2 . Starbucks recently made plans to build nearly 3, 000 new stores in China over the next five years. That almost doubles the number of stores here now. The company just opened its largest stores in Shanghai, China, which often has a long line of people waiting. It is opening a new store in China every 15 hours, and it now has plenty of competition. That marks an important change in the tastes and buying power of the growing market.

It’s no secret there’s a lot of tea in China. But coffee, not tea, is increasingly becoming the choice for China’s rapidly growing middle class.

Starbucks keeps opening hundreds of new stores here mainly because of China’s young people who are accepting coffeehouse culture. “You have a very young population that has got in touch with Western cultures easily,” Dave Seminsky said. He owns Sumerian Coffee in Shanghai.

There’s still a lot of room for the bean business here to grow. The ordinary person in China drinks just 3 cups of coffee every year, while the ordinary person in the U.K. drinks 250 cups and in the U.S., the number is 363. But that need and the influence of climate change on the world’s supply could lead to fewer beans and higher prices.

In the next 30 years, China could be bringing two to three million tons of coffee into the nation and the world’s supply of coffee now is 6.9 million tons. If coffee really does take off here, is there enough supply? Luckily, there’s still all that tea in China.

3 . Last weekend I made a journey from New York to London, with my daughter to see my mother. To my relief, the travel was far easier than I expected: the airports were empty, the plane was half-full and the airline staff kindly provided food and wine, which I drank greedily with a straw while wearing the required face mask. What I did not expect was to be hit with a culture shock on arrival in London.

In New York, face masks are now an inseparable part of life. Street signs declare “OUTSIDE WITH NO MASK? FORGET ABOUT IT!” Buildings carry more polite notices warning that anyone without a mask is banned. And even without them, almost everyone I see on the streets in my corner of Manhattan has their face covered. Strangers sometimes shout angrily at people who do not.

Indeed, there is such a strong sense of social pressure that in recent months I have worn a mask even when cycling alone, along Manhattan’s East river. And my daughter has taken to shopping online for “fashion masks”.

But not so in London. A new report issued by the Royal Society and the British Academy shows that, at the end of April, just 25 percent of Brits wore face masks in public places compared with 66 percent of Americans. We saw this for ourselves: in London, we appeared to be almost the only people wearing masks on the streets or in shops; even on public transport some seem to reject them.

Simon Roberts explains powerfully in a timely new book the Power of not Thinking. Habits matter deeply, but we rarely notice them — unless we travel. After a few days in London, I have started to “forget” my mask when I go outside. When I return to New York, I will have to relearn my habits all over again.

4 . There’s been a frightening increase in the number of people feeling lonely, brought on or made worse by COVID-19. In fact there’s been an epidemic (流行病)of loneliness.

Loneliness is awful and dangerous. For one thing it weakens self-control and that, University of Bristol researchers have found, makes quitting smoking very difficult. Moreover, data from hundreds of thousands of people led Dr. Robyn Wootton, senior research associate at Bristol University and colleagues to conclude that loneliness appears to increase the need to smoke.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the equivalent of 7.4 million people said their wellbeing was affected through feeling lonely in the first month of lockdown. Lonely people were also more likely to be struggling to find things that would help them cope and were also less likely to feel they had support networks to fall back on.

Dr. Robyn Wootton said, “We found evidence to suggest that loneliness leads to increased smoking, with people more likely to start smoking, to smoke more cigarettes and to be less likely to quit.” Senior author Dr. Jorien Treur from Amsterdam UMC added, “Our finding that smoking may also lead to more loneliness is tentative(不确定的), but it is in agreement with other recent studies that identified smoking as a risk factor for poor mental health. A potential explanation for this relationship is that nicotine from cigarette smoke has a great impact on neurotransmitters(神经传导物质)such as dopamine(多巴胺)in the brain.”

Dr. Wootton said with millions of people now being more socially separated, incidences of loneliness will climb. “We were really interested to find that loneliness decreases the likelihood of stopping smoking and we think this is a really important consideration for those trying to stop smoking during COVID-19,” she said. To ease your loneliness and improve your chances of succeeding in quitting, I think one of the best things you can do is to find a “buddy” who’ll try to give up smoking with you. Together you can compare notes, share progress, talk through difficulties, and encourage each other to keep on going when all you want is to give in.

6 . “Your skin’s a bit dry,” one user commented on a video posted by Angie, a popular influencer who first appeared on Chinese social media last fall. “You should apply a face mask.” In the video, uploaded to Douyin, Angie’s skin looks not smooth. A yawn shows slightly crooked teeth.

Typical influencers might respond back with a comment, but Angie is not a typical influencer—she’s not even a real person. Unlike China’s other virtual influencers, Angie doesn’t pose in designer clothes or promote new songs. Instead, she wears simple white tees, drinks Coca-Cola and yawns on screen. Sometimes she can be seen with zits. And her down-to-earth image clearly relates to people on Douyin, where she has attracted over 280,000 followers to date.

Virtual influencers are nothing new in China. The country’s first digital personality Ling was created in 2020. With her sharp jawline, thin face and rosy lips, Ling reflects a traditional Chinese beauty ideal. But Angie offers a refreshing alternative in a country where demand for plastic surgery is increasing and beauty apps compete to create filters that show users more beautiful versions of themselves.

Angie is the creation of Jesse Zhang, director of a Shenzhen-based CGI animation company. Zhang thought it would be fun to create a virtual character with imperfect features who could help people relax and feel more positive about themselves. Angie started taking shape in 2020, and within three months Zhang had posted his character’s first video to Dyinbe December, she had already gained around 100,000 fans. “I didn’t think she would take off so quickly,” he said, attributing her popularity to her calming, casual videos.

Some fans have credited Angie with cheering them up or helping them reduce life’s pressure. Angie, last time I left you a message saying I was feeling really sad. Now, I’m doing much better,” The follower said they were preparing for the upcoming semester, and that they would try to work hard in school. “Keep pressing on,” Angie wrote in response, adding that sad moments will become things of the past.

9 . The holidays are officially over, and while the vacation time could mean different things to people — catching up on competitive sports, eating amounts of food, or finally visiting your uncle — one thing is almost universal: the sentiment of “oh no, I have to go to work again.”

It’s easy to understand why we get a little depressed at the thought of coming back to everyday life. The post-vacation blues, the depression after the holiday, can have actual health effects. A journalist and travel writer Nneka Okona says, “For me, the dejection (沮丧) starts around the last 24 hours of a trip. I feel really down and sometimes even teary.”

But if vacations are supposed to be a significant boon to our happiness and well-being, why do we break down afterwards?

Jeroen Nawijn, a psychologist at the Breda University, says that though people generally become happier on their days off, those benefits weaken quickly after returning home. “They most likely feel best during vacation because they have more freedom to do what they want.” he explains.

Suzanne Degges-White, a therapist, echoes this sentiment. “Once we get back into the work world, the majority of us have to deal with piles of work,” she says. She also indicates the difficulty of rejoining the work life lies in the fact that duties don’t disappear when we go on vacation. “They know that problems may have stacked up in their absence. ” Degges-White adds.

Thankfully, there are ways to ease the sentimental blues. “Thinking ahead could also include making a to-do list for your first week back, keeping your work and living spaces clean and organized for your return.” Degges-White says.

One more tip: start planning your next vacation right away. “The only thing that has continually worked for me is booking another trip as quickly as possible.” Okona says, “My blues are disappearing if I know I have something else to look forward to.” She also recommends grabbing a useful rather than decorative souvenir(纪念品) so that you have something to tie your new experiences with your life back home.

Prepare you better for the reality that awaits post-vacation. And if all else fails, you can always try working your memories to trick yourself into happiness ever after.