3 . Primary and secondary school learners, university students, and guests were invited on Wednesday and were treated to a colorful celebration at the Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi, to mark the beginning of the year of the dragon which officially starts on Saturday. The place featured beautiful decorations with red and gold colors and lucky symbols.

Visitors got an opportunity to participate in cultural experiences including painting, papercutting and pot throwing as well as experiencing Chinese cuisines like spicy hotpot, steamed stuffed buns (包子) , Chinese hamburgers, dumplings and barbecue among others. They were also treated to heartwarming performances including face-changing, lion dance, dragon dance, drumming, Chinese opera, Chinese songs and a talent show featuring Chinese traditional clothes as well as a mixture of Chinese and Kenyan fashion.

Leah Muthoni, a student at the University of Nairobi lauded the Chinese cuisines served at the event, especially noodles and dumplings. She also appreciated the decorations, drawings, pictures and performances. Similar feelings were also shared by George Mwita, another student from the University of Nairobi who greatly enjoyed the pot throwing game.

In his welcoming speech, Professor Stephen Kiama, the vice headmaster of the University of Nairobi who doubles up as the Kenya director of the Confucius Institute, hoped this year will be a good year of development because the Chinese dragon horns represent power and strength, while the drums represent courage and energy.

Kiama said the Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi has achieved a lot since its establishment in 2005, including winning the Confucius Institute of the Year Award seven times and pioneering the establishment of the Bachelor of Arts in the Chinese language in Kenya. “Last year, with the joint efforts of the various parties and stakeholders we established the first bachelor of education in Chinese in Kenya and we admitted the first group of students,” he said. Kiama hopes that this year the Confucius Institute will gain more force with the blessing of power, courage and vitality from the year of the Chinese dragon. He said the Confucius Institute offers a good platform for cultural exchange between China and Kenya through events like the Chinese Lunar Year celebrations. Kiama hoped that the relationship between China and Kenya would further be strengthened by the blessings of the year of the dragon.

In Chinese methodology (方法论) , the dragon has the power to control seasons, time and harvests, and it’s seen as a symbol of wealth. The Chinese consider dragons to be powerful. sympathetic, wise, kind and warm.

4 . In 1240, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II built Castel del Monte on a lonely hill in central Puglia, where he had a perfect view of approaching enemies. He probably never imagined the enemies might be tourists one day. But these days, the old castle has been polished clean, and hundreds of multicolored Pullman buses snake up the winding roads to its grounds, now filled with T-shirt stands, Coca-Cola signs and a 200-car parking lot. All this thanks to the fact that UNESCO has designated (认定) it a World Heritage Site in 1996.

Officially, UNESCO honors places that exemplify an area’s ancestry, with the purpose of ensuring they are preserved. Unofficially, this designation is a kind of fairy dust that often turns little-known cultural sites into overnight tourist sensations. This is both a gift and a cuss. Lisa Mastny, senior adviser to the World Watch Institute, says tourism is double-edged for places considered of “outstanding value to humanity. It offers many poor communities the chance to obtain financial rewards, but also threatens the very resources —human and natural—upon which the industry is ultimately built”.

There is growing awareness that assigning UNESCO designation is worthless — or worse, harmful — without some kind of follow-up preservation program. “In the early days there wasn’t much attention given to what would happen once these site s became World Heritage. But that’s changing slowly,” says Joseph King, director of the sites unit at the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM). In Africa, a 12-year training program is currently underway to teach locals not only how to preserve their immovable cultural heritage, but how to use it for economic development. In Eastern Europe, where tourism is a relatively new thing, cities are looking for help in figuring out where to draw the line between preserving historical centers and promoting urban development.

5 . There are festivals going on somewhere in the world every day of the year. These range from very large events to local celebrations in tiny villages. We have selected a few of the more unusual, colourful festivals from around the world.

Mighty Mud (泥; 泥浆) Mania: Scottsdale, Arizona, USA

Children’s dreams really do come true in the City of Scottsdale. Children aged 1 to 13, get to join in the mud race Mighty Mudway features water and mud games. There are also water slides, sandcastle buildings and fun for all ages. Moms and dads, remember to send your kids out with old clothes and shoes.

Songkran Festival, Thailand

What better way to celebrate the “start of the return of rains” than with a country-wide water fight? Thais celebrate their festival officially from April 13th until April 15th. These three days represent the last day of the old year, the day of transition, and the first day of the New Year. Water battles fought out for days in the streets of every town and city over the country.

The La Tomatina Festival, Spain

On the last Wednesday of every August thousands of Spaniards take part in the La Tomatina Festival in Bunol. Truckloads of tomatoes are pulled in each year and dumped in the city centre. The people throw tomatoes at each other for the whole day, but the only rule is that the tomato must be flattened in the hand first, before being thrown. Even elderly grandmothers have been known to take part.

Canberra Sled Dog Classic: Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

Dog sledding is one of the fastest growing sports on the east coast of Australia. As there’s no snow (the trail is earth and sand and is smooth and wide with a few hills and turns) , the sleds have wheels instead of runners, but the excitement is the same.

6 . Australia Day, on 26 January, is in memory of the day in 1788 when Captain Arthur Phillip, commander of the First Fleet of 11 British ships, arrived at Sydney Cove to mark the birth of the colony (殖民). Every year, many in this nation of 24 million people gather on beaches and around barbeques to celebrate. From boats competitions, camel races, to outdoor concerts, Australians mark a public holiday more popularly treated as a late summer festival than the serious national day its founders intended it to be — a unifying celebration of the good fortune of being Australian and the values that unite the nation: freedom, independence, a fair go, mateship.

However, not all Australians feel the same about the day. Recently there has been much controversy over the correctness of celebrating on this date. Native Australians, in particular, have long referred to this date as "Invasion (入侵) Day" or "National Day of Mourning (哀悼)" in protest of the arrival of the British peoples. They mourn their ancestors who suffered and died during colonization. There has even been a growing push to change the date of the national celebration, a move popular with younger Australians but less so with older generations.

In response to the protests, the Australian government has recognized the traditional owners of the lands on which Australia Day activities take place, in the hope that Australians from all backgrounds come together to celebrate Australia as a multicultural society. "Our desire is that Australia Day is a time for inclusion, as well as an opportunity for greater understanding," one officer from The Australian Department of Communications and the Arts said.

7 . There are plenty of opportunities to study and work abroad. But some early-career scientists might face challenges adapting to different communication styles and different workplaces. However, supervisors(主管) and junior researchers can reduce the risk of misunderstandings by actively learning about each other’s cultures and expressing workplace expectations clearly.

It is important to be sensitive (灵敏的) to cultural differences and to avoid misunderstandings. Nanda Dimitrov, director of Western University’s Teaching Support Centre in London, says that she personally experienced directness more often in the United Kingdom than in the United States. She points out that the relationship between junior researcher and supervisor is influenced by many factors including personality, former experiences and the department’s culture.

Keshun Zhang faced this issue after moving from China to the University of Konstanz in Germany to get his PhD in psychology. He was used to following teachers’ suggestions. But the culture in Germany always encourages you to argue, to fight for yourself. With his supervisor’s encouragement, he started pushing back. After his first year, his supervisor said, “Wow, finally you have learnt to say no.” Zhang also realized that he was expected to work independently(独立地). His supervisor urged him to try to solve problems on his own and to ask for guidance only if he became stuck.

“People sometimes brush off a student from another country as ‘rude’, but in their culture, they’re not,” says Amratia, who was a Kenya student at the University of Florida in Gainesville. “Researchers should also remember that their nation’s customs aren’t necessarily best. When you come from a different country, you don’t assume everybody should be doing things your way. I never cared if somebody was different from me as long as it didn’t seriously affect the rest of the lab,” Amratia said.

8 . Thanksgiving is a time of year when we get together with our families and celebrate peace over a giant feast including roast turkey and pumpkin pie.

There are many reasons why the pumpkin pie is made for Thanksgiving, one of which is related to the season. In the USA, Thanksgiving sits at the beginning of the fall season, and this is celebrated over a feast made up of seasonal food. Pumpkins are harvested in North America and Canada during the fall; therefore, being a seasonal crop, it is in richness at this time.

In 1621 some of the earliest American settlers came across pumpkins for the first time and were new to eating it. Early recipes (食谱) describe ways of cooking pumpkins, which would have included hollowing out (挖空) a pumpkin and filling it with milk and honey. They would have then roasted this on a fire. It became a tradition for the Native Americans to bring the pumpkins to the settlers as gifts, and they showed them how to cook and prepare pumpkins.

Pumpkin pie recipes began to appear in English-written American cookbooks in 1670. Some recipes included adding apples for added flavor (味道). Most recipes have continued to follow the basis of using pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, salt, butter, and so on.

The biggest pumpkin pie in the world was made on September 25, 2010, at the New Bremen Pumpkin Fest in Ohio. To make this large pie, 2,796 eggs, 525 pounds of sugar, and 1,212 pounds of canned pumpkin were used. After baking, the total weight of the pie was 3,699 pounds.

The pumpkin pie was a creation made with the help and guidance of Native Americans and is an important part of celebrating Thanksgiving.