5 . Nowadays, more and more young people have the chance to go to another country to study. Studying abroad will enable you to have various experiences. My best recommendation is to be open to the experiences and the culture shock. Several common new experiences are around food, locations, culture, and language.

Food: The food in a foreign country will not only be different from American food, but the cooking style will also be different. For example, while most American vegetables are usually boiled, in China, where I studied abroad, vegetables are often fried, which, as far as I’m concerned, is terrible! China actually helped me like my former enemy, vegetables. So, have an open mind, and try the local food.

Locations: In terms of locations, I mean that your location abroad may differ from your home location or college location. For example, coming from San Francisco, going to school at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, was a location shock for me. I was not used to the very slow public transport and the need to drive.

Culture: Having an open mind will benefit you the most. In a global education program, we had Chinese roommates, and my Mount Holyoke Class was mainly made up of Chinese graduate students. Therefore, hanging out with them was not too much trouble, but if finding local friends is not that easy, join clubs, sit at coffee shops, or start conversations at a gathering or party. Interested in flea markets and art galleries, I looked online for those types of events and went to them where I made friends with locals alike. Another way to fit in with the culture is to find people who will go to cultural events and places with you. I would walk around Shanghai, taking in the Chinese culture everywhere I went.

6 . By now, most of us have picked up at least one pandemic hobby. And there's a seemingly common pandemic hobby trend: People who haven't been able to go anywhere are making imaginary travel plans. Maybe you're among those who have spent hours researching locations-even though you're not actually planning to travel.

It turns out that you aren't alone. People who seem to be sticking to public safety recommendations are still planning trips they don't intend to book. And, when I suddenly found myself addicted to an imaginary girls' trip to Joshua Tree, I wondered whether this was a healthy distraction.

"It's an escapist imagination," said Regine Galanti, a psychologist, adding that there's nothing wrong with escapism during a global pandemic.

On the one hand, distractions are often beneficial right now. We are a full year into living with COVID-19 as a pandemic, and that means you've probably had to navigate a range of emotions like discomfort, sadness, or even boredom. So any hobby that doesn't harm anyone or endanger your well-being is probably a worthy attempt.

Even if vacation planning is your happy place, Dr. Galanti suggests you "actually think about what you're trying to achieve." Why? "Maybe what you're saying is, I need a vacation from work," Dr. Galanti explains. "Then take three days off even if you are not going anywhere. "When you figure out what you're looking for, you might be able to find a small socially distanced adventure in your backyard or a quiet place. Vacation planning is a good way to spend some time, but there might be an even better way to get what you're desiring.

Anyway, when uncertainty is all around us, creating things to look forward to isn't a terrible idea. And when things are safer, you'll have all your plans in place.

7 . Tourist Guide to the National Gallery

Opening hours: Daily 10: 00 am- -6: 00 pm; Friday 10: 00 am- 9: 00 pm

Closed: 2426 December

Reasons to visit:

With over 2, 300 paintings in the collection, there are hundreds of reasons to visit the Gallery. Here are some to get you started...

Get into great art. From Leonardo da Vinci to Vincent van Gogh: See priceless works of art for free.

Get creative. Brush up your skills, and create your own great works of art...

Learn about art. Discover more about paintings...

Regulations:

Talk in a low voice when you use your cellphone in the gallery

Please do not touch the paintings or other exhibits. Do not take pets in or cross the barriers.

Consume food and drink in designated areas only i.e. not in rooms that contain paintings.

Follow our no smoking policy in any part of the building.

Follow our no photograph policy in exhibitions where a sign is displayed.

Access:

The National Gallery aims to make access to the paintings enjoyable and welcoming to the widest possible public. There are a range of facilities to help you see the collection, visit exhibitions and come to events.

The Gallery offers British Sign Language-interpreted talks on paintings for visitors who are deaf, and special art sessions(展期) for visitors who can't see.

Address: The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square London WC2N 5DN

Click here to find more information.

8 . I have been dancing since I was 14 years old, when my best friend dragged me to an after-school dance class. I enjoyed that dance class so much that I have been dancing ever since. After every dance class, however, I always have to stretch out my legs and back, as dancing can be quite a tough workout! It feels like as much exercise as going to the gym—but dancing is not widely considered to be a sport.

Many dancers would argue that dancing is a sport, as it requires great physical stamina (耐力), strong muscles and impressive flexibility. No matter what style of dance you are participating in, you will always be using all of your muscles while dancing and this can often be for several hours a day. Additionally, in the more traditional dance styles (such as ballet and contemporary dance), men often lift their female dance partners up in the air. The strength that dancers need means that they are often just as athletic as footballers, runners or swimmers.

On the other hand, many people argue that dance is an art form. Dances often exhibit emotion, show characters and tell stories. Dancing to music is creative and visually appealing to the eyes and ears. It is easy to see why many people consider dance to be an art form. I personally believe that dance is both a sport and an art. I believe that a great dancer will be a mixture of an athlete and an artist.

However, whether you consider dance to be an art or a sport, the important thing is to enjoy it! Dancing is a great way to make new friends and it’s a really fun way to exercise!

9 . Activities For Families with Children

There are plenty of things to do and see around Cusco, Peru that children will enjoy.

Horse riding

Many children will enjoy the opportunity to ride a horse. The Happy Ranch horse farm organizes horse rides through the countryside passing wheat fields and small towns, wooden huts, open air markets and cooking outside over a fire. Price for a horse ride is US $ 12 per person.

Cooking class

If you enjoy local food, taking a cooking class could be fun. Several restaurants offer classes, which start with a visit to a local market to buy fresh ingredients ( 原 料 ). Wearing a cook’s hat, children can help washing and cutting. Prices for a 3 hours class start at US $ 13 per person.

Hot air balloon

A hot air balloon ride will give you great views of the city. The balloon goes up about 200 meters if weather conditions are OK, less if conditions are windy. The balloon will stay at that altitude for about 10 minutes. Prices are US $ 20 for an adult, half price for children.

Ceramics class

A fun activity for kids is taking a ceramics class at the Fine Arts Center. With the help of an experienced potter, kids can make their own creation on the potter’s wheel from clay. The basic clay class costs US $15 per person and takes 1.5 hours.

10 . Faced with a declining population and workforce, Japan has been increasingly turning to robots for help. Over the years, the robots have carried out a large number of human tasks, including building products and providing care for the elderly.

However, the robots currently being used by companies, like Walmart and Amazon, are only able to perform single, repetitive tasks, such as stacking boxes. Model-T, on the other hand, has a wider range of movement and is able to hold, pick and place objects of several different shapes and sizes into different locations, making it ideal for convenience and grocery stores, which sell a large variety of items.

Model-T robots are operated from a distant location by human “pilots” wearing a virtual reality (VR) headset and special gloves, which allow them to feel the product the robot is holding in their hands and guide it to the right shelf.

The VR-controlled robots are ten times cheaper than automated robots, because they don’t require advanced programming and are easier to develop and maintain. And their easy-to-use controls require little training. Tomohiro Kano, a general manager in charge of development at FamilyMart, believes this will enable the chain to recruit workers who would typically not work in stores.

Though Model-T appears to be getting rapidly through the experiments, it is not quite ready to enter the workforce. Besides being a lot slower than humans, it is also only able to lift packaged items, and cannot get hold of things such as fruits and vegetables. The company is working to improve the weaknesses and hopes to introduce a faster, more skillful Model-T within the next two years. They believe that in addition to the stores, the robots could also be useful in hospitals, allowing doctors to do operations from remote locations.