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Taking this idea a bit further, it’s good that my Japanese friend probably only wanted to seem more casual in his conversations with Americans. This means that it’s not necessary to teach every conceivable bit of American slang to international students. In order to help international students who are interested in American slang, I only have to provide tips that will help them recognize American slang when they hear it and to understand the reasons for it.

Tip #1 Recognizing the Presence of American Slang

If I had taken my Japanese friend to a place where people were saying they are “juiced” about some upcoming social event, he might have seemed awkward, unable to understand that ‘juiced’ is a word in American slang that means eager or excited. In this, I would find the perfect opportunity to offer a tip to this international student regarding American slang. To begin with, American slang is so accepted because people can realize it’s slang and not something else. When people say “juiced,” for example, they don’t mean to be put into a blender. One of the ways that international students can begin to recognize the presence of American slang, then, is that slang isn’t meant to be taken literally.

Tip #2 Understanding the Reasons for American Slang

If my Japanese friend had asked me what others meant when they talked about getting “trashed” over the weekend, I would have another opportunity to offer a tip about American slang. Again, “trashed” isn’t meant to be taken literally, but is a way that college people refer to drinking lots of alcohol. In this example, I would be able to offer a tip that would help this international student understand the reasons for American slang. It seems that any slang is a type of password into a particular social group, one that requires its members to speak the same language. By saying “trashed,” I can assume these people are trying to impress those around them by the level of alcohol they can drink. Another tip for international students who are interested in American slang, therefore, is that slang represents a kind of social status. Slang serves the purpose of letting people be popular. Additionally, the slang that is used around close friends would not be used in other social arenas.

In sum, my tips to offer international students who are interested in American slang aren’t meant to encourage them to use similar expressions. I only want these students to be able to recognize American slang and to understand the reasons for it. My Japanese friend only wanted to be a “regular guy” who didn’t have to act shocked because he was taking slang too literally.

Source: personal experience

If you are one of those people who grew up not sure if you’d ever want kids, and now you find yourself married to the perfect spouse and thinking children might be in your not-so-distant future, you are not alone. If you are worried that having these kids will ruin your marriage, you are not alone, either. While it will take some work, and while it will certainly change your life, having a baby doesn’t have to ruin your marriage. You just have to get a little creative about how you think of spending time together, and you have to make the most of the time you have.

After Bedtime

Remember when you were a little kid and you used to complain about having to go to bed earlier than all of the adults? There was a reason your mom and dad made you go to sleep earlier than they did. They use the after-bedtime hours as adult time. This is the time for moms and dads to watch what they want on television, or to watch a movie not suitable for children. You might be exhausted when you put your kids to sleep, but enforcing a strict bedtime is good for the child and the parents. It gives the child a sense of routine, and a good night’s sleep, while it gives the parents some quality time together in the comfort of their own home.

Hire a Babysitter

Some parents may be wary of hiring a babysitter who is not a family member, but sometimes it is necessary if you ever want to get out of the house with just the two of you. Find someone you trust by asking a trusted neighbor or by consulting online babysitting and nanny searches. These internet babysitting profiles often run background checks and allow you to interview people before hiring them, which can put your mind at ease. Hiring a babysitter can really add up, though, from a cost standpoint. If hiring a babysitter is too expensive, see if you can trade off nights with the parents of your child’s friends. You take all the kids for a night one week, and then the next week, the other parents take their turn. This can be beneficial for everyone involved, because it allows you to spend less money while still being able to have someone you trust watch your kids, and your kids get to play with their friends every week.

Schedule Date Night

Those mommy calendars are no joke. When you have little kids running around, you need to schedule every minute of every day. Before kids, you probably had spontaneous date nights all of the time, but after kids, this can be much harder than it used to be. There is no shame in scheduling a date night. Put it on the calendar, and make sure everyone knows that you and your spouse are going out of town for a night, or maybe just dinner. It doesn’t matter what you do; what matters is that you do it alone.

Family Cuddle Time

While it’s definitely not the same as spending time alone, having quality family time every night is important for everyone. When you spend time with your kids, talking to them and sharing stories about your days and being excited about each others projects, this can foster a sense of companionship among the family. Even if you don’t feel like talking one day, pick a favorite movie or television show and cuddle up each other with a great blanket. You’ll feel great having spent quality time together with your family.

One of the more difficult decisions to make when learning Chinese is to learn simplified or traditional characters. This really depends on your motives for learning Chinese. Many people also wonder which is easier to learn to write, and there is no easy answer for that question. While the number of actual simplified characters in Chinese is small in comparison to the library of characters, seeing the different forms can be quite confusing.

If you are learning Chinese because you have interest in China and modern Chinese history and culture, learn the simplified characters. Most Chinese speakers throughout the world use simplified characters. In the mainland of China, less than one percent of the characters you see are traditional and all people use simplified characters in their daily lives.

If you are learning Chinese because you have an interest in Hong Kong or Taiwan, calligraphy, or classical Chinese history or culture learn traditional characters. Hong Kong and Taiwan both use traditional characters. Simplified characters are relatively new, so if you are looking to read documents from before the 20th century, they will use traditional characters also.

Neither simplified nor traditional characters are difficult to learn, but both pose their own problems for Chinese language students though. Traditional characters require more upfront studying and time to learn, while simplified characters are often easily confused. I found once I learned the parts of the traditional characters they became easier to remember than the simplified characters. The other problem I found was that I would often confuse simplified characters, making them more difficult to remember.

When writing Chinese it is also important to remember there are only about three thousand simplified characters. Even though most Mainland Chinese claim they do not recognize traditional characters, I have found very few people who do not recognize them. This is because many of the changes to simplify the characters were small changes that did not drastically change the look of the character and are simply a cursive form of the word. There are some characters; however, that are significantly different and those are much more difficult to recognize either way.

Whether you choose to learn simplified character or traditional characters, the difficulty is about the same. After you have learned for some time, it is relatively easy to recognize and write both forms of every character. The primary difficulty comes when you first begin learning. Therefore, if you are not concerned with putting gin a little extra time in the beginning on a few characters, traditional is better. If you are not worried about confusing characters and would like to learn to write more characters in your first year, learn simplified.

Whether you choose to learn simplified or traditional characters, after the first year the number of characters you are able to write will be about the same. The main choice comes to your personal motives for learning Chinese in the first place. It is also important to remember, the vast majority of characters in Chinese you will learn are the same no matter which you choose. If you decide that you would like to learn the other forms later, it is about the same level of difficulty, which is not too difficult at all.

More from this Contributor:

My Experience Learning Chinese and Tips for Those Who Want to Learn

Teaching Overseas a Viable Solution for the Unemployed

Options for Raising Children Overseas

Adjusting to Expat Life Overseas

Smoke detectors are those gadgets which never get any attention unless … well, we’re all aware of the exact moments when they make their otherwise oblivious presence felt with their characteristic beeps. Funnily enough, when asked about our favorite inventions, we never think twice about naming our cell phones, tabs or computers, and remain blissfully unmindful of the one little thing that is undoubtedly the most useful.

Reportedly, around two-thirds of the deaths resulting from household fires have occurred in homes without a working smoke alarm; so, one can never underestimate the importance of a functional smoke detector. Smoke detectors may be doing the priceless job of alerting us when there’s a fire at home; but, seriously, how many of us pay attention to maintaining it or even checking it? Besides the annual or biannual battery change ritual, not many are aware that we need to replace our smoke detectors every eight to ten years. And, when it is time to replace them, we can’t just throw the old ones into the trash as they contain hazardous material.

Smoke alarms usually come in two variations, ionization and photoelectric, each being differently capable of detecting smoke. These days, we have alarms with dual sensors that incorporate both technologies to maximize the effectiveness. Smoke detectors mostly contain alkaline or lithium batteries and electronic circuit boards, which need to be recycled appropriately, whereas ionization alarms contain traces of the radioactive element, Americium-241. What it does is that it releases particles that are instrumental in detecting smoke in the area. It is present in a compartment within the plastic casing, so it can cause no harm when it is installed in homes; however, safety measures must be followed while disposing it. Disposal of smoke detectors should be done carefully to prevent radioactive material from polluting our landfills.

Household Smoke Detectors: Points to Remember

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According to the Fire Protection Agency rules, smoke detectors are potential health hazards if they are not disposed off carefully.

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By law, manufacturing companies are supposed to label their products with warnings regarding their hazardous nature due to the presence of radioactive material. This is to make users aware that they should be disposed only at a nuclear waste disposal center.

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Another option is to return the device to the manufacturer, who would then responsibly recycle or dispose it. Extreme caution should be taken while returning a smoke alarm to the manufacturer.

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While returning it, do not open the device or fidget with its components. Wrap it in paper or bubble wrap, place it in a box and seal it before dispatching.

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In case the unit cannot be returned to the manufacturer, you can give it to a Household Waste Facility in your town.

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State laws regarding disposal of smoke alarms vary, so update yourself about the rules in yours.

Disposing Smoke Detectors With Radioactive Material

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The first step is to take the smoke detector apart as different components need to be disposed separately. Ensure that you are wearing protective rubber gloves before you begin.

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You must remove the batteries from the device and recycle them as per your regional laws.

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The plastic casing needs to be removed now. You can recycle this as regular plastic.

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The remaining contents should be wrapped and then sealed into a box. Never try to compress the unit or crush it.

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Make sure to return it by UPS ground mail only. You are strictly recommended against sending it by airmail.

For some, this entire exercise may seem like a troublesome chore, but you must remember that it needs to be done after long intervals. The humble old smoke detector is the appliance that works nonstop to ensure that our homes remain protected from being ravaged in fires. Maintaining a device that does so much for our well-being shouldn’t require a lot of encouragement, should it?