Community Development Projects Overseas

The aim of Community Development projects abroad in Temple Conservation，DIY and more is to improve poorer local communities. You can do them as part of your work experience, gap year or career break. Or just as a volunteering holiday.

●South Africa

Time: 1^st, March — 31^st, May 2018

Registration fee: $ 65

Maintenance/Handyman! The project is truly unique....you will assist an Animal Rehabilitation Center that desperately needs any help it can get and you will be benefiting the animals at the same time! And, of course, the location is very unusual. And finally, conservation are lovely people to work with!

●Sri Lanka：

Time: 1^st, May — 31^st, July 2018

Registration fee: Free

Rebuild and repair Buddhist temple in and around Kandy. This unique and fascinating project offers an opportunity to learn about Sri Lankan construction using traditional manual methods, without using modern machines.

Work includes construction, repairing temples, cleaning in and around temples, interacting with children and villagers and helping the Temples arrange Community Centers for the village youths. You will also assist with the repair of paintings and sculptures inside the temples.

●Zimbabwe:

Time: 1^st, October — 31^st, December, 2018

Registration fee: $ 120

Community Healthcare and Medical Project in Gweru gain basic medical experience in local clinics and play a role in HIV/AIDS education and awareness. You will be able to get involved in not only this clinic but others in the nearby area as well. You do not need to be qualified in any particular area. You will work with children from the ages of 3 to 6 years. It is a very worthwhile, enjoyable placement.

I major in Mechanical Engineering and Political Science. When someone hears what I study, I’m usually meant with two reactions. First up is a small smile with the word “overachiever” on the tip of their tongue. The second is a look of confusion, followed by an exaggerated(夸张的) “why?”. The short answer: I want to be a problem solver, and engineering teaches me how to become that type of person. In addition, I also want to be able to look at the bigger picture.

It’s the beginning of a new year, and a lot of first-years have plans for double or triple majors. However, as most of us quickly realize after that first fall semester, college is a lot! We are unavoidably forced to make choices—do we keep trying to make our double or triple majors work or do we completely switch gears? The thing I wished someone told me on day one is if you’re passionate about something, it’s not going to feel like work. Political Science can be challenging, but to me, it’s fun to read the Constitution(宪法) and see the impact each word has on our interpretation.

This may sound hard to accept, but if you are double or triple majoring because you think you’re in a race with your peers, you’re only running yourself into the ground. Don’t double or triple major if you are doing it for a mark on your resume(简历), because then your life will be a living hell for the next four years. What is going to make you impressive is the passion that you have—whether it be in your study, career, or something else your career and study will enable you to do.

Always think about your “why” when it comes to the schedule a double or triple major entails. Because at the end of the day, it’s going to be you doing the homework—so try to enjoy what you’re doing along the ride for what it’s worth.

We all need to eat, and when we go to buy food at the supermarket we’re offered many choices. But we often buy food that’s been produced in huge amounts and that’s traveled many miles before it ends up on our plate. So for some. growing their own food is a better choice—and it tastes good too!

From growing vegetables in little pots on your balcony to taking care of a small plot of land, there are many ways to produce home-grown food. It can be backbreaking work digging, weeding and watering the soil, but the result is fresh, home-grown fruits and vegetables, helping us keep a ‘five-a-day’ diet.

The recent Covid-19 pandemic lock-down means demand for homegrown food has seen a comeback in the UK. Miriam Dobson-from the University of Sheffield, told the BBC that some people have been Spending a lot of their time on their plots, growing plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables—which, at times, have been challenging to buy in supermarkets. She says “Coronavirus has reminded people of the weakness within our global food system. In such a difficult time, interest in self-support rises.”

But for those with limited space, a solution to grow your own vegetables lies closer to home-using pots. Sheila Brand lives in a third-floor flat in Rotterdam. She has managed to grow tomatoes and eggplants and is already harvesting raspberries. She told the BBC watching the plants grow “is very exciting: ‘Oh it’s got a new leaf!’”

As well as the benefits of saving money and enjoying tasty food, growing your own from a balcony or window ledge not only improves your well-being and immediate environment, you can actually grow a lot of vegetables. So, maybe it’s time for us all to get planting and develop our green fingers!

This year, new technologies will enable more drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel (方向盘) while on the road. But that doesn’t mean their cars will be fully self-driving — that day still remains far in the future.

Automakers like General Motors (GM), Ford and Stellantis are introducing, or upgrading existing technologies. But in the words of Kay Stepper, an automated driving expert, these systems are “feet off” and “hands off”, but they will not be “eyes off” or “mind off”.

For the time being, these systems will only be used on limited-access highways, where there are no pedestrians or bicyclists. Vehicles with this technology will be able to drive at relatively high speeds, but only in simple traffic situations.

Bryan Reimer, a researcher with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Age Lab, said it will be -decades before people can buy. truly-self-driving cars in-which humans ride as passengers，

Still, the technology that will be rolled out by the major automakers this year will do more than most so-called Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, or AD AS, do now.

GM’s Super Cruise system allows drivers to completely let go of the steering wheel while driving on selected highways. It was introduced in 2017 on the Cadillac CT6 sedan, which was ds continued last year. An improved version is coming this year on the Cadillac Escalade SUV and the Cadillac CT 4 and CT5 sedans.

Super Cruise only works on highways that have been previously laser-mapped in three dimensions. GPS positioning and the vehicles, radar sensors(传感器) and cameras are used to enable drivers to unh and — and un foot — all the controls.

Drivers still need to pay attention, however. A camera in the car makes sure the driver is looking at the road at all times. If the driver looks away from the road for more than a few seconds, the system will stop working.

Most of us can lose our train of thought midway through a sentence but when you’re a stand-up comic (单口相声演员) , it can cause disaster— as comedian Billy Connolly knows. The 70-year-old Scot admitted the fact last week, and he now suffers from worrying about memory loss on stage.    16    His wife Pamela owes it to years of drinking in his early career.

But absent-mindedness is not just about “senior moments”, says neuropsychologist Dr Iddon. “In a recent study of healthy adults, the average number of memory slips, like putting the coffee jar in the fridge, was around six per week, regardless of age, sex and intelligence,” says Dr Iddon. “    17     ” Remembering is an active process and making the most of your memory involves paying better attention, planning and organising.     18    

1. Exercise more.

Several studies have shown that exercise is particularly good at improving memory. Exercise is also thought to encourage the growth of new brain cells in the hippocampus — an area of the brain important in memory and learning.

2.    19    

So if a joke is learned in the presence of a particular smell, that same smell may arouse the memory for that joke.“ More simply, when in an exam, I advise my students to imagine the place in which they were revising as a reminder,” says Andrew Johnson, memory specialist and lecturer in psychology.

3. Drink more milk.

Scientists asked 972 people to fill in detailed surveys on their diets and to complete eight difficult tests to check their concentration, memory and learning abilities.    20