Buster used to be a lovely dog playing and running on a farm all day before his handler (训练员). His life had a big change after Will’s presence because Will found he did extremely well in sniffing tests. Will thought Buster had a special talent and decided to let him become a member of RAF police working dogs. Buster began working with Flt Sgt Barrow in 2007, and the pair was sent to Afghanistan’s deadly Helmand province. There, Buster saved countless lives by sniffing out explosive devices (IEDs), as well as weapons. He joined his comrades repeatedly on foot patrols hunting Taliban terrorists and tracking down bombs. He also acted as a useful diplomatic tool, due to his friendly approach to local children. The RAF soon had a long train of children in tow, as Buster drew in his crowd and entertained them.

After his glittering service with the RAF, Buster retired in 2011, and died in 2015 at the age of 13 at the home of his handler, in Lincolnshire where he had been enjoying retirement with his handler Will, his wife Tracy and their two dogs who will inherit their father’s career.

Over the course of his career, Buster is thought to have saved more than 1,000 lives. He also helped patrol British bases and searched vehicles at check points, and upon retirement was made the official RAF Police mascot (吉祥物). Buster’s brave exploits were even documented in Flt Sgt Barrow’s book, which was published in January and soon became a best-selling one.

Buster completed five tours of duty in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Iraq and earned a row of campaign medals, and it was because of his great efforts in these austere environments full of terrorism that he would be remembered. It was the saving of countless lives by searching out IEDs that saw the honor of official lifetime mascot of the RAF Police bestowed（授予）upon Buster. The RAF police are now planning to honor Buster as part of a special event to celebrate RAF Police Working Dogs.

Around 250 students from 23 countries at East China Normal University, who are staying in Shanghai during the winter Vacation, celebrated this year’s Spring Festival ahead of time on its campus.

Many wore traditional Chinese clothes, and tried writing Chinese calligraphy (书法) and Spring Festival couplets, a pair of poetry lines pasted (粘贴)on both sides of a front door and a four-character horizontal scroll (横幅)pasted above, to express happiness and wishes for a better life in the coming year.

Some learned to make Chinese dumplings, a traditional Spring Festival food.

Nilab Oppal from Uzbekistan said she loved Chinese calligraphy as a way of learning Chinese and relaxing. She had learned calligraphy for six months, but had little time to practice because of her busy study schedule. “I’m glad to have the chance to write calligraphy here today,” she said.

Zain ul Abdin from Pakistan spent almost the whole afternoon writing calligraphy and finished his first Spring Festival couplets. He said he would like to paste them on the door his dorm (宿舍)room to add some Spring Festival atmosphere.

In the evening, teachers had dinner with them and gave them hongbao, the red envelopes with money that families give to children and old people on Chinese New Year’s Eve.

“It’s my first time to get a hongbao.” said Nurriia Sulaiman Kvzy, a Kvreyzstan student majoring in teaching Chinese as a second language. “It’s only 10 yuan, but I’m very glad to experience Chinese culture. It will be helpful for me to teach Chinese language and culture to my students in the future.”

She said it was the fourth year she had spent the winter vacation and celebrated the festival at the university, in Shanghai.

“The Chinese New Year is very interesting; everything is in red and people all go back home to celebrate it together. I’m looking forward to a chance to spend some days in a Chinese family to see how they celebrate the festival,” she said.

I received my autoimmune disease diagnosis (自身免疫疾病诊断) in 2009, and for the first few months, I was in a very bad place. I was suffering from severe anxiety and panic attacks on a daily basis. I was no longer able to function as a “normal” person. During that time, all I could do at best was to move about the house trying to accomplish a few chores, and prepare meals.

After a few months on the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol, my intense tiredness improved and I slowly regained some energy. That is when I tried to follow my doctor’s advice to exercise.

I clearly remember my first attempt. I was still weak, but somehow, I thought that if I could push through and pretend I had a normal life that things would get better. So, I went out and started running in the little neighborhood park. Unfortunately, I didn’t last even five minutes and came back home, totally crashed. It took me several days to recover. After that first brush with exercise, I understood that I would have to start slow. I began going on daily walks with my husband around the block. Slowly, we went further and further, and my strength came back progressively.

After walking, I started to attend yoga classes. I remember barely making it through my first class. My muscles were weak and trembling by the time I rolled up my mat. But I was also so happy to be able to get out of the house, mix with other people and have a social life!

After yoga, I ventured into activities a little bit more strenuous, but still gentle on the joints. I was going to the swimming pool to do laps and riding my bike. Recently, after almost four years on the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol, I was finally able to really up my game and start exercising regularly with a personal trainer.