Week III, GL350

Well time is really starting to fly!  I can't believe week three has come to end so quickly.  I can't keep track of all the awesome experiences.  After get back at midnight on Monday from Venice, we woke up early and David and I led the class on our tour through San Giovanni.  San Giovanni was one of my favorite churches so far, and it was probably because we researched it and learned a lot about it.  I think that once you learn about something you appreciate what you're seeing a lot more and the pictures have more meaning. We started our tour at the church of St. Constantine. This was a really awesome church filled with a lot of  history.

The next stop of our tour was at the Sacred Steps.  It is said that Constantine's mother, St. Helen brought these back from the Holy Land and that they were the steps that Jesus descended after his trial in the home of Pontious Pilot.  The 28 stairs are a holy symbol and were covered with wood and in order to ascend the stairs you must climb on your knees.  It is said that on each stair you must say a prayer, usually a Hail Mary.  I climbed these stairs on my knees and it was a great experience. My knees were sore after about the tenth step but the last eight seemed to go really fast and my knees didn't hurt so bad.  It made me feel that something helped me get through the last steps with ease. Below is a picture of the Sacred Steps. 

 

San Giovanni was really amazing as well. Dave and I spent a long time in here walking around and preparing to give the tour. Visser hit the nail on the head in "The Smiles of Rome" when she states, "Memory, in a church, is not only individual, but also collective: the building is a meeting house for a group of people who agree with each other in certain important respects.  They come together to express solidarity, and they do this by participating in an intensely meaningful performance known as a ritual."  You could feel a lot of history throughout this church. There was a lot of art in this huge church including statues and painting.  There are a number of popes buried here.  Only the pope is allowed to say mass at this church and he still does so every Holy Thursday. 

 

We also had a tour of the catacombs and this was by far my favorite tour.  The guide was excellent and we got to learn a lot about the history of the catacombs and how and why they came to be.  Week three was great and next we're going to tackle London!

  





Soc. 490 week 2

After another week has gone by along with some more readings and several discussions in class,  I still believe it is a right just because there are many hard working individuals that can't afford it, or children that are stuck without the care that they need.  I also understand why others believe that it is a privilege.

Those that think health care is a privilege believe that if health care was treated as a right that it would increase health care costs.  This is what Boudreaux states in his article; "This leads to monstrously inefficient consumption of health care.  Some people consume too much while many others with more pressing needs do without."  This is true, if health care was a  free for all then there would certainly be debates on who is more deserving of certain treatments, there would be a lot of controversy when it comes to making medical decisions, and would ultimately be placed in the hands of the government and other officials.  It would not  be such a freedom, but more of a government regulated hand out. 

Health care as a privilege also makes sense because it something that should be worked for and not handed to those who do not deserve it.  Someone who is not working just because they are lazy or do not want to find a job certainly don't deserve health care.  Hard working individuals earn their health care by being employed and striving to make a good living, and those that lack motivation should not be rewarded something that is not necessarily a dire need. 

When there was a question about why someone that lives next to the Cleveland Clinic is not healthy when it is the most advanced and well known hospital in the United States, it is merely an observation.  Just because you live in the same city as a great hospital does not mean you receive all the care that it offers and is a place you frequently visit.  Hospitals do not just see you because you live in the area, you need insurance and other requirements to be seen by a doctor.  You don't just give your mailing address and if you live within so many blocks you qualify for treatment.  Just because it is so close does not mean you are automatically more healthy.

I understand each side of the debate clearly and I think that there will always be a fine line between a right and a privilege.  The reason I think health care should be a right is because of children.  Children should not be denied care because an adult is not able to produce health insurance.  Whether this adult is truley unable to receive insurance or they just do not believe in hard work, it is not the child's choice.  Health care will always be a topic up for debate and a solution will be hard to find that satisifies both sides.

GL 350/venice week 2

Our second week is over and I can't believe how much we have already seen!  The first week went slow and I think it was because of the jet lag, but this week went a lot faster.  Even though we will be here for eight weeks, which feels like a long time, it is hard to believe that we are still not going to see everything that Italy has to offer in that period of time.  There are so many churches and other historical sights that all have such meaning and it is hard to believe that Italy is home to all of it.  During the first week we learned that Italy was just about the size of Arizona, and I find that hard to wrap my head around! 

During this second week, we got to venture around the Spanish Steps, take an amazing and bumpy bike ride on the Appian Way, and travel to Venice! Venice was definitely my favorite city so far.  When we arrived at Lido we were all expecting to swim to our hotel, but we got a very pleasant surprise with warm weather and sunshine on Friday and Saturday. 

I loved everything about the Island.  When we arrived, we grabbed lunch and walked a short way to the Adriatic Sea where we walked on the beach and collected sea shells.  I wasn't expecting such a great view.  Barzini states when inquiring about the fatal charm of Italy, "Is it spectacular landscapes, majestic mountains, iridescent bays, waterfalls, coquettish lakes, pretty islands that travellers think they cannot do without?  Of course, natural beauty and famous are abundant in Italy.  Such things, however, are not unknown elsewhere."  Barzini has a great point, there are beaches in the United States, so what made Venice so special?  I'm not sure, maybe because everything was surrounded by water and the number of cars were few and added to the overall view and experience.

We visited the Murano and watched glass being blown and shaped into amazing forms.  It was an amazing art form.  My dad used to bend glass and had his own shop, so seeing it done a different way was really interesting and something that I'm very excited to tell him about when I get home.  Walking down the streets I noticed that it was different than Rome in the way that there was water surrounding everything, there were little to no cars, hardly any beggars, and it was cleaner.  Riding on a gondola was pretty as well.  It was definitely a part of the trip I won't forget. 

On Sunday we were able to visit St. Marcs and had a great mass.  The choir was absolutely amazing, I would love to be in a choir like that.  Even though it was in Italian, it still was breathtaking to be there in that amazing church.  All in all, week two was amazing!

Paris! October 26, 2012

Bonjour!

Paris was amazing.  I couldn't believe we were on our own traveling around Europe! This weekend was full of adventures and it made me excited for the weeks to come.  Finding our hotel was an adventure in itself.  It took a bus and a couple subways to get there a few hours after landing.

Amy, Katie, and I had a boat tour and a hop on- hop off tour while we were there and we got to see many of the major sights around Paris.  When I seen the Eiffel Tower for the first time I got flutters in my stomach.  It was just absolutely breathtaking. I just couldn't believe we were actually there.

Besides the Eiffel Tower we got to see Notre Dame and the Louvre.  We only got to explore for two days so we weren't able to go into any of these places, just took pictures from the outside.  Someday I would like to go back and go up the Eiffel Tower and see the Mona Lisa. 

All in all it was a great trip and another awesome experience to add to the list!

Post #1 Soc. 490

Public health care is something that will always be a debate, and something that I was never interested in discussing.  Just like other issues involving politics, I try to keep my opinion to myself because everyone sees these issues differently and there is no point in arguing over something that won't change anything.  But after reading the text and having a discussion in class, I realized there is no fine line and that it is possible to agree and disagree with someone on a topic and learn from the differences. 

Just as professor was saying in class that there is always a "But."  I found that this is where I stood with my opinion.  I believe that health care is a right, BUT as long as individuals do their part in society.  Someone should not be handed something and not have to work for it at all.  If you have a job or are looking for one or an education, then health care should be provided, but if the individual is jobless and has been jobless and is making no effort to find a job, then health care is certainly considered a privilage for those that make the effort to earn it. 

In Helen Redmond's, "Access to Health Care is a Human Right,"  I found the part about how hard it is for the homeless to receive care to be truly hard to believe.  I also think that help for the addicted is hard to come by because the amount of treatment days is cut in half. A certain amount of time is needed in order to help addicts fight their addiction no matter what the substance is. 

Even though I agree with Redmond when it comes to health care is a human right, I also believe that there is some fine line that makes it a privilage.  Peikoff makes a good point in his argument when he states, "..All legitimate rights have one thing in common: they are a right to action,not to rewards from other poeple."  I do not believe someone should be handed something and not appreciate it or work for it.  This is a very hard topic to put your finger on without that "BUT."

Week One in Roma- GL 350

Ciao!

Getting adjusted to a new place, let alone a new country was a challenge for me.  The ways of transportation and a whole new lifestyle is something that I am still getting used to.  Trains, buses, and subways are all still a little confusing to me.  There's no hopping in your car and getting from point A to B on your own time. 

There are many different nationalities that are in Rome and you will see them in trains stations and in markets.  Just as Barzini asks in "The Italians," "What do they (tourists) seek that is better than what they left behind?"  I thought about this question for awhile and did not really come up with a good answer.  Why did I come to Italy?  Why did I leave the United States?  Why did I choose Italy and not some other country?  I have found that the answer to these questions are still unknown and even somewhat unclear. I believe that after these eight weeks I will be able to answer these questions with confidence because as of now I am certain I came for an experience, for a change in culture and language and lifestyle, and this is certainly what I am immersed in.  Now I just have to find how these experiences will change me in the positive ways I have hoped. 

Going into the city is always exciting because we always see something new.  We were able to take a tour of the Coloseum and the Baths of Caracala.  Both of these places were massive.  I never thought they were so huge in person.  Seeing the Coloseum was the best so far, it is a structure I've seen in many movies but never imagined how massive and real it would be in person.

I'm excited to continue the adventures for the next seven weeks!