Tag Archives: Caution

Study Abroad Programs Addresses a Risk – Road Fatalaties

18 Oct

Study Abroad Programs Addresses a Risk – Road Fatalaties

by Tanya Mohn via “New York Times

The number of Americans who study abroad in credit-earning programs has more than tripled in the last two decades to reach a high of nearly 304,500 in the 2013-14 academic year, and the number studying in non-European countries has nearly doubled in the last decade to 118,625, the Institute of International Education said.

“The problem is educating students in something they are not used to thinking about,” said Inés DeRomaña. She is director of international health, safety and emergency response for the University of California system’s Education Abroad Program, which sends 5,600 students, from all 10 campuses, overseas annually, including to remote areas.

Road fatalities are a risk for young people everywhere. They are the leading cause of death for teens and young adults in the United States and worldwide, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization show. But the concern for educators is that students heading abroad may not consider some uniquely local risks of road travel — particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where W.H.O. figures indicate about 90 percent of the globe’s road-traffic deaths occur.

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Fighting Fires!

28 Mar

Now the event itself was a bad thing, but I was kind of excited to be an honorary firefighter for a day! 🙂 The ground in Illinois is so dry right now that there are warnings against fires because even the smallest thing can send a field or forest up in a blaze.  The problem is that there isn’t very much to stop a fire once it starts going, unless it hits a road or creek. With fields, you are pretty much fair game.  

Nonetheless, there have been a series of fires recently on the farms near my Aunt and Uncles (even a couple earlier on their farm).  So when my Aunt and Uncle got a call that the forest and field had caught fire right along their driveway during my visit this past weekend, we all jumped in the jeep/trucks and took off.  Thank god they have some amazing neighbors, because we were able to catch it before it got to close to the house.  Unfortunately, it had already been burning awhile and part of the field and forest were gone.

 Anyway, this was my first time helping to put out a fire, and I had the opportunity to learn some about how to put it down.  I was proud to have helped!

LESSON?: WATCH YOUR CIGARETTES, LIGHTERS, AND ANYTHING ELSE THAT CAN SPARK A FLAME!

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