holidays+education

I've just read one of the the warmest articles I've ever seen by Carmela Wilkins!
It showed celebrating of the American Thanksgiving in England among the multinational group of students. Carmela who organised an event and held it felt tremendously homesick and was worried weather the holiday can be successful without her family and the traditions they followed at home.
I enjoyed the passion that one could notice reading of their otdinary Thanksgiving morning.The impression of chaos when you imagine all the relatives trying to cook wonderful dishes all together.
Carmela concentrates readers attention to on what the holiday represents showing on the example of her own family. They gether round the table and say what they are thankful for. I'm sure it's also important to know that Thanksgiving is a national holiday in the US which, according to popular history, follows the traditions of the first Pilgrims and Puritans, who were thankful for a good harvest in 1621. 

The fact that on their wonderful dinner there were her friends all over the world with their traditional dishes shows that cooperation can help to overcome homesickness and make any event one of the most memorable in life

 I think that's a real problem for the students to all over the world to feel comfortable while far from home. The article teaches to be positive about it and even highlight the possibility of learning many interesting multicultural things from people living next door.


Questions:
1. Have u ever felt homesick?
2 did you spend any of "family holidays" alone or not with family?was is fun?
3. What did you learn from a foreigner in your life?


http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/nov/27/celebrating-thanksgiving-american-student-abroad

Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa
I’ve read the article about problems of people who suffer from anorexia and bulimia.

Traditionally, eating disorders have been viewed as a problem for women, but much less typically for men. However, contemporary research suggests that increasing numbers of men are experiencing eating disorders and body dissatisfaction. As many as 25% of individuals with eating disorders today are male. In addition, some men appear to suffer from muscle dysmorphia, a body distortion problem in which they see themselves as 90-pound weaklings even though they spend hours each day developing muscle at the gym. These men are more likely to experiment with anabolic steroids in order to increase muscle mass.

Anorexia nervosa is characterized by the maintenance of unusually low body weight and a distorted view of the body as obese. Anorexia literally means “loss of appetite.” Anorexia nervosa is dramatic, but rare, affecting about 1% of women and 0.3% of men. Anorexia nervosa is one of the few psychological disorders that can actually kill, with up to 10% of patients eventually dying from the condition. Other symptoms include interruption of normal menstruation, very dry and yellow skin, fine downy hair (lanugo) on the face and other parts of the body, increased sensitivity to cold, and cardiovascular and gastrointestinal problems..

Bulimia nervosa is characterized by cycles of binge eating, in which unusually large amounts of food are consumed, and purging through the use of vomiting or laxatives. Bulimia is often followed by feelings of depression, disgust, and a sense of lost control. Bulimia is somewhat more common than anorexia, affecting 1.5% of women and 0.5% of men (Hudson et al., 2007). Binge eating disorder, or binge eating without the other symptoms of bulimia, occurs in about 3.5% of women and 2% of men (Hudson et al., 2007) and is under consideration as a separate category of psychological disorder. 

I think people who suffer from anorexia and bulimia tend to follow his dream - to lose weight or gain it, imitating his star idols. It’s not normal. People should not go to such victims, in order to be similar to people they can see on the TV and magazines. As they say «You shall not make for yourself an idol». You should to accept yourself as you are and love your body and don’t try "rape" it and put at risk.

Questions for my groupmates:

1. Your opinion about this problem.
2. Do you know real people who suffer from these diseases?
3. What advice can you give these people?