Wei Shanshan

People view things and live their life differently because of varying cultural perspectives.  Thus, objects that look funny to people in China will appear tragic to people in the US.  A study showed participants cartoon displays of an individual fish moving in relation to a group of fish in various ways.  The Chinese participants saw the behavior of the individual fish as being produced by external factors, namely the other fish, than were Americans, whereas American participants perceived the behavior as being produced by factors internal to the individual fish.

Another study showed that, for ambiguous physical events involving phenomena that appeared to be hydrodynamic, aerodynamic, or magnetic, Chinese were more likely to refer to the field when giving explanations (e.g., “the ball is more buoyant than the water”) than Americans were.  The Chinese are more comfortable with apparent contradictions than the Americans.  The Chinese people have been found to give more weight to proverbs that contain an apparent contradiction (“too humble is half proud”) than the Americans.

This is true even when the proverbs were Yiddish ones and equally unfamiliar to Americans and Chinese.  It was also found that the Chinese are more likely to propose “middle way” solutions to inter- and intrapersonal conflicts than Americans, who seemed to find it necessary that one side or the other had to be correct.  When presented with evidence for apparently contradictory propositions, Chinese participants tried to find truth in both, whereas Americans were more inclined to reject one proposition in favor of the other.

In China, as in most Asian countries, people have been found to classify objects and events on the basis of relationships and family resemblance, whereas Americans classify on the basis of rule-based category membership.   Chinese and American children were once asked to indicate which of two objects went together.  American children put the chicken and the cow together and justified this by pointing out that “both are animals.”  Chinese children, on the other hand, put the cow and the grass together and justified this by saying that “the cow eats the grass.”

In today’s connected world, traveling has become easier and more accessible for many. With the right amount of research, you can see more of the world at less expense.  Here are some tips and resources on how to go to beautiful places without having to empty your bank account.

First, choose a destination. When choosing your destination, consider if you’re going during that country’s peak or off-peak season for tourism?  In Paris, for example, most tourists prefer visiting during spring or early fall, while the summer months of July-August are fairly lean. Make sure to consider your personal preferences as well.  Would you rather explore a city bundled up against the cold, sweltering and sweating in unbearable heat or wet and shivering under an umbrella? Most flights and hotels tend to be cheaper during off-peak seasons, naturally, but the weather may not be suited for going around your chosen destination.

Once you’ve chosen your destination, it’s time to go shopping around the web. Many travel websites do the heavy lifting by doing multiple searches and aggregating the results across the Internet to find the best and cheapest combination of flights and accommodations, so you won’t need to click on each airline’s website and do the tedious task of searching for flights, likewise for hotels.

Before you book your flight and hotel though, make sure to read reviews, especially when it comes to hotel accommodation.   When choosing a hotel, keep your itinerary in mind.  For example, if you plan on visiting Tokyo, and intend to frequent the Harajuku area, it won’t do to book your stay in a cheap hotel 40-55 minutes away from public transportation. You might think you’re saving yourself money by staying at a cheaper hotel, but in the end, what you’ll spend on transportation may eat up the so-called savings you got, not to mention wasting hours of your precious time in transit.  In the same vein, if you’re a woman traveling alone, you may not want to stay in a hotel located in a poorly lit, hard to access neighborhood.

Check travel sites. By using the power of bulk buying, these sites manage to bring down the cost of certain items by giving merchants guaranteed sales. Before buying though, make sure you’ve read all the fine print and deal details, in regard to travel period, restrictions and other important information.

Safety concerns should go hand in hand with efficacy in your choice of cosmetics products.  The first rule is to use fewer products and pick those with simpler ingredients.  Some beauty products contain carcinogens and endocrine-disrupting chemicals that increase breast cancer risk.  Ask yourself which products you can do without – the best way to avoid chemicals is to use fewer products.  Each product you cut from your beauty ritual decreases the number and quantity of chemicals to which you're exposed.

    The second rule is to avoid as much as possible cosmetics with “fragrance” on the label.  Although it's just one little word on the ingredient label, "fragrance" can contain dozens, even hundreds, of chemicals, including hormone-disrupting phthalates, synthetic musks, and ethylene oxide . Fragrance manufacturers claim the formulas are confidential business information.  So, until we change the law consumers have the right to know what’s in our products in order for us to steer clear of synthetic fragrance and go for fragrance-free products that contain natural fragrances like essential oils.

    Unfortunately, the beauty industry is virtually unregulated in many parts of the world, and many toxic chemicals like phthalates and parabens can be found in the most common of makeup, shampoos, lotions and other personal care products.  Look for natural beauty products or make your own out of common household ingredients.

    The best thing you can do is to read labels for specific information on a product's ingredients, rather than relying on claims like "organic" or "natural."  We all have our favorite makeup and toiletries.  It’s not so hard to know if your go-to products are safe or not.

Do you want delicious budget meals with minimum fuss? Try slow cooking, if you haven’t done it before.  Slow cooking is a way to enjoy great-tasting meals with minimum amount of effort. This budget-friendly cooking method turns tougher cuts of meat into hearty, declicious meals.  Although they usually have long cooking times, slow-cooked dishes require relatively short preparation times.  Then you can leave them to simmer away. The moist cooking method also ensures tender, juicy results every time.  Moreover, cooking meat, vegetables and sauce together in one pot cuts down on washing time.

There are many ways to slow cook food.  You can simmer it in a stockpot, bake it in a casserole in your oven, or use a specially designed device, such as an electric slow cooker or pressure cooker.  While the basic principle for slow cooking – combining meat, vegetables, liquid and seasonings in a single pot – is the same, the actual cooking method and times vary widely according to the equipment you use.

   The advantages of slow cooking are simply great.  The extended cooking times allow better distribution of flavors in many recipes.  The lower temperatures lessen the chance of scorching of foods which tend to stick to the bottom of a pan and burn easily in an oven.   Less expensive or tough meats, such as chuck roasts or steaks and stew beef, are tenderized through the long cooking process. The slow cooker is a good choice for cooking many venison dishes.

The slow cooker frees your oven and stove top for other uses, and should definitely be considered as an option for large gatherings or holiday meals.  It is convenient because a slow cooker can usually be left unattended all day for many recipes.  You can put recipe ingredients in it before going to work and come home to a wonderful meal.

Whenever we embark on a trip overseas, it is important to know beforehand the kind of hotel accommodations that await us in our travel destinations.  For those traveling on a budget, the imperative is to find respectable hotels that offer discounted rates.  Conversely, the travelers with money to burn need to familiarize themselves with the hotel scene in the places they plan to visit, so that they get their money’s worth when they get there.  It is a must-do then for everyone about to board a plane for parts unknown to first make a search of hotels, which can be a very tedious and troublesome task.  

  Even the proliferation of travel websites that ought to enable would-be travelers to find the best hotel rates does not help any.  Here’s why.  The clutter of travel websites with multiple services is likely to confuse more than help the traveler plan his trip more efficiently.  There are travel websites that help you search airlines, number of stops, flight duration, etc.  There are websites that specialize in booking hotels but also book tours and tell you about car rentals, tourist attractions and activities.  Few deal in nothing but hotel information.

One of these few outfits is your friendly site for Hotel Search.  When you visit our site, you’ll get comprehensive information about the place you intend to travel to, wherever in the world it is.  Then you will be directed to our site where you can search and compare hotels and deals in over 220 countries and some 120,000 destinations worldwide.  Through this site, you can find the best deals in all kinds of hotels anywhere in the world.  What also sets are apart is that the assistance and information it provides is completely free.  No fees under any pretext.

Our homepage gives a whole new meaning to the notion that easy and cheap hotel bookings can be done online. The site will allow you to search a particular geographical area, with several hotel results returned at once for comparison.  Then it will help you book a room in your chosen hotel.  You may review the refund policies if you reserve hotel rooms online.  Or you may check the hotels you're considering to see if they offer any specials or package deals.

  Part of the site package of services is to help visitors clinch deals on last-minute hotel accommodations.   This it does effectively because it keeps abreast of changes in hotel policies and rates in those 220 countries, monitoring the hotel scene 24/7.  Thus, the site allows prospective guests to bid on hotel rooms, which can give you a discount of up to 25 percent off published prices. The catch is that the name and address of the hotel is hidden until your bid has been accepted by the hotel. Before you bid, you are shown an approximate location of the hotel.  We will inform you if it seems that your bid is too low and will potentially be rejected by the hotel.

Camping at Garner State Park!