When I found out I was moving to India, it was beyond a nightmare. It was something I couldn't even imagine. The impression I had of India were only based upon a few summer visits to my grandparents, filled with heat, pollution and dirt. Even though I was only six years old, I know this would be a complete change from my comfortable life in Maryland.

    During my first six months in India, my expectations were met almost exactly. I hated my new apartment; I missed my school and friends back in Maryland, and I was sick of all the dirty marketplaces that filled the streets of New Delhi.

    After those six months were over I finally realized that I was going to be in India for a while. I knew that I had to start making the most of my new life. It was then that I became completely involved in my school. My school, the American Embassy School, was filled with international students: Europeans, Australians, Chinese, and Americans just like me. But they all welcomed me with open arms. It was amazing to be among such diverse students, who had such incredible experiences to share.

    Now, when I look back at my time in India, all I can think about is how fortunate I am to have had such a wonderful experience. My move to India not only allowed me to see a completely different side of the world, but I was also able to establish unbreakable bonds with so many interesting and amazing people. Even now, after quite some years, I am still in contact with my closest friends from the American Embassy School. I cannot even imagine what I would be like without having lived in India. I would have missed out on meeting so many extraordinary people, and I would be a completely different person today.

    Developing healthy eating habits starts from childhood, therefore it is important for parents to teach and provide children with a healthy diet. DPHSS administrator of the Bureau of Nutrition Services, Charlie Morris told KUAM News, “A healthy diet for a child consists of a lot of fruits and vegetables in the diet limiting the amount of simple sugars in the diet and high fat food and highly processed food.”

    This means staying away as much as possible from food such as chips, cookies, candies and sugary drinks, as all children need to have meals which involve a well-balanced diet. Community nutritionist Thelma Romoso said, “The fruit, the vegetable, the grain, the protein, and also the milk, the diary product, so for the fruits it's easy for a mother to go into the two plus three concept of fruits and vegetables or five a day.”

    This concept means that there are at least two servings of fruits a day, three servings of vegetables a day which can be served for lunch and dinner. As for protein parents can make a variety of dishes from chicken, beef, fish or even dried beans to pledge the child gets three servings a day.

    Morris said that the child's hunger level controls how much is eaten and the parent controls what and when the meal is offered, saying, “Mom needs to ensure that the food offered is good food for the child to eat and throughout the day depending on how active they are, snacks are not a bad thing, so the mom should offer good kinds of snacks.”

    When it comes to preparing your child's lunch and snacks for school, make sure to keep in mind that the food you provide should not only be a source of energy but also be nutritionally beneficial such as fresh fruits, and whole grain bread. But parents must be sure to remember that a good nutritional diet must be balanced with physical activity, namely it is important that children get outside and run around and play and get activity in addition to eating a good diet.

    As one of the world's oldest holidays, Halloween is still celebrated today in several countries around the globe, but it is in North America and Canada that it maintains its highest level of popularity. Every year, 65% of Americans decorate their homes and offices for Halloween. Halloween is the holiday when the most candy is sold and is second only to Christians in terms of total sales.

Austria

    In Austria, some people will leave bread, water and a lighted lamp on the table before retiring on Halloween night. The reason for this is that it was once believed such items would welcome the dead souls back to earth on a night which for the Austrians was considered to be brimming(溢)with strong cosmic energies.

Belgium

    The Belgians believe that it is unlucky for a black cat to cross one's path and also unlucky if it should enter a home or travel on a ship. The custom in Belgium on Halloween night is to light candles in memory of dead relatives.

Canada

    Modern Halloween celebrations in Canada began with the arrival of Scottish and Irish immigrants in the 1800s. Jack- O- Lantern is carved and the festivities include parties, trick-or-treating and the decorating of homes with pumpkins and corn stalks.

France

    Unlike most nation of the world, Halloween is not celebrated by the French in order to honor the dead and departed ancestors. It is regarded as an “American” holiday in France and was unknown in the country until around 1996.

    An organization,Eye Care 4 Kids,is bringing much-needed eye care to poor kids.It provides free eye examinations for kids from poor families.Founded by Joseph Carbone in 2001,the organization has helped around 100,000 children in Utah and Nevada.

    Now,Cecil Swyers,a biomedical engineer who was once a poor child himself,is bringing the charity's services to poor students in Arizona,so that vision impairment（视力受损）doesn't stand in the way of their education.

    “Eye Care 4 Kids is bringing eye care and glasses to families that wouldn't have the means to pay for them,” said Mario Ventura from Isaac Elementary School District,the first school district in Arizona to receive its services.

    Good vision is important to a child's learning experience.According to a study,up to 80 percent of learning happens through sight for children between 6 and 18 years old.Without proper eye care,it's difficult for students to learn better and succeed.

    Swyers is hoping that by bringing the organization to Arizona he'll help a lot more students.He teamed up with two other organizations to get doctors to volunteer their time with the group.Using Eye Care 4 Kids mobile clinic,Swyers visited Alta E.Butler Elementary School and has already helped 40 students.

    The school was grateful to receive the eye care,especially since the services came to them.“It's is great for us,” said Assistant Pricipal Cindy Alonso.

    Swyers is hoping to bring Eye Care 4 Kids' services to other schools in the state.He said that hopefully his work will have a positive effect on students' futures.“If we can help students while they're young,we can make a difference in their futures,” he said.

Evening Workshops

    Optional evening workshops will be held at small restaurants or other meeting places near the conference hotel. Meals and other costs are not included but are also optional. Locations will be announced at the conference site. Workshops are very loosely organized and most represent discussions that have been held at Society for Economic Botany (SEB) meetings over a series of years.

    Workshop 1: Student Network

    Date: Wednesday evening, Feb. 5^th

    Chairs: Hugo de Boer and Arika Virapongse Sponsor: Society for Economic Botany

    Description: Student members of the SEB hold a networking mixer each year in order to meet each other and to become familiar with a variety of educational programs and faculty advisors(大学指导老师). Faculty members who are part of training programs are encouraged to join the mixer to meet and talk with students.
     Workshop 2: Botanical Film Making
    Date : Wednesday evening, Feb. 5^th Chair : David Strauch

    Sponsor : University of Hawaii

    Description : Digit al film making is a particularly useful tool of linking cultural information to recognizable plants. This workshop is aimed towards increasing the quality of material recorded by giving participants greater control over the medium. We will cover technical aspects (e.g. camera settings, audio), technical aspects (framing, lighting, focus), and some ways of presenting the material. Experienced filmmakers are encouraged to attend, and participants are welcome to bring their own camera equipment.

    Workshop 3: Collections for Botany

    — Collections Development and Management Date: Friday evening, Feb. 7^th

    Chair: Jan Salick

    Sponsor: Society for Economic Botany

    Description: SEB is a network of researchers who have been developing standards for the development of collections of artifacts, plant samples and related materials. Participants discuss successes, problems, and funding sources for solving management issues.

More than 400 athletes across a variety of sports, ages and levels of experience were questioned for the study by sports psychology experts from Staffordshire University and Manchester Metropolitan University. The findings reveal that athletes' belief systems—specifically irrational（非理性） beliefs—are related to poorer self-confidence, and in turn, greater competitive anxiety and depressive symptoms.

"Phrases that reflect self-depreciating（贬低） beliefs such as 'If I lose, I'm a failure' or 'If I face setbacks, it shows how stupid I am' are warning signs," said the authors. Paul Mansell, Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Staffordshire University, said, "Despite the psychological benefits of physical activity, studies frequently report poor mental health in athletes, which may be exacerbated by adversities, such as injury, de-selection, and performance pressure. We investigated athletes' beliefs, how they view stress, their levels of self-confidence and put all this data together to work out what might predict psychological well-being. We found irrational beliefs to be a core reason for symptoms of poor mental health in athletes."

This is the first known study that has examined irrational beliefs, self-confidence, and the psychological well-being of athletes all together. Irrational beliefs are extreme, rigid, and illogical ideas that people hold. For example, a person might believe that they "must" get what they want, or that just because they have failed, they are a "complete failure".

"We can all work to help athletes develop mindsets that help them deal with the challenges of sport and life. By encouraging rational and logical beliefs about performance, we can help athletes to stay healthy amidst the high demands of competitive sport," said Paul Mansell.

The author s propose Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy(REBT) as an effective tool for protecting self-confidence. REBT helps athletes to challenge these self-depreciating beliefs and develop beliefs that are more helpful and healthy. For example, rather than believe "I am a failure if I fail", this might be countered with "Failing is not ideal, but it does not mean that I am a failure".