2 . Culture shock is the feeling of losing direction experienced by someone suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture and way of life.     1    . This guide will inform you of the different stages of culture shock, helping you be better mentally prepared.

1. The Honeymoon Stage

The first stage of culture shock is often overwhelmingly positive during which travelers become fascinated with the language, people and food in their new surroundings.     2    . On short trips, the honeymoon phase may take over the entire experience as the later effects of culture shock don’t have time to set in.

2. The Frustration Stage

Frustration may be the most difficult stage of culture shock and is probably familiar to anyone who has lived abroad or who travels frequently. At this stage, the stress of not understanding gestures, signs and the language sets in and miscommunications may be happening frequently. Small things — losing keys, missing the bus or not being able easily order food in a restaurant-may trigger frustration.     3    . These are common phenomenon that people tend to see as natural reactions.

3. The Adjustment Stage

    4    . Navigation becomes easier, friends and communities of support are established and details of local languages may become more recognizable during the adjustment stage. People are comfortable with the cultures, people, food and languages of new environments.

4. The Acceptance Stage

Generally — though sometimes weeks, months or years after wrestling with the emotional stages outlined above — the final stage of culture shock is acceptance. Acceptance doesn’t mean that new cultures or languages are fully grasped.     5    . During the acceptance stage, travelers have the familiarity and are able to draw together the resources they need to feel at ease.

3 . FOOTLOOSE FUN

The Isle of Wight Walking Festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year — and a number of similar events are taking place across the UK as the weather warms up.

BEST FOR ISLANDS

Isle of Wight Walking Festival

This festival celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2024, with an event in spring and another in autumn. Book onto the spring session to see the island’s natural world beginning to stir — guided walks take participants in search of red squirrels, passing through bluebell (风铃草) woods, wading the shallows on a seagrass harvesting project and exploring the steep, splendid scenery of West Wight. 11-19 May.

BEST FOR MOUNTAINS

Arran Mountain Festival

Anyone wishing to dip their toe into Scottish mountaineering should head to the Isle of Arran: not only are its hills said to represent the Highlands in mini size, but it also hosts the Arran Mountain Festival, with a programme of walks for multiple abilities. Head up Goatfell — the island’s highest point (874m) — or cross the A’Chir ridge, with vertical drops below. 17-20 May.

BEST FOR EASY WALKS

Suffolk Walking Festival

If the contours (等高线) of Wales, the English Lakes or the Scottish Highlands seem too hard, head to the more kindly slopes of Suffolk for this walking festival. Close to 60 guided walks explore this famously flat county, ranging from wanders beside the North Sea coast at mysterious Orford Ness to strolls amid the more picturesque landscapes of Dedham Vale. 11-26 May.

4 . Rookery Bay Festival of Birds

January 1-31

Join Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and partners in January for the2023 Festival of Birds. All month long, festival participants can enjoy expert speaker presentations and virtual live adventures online. This 19th annual event is hybrid, so you can join Rookery Bay Research Reserve from wherever you are! A festival pass is required and it includes free admission to the Environmental Learning Center all month long!

Virtual lectures

● Brown Pelican Biology by Rochelle Streker(1/6,2:00—2:45 pm)

● Audubon Florida’s Rooftop Nesting Program by Rebekah Snyder(1/7,2:00—2:45 pm)

● Birds Need Natural Climate Solutions by Renee Wilson(1/13,2:00——2:45 pm)

●The Race to Save Seabirds Around the Globe by Ada m DiNuovo(1/19,2:00—2:45 pm)

● Birding Coast to Coast: The Life of a Big Year Birder by David McQuade(1/27,5:30—7:00 pm)

Live from the Field (1/11, 1/19 and 1/26, 11 :00   11 : 45 am). Join Rookery BayResearch Reserve staff behind the scenes to observe how species and habitats in the Reserve are monitored and conserved for future generations.

Included with your Festival of Birds pass- $ 50

● Children’s Book Author Signing

● Bird Banding Demonstration

● Eco-Tours: boat tours at Rookery Bay Research Reserve

● Access to 24 trips to Area Hotspots (additional fees may apply): Big Cypress NaturePreserve, Bunche Beach Preserve, Clam Pass Park, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, DonnaFiala Eagle Lakes Community Park, Harns Marsh, Rookery Bay Research Reserve, and Tigertail Beach.

Notice: If you purchase your festival pass and use your unique festival code to register, you will receive a 10% discount.

5 . In Wang Jinsong’s childhood, shadow puppetry(皮影戏), a theatrical performance that uses the shadow of puppets (木偶) cast onto a screen, was a form of children’s entertainment. Wang referred to the folk art as“magic”, not because of the performers’ techniques, but because of the happiness the art used to bring to the village in the old days. Dating back to 2,000 years, shadow puppetry combines painting, carving, opera, literature and music. Today, it still provides a lot of inspiration for Chinese cartoons, captivating generations of audiences.

At the same time, different schools appeared in different places, such as Shanxi Province, Beijing and Hebei Province. Tangshan shadow play belongs to the Hebei branch. Going through ups and downs in the last 400 years, it has developed into an established school. “It has had a great impact on the development of many shadow puppetry schools in North China,” Wang said.

In Tangshan shadow puppetry, artists handle their puppets on strings behind the screen while one artist tells a story through song, at times improvising (即兴表演) as they go along. “The song’s scripts are the most difficult part to inherit,” Wang said. In the past, students could only learn them by carefully taking in their teacher’s performance. Due to low income and extensive training, young people today were less willing to study shadow play.

Fortunately, its development has gained attention. In 2016, shadow play was included on the national cultural heritage list. It’s been introduced in schools as part of local culture, and has gained many more young fans this way. According to Wang, the Tangshan Shadow Puppetry Troupe has been receiving more government support and provides viewers with more innovative and high-quality performances.

In 2019, Tangshan built a park themed on this art where visitors can learn more about the culture and history of shadow puppetry. “We hope to revive (复活) the ancient art in a modern and fun way,” Li Shaohui, manager of the park told Xinhua News Agency.

7 . At Beijing’s Palace Museum, it sometimes seems that time stands still, but the clocks keep ticking at a small workshop there. This is where clock conservator (文物修复员) Qi Haonan works. .

As part of the fourth generation of conservators to repair and restore antique (古老的) clocks at the museum since 1949, Qi has returned more than 100 clocks to their former glory.

After having majored in mechanical automation during his university studies, Qi joined the cultural relics restoration department at the Palace Museum in 2005. “In the beginning, everything in the palace was new to me. It made me excited to even think about repairing antique clocks,” the 41-year-old told China Daily. But reality soon weakened his warmth. There is a rule at the museum: For the first year you can look, but not touch. From 8 a. m. to5 p. m. every day, he checked and took apart watches and clocks collected from his friends to practice. After a year of repeated work, he could finally get his hands on the clocks in the museum and get a better understanding of the job. To him, restoring such clocks doesn’t mean making them look brand-new. Through cleaning and restoration, he tries to keep them in their original form, bringing back their former function.

Qi still remembered the excitement he felt when the hands of his first repaired clock began to move. It was a French clock, which took him a month to restore. “What amazes me most about these clocks is that they combine the scientific advances, technological precision (精确) and trends in decorative art of their particular times,” Qi told China Daily.

Although the antique clock repairing special skills at the Palace Museum were listed as a national intangible (非物质的) cultural heritage in 2014, it was still a little-known skill and the specialty was in short supply of professionals. Until 2016, a 3-part TV documentary, Masters in the Forbidden City, made it possible to the public.

Qi started posting videos about the antique clocks on social media in 2019, giving viewers a look into the work. “With rising attention and influence, antique clock restoration can not only be further developed, but also expanded to more museums which house antique clocks and watches,” Qi told China Daily.

9 . Along the rocky Algerian coast, just east of where Mount Chenoua slides into the Medi-terranean, has stood Tipasa for more than 2,500 years. It is considered one of the most important archaeological sites in North Africa.

Tipasa fell into ruin in the sixth century. Both its main group of buildings on the coast and an inland monumental tomb(陵墓)surrounded by the olive trees were all forgotten. Most of the ancient city, in fact, remains buried under the ground. For the last few decades, however, what’s left of Tipasa’s past has been increasingly surrounded on three sides by the expanding modern town of Tipasa. And to the north, the waves lap ever closer.

“What’s special about Tipasa, a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site since 1982, is its unique landscape, the shared presence of history and archaeology, culture, nature and architecture. It’s the spirit of the place,” said Lynda, who has studied Tipasa and the ongoing challenges from both rapid urbanization(城市化)and inadequate(不足的)site management.

Now, Tipasa is entering a new period, perhaps its last: It’s become a symbol of an entire continent’s heritage in great danger. In a recent Nature Climate Change paper, a team reported the results: How sea level rise is affecting nearly 300 World Heritage Sites around Africa’s roughly 20,000 miles of coastline. About 20 percent of the sites examined, including Tipasa, are already at high risk from flooding and erosion(侵蚀).By 2050 that figure is expected to more than three times.

The site’s 21st-century problems have only increased in the last two decades. UNESCO has repeatedly threatened to strip the site of World Heritage status. As recently as 2021, the organization noted a series of problems at Tipasa, such as modern building, including a proposed port, that threatened the site’s completeness.