I cannot believe I am writing my last blog for this semester. I feel as though every time I sit down to write a blog I find myself saying something along the lines of how fast the time is going. This is my last weekend here in Rome and as I write about week seven I can't believe I'm going to be on a plane to go home in less than a week.
On Wednesday, I woke up around 5:15 AM and we caught the 6:23 train into Rome. We went to Vatican City, stood in line for awhile, got to the conference room, and was able to sit in the THIRD ROW. I could not sleep the night before, so I was running on an hour and a half of sleep. But I was so excited that I didn't even notice. When Pope Benedict XVI walked through the door, words could not describe how I felt to be there and how blessed I was to have this kind of opportunity. Walsh University was even announced as attendees. The Pope spoke in seven different languages. It was absolutely amazing. After he was done, he blessed any religious articles we had. Before I left for the trip, my mom bought me a necklace and had it blessed by our priest. I was able to get her a necklace blessed by the Pope. I think that is going to be the best Christmas present. Our experience we had on Wednesday was one of the best ones so far.
On Thursday, we took a train to Nettuno. I thought this city was absolutely beautiful. We had class right by the Tyrrhenian Sea. We were able to see the American Cemetary in Rome which was beautiful and humbling at the same time. I felt pride for our country when I saw the graves of all the individuals that have fought and died.
In the book called Mr. Ripley, his reaction to seeing the Leaning Tower of Pisa, reminded me of seeing quite a few extraordinary places while on this trip such as La Pieta, the Coliseum, and the Pope. "...but there it was! a thick white column sticking up out of the low chalky houses that formed the rest of the town, and leaning leaning at an angle that he wouldn't have thought possible!"
In closing, I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. I have learned a number of things about myself, and I also gained a new insight towards culture and new places. I have seen a number of places throughout my time in Italy such as Paris, Dublin, and London. I can't begin to describe how unreal it all feels when looking back. This has been an amazing experience. That's all for now!
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Soc 490 WK 6
This past week has been one of my favorites so far. For our Health Class we were able to take our lecture outside of the classroom, and it actually wasn't a class at all. We were given a set of questions with our partners and set out in an Italian market to survey a number of Italian citizens on how they thought of their health care system here in Italy.
At first I was very nervous about going into the market and asking our questions. When we arrived Dave and I ran into our first woman we were going to ask and she seemed very skeptical about filling out our survey. After a little while she filled out our survey and from then on out it was a little easier to ask the next nineteen people. The worst they could say was no! After looking over our results I found that many citizens did not care for the universal health care system. They did not like the care they received in the hospitals nor their family physicians.
Our final for our sociology class is to compile our results with three other people and discuss them throughout a paper. I believe this will be very interesting to see how everyone feels about the health care system and how are results compare with what age groups we have surveyed.
This class as a whole has helped to make me understand how much health care has an effect on our country and how a change can make such a difference. I do not remember when Medicare and Medicaid began to be utilized in the United States, I just always have known it was around. These programs have helped a number of individuals. By reading the assigned text in our book I have realized that it has also done some damage to the system. Some authors in our text believe that expanding Medicare will be the best option for improving health care in the United States. "Reducing administrative waste could save $300 billion each year, enough to cover all the uninsured and provide better coverage for the rest of us with complete choice of doctor and hospital." I have been torn between my own arguments and couldn't really decide where I stood on whether or not healthcare was a right or a privilege or if it would benefit the majority or not. It's hard to say and this class has helped me learn a lot about each side.
At first I was very nervous about going into the market and asking our questions. When we arrived Dave and I ran into our first woman we were going to ask and she seemed very skeptical about filling out our survey. After a little while she filled out our survey and from then on out it was a little easier to ask the next nineteen people. The worst they could say was no! After looking over our results I found that many citizens did not care for the universal health care system. They did not like the care they received in the hospitals nor their family physicians.
Our final for our sociology class is to compile our results with three other people and discuss them throughout a paper. I believe this will be very interesting to see how everyone feels about the health care system and how are results compare with what age groups we have surveyed.
This class as a whole has helped to make me understand how much health care has an effect on our country and how a change can make such a difference. I do not remember when Medicare and Medicaid began to be utilized in the United States, I just always have known it was around. These programs have helped a number of individuals. By reading the assigned text in our book I have realized that it has also done some damage to the system. Some authors in our text believe that expanding Medicare will be the best option for improving health care in the United States. "Reducing administrative waste could save $300 billion each year, enough to cover all the uninsured and provide better coverage for the rest of us with complete choice of doctor and hospital." I have been torn between my own arguments and couldn't really decide where I stood on whether or not healthcare was a right or a privilege or if it would benefit the majority or not. It's hard to say and this class has helped me learn a lot about each side.
Monday, December 3, 2012
GL 350 Wk 6
This week was awesome and has stuck out for me a little more than the other ones have so far. This week we visitet St. Peter's and the Sistine Chapel. We climbed the 550 steps to the top of the dome of St. Peter's and it was worth each step once we reached the very top. The view was breathtaking. It felt as if we could see forever. Being at the top of the dome was a reward in itself for the long treck up the spiraled steps. After traveling up the dome we had class inside Vatican City and lunch at Alice's... Which is now my favorite pizza in Rome!
Inside St. Peter's I saw my favorite work of art so far on this trip. My Sophomore year at Walsh, I took an Art History class. I found this class to be pretty interesting and I'll never forget learning about La Pieta. I thought that statue was the prettiest and most moving statues I have ever seen. The details were amazing. When I was able to see the statue in real life just feet away from me it was really touching. I couldn't believe I was so close to such a beautiful masterpiece by Michelangelo. "No block of marble but it does not hide the concept living in the artist's mind-pursuing it inside that form, he'll guide his hand to shape what reason has defined." - Michelangelo, "The Smiles of Rome"
Inside St. Peter's I saw my favorite work of art so far on this trip. My Sophomore year at Walsh, I took an Art History class. I found this class to be pretty interesting and I'll never forget learning about La Pieta. I thought that statue was the prettiest and most moving statues I have ever seen. The details were amazing. When I was able to see the statue in real life just feet away from me it was really touching. I couldn't believe I was so close to such a beautiful masterpiece by Michelangelo. "No block of marble but it does not hide the concept living in the artist's mind-pursuing it inside that form, he'll guide his hand to shape what reason has defined." - Michelangelo, "The Smiles of Rome"
Inside the Sistine Chapel was unique as well. It was amazing to see how big The Judgement was when you were standing so close and not just looking at it from a picture. I couldn't believe we were actually there. This is also how I felt when we were underneath St. Peter's, where we toured to see his remains. The journey from the beginning to the last stop where his remains were seemed like a long one because of the anticipation of what I knew we were going to see. I felt as if I was somewhere very sacred and special while I was down there. When we arrived at the room where St. Peter was, it was very humbling and a little bit intimidating. It was not what I expected, but it was very amazing none the less. I think that this was an experience that not very many individuals get to experience and I feel very lucky to have been able to do so.
Mr. Ripley...
My feelings have changed for Tom Ripley, the main character of this book, from the beginning to about the middle where I am now. In the beginnning of the novel I felt that Mr. Ripley was merely confused as to where he would end up and what would truly make him happy. I could relate to that, but as the chapters progressed I noticed that Tom was not at all what he seemed and was frankly kind of weird. I am enjoying this book and it reminds me of a longer episode of Criminal Minds. I feel as though traveling around with him as I read is interesting as well because I was in a number of the places he has been such as Naples, Rome, and Paris.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Soc 490 Week 5
Yesterday night we had a really good discussion in class about health care. We have been talking about health care since the start of the semester and most of the discussion has been on whether or not health care is a right or a privilege. After many readings and discussions in class I decided that I couldn't really make up my mind about which side that I believed was stronger. I tended to use the terms "But" and "Although" in my argument a lot.
The discussions that we have had more recently are more interesting to me because it does not revolve around rights and privileges. I learned a lot about health care and what it would mean if the United States moved to a universal health care system. I have never known much about health care but it was helpful to discuss how others view it and their opinions about it. This helped me to form my own. Also, by looking at another aspect to health care that is not just revolving around right and privilige helped me to make up my mind. I now support Universal Health Care and believe that it would be a positive change.
A question that one might ask is whether or not you have control over your health or not. I believe this is a good question but it all depends on the definition of a healthy lifestyle and for many individuals there is not one exact definition that is clear. I believe that everyone can control the lifestyle they live. You can choose the foods you eat and the amount of excersise you receive. The only way that someone would not have control over their health is if a genetic disease or illness effects them such as cancer. This is something that cannot be controlled. As a whole, everyone has control over their health.
After reading the assigned articles this week I have found that really agreed with Gladwell. He states that many individuals do not have health care and that this is the crisis. "The death rate in any given year for someone without health insurance is twenty-five per cent higher for someone with insurance..." I believe that this proves that there are many people without insurance that do need it and a universal system would help to relieve these numbers.
I also agreed with Gladwell when he states that the Moral Hazard debate is something that is dramatized and that it is not an issue. " "You always hear that the demand for health care is unlimited. This is just not true. People who are very well insured, who are ver rich, do you see them checked into the hospital because it's free? Do people really like to go to the doctor? do they check into the hospital instead of playing golf."" I agree with this statement 100 percent. I do not think there will be an overuse of the system.
The discussions that we have had more recently are more interesting to me because it does not revolve around rights and privileges. I learned a lot about health care and what it would mean if the United States moved to a universal health care system. I have never known much about health care but it was helpful to discuss how others view it and their opinions about it. This helped me to form my own. Also, by looking at another aspect to health care that is not just revolving around right and privilige helped me to make up my mind. I now support Universal Health Care and believe that it would be a positive change.
A question that one might ask is whether or not you have control over your health or not. I believe this is a good question but it all depends on the definition of a healthy lifestyle and for many individuals there is not one exact definition that is clear. I believe that everyone can control the lifestyle they live. You can choose the foods you eat and the amount of excersise you receive. The only way that someone would not have control over their health is if a genetic disease or illness effects them such as cancer. This is something that cannot be controlled. As a whole, everyone has control over their health.
After reading the assigned articles this week I have found that really agreed with Gladwell. He states that many individuals do not have health care and that this is the crisis. "The death rate in any given year for someone without health insurance is twenty-five per cent higher for someone with insurance..." I believe that this proves that there are many people without insurance that do need it and a universal system would help to relieve these numbers.
I also agreed with Gladwell when he states that the Moral Hazard debate is something that is dramatized and that it is not an issue. " "You always hear that the demand for health care is unlimited. This is just not true. People who are very well insured, who are ver rich, do you see them checked into the hospital because it's free? Do people really like to go to the doctor? do they check into the hospital instead of playing golf."" I agree with this statement 100 percent. I do not think there will be an overuse of the system.
Monday, November 26, 2012
GL 350 Week 5
Week five went by super fast! We had a productive week and it was a lot of fun. We were able to visit the museum of medical arts. This museum was very unique and fascinating. It is really hard to believe how far we have come with technology. The instruments used back in the day were very basic and it is mind boggling to believe that this was the way surguries and even other medical procedures such as childbirth was done. So many women and infants died before technology helped improve the methods of childbirth. The museum really helped me realize that things weren't always the way they are now and how much technology has helped improve society.
During the week, we all went on Gabby and Aubree's tour of the Borghese Gardens. We were able to have class and lunch in a beautiful part of the gardens. After this we went to the Gallery which was very fascinating. They did a very good job leading the tour throughout the gardens.
After visiting Ireland this past weekend I have noticed that as a majority everyone was very friendly there. Someone would always come up to you and strike up a conversation. The taxi ride from the airport to our hostel was really fun believe it or not. Our driver was really friendly and gave us a mini tour on our way. After being in Dublin for a weekend I compared Italy to Ireland. I know that Italians speak Italian as a majority of course, and in Dublin almost everyone spoke English but even their demeaner was more friendly, such as opening doors or asking if we need help with anything.
This reminded me of the reading from "The Italians." "Why should they, who won the war, enrich us, who lost it? They must have their own reasons. Whatever they are, there is no doubt the Americans are serving their own interests. Therefore, there is no need fo rus to be grateful to them." I think that this is an example of when I compared Ireland to Italy. As a whole I don't believe everyone here is friendly and open.
During the week, we all went on Gabby and Aubree's tour of the Borghese Gardens. We were able to have class and lunch in a beautiful part of the gardens. After this we went to the Gallery which was very fascinating. They did a very good job leading the tour throughout the gardens.
After visiting Ireland this past weekend I have noticed that as a majority everyone was very friendly there. Someone would always come up to you and strike up a conversation. The taxi ride from the airport to our hostel was really fun believe it or not. Our driver was really friendly and gave us a mini tour on our way. After being in Dublin for a weekend I compared Italy to Ireland. I know that Italians speak Italian as a majority of course, and in Dublin almost everyone spoke English but even their demeaner was more friendly, such as opening doors or asking if we need help with anything.
This reminded me of the reading from "The Italians." "Why should they, who won the war, enrich us, who lost it? They must have their own reasons. Whatever they are, there is no doubt the Americans are serving their own interests. Therefore, there is no need fo rus to be grateful to them." I think that this is an example of when I compared Ireland to Italy. As a whole I don't believe everyone here is friendly and open.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Soc 490 week 3/4
On Thursday of week four we were able to visit the museum of the minds. This was an old hospital for patients that were diagnosed with mental issues. A lot of these issues would not be considered something severe enough to be put in an insane asylum. It is really amazing how far we have come along with medicine. The procedures and types of treatments used at this hospital were really hard to believe. The electric therapy was something that I learned about in my Cognitive Neuropsychology class last year. It is crazy to think that that method of therapy was used so commonly in that hospital.
Today we visited the museum of medical arts in Rome. This as well was very interesting. Many of the tools used in the hospital were there on display. Just as the Museum of the Mind, the Museum of Medical Arts was just as intriguing and has made me realize how far we have come with health care. I thought seeing all the instruments and apothecary sets were very interesting, seeing the fetuses preserved in jars kind of bothered me a little bit. It was interesting to see but at the same time a little unsettling.
By visiting these two museums, it has made me realize how far we've come with health care. The technology we now have helps to save many lives on a day to day basis. We have many different forms of health care in the United States and they all do not cover the same the needs or procedures. In Italy, all Italians have the same coverage and have the same access to care as every other citizen.
In order to understand if universal health care benefits everyone is a great question because it is hard to understand unless you live in this society and can see what the system is really like. I believe that the interviews that we will do with the citizens of Italy will help us to see how this system really works and if it will benefit the citizens of the country. I have noticed that Italians live their day to day a little bit more healthy than we do. Italians walk a lot more, and they eat more healthy as well.
The United States could benefit from a universal health care system just as the Italians have in different ways. If we change our health care system, we will find the care that we need without having to worry about what coverage we have an what insurance will be accepted. Newall states, "More than 20,000 people die each year in this famine because they cannot afford the price of for-profit health insurance." This is one issue that will be solved if we imitate the type of health care system that the Italians use.
Today we visited the museum of medical arts in Rome. This as well was very interesting. Many of the tools used in the hospital were there on display. Just as the Museum of the Mind, the Museum of Medical Arts was just as intriguing and has made me realize how far we have come with health care. I thought seeing all the instruments and apothecary sets were very interesting, seeing the fetuses preserved in jars kind of bothered me a little bit. It was interesting to see but at the same time a little unsettling.
By visiting these two museums, it has made me realize how far we've come with health care. The technology we now have helps to save many lives on a day to day basis. We have many different forms of health care in the United States and they all do not cover the same the needs or procedures. In Italy, all Italians have the same coverage and have the same access to care as every other citizen.
In order to understand if universal health care benefits everyone is a great question because it is hard to understand unless you live in this society and can see what the system is really like. I believe that the interviews that we will do with the citizens of Italy will help us to see how this system really works and if it will benefit the citizens of the country. I have noticed that Italians live their day to day a little bit more healthy than we do. Italians walk a lot more, and they eat more healthy as well.
The United States could benefit from a universal health care system just as the Italians have in different ways. If we change our health care system, we will find the care that we need without having to worry about what coverage we have an what insurance will be accepted. Newall states, "More than 20,000 people die each year in this famine because they cannot afford the price of for-profit health insurance." This is one issue that will be solved if we imitate the type of health care system that the Italians use.
Monday, November 19, 2012
GL 350 week 4
Week four flew by, and some great memories were made along the way. On Monday we had a tour of Aventine Hill with Danielle. Amy was sick so Danielle guided the tour solo and did an excellent job. We saw some really amazing churches and got some great pictures. We had class in a park with Professor after the tour and had discussion.
During the week we had another student led tour with Aimee and Rachel. They also did a great job. We got to see the Pantheon which was amazing. I couldn't believe how big it was! The hole in the top was massive and it was hard to believe there was no cover on top. There are drains in the floor to prevent the building from getting too wet. We saw some great churches with them and also some great fountains. I got to take a lot of good pictures here as well. After the tour a number of us ate lunch at this little Italian restaurant, it was really good. We had our Health class in Rome outside of the Pantheon on the steps, we even took a very studious picture! In the Smiles of Rome, Spark had a great quote at the beginning of the section, " I think what attracted me most was the immediate touch of antiquity on everyday life. If you live in central Rome you have only to walk down the street and you come to a fountain by Bernini in which children are playing or a Michelangelo embassy or some fine fifteenth-century building with today's washing hanging out." I find this quote to be very true and I see it everyday when we go into Rome. There are always some famous fountain or statue, and if you look there will be apartments with laundry hanging on a line outside the window. It's hard to believe that everyday someone can look out their window and see all the amazing and beautiful history.
During the week we had another student led tour with Aimee and Rachel. They also did a great job. We got to see the Pantheon which was amazing. I couldn't believe how big it was! The hole in the top was massive and it was hard to believe there was no cover on top. There are drains in the floor to prevent the building from getting too wet. We saw some great churches with them and also some great fountains. I got to take a lot of good pictures here as well. After the tour a number of us ate lunch at this little Italian restaurant, it was really good. We had our Health class in Rome outside of the Pantheon on the steps, we even took a very studious picture! In the Smiles of Rome, Spark had a great quote at the beginning of the section, " I think what attracted me most was the immediate touch of antiquity on everyday life. If you live in central Rome you have only to walk down the street and you come to a fountain by Bernini in which children are playing or a Michelangelo embassy or some fine fifteenth-century building with today's washing hanging out." I find this quote to be very true and I see it everyday when we go into Rome. There are always some famous fountain or statue, and if you look there will be apartments with laundry hanging on a line outside the window. It's hard to believe that everyday someone can look out their window and see all the amazing and beautiful history.
Friday morning we left for Florence via the fast train. It was nice not having to go to the airport and wait for our flight. The view on the way there was very pretty. Florence was a pretty small city but it was easy for me to get turned around and confused with the many streets. We went to a museum and took an audio tour of the large art collection. I took an art history class at Walsh last year and learned a lot about different artists and artwork. It was amazing remembering some of the pieces and seeing them a couple feet away from me. We were able to see the Statue of David, which was amazing. I couldn't believe we were actually there seeing this statue that I've only heard about and seen pictures of. I was able to sneak a picture of it while I was amongst the crowd of people. It's hard to believe how big it really is when you are just looking at a picture but it was indescribable.
Florence was filled with shopping areas. There were many markets and other stores to buy souvenirs. Florence is known for their leather and gold products. I have to say I spent the majority of my money in Florence. I bought a lot of leather products and some charms for my Pandora bracelet. I had an amazing time shopping for Christmas gifts for everyone back home.
Florence was really fun, the night life was really energetic and there were many other tourists. Although the majority of everyone thought Florence was the best so far, I don't think it tops Venice for me. Besides the shopping, I think Venice was gorgeous and I liked the atmosphere a little better than Florence. I'm so glad I was able to go and experience a new city and I can't wait to see Dublin and Sorrento!
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