flight to Singapore, travelers can relax in a Balinese-style swimming pool, work out at the airport gym, or enjoy a drink and live musical performances at the airport's Music Bar. The airport also boasts a tranquil butterfly garden, and a “fragrant garden” which is home to 15 species of plants and trees. Free movies at one of two airport cinemas also keep passengers entertained.

    Schiphol Amsterdam Airport, the Netherlands

    Schiphol is Europe's fifth-largest airport. Here passengers can view the works of Dutch masters free of charge, and try their luck at airport's casino（赌场）. You can even have your wedding ceremony at Schiphol—couples can choose from four different wedding packages, including a 1930-style ceremony held on a Dakota military aircraft.

    San Francisco International Airport, California

    The airport's 24–hour AirTrain not only moves passengers between terminal, but also provides a fun view of the runways. There are three aquariums（水族馆）to explore, along with interactive play area, an aviation museum, and a library. If that's not enough to keep the little ones busy, travelers can rent portable DVD players and movies for use in the airport.

    Peruvian novelist, Mario Vargas Llosa, who received Nobel Prize for Literature in 2010, is one of the central writers in Latin America, but he began his literary career in Europe.

    Mario Vargas Llosa was born in Arequipa, but from age one he lived in Cochabamba, Bolivia, where he was brought up by his mother and grandparents after his parents separated. However, Vargas Llosa once said that "I feel very much an Arequipan"．He also spent some time in Piura, northern Peru (1945～1946)．

    Vargas Llosa attended Leoncio Prado Military Academy (1950～1952), and Colegio Nacional San Miguel de Piura (1952), Peru． In 1955 he married Julia Urquidi; they divorced in 1964.From 1955 to 1957 Vargas Llosa studied literature and law at the University of San Marcos, Peru. He then attended post-graduate school at the University of Madrid, Spain, where he received his Ph.D.in 1959.

    In the 1950s, while still a student, Vargas Llosa worked as a journalist for La Industria. His first collection of short stories, LOSJEFES, appeared in 1959."I liked Faulkner but I imitated Hemingway, "he said later. Vargas Llosa moved to Paris because he felt that in Peru he could not earn his living as a serious writer. Although the boom of Latin American fiction in the 1960s opened doors to some authors for commercial success, the great majority of Peruvian writers suffered from the problems of the country's publishing industry. In France Vargas Llosa worked as Spanish teacher, journalist and broadcaster. From the late 1960s Vargas Llosa worked as a visiting professor at many American and European universities. In 1970 Vargas Llosa moved to Barcelona and five years later he settled back in Peru. Most of his novels are set in Peru.

    In addition to the Nobel Prize, Vargas Llosa has received many other honors. Among the most notable are Leopoldo Alas Prize (1959), Peruvian National Prize (1967) and Miguel de Cervantes Prize (1994).

    "I'm the smartest kid in class." We all want our kids to be self-confident, but unrealistic perception(认知) of their academic abilities, a new study finds, damage a child's relationship with others in the classroom: The more one student feels unrealistically superior(更好的) to another, the less the two students like each other.

Katrin Rentzsch of Bamberg University in Germany first became interested in the effects of such self-perception when she was studying how people became labeled as nerds(书呆子). "I really got interested in the question of whether it's OK to boast(吹嘘) about achievements," she says.

    This line of thinking led her towards something psychologists call "self-enhancement" －when a person feels unrealistically superior to someone else. So Rentzsch and her colleague Michela Schroder-Abe decided to take a closer look at how such self-enhancement affects relationships, so they turned to the eighth-grade classroom, somewhere they could measure differences between actual academic performance, and social popularity. The 358 students came from 20 eighth-grade classes in schools in southeast Germany.

    The researchers asked each student to rate their classmates, in terms of their likability and of their feelings of academic superiority. They then compared those ratings with the students' grades in math, physics, German and English. Importantly, they conducted the analysis at two different social levels: "habitual"－the way people act in general, and "relationship"－the way someone acts around a specific individual.

    In future work, Rentzsch would like to look at these effects on adults, perhaps specifically in team work. She's also interested in self-enhancement beyond academic achievements, for example physical attractiveness. And another question to explore is why students overestimate their academic abilities. Perhaps it is because of too much praise from their parents or teachers.

    Anyone who has ever volunteered for any cause can tell you that in the end, they felt that they gained more from the experience than they gave. This is true for most examples of reaching out to help others. We find that we gain new understanding about not only those we help, but ourselves as well. Stressing the importance of helping others in martial arts students will benefit them both inside and outside of the class.

    Helping others strengthens families. Families that practice the belief of working together and helping each other prepare their children for the concept of teamwork outside of the home environment. By learning to help around the house through activities such as household jobs, baby-sitting and keeping a tidy bedroom, children learn valuable lessons that they carry with them to their future relationships.

    By helping others outside of the home environment, valuable friendships can be developed. When we learn to reach out to others and give off our time and talents we find that our friendships grow, which in turn is a benefit to our lives. Martial arts training supports this by exposing students to people of various backgrounds and beliefs that gather for a common goal and to help each other. Any time a group of people are working toward a common goal, team spirit surely forms. When we help each other in the martial arts setting and in every area of our lives, a friendship is formed that promotes teamwork.

    The most important thing to realize is that it does not take a lot to make a lot happen. Little things can make a big difference in the area of helping others. Simple gestures of kindness and support given frequently can build a strong base for the growth and development of each individual which leads to the success of all.

Tips for Writing Short Stories

    I was reading an article with David Vann's top tips for writing short stories -- he is a published writer, his most famous book being, "Legends of a Suicide." First of all he stats that there are no rules, but if he were forced to create rules for short stores, then they would be something like the following.

    He says there is no room for anything that is not related to the protagonist -- the main character of the story -- or indeed the problem of the protagonist. He makes it clear that the protagonist must have a problem, and this problem must divide the protagonist: he doesn't know what he is going to do to solve the problem. There is no point, then, in having a short story about a man who says he is hungry and then just goes to the shops to buy food. Nothing exciting happens. But if the man is hungry and he has a child who is hungry, then he has a problem; who does he give the food to?

    There should also be an antagonist, that is, somebody who works against the protagonist. The antagonist should ideally have the same problem as the protagonist but will have a totally different way of looking at it. This presents the possibility of having battles in the short story.

    Furthermore, the antagonist and the protagonist must know each other. But because they are viewing the same problem from different angles, they will probably drive each other crazy.

    Finally, the short story has to acknowledge a change in the protagonist. We must then, as a reader, see how the character will continue their life differently as a result of the events of the story. There is no point in going back to the beginning; the short story is a waste of time if nothing actually happens that is significant.

    It is very hard to create a character whom a reader cares about and a plot that a reader is interested in with just a few hundred words. But it is possible: Edgar Allen Poe, Anton Chekhov, and JG Ballard -- amongst many others -- have proved repeatedly that short stores can be little pieces of perfection. The best don't just see the protagonist change; they see the reader change, too.