11/04/2022
A little creature to be wary of when bush walking in Australia
This little fellow is called a tick. For some people it may be annoying but not fatal. However, it's just like some people are allergic to peanut butter while most people don't have a problem. Ticks could give you the following, depends on what kind of ticks you encountered:
"rashes, headache, fever, influenza like symptoms, tenderness of lymph nodes, unsteady gait, intolerance to bright light, increased weakness of the limbs and partial facial paralysis. Tick paralysis, while rare, is usually seen in children rather than adults." From https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/ohp-tick-bite-prevention.htm
In NSW, there was a woman who was bitten by a tick in her garden and was turned into a vegetarian, so no more red meat for her! I was terrified after watching the documentary program about this. A comforting thing to know is that such case was a rare one. I found this one on my neck yesterday after a hike. Luckily, I felt it and got it off before it bit me ,,
27/02/2022
If you live somewhere along a creek or a river in Brisbane, even though your house is on a higher ground, you may still need to get yourself prepared in the event of roads around you being cut off.
This article talks about what we need to prepare.
Plan for an emergency: Flood - ABC Emergency
If you could be cut off by floodwaters, make preparations. ABC Emergency has put together a list of things you should do if you are affected.
27/02/2022
Car experiment shows extent of flood danger
How much floodwater does it take to carry a car away? A world-first experiment shows how even slow-moving water packs a powerful punch.
02/07/2020
Working Holidays in Australia
Wanted to do Working Holiday in Australia long time ago but I was too old, as I was over 30, by the time I learnt about this thing. There are lots of fun and benefits young people can get out from such an experience, such as independence, awareness of cultural differences, making friends with people from all nations, enjoy the nature (if you work in a farm which tends to be common) and realise what your family means to you (hopefully it's in a good way) and improve your English. However, we need to be realistic and understand it may has its drawbacks too. You may not get the kind of work you like. There are restrictions on what kind of jobs available to Working Holiday Visa holders, most commonly work as farmhands, waitors/waitrees, food processing and packing industry. In a netshell labour intensive industries. From an observer's point of view, the mentioned are of too much concern. My concern is the safety of these young people who are young and green, with not much life experience. They might overlook the potential risks. Dont' get me wrong, I'm not saying such risk is high in Australia but they happen. The two stories below happened in two decades apart but they both presented nightmare to the parents of the victims. Also, I have talked about hitch-hike and its potential danger on Youtube. Weighing the pros and cons I would still recommend young people go and experience such an adventure, but remain alert while having fun. Cross a road poses the danger of being hit by a car but that never stops you from crossing the roads, does it? You just need to be careful and know what you are doing. Go and enjoy your life, life is too short and too fragile.
澳洲工作假期
很久以前就想參加澳洲工作假期，但是當我知道有這回事時，我已經三十多歲了，已經超過了澳洲工作假期的指定年限 - 30歲。年輕人可以從這樣的經歷中獲得很多樂趣和好處，例如獨立、對文化差異的了解、與來自各個國家的人交朋友、享受大自然（如果您在農場工作）、了解家庭對您的意義（希望是正面的）並提高您的英語水平。但是，我們需要面對現實，了解它可能也有其缺點。這包括您可能要從事一些你不喜歡的工作。澳洲工作假期簽證持有人可以從事的工作種類有限制，最常見的是在農場工作、侍應、食品加工和包裝工作。總括而言，從事勞動密集型產業。從旁觀者的角度來看，所提到的問題並不太重要。我擔心的是這些沒有太多人生經驗的年輕人的安全。他們可能忽略了潛在的風險。不要誤會我的意思，我並不是說這樣的風險在澳洲很高，但它們確實會發生。下面的兩個故事發生相隔二十年，但都對受害者的父母帶來了噩夢。此外，我還在Youtube談過搭順風車的潛在危險。權衡利弊，我仍然會建議年輕人去體驗這樣的冒險。但是在享受人生時要保持警惕。過馬路有被汽車撞到的危險，但這不會阻止您過馬路，對嗎？您只需要小心並知道自己在做什麼。去享受生活吧! 人生太短暫、太脆弱了。
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-01/mia-ayliffe-chung-north-backpacker-non-inquest-findings/12412482
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-10/childers-backpacker-fire-killer-robert-paul-long-bids-for-parole/12340160
Coroner reveals lead-up to stabbing murder of British backpackers
A coroner reveals the chilling chain of events leading up to a "horrifying and frenzied" stabbing that killed two British backpackers in north Queensland.
22/06/2020
為孩子選擇英語導師的準則
在香港行山時，我遇到了一個在4歲時就跟家人移民到英國的女孩，她的英語是100%純正英語。有趣的是，她任教的補習中心有父母堅持不要她而選擇一個西班牙人教他們的子女英語，可笑的是那個西班牙人的英語與許多香港人的英語差不多。
歧視不僅面僅發生在外國。實際上，我記得曾在幾間學校聽到過一些學生和老師發表歧視言論。對於學生，我明白他們並不了解歧視的性質, 但是對於老師，這確實是無法接受的。作為老師，他們應該認識到歧視的嚴重性，作良好的榜樣，而不是作負面榜樣。
CRITERIA OF CHOOSING ENGLISH TUTOR FOR CHILDREN
When hiking in Hong Kong I met a girl who migrated with her family to the UK when she was only 4 years and so her English was totally native. Interestingly, the parents of the private tutorial centre which she was working for insisted to have a Spanish guy, whose English was just similar to many everyday Hongkongers', instead of her.
It's sad that discrimination doesn't just happen in foreign countries. In fact, I remember hearing some students and teachers making discrimination comments at various schools. For students I understood they didn't know better, but for teachers that was totally unacceptable. As a teacher they should know better and acted as a GOOD role model, not the opposit.
