AWARENESS IGNITES ACTION. âAs an educator in the field of microfinance, it is rare to find those opportunities that can bring your students closer to the action before they join the professional world. âI felt that my Human Connections internship this summer was designed specially for me. This experience has transformed me as a person.
Karst Cave, China. Photograph by Raymond Gehman. Looking like the set of a science fiction movie, China's Reed Flute Cave is bathed in purple-blue light. Created by an underground river more than a half million years ago, this highly accessible karst formation is one of the region's most popular tourist attractions.
Flutes have existed since prehistoric times. A fragment of a cave bear thigh bone containing two holes, discovered in Slovenia in 1995, is believed by some scientists to be part of a flute used by Neanderthals more than 43,000 years ago. Flutes were used by the Sumerians and Egyptians thousands of years ago. Some ancient Egyptian flutes have survived, preserved in tombs by the arid desert climate. This Egyptian instrument was a vertical flute, about one yard (0.9 m) long and about 0.5 in (1.3 cm) wide, with between two to six finger holes.