Oh Sorrento!

And Sorrento takes the lead in my standings! We visited Pompeii and Positano while we were there. Positano was by far the most beautiful place I have ever been in my life. I must go back one day!

GL 350 Blog #5

Global Learning blog #5

Prompt: What is the point of leisure? Compare and contrast Italian culture to your own as it relates to leisure.

            Leisure in my opinion is free-time for doing something useful, and what we do to be productive is a personal choice. It is a time where the lazy individuals in the world get put apart from those that are not. If someone gave you five hours to do whatever you wanted, what would you do with it? This time that has been given is a leisure period, and leisure is productive when the individual uses it to their advantage. I believe that there is a large difference in the American leisure and the Italian leisure. One of these examples being that Italians close down their shops and restaurants every day between 1pm and 4pm. This is to make sure that they have time for leisure, calling it a ‘siesta’. In America, I don’t think we take enough time for ourselves, when that should be one of the most important things in life.

            Even Zak Tepus quoted today, “I always want to be on the run, and I never want to just sit somewhere. I feel like I am wasting my time.” As Americans, I think many people would agree with him, but those are the moments that human beings really need, to just sit, but also make the most out of that leisure time. We love to sit around the television and watch that screen for hours, as I have to admit I love to do at home. I also know that when I am home I always feel as though I need to take naps, here I don’t feel that way at all. We always have a plan for the day, and during free time we all want to sit and talk together in the lounge or work on our homework together. At Walsh back home, it is nothing like this. Italians take more time for themselves, friends, and family. It’s almost like they somehow know that’s what life is about.

            In The Italians book, Barzini talks about how difficult life can be for some Italians. He even talks about the ‘evil spirits’ that they must beat from the start of Italian life. It seems as though the Italians take a great advantage of their leisure time due to some of these evil spirits. Italians must take advantage of the great moments in life. Barzini quotes, “A few individuals manage to prosper in a decaying world.” Many Italians use their leisure time to paint, draw, relax in the gardens, or even go on bike rides around Rome. What is interesting about Italians is that they do this for themselves. They are not out to please anyone during their time of leisure, such as some Americans have a tendency to do. Take Machiavelli for example, he spent his life making beautiful paintings and wrote beautiful literature. Barzini quotes, “he died penniless. He never managed to get his immortal works published.” He spent his whole life working on different works, and never made much money. Machiavelli was happy, because he was beating the evil spirits upon him by making the most of his life with his leisure. He didn’t give up, and he worked hard regardless of his failures to grab attention during his life. Now look at him, every Italian knows his name.

            We took a bike ride through the Borghese Gardens just the other day, and it was very emotionally refreshing for all of us. On that bike ride we saw people reading in the park, meeting up with friends, going on jogs, parents playing with their children, and tourists getting a bit of Italian leisure. This is a good example of something we do not have in America. Sure we have little parks here and there, but this place was huge! It is about 4 miles long. It was a great feeling to share that Italian leisure time. Edith Wharton, who appears in our Smiles book, quotes, “In the Gardens you can take rowboats out on the artificial Giardino del Lago, studded with temples and statues. There are strolling grandmothers and daughters, fathers teaching sons to ride bikes, romping dogs, red-hot lovers, and friends arm-in-arm.” I think these gardens give us a grand look into Italian leisure, and truly make us understand their leisure is used solely for their emotional well-being.

“In our leisure, we reveal what kind of person we really are.” -Ovid

Universal Health Care blog #4

Health Care blog #4

Prompt: Is our health something that we have control over?

On first reaction most individuals would say that we are in charge of our health, but after a lot of thought I must disagree. Life, as we know it, is truly unfair. This is why we are not in control of our ultimate health and well being. Yes, you can do many things that give you a better chance at being healthy at certain points in your life, but these actions do not promise an individual anything. You could spend your life eating right, exercising, not smoking, and still be that unfortunate individual that is born with a disability, diagnosed with cancer, or gets into an automobile accident. Goodman talks about this in our universal health care book, “such lifestyle choices such as diet, exercise, and smoking. It makes far more sense to look at the disease and conditions to which we know medical science can make a real difference.” We should not only look at what we can control, but what we cannot, just as Goodman says. These unfortunate moments bring us to the realization that we are not in control of our health, but we do have the ability to help ourselves at certain moments in life, and help others during their low health.

Guadium quotes, “Feed the man dying of hunger, because if you have not fed him, you have killed him." As for yourself, if you do not feed yourself you are creating negative effects towards your health. So yes, at certain times you are in charge of taking care of yourself and others, but in the end we have no control over unexpected things happening to us or others. Those who go through life keeping their health at a peak may believe that they have always been in charge of how healthy they are, but as for me I have seen too much to believe that is true.

When I was fifteen years old my Dad was diagnosed with Lymphoma cancer, a cancer of blood cell tissues. He doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke, eats right, and has always been active (even ran a marathon!). His father passed away from the same type of cancer when my Dad was a teenager, causing the idea of genetics to be the main topic of concern. My Dad was not in control of his own health when he was handed that deck of cards. Thank God that he has been in remission for a couple years now, and has done his best to keep up with the good health he always has had. In this case, he is now doing his best to be in control of his own health again. But just like any other cancer survivor in remission though, you are always on edge because you really can’t control everything about your ultimate health.

As our Rome trip continues, it seem as though the amount of homeless people on the streets keeps growing. The number of individuals I have seen begging for money with disabilities or missing limbs seems never ending. Could it be that all of these individuals are in this position due to their health decisions throughout life? For the majority, the answer is most likely no. Unfortunately most of these individuals were probably born this way, a health problem that they could not prevent. One cannot truly be in control of their own health. Those that disagree with this most likely have not seen the darker side of life, or do not truly understand it. “If you expect the world to be fair with you because you are fair, you’re fooling yourself. That’s like expecting the lion not to eat you because you didn’t eat him.” Anonymous

GL 350 Blog #4

GL Blog #4

Prompt: How does the piazza provide a lens towards Italian culture?

            “After dinner everyone in the palazzo would go down to the courtyard to take the air with the neighbors. One of the fascinations of Old Rome is that there are no exclusive neighborhoods. Rich and poor live on top of each other.” This is a quote from Spark in our Smiles book, as he discusses how he cannot bare to leave Rome for too long. In Rome, there are no lawns where families can go out and have dinner outside, play a pick up flag football game with the family, or have the neighbors over for a barbeque. Here in Rome if you want to be with friends and family for a nice day outside, everyone gathers in a public square called a piazza. I think this creates an interesting look at Italian culture, not something you can see in America.

            If you sit in a piazza in Italy you can see many things; the rich, the poor, all different types of dogs being walked through town, children riding their bikes, old couples walking hand in hand, young couples snuggling on steps, people harassing you for money/tours/selfie sticks, runners on their morning jog, tourists rushing to the museum before it closes, and many more every day natural events. These people all know each other, especially noticeable in Venice, and greet each other with respect each morning. I can honestly say that I know about three people on my road at home, and Italians know everyone in their community due to the tight nit areas and the piazza. As Barzini describes in The Italians, life in Italy is a lot like a show. “sometimes bleak and tragic, almost always entertaining, moving, unreservedly picturesque, self-explanatory, animated, and engaging, as all good shows are.” In this piazza show, it really gives a foreigner a look into their close culture, the good and the bad.

            The piazza can sum up the Italian culture if you take a close look at each individual part. There is craziness with people rushing everywhere, but then there is also a sense of calmness when you take a second to look at the families gathering to enjoy the sun and couple drinking a nice cup of cappuccino while watching their three year old son chase the birds. There is craziness here, but there is also beauty. In order to see this you must be able to see the good behind the bad and I can already tell that Italians are good at this, as I am becoming. Barzini quotes, “The first purpose of the show is to make life acceptable. Ugly things must be hidden, unpleasant and tragic facts swept under the carpet whenever possible.” The piazzas do a great job of illustrating this point. You could see a poor 70 year old women holding out her hand for money, but then see a beautiful child ride their training wheel bike near her. It’s not about a perfect life for Italians; it’s about a happy life.

            Our culture is so different compared to the Italians. There is no better culture, but there are major differences. They are defiantly more social that Americans. Just as Barzini says, “In Rome everything is public, there are no secrets, everybody talks, things are at times flamboyantly enacted, yet no one understands nothing. To avoid making mistakes, some people conclude too hurriedly that everything here is only make-believe, nothing is ever what it looks like.” I believe that the piazzas are a huge reason for this publicity, because there is no other place to be public! Nothing is a secret, because it is right in front of you here, everything is out in the open. The culture here allows you to be different each day, and it allows you to put on a show. Change the show sure, but it will be no secret, and surely make-believe. “Culture is the process by which a person becomes all that they were created capable of being.” –Thomas Carlyle

Universal Health Care blog #3

Universal Health Care blog #3

Prompt: How is it possible that the U.S. has the best Health Care system in the world, yet we are 23^rd in mortality rate?

            So why is it that the U.S. mortality rate is not in the top rankings if we have the best Health Care system in the world? Many people look at this statistic and they automatically think that the U.S. health care system may not be as good as it seems, but I believe there are some other factors that should be considered. First off, mortality rate/life expectancy cannot be determined by only one factory, such as our healthcare system. These rates must also depend on personal actions such as diets, exercise, smoking, and the choice to utilize the heath care system that the U.S. has given to us. The United States has one of the highest cigarette consumption rates and one of the highest obesity rates in the world. It is not possible to blame only the U.S. health care system for 22 countries being ahead of the U.S.

            Another reason I believe our ranking is so high is because it also counts all the individuals in America that are uninsured. Sally Pipes quotes, “In 2007, 45.7 million Americans were uninsured.” In her essay she talks about how these numbers are misleading due to the millions that choose to be uninsured, those who are uninsured but make over 75,000 a year, and those who aren’t even U.S. citizens. Whatever the reason, there are 45.7 million, which is 15% of the U.S. population, that are uninsured. Now some of these individuals could be paying out of pocket for Health Care, but certainly not all, or even close to all. This means that all these individuals are included in the morality rates that place us in the ranking, giving us 23^rd. People that do not have health care, whatever the reason, puts them at a greater risk of death due to no insurance or no health care.

            Another reason would be that our health care may be the best, but it is also the most expensive. Individuals travel to America to receive different treatments due how advanced U.S. technology is. People travel for MRI’s and medicines all the time, this doesn’t mean our health care system is perfect, or cheap. The people that travel for these treatments are not from the poor community; they have money and can afford this treatment and the travel. Many people in America can’t even afford the U.S. health care system. From our Universal Health Care book, Clark Newhall quotes, “More than 20,000 people die each year in America due to this famine because they cannot afford the price for-profit health insurance.” We may have the best health care insurance in the world, but if people cannot afford it, what is the point? We will never be in the top rankings with these statistics.

            If American citizens made better personal choices, could all have the opportunity to get insured, and the cost of health insurance was free… Our ranking would be much higher. People die because they cannot receive health care due to how expensive it is. I am on the side of health care being a right so maybe I am a little bias towards this side, but free health care would help Americas ranking. Sure there are many other factors involved, but the price of the American Health Care system kills 20,000 people a year and that is hard to ignore.

Weekend Trips!

What amazing weekend trips so far!!! I don't think I can pick a favorite. Venice, Florence, and Barcelona were all beautiful. I still can't believe that I am on this trip, and experiencing these amazing places with these great people!. I can't pick a favorite, they are all so beautiful in their own way. Can't wait for the second half of this trip! 

 Venice

 Florence

Barcelona

GL 350 Blog #3

GL 350 Blog #3

Prompt: The major religions of the West, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all promise some sort of salvation. However, all are inextricably linked to the past. Does history contribute/bolster faith, or does the past limit faith?

            “You can’t relive the past” is what Nick repeats multiple times in the book The Great Gatsby, though Gatsby disagrees with this comment. Gatsby quotes, “You’re wrong about the past old sport, you’re wrong.” Over my years as a young adult I have learned that the past, or our history, has a major influence on our future and is relative to ones successes and beliefs. We may not be able to relive it, but we can surly learn from it. The past has made our lives, our church, and our faith what it is today. I couldn’t believe anyone could say the past limits our faith because it is due to history that we know our Savior, we know our beliefs, and how others beliefs came to be.

            In our readings for this week out of Smiles, we read Saint Paul’s and Saint Peter’s letters to the Church of Rome. This week professor also discussed the past history of the church being split into the different religions by showing us an interesting diagram that depicted the church splitting off into different directions. We also have visited many old historic churches and have seen many tombs, monuments, and learned about many saints. This has really given me a feeling of a religious historical connection over the last couple of weeks. Learning more about the history of religions this week, and reading these letters in our Smiles book really had me thinking about the past, and how it has influenced my life today. For example, being a Catholic requires me to believe that what I do in my earthly life will affect my afterlife and salvation. I truly believe that what I do in life will echo in eternity. I have to earn my place in heaven. I must live the way that He lived in order to earn my keys to the kingdom. Now this belief has sprung from history. In the Lutheran beliefs, Jesus died on the cross for us and this has given us the right to heaven. They believe what we do on earth is irrelevant when it comes to salvation. I am not saying this is wrong, because I understand both sides, but history has split our religions in this way. That is why history is so important, it has made me the person I am today.

            In the first letter of Saint Peter he quotes, “You are now his children, as long as you live good lives and do not give away to fear or worry.” As long as I live a good life. That is history making Catholics believe we must earn our spot in heaven, and we must live like He did. What I believe, and what other Catholics believe, has sprung from history written in the Bible. “Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek them with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, and walk in His ways” (Psalm 119: 1-176). If I was taught to believe that I did not have to live the life He lived, I believe I would be a completely different person living in different forms of hate. Yes, we are all sinners, but Catholicism has made earn my salvation in heaven by the efforts to not sin. I live my life to make Him proud, and I would hope that at the end of my life I can experience true serenity from well earned salvation.

            I believe that the history of my religion has made my faith what it is at this moment in my life. Without the beliefs I have been given I would be a different person. I have always thought I was more spiritual than religious, even though not too many Catholics would say that. This is because I don’t want to be a different religion from other people, I want us all to be the same. I think that the history of the church splitting into different religions was regrettable when we all believe in one true salvation, to live in the kingdom of God. There shouldn’t be a split going thousands of ways, and that’s where my spirituality comes in. I don’t look down on other religions, and I embrace the opportunity to learn about their histories so I can see how different they really are from my beliefs. From what I can see so far in my 20 years of life, we are all the same in one way or another. We all believe in one final destination with Him. “Never be self-satisfied” says Paul in his letter to the Church. I won’t ever be satisfied with my life until I have lived like Him, as my religious history has contributed in telling me I should.

            At the end of The Great Gatsby, Gatsby finds out he really cannot relive the past they way he hoped to. Nick tells the reader that he had never met anyone like Gatsby in his life because he had never known anyone with that much hope that evolved from his past. His hope flourished of the history he once had and he would do anything, even die, for what he wanted. I would be willing to die for my beliefs that history has given me, and most Catholics would as well. “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” –The Great Gatsby.