article -- 1 Challenges, however, are excellent opportunities for growth. It may take some courage at first, and it may even hurt a little at times, but you'll be amazed at what a rewarding and beautiful experience it can be to learn to thrive in a different culture, to broaden your skills and resourcefulness by learning to adapt to a new environment, and to gain a better understanding of yourself and your world in the process. So buckle up and prepare yourself for the sometimes fun, sometimes challenging, and always rewarding adventure that is study abroad. You'll be responsible for yourself, and you'll be the one reaping the benefits. But that doesn't mean you won't need any help along the way, so let me offer you a few helpful tips to make your transition from one culture to another a bit smoother. 1. Be willing to re-think your sense of personal space. The U.S. is a really big country. There's a lot of space: space in between people, houses, cities But that's not the way people live in many other parts of the world. During your experience abroad you'll be forced to reconsider how much space you really need around your body in order to feel comfortable. Or, put another way, you'll have to get used to being much closer to people than you're probably used to. Depending on where you go you'll notice to one degree or another that more people live in a smaller surface area. Basically, this translates to large crowds of pedestrians, busier streets where cars, motorcycles and bicycles share narrower lanes, and buses and metros that use every bit of surface area except (and this depends on where you go) the roof to get commuters to and from work. All this activity also means you'll be bombarded with much more sensory stimulation than you're probably used to: constant movement, more noise, different smells Not that you won't be able to handle it - just know that it'll probably take some getting used to. Soon enough, you'll no longer be bothered every time the bus hits the brakes and you feel someone leaning into you; you won't get flustered crossing the road amidst a bustling throng of pedestrians. 2. Prepare for a different level of body contact than what you're used to. Have I started with the scariest points? This one is similar to #1, but I think it should go separately because it's more of a cultural than logistics thing. So here's something you'll probably realize very soon into your experience abroad that you might not have noticed before: the U.S. is a pretty low-contact society. Sure, we shake hands and family members will merit hugs or kisses but besides that not too much else. If you're traveling to Latin America or Southern Europe, you'll be surprised by the amount of body contact involved in normal interactions and everyday communication. Hopefully you won't consider it offensive for someone you might not know that well to throw their arms around your shoulder, kiss you on the cheek, or give you a well intentioned hair-tussle. Don't worry though; it's something you'll get used to, and once you do, you'll see the charm and warmth of it. To be fair, some cultures engage in less body contact than we do in the States. You'll notice this if you're planning on studying abroad in places like Northern Europe or Japan. This may be harder to cope with, since more body contact means more friendliness; less of it than you're used to might initially make you feel distant and isolated from others. Either way, you'll get used to the level of contact in your country of choice because the truth is, all humans crave social interaction. Each culture simply finds a different way of channeling that need. 3. Think local, not tourist. So here you are in uncharted territory. Everything's exciting and new. You're your own master living your own adventure and you're loving it. And you should, you definitely should, but you should also be able to keep a level head about you and exercise good judgment. No matter where you go there will always be people who thrive on the gullibility and inexperience of foreigners. Bar owners who jack up their prices if you look like a tourist, taxi drivers who suddenly aren't familiar with the area and literally take you for a ride, or, worse, smiling 'tour guides' that'll take you through the city's most beautiful alleys and only charge you your wallet. Most issues you'd face abroad can be handled with the same level of common sense they'd require at home. You just need to be careful. It's nothing to be afraid of as long as you're aware that not everybody in the world is looking out for your best interests. This doesn't mean you should go to the other extreme and fall into paranoia - that'll make it impossible to enjoy your experience abroad. As always, a sane balance is required; if you can find it, you'll naturally steer clear of negative situations while keeping a positive attitude. And don't be upset for the occasional, inevitable mistake. Be patient with yourself and you'll learn to adapt more effectively. 4. Talk local, not tourist. You can get by pretty well with English in most countries, but you should definitely put in the effort to learn (or deepen your knowledge of) the local language if you want to get the most out of your study abroad experience. If you decide to take the easy way out and rely on your trusty old English, you'll miss out on a whole world of experiences and possibilities. Even the slightest effort at communicating with someone in their native language will yield good results: you'll be learning in the best and most practical way possible and others will respect you more for trying and will respond positively. Besides, there are plenty of circumstances where English won't be of much help, and you're going to have to learn at least the basics of the local language if you want to be truly self-sufficient. This isn't bad news - in fact, it's probably one of the reasons you chose to study abroad. Learning another language is good for you personally and professionally, and cultural immersion is the best, quickest and most stimulating way to do it. Here's the real advice: be patient with your progress. Even if you've studied the language in school, you're going to come up against a different dimension of it than you've encountered so far; the way people talk in the streets isn't bound to any textbook. Theoretical knowledge of a language will help, but you're going to have to bridge the gap between the theoretical and the practical, and this takes time. Chances are you'll feel like you're banging your head up against a wall to no avail until one day you look up and suddenly the wall's not there anymore. The key is to practice patience and persistence. 5. Walk local, not tourist. No, just kidding. 5. The last thing you want to hear. This is a boring point; probably the last thing you want to hear. When you think about studying abroad, you probably don't picture yourself sweatily washing dishes, but if you've never lived out of your parent's home, chances are you're going to have to learn the art of shopping, cooking and cleaning up after yourself. Sure you've shopped, sure you've cooked, sure you've cleaned before. But now there's nobody there to look over your shoulder; if you don't do it, you'll run out of toilet paper and be living in a dump. Basically, if you haven't already, you'll have to learn how to be self-responsible. And this is a good thing! It'll feel good to know you can handle all the little aspects of daily life without having to rely on someone else. It's crucial to be able to plan well and budget money wisely. The brain is no place to do any serious planning, so make a list of what your fixed costs are and how much you'll have left over for spending money, say, each week. This'll make it much easier to actually get by without having to ask someone back home for money, "pleeeease last time, I promise." Monitor your expenses particularly well the first few weeks of your stay and use your notes to project how things will go in coming weeks if you continue spending similarly. Saving receipts and taking a few minutes to jot down how you're spending money can be extremely helpful down the road; you'll be able to look back and see exactly where your money went and make adjustments accordingly. $60 for taxis in one week? Walking is great exercise. Before you start Extensive research about the place you’re travelling to. Find photos, articles, news and forums related to that place. Today you have access to virtually anything over the internet. Prepare a checklist of spots absolutely not to be missed as well as, if possible, notes with information about when to be there, if in the morning or in the afternoon. Once you have planned what to photograph, try to get permission and passes in advance by contacting the embassies, the consulates or chambers of commerce. Prepare a written list of things to not be forgotten. After all, once that task is completed, you save time for future travels. And keep that list updated if you realize, during the trip, that something is missing. Prepare a list also for clothes, accessories, shoes and whatever could be useful to have with you, for example in the middle of a desert, or in a big city in the third world. Clean your camera gear as well as possible before leaving. It could be difficult, if not impossible, doing it again on the spot (specially cleaning digital sensors). Prepare a list of your equipment with the exact description and serial numbers. Print several copies to carry with you. Each copy should include your name and address. And, last but not the least, check all parts of the cameras and accessories you are taking with you, to see if everything works properly. Pack spare batteries and memory cards as well as little props that it could be difficult or time consuming to find (white and black cloths as background for small objects close-up and/or Maglites (torches) of different sizes). Check your passport. On the spot As soon as you get there, dedicate some time to a quick survey, (without camera gear), of the places where you are going to spend the most of your time. This will save you time later. Try to get a feeling of dangers (if any). Find and remember potential escapes. Picture how to get back to your hotel via the quickest and safest way. Find an alternative. Personally check it to see if it works! During your first fact finding mission, take some time to look at postcards on sale. This is the best way to discover good points of view, hidden corners and also to have an idea of the average level of local photography. Who knows, you could end up by selling your pictures as postcards. In this first exploration bring a compass with you (my suggestion is to have a compass with you at all times) to check where the sun will be in the morning or afternoon. Get a rough bearing of the whole area. Invest a lot of time in talking to the local people, the fruit seller as well as the policeman. Start the conversation in any possible way (asking what time it is, is a good start, as is asking for directions to a known landmark). You can then switch to talk about things you are interested in, (does the person know the local imam and can they help you get a shot from the top of the minaret?). Always specify that your aim is to take great pictures to promote his/her city or country abroad. Keep a journal of your activities. Take notes of meaningless things as well. Where you have been? What’s the name and phone of that guy that kindly opened his house with a balcony overlooking the main square? How much is the average prize for a pretzel in the street? Which bus number goes to the top of the hill for the best view of the city? Especially if you spotted great places but you had no chances or time to take the shots, write down that information for a future trip. Do not pay people that pretend to be your guide through the maze of a medina. Be strict and in cases, impolite, in refusing. Generally speaking the old city is a safe place to wander and there is no risk of getting lost. Being with a false guide, instead, you’ll very likely end up in a souvenir shop where you have to fight to be able to continue your tour. And also if you want to buy something, don’t do it when with a local. You’ll pay more because he goes back later to claim a percentage from the shop. After Store in a file all the information you gathered during this trip. Make a list of places you have visited but that you didn’t take pictures of because of bad weather or lack of time. As soon as possible write captions for your pictures. After two days at home, back to your normal life, that cosy square where you spent every night sipping hot tea, no longer has a name. Send copies of pictures if you promised to do that. This will pay in the long terms either you again or another fellow photographer. and last but not the least use wikitravel. its' tell you about stuff you didn't knew before. ---------------------------------------------------------------- It's always good to have fun with the video camera with the family. After you've bought a new digital camcorder, you'd be great to start on some family video projects just to test out your shooting skills but most of the people dont' know what to do with their recorders. well here's a list IF that gives you an idea. Events and Celebrations first thing you can do with your camcorder is to capture digital video for events and celebrations. Anything from birthdays to anniversaries, to your kid's prom, graduation or first day of school - any of these events are worth taking out that digital camcorder and recording some clips. Interviews you can try is to record interviews with your family members. For example, if your son just graduated from university, you can interview him with a short lists of questions like 'So how do you feel?' or 'How ready are you to take on the world?' - stuff like that. don't give them questions befor ehand, just take the reactions. Family Recipes Another idea for a fun family video project is to capture your family recipes on video. Remember, Grandma might have a lot of nice recipes to pass to you guys, but it's all in her head. So if you can film her cooking those dishes, then you've got all her techniques recorded. Give The Kids The Video Camera Here's a good idea. You can try giving the digital camcorder to your kids to see what they film. You'd be surprised at some of the interesting shots they can take. Yearbook Videos Another great family video project to do is a 'Yearbook Video'. What you do is to think of a yearly theme to the family, e.g. '10 Things We Accomplished As A Family in 2008' or 'Top 10 Funniest Moments In The Smith Family 2008' - these make for very interesting perspectives into family life. Video Blogs You'll know that places like YouTube have taken the world by storm. These days, digital videos, much like digital photos, are no longer restricted to your home PC. You have the option of uploading them to YouTube and other places to share your video moments with others. Try starting a video blog for the family and allow all family members to upload videos as and when they like. For more information on sharing videos via the web, do check out this page . Home Tour One of the best family video projects is to do a 'Home Tour'. Just walk around the house, video camera in hand, and start describing the rooms and furniture, etc. Go like 'This is the living room, where we spend countless hours watching old re-runs', or 'This is my son's room - as you can see he didn't make his bed today (again)'. Stuff like these are great fun. i hope this is what was required. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some people would argue that smoke-a-holic is just a cute word which should not be compared to what they consider degrading syndromes. Contrary to this belief, nicotine addiction can be equally as strong and deadly as any of these other conditions. In fact, if you total the number of people who die yearly of all these other conditions combined, they would not add up to the number of premature deaths attributed to cigarette smoking. Until recent times, the idea of nicotine being a metally addictive substance was controversial in the world-wide medical community. For a drug to be considered addictive, it must meet certain criteria. First, it must be capable of inducing physical withdrawal upon cessation. Nicotine syndrome is a well documented, established fact. Second, tolerance to the drug usually develops. Increasingly larger doses become necessary to achieve the same desired effects. Smokers experience this phenomenon as their cigarette consumption gradually increases from what probably was once in a while use to point of become chain smokers using daily consumption of one or more packs. The third criterion is that an addictive substance becomes a totally consuming necessity to its user, usually resulting in what is considered by a society as anti-social behavior. Many have argued that cigarette smoking fails to fulfill this requirement. True, most smokers do not resort to deviant behaviors to maintain their dependency, but this is because most smokers do manage to easily obtain the full complement of cigarettes they need to satisfy the addiction. When smokers are deprived of easy accessibility to cigarettes, the situation is totally different. During World War II, in concentration camps in Germany, prisoners were not given enough food to fulfill minimum caloric nutritional requirements. They were literally starving to death. A common practice among smoking prisoners was to trade away their scarce supplies of life sustaining food for cigarettes. Even today, in underdeveloped countries, such as Bangladesh, parents with starving children barter away essential food for cigarettes. This is not normal behavior. many peopel i talked to admit to going through ashtrays, garbage cans and, if necessary, gutters looking for butts which may still have a salvageable value of a few puffs when their own supplies are depleted due to carelessness or unforeseen circumstances. To them, it is sick to think that they ever performed such a grotesque act, but many realize that if they were currently smoking and again caught in a similar situation, they would be doing the same thing Nicotine is a drug. It is addictive. And if you let it, it can be a killer. Consider this when you get the urge for a cigarette. One puff can and most often will reinforce the addiction. Don't take that chance. Remember - NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF! here u go, 3 articles. can be modified according to your needs..
I wonder why people start out threads like this and never reply to the PM we send..... And for competent123, it is nice to see you are composing articles for free but giving them as posts here means that the buyer cannot get unique articles as the search engines will discover the contents of this thread now or later....
Its because sometimes the thread starter were fully loaded with lots of pms that don't have time to respond to each of them @competent123, I'm sorry but I didn't you give the article details to write and you just created those articles that I don't need Anyways, articles were done and delivered by Speedy_J. Thanks
i know, but this is not the article that he going to get, paid articels are always send as text files in e-mail. this is more like preview of what i can do. no problem sweet angel. next time..