3 . You can either travel or read, but either your body or your soul must be on the way. The popular saying has inspired many people to read or go sightseeing. Here are four books that you can take on your trip.

1. On the Road, 1957, by Jack Kerouac

The book is a popular spiritual guidebook about youth. The main character in the book drives across the US continent with several young people and finally reaches Mexico. After the exhausting and exciting trip, the characters in the book begin to realize the meaning of life.

2. Life Is Elsewhere, 1975, by Milan Kundera

Jean-Jacques Rousseau once said, "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains." The book describes a young artist's romantic but miserable life, about how he reads, dreams and has a relationship during his trip to Central Europe. The book invites you to deeply reflects on your current life and to honor the Czech-born writer Kundera.

3. My Name Is Red, 1998, by Orhan Pamuk

The book, a masterpiece of the Nobel Prize winner for Literature Orhan Pamuk, has been translated into more than 50 languages and published around the world. It tells a story of a young man, who was away from home for 12 years, coming back to his hometown in Istanbul. What embraces him is not only love, but a series of murder cases as well.

4. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, 2013, by Rachel Joyce

The novel tells a story of a 60-year-old man who lived a boring and unhappy life, until one day, he received his old friend's letter who got cancer. In deep shock and sorrow, he went out to send his reply letter. 627 miles in 87 days, he walked depending on one belief that “his friend can survive as long as he walks”.

5 . When I was 19 years old, I was at a dance club. As we were walking to my car one cold night, a man walked up to us. Behind him was a woman carrying a small child. The child had a jacket on but it wasn’t buttoned up(扣上). The man began to tell us he wanted to borrow some money for the night to get his wife and kid into a hotel. He had a job but no place to live in and was waiting for the first paycheck. He said he could get our mailing address and mail the money back.

The guy I was with reached into his pocket to give this man a $20 bill. As the other man was extending(伸出) his hand out to take the money, I put my hand on my new friends’ hand and said, “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

I told him that every day people asked my mother for money on her way to work. She said they made more money than she did, simply begging for money. These people were scamming those with soft hearts. And if they were truly worried about their child suffering from the cold, they would have at least buttoned his jacket or covered him with his blanket.

My new friend looked at me with disappointment and said, “Michelle, I know there are people out there that make use of others. I also know there are people out there that are one paycheck away from being homeless. If I give $ 20 to 10 people and only one of them really needs it and uses it for the right thing, it is worth it.”

I am now 37 years old and have never forgotten what he said to me. I don’t even remember his name. But I do remember that that experience changed the way I look at different situations.

6 . The thought of low material need and being unwilling to work, marry and have children, is described as a “lying down” lifestyle recently. It creates an emotional reaction among many young Chinese who are eager to take pause to breathe in this fast-paced and highly competitive society.

Many young people complained to the Global Times that duties, including work stress, family argument and financial pressure, have pushed them “against the wall”. They said they hate the “involution (内卷)”, joking that they would rather give up some of what they have than get stuck in an endless competition against peers(同龄人).

“Instead of always following the ‘good quality’ of struggle and sacrifice to bear the stresses, they prefer a temporary(暂时的) lying down as release and adjustment,” said an expert. “It is no wonder that some young people, under the growing pressures from child-raising to paying the mortgage (按揭) today, would try to live in a simple way and leave the worries behind.”

Interestingly, the majority of young people, who claim to be big fans of the lying down philosophy, admit that they only accept a temporary lying down as a short rest. It is true that with the great improvement of living conditions, some Chinese youth have partially lost the spirit of hardship and are not willing to bear too much hard work. But in fact, lying down is not entirely comfortable. Young people who lie down always feel ashamed about their constant loss of morale (士气).

“Young people have both ambition and confusion about their future, but most of us have refused to waste opportunities and challenges,” a postgraduate student told the Global Times. “It’s no use running away. I have to ‘stand up’ and face the reality sooner or later.”

7 . We know that China is the largest and fastest-growing consumer market in the world. What is less well understood are the forces that shape consumerism in the world’s most populous country. In my view, there are some social and cultural aspects at play that drive consumer spending.

Consumerism is related to freedom. To have a choice means to have consumer choice. You are what you consume. Consumption is an expression of self. It allows you to explore the world through its products, to experiment with lifestyle choices, and to do so safely and anonymously（匿名）. You might never get to France, but you can try French wine. California might be far, but you can go to Shanghai Disneyland. Indeed, the enthusiasm for choice is reflected in the enthusiasm Chinese consumers have for online shopping.

Consumerism is a statement of success. American economist Thorstein Veblen popularized the concept of “conspicuous consumption”. When consumption is no longer driven only by need, it becomes a way of making a statement that you have disposable（可自由支配的）income and you can ---at least in certain respects---enjoy life on your terms. Simple pleasures---a pair of shoes, a smartphone, designer clothing --- become statements of personal identity.

The collective experience is focused. We like participating in group events. FOMO, the Fear of Missing Out, goes beyond cultures. But I suspect this trend is stronger in China than in the West because Confucian culture does not celebrate outsiders as the West’s culture does. Social media reinforce（强化）this collective pattern so that shopping and dining are shared experiences. Opinions are crowd-sourced. And the merchants reinforce this pattern by supporting holiday sales, group buying, and other promotions.

Successful brands in China are able to handle most or all of the above considerations. The consumer must not only be delighted with your product. The journey of the consumer must also respect these socio-cultural aspects.

10 . New Zealand plans to forbid foreigners to buy existing homes. The ban is expected to become law this year. It aims to slow the rising housing prices and protect New Zealanders interested in buying a home.

The Labour Party government believes that foreign investors have pushed many possible first-time home buyers and families out of the housing market. Last year, housing prices across the country rose by 5.8 percent, to over $405,000. Housing prices rose even more in New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington. Price there rose by more than 18 percent over a 12-month period that ended in June 2017.

The rising prices have pushed home ownership outside the reach of many possible buyers. One home owner told VOA he feels sorry for the younger generation. “I just believe the market has made it impossible for them to get into the housing.” Just 25 years ago, three out of every four New Zealanders lived in their own homes. Now the rate is 64 percent — and falling.

The ban on forbidding foreigners to buy existing homes has yet to be approved. But the measure, called the Overseas Investment Amendment Bill, passed its first reading in parliament (国会)in December. Limiting foreign ownership of housing has been tried in other countries, including Switzerland, “ If foreign investors are looking to put their cash into New Zealand, if it then forces up the price of property, people cannot afford to live anymore.” says Norman Gemmell, chair of public finance at Victoria University.

Critics say foreign investors have had only a small effect on the cost of housing. Low interest rates, limited supply and immigration have also driven up house prices.

Housing prices continue to rise across the country. And for many New Zealanders, the dream of owning a home is as distant as ever.