GL 350; week sette

                                                      The ending is just the start of a new begining

            Wow, I cannot believe that this is the last blog I will have to do for this trip of a lifetime. This experience has been life changing and full of memories I will never forget, this is somewhat bittersweet. The memories made and the great people to have met, the humbling moments and tough learning experiences. As writing about week 7 and what we did it was definitely an amazing week filled with a day of possibly the second greatest moment of my life so far.

            The papal audience, it is where we went on Wednesday morning, bright and early. I have been excited and waiting for this for the past 7 weeks and it did not disappoint. We were less than 50yrds away from his holiness. When he walked in their was just so much emotion in the air and all around me, when he walked into the room, I got tears in my eyes, it was an amazing moment for me. That was the second greatest moment of my life so far, with the first being this Easter when I was baptized into the catholic church. A very special thank you to Danilo Mori for making that possible and being that close, I am beyond thankful and appreciative.

            As for the rest of the week we went to Nettuno, to see the American Cemetery of Italy. This was also an emotional moment, not because I had a relative in it but the emotion that grew from being an America citizen. It was amazing to see the two American flags wave proudly in the air that was just a sight in itself, for me anyway. I have never been a very patriotic person except for supporting the troops but I feel like this experience has made me grow into a more patriotic and proud American citizen. Going to that cemetery was a humbling experience, just like the Arlington national cemetery. Then, the city of Nettuno in general is beautiful, kind of like Florida, even though I have never been there. Was went to the beach for a while, the second beach I have ever been too, I can now say I have seen and been to the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Sea.

The Talented Mr. Ripley, what can I say about it? Well, for the first comment it surpassed my expectations because I thought it was going to be difficult to keep my attention and be a hard read but no, it was not. I loved the book, especially how in the book Mr. Ripley went to Naples and stayed in Venice for a while. I could relate with him going to Venice because I was there and seen what he saw. Now, Naples on the other hand, they talked about it being a place you could go and eat and enjoy yourself but when we visited it for a short period, it was somewhat unnerving and nerve racking because now a days it is a not so friendly and safe place. The book as a whole was good but for the ending well, I was in my room getting close to the end and Tom kept seeing or thought he was seeing police. He thought he was going to get caught, his heart was racing and he was becoming nervous and while, I was reading it I was getting excited because I thought he was finally going to get caught. Then, at the last page, he got off scotch free! I thought it was horrible because I was all ready and excited for him to get caught but he was a free man. I was an excellent book though, a really good read.

This experience, going to Rome, seeing everything that we have seen, it has been amazing. I am so thankful and grateful for this opportunity and being able to live in Italy for eight weeks. I have learned many life lessons from this trip and made memories that will last for forever. I was able to grow deeper into my new found faith, something that I had planned or at least hoped for. I was able to become a more indepenpendent, assertive , patriotic and humble person. This experience reinforced that good old saying that everything happened for a reason, like maybe I did not get into the nursing program and move to the 5 year program, so I would be able to be apart of this experience. All the readings that we have ahead to do, the blogs we have done, somehow made this trip better, I think. As for this last week, I will take in all the scenery, everything that is around me and live this last week to the fullest until that Friday morning, when it is off to America!

GL 350; week Sei

                                                            The Beauty of Saint Peter's
           Catholicism, something that is not really what I thought would be in my life plan but in a strange but life changing coincidence, it is. For me, becoming catholic was because of something I felt deep inside myself, a feeling when I first stepped inside of the chapel at Walsh and attended my first mass that I seem to get every time I enter a church and go to mass. I decided to pursue this feeling and become a part of the Catholic Church this past Easter of 2012. So being able to go to Rome and see the history of my religion and some of the greatest churches that are a part of my religion is very special for me. The atmosphere in the churches we have been in over here are just indescribable for me and am enjoying learning more about all the different saints and development about my religion. Now, out of all the churches we have been to so far, Saint Peters basilica is a sight to see.

            What to say about Saint Peter’s basilica? Well, it is an enormous church, with its arm like pillars stretched out welcoming all the visitors or the vast amount of history within its walls; it is a church to definitely see when you go to Rome. Now, I would consider this church to look modern for its age because it is filled with light colored marble and brightly light unlike the other beautiful churches I have seen. I was able to go to Saint Peters two times and see everything all over again because a church that big, you need to go a second time. Also the fact that the Pope lives nearby is pretty cool. We were able to go underground excavations and to be honest, it was not the most exciting experience I have had except that the guide I had looked like Harry Potter which amused me a lot! At the end of the underground tour it id however become really interesting because there was the remains and burial place of Saint Peter, along with some of the past Popes. We were about to also go on top of the Dome of the basilica, wow, was that a sight to see and even with the over 500 steps, it was amazing. The views of Rome from above and the view of the inside of the church at the bottom were simply amazing. I was very impressed with Saint Peters.

            “Rome was also God’s seat on earth, the rock on which Christ has established His Church…” this was said in “The Italians” on page 295, this was it for me, Rome was were the Catholic church pretty much started, Saint Peters basilica is essentially the center of the church, it is where the pope is located. Rome really is the spot where the center of the Catholic Church first started, quite amazing to think about. Also in “The Italians” on the page before these lines struck me as interesting “The barbarians crowded the museums, filled the concert halls and the Comedie Francaise, honored the dead French cultural heroes while they tortured the living French patriots. Rome, on the other hand, was spared nothing”. The poor city of Rome, always having to rise from the ashes and its people hardly ever catching a break, always being destroyed or pillaged. After six weeks of reading “The Italians” and “The Smiles of Rome”, we are finally done reading them, I was quite happy because that meant we had less reading to do but then I realized “Oh wait, we still have the talented Mr. Ripley.”

            Before I left on my glorious trip to Rome, I watch part of a movie called “The talented Mr. Ripley” on TV. Well, I thought the movie was boring and I did not understand what was going one, partly because I caught it half way. As for the book, as I started to read it, I was immediately bored and thought it was going to be a heard read, after a couple of chapter, it became interesting. At the beginning, I did not understand why Mr. Greenleaf came to Tom in a bar or how Tom knew Dickie, still this confuses me and  was thinking like what kind of person asks an acquaintance to go bring back his son from Italy? But, as I was reading and realized that Dickie was living near Naples and the author was writing about the area around Naples, it hit me that I was going to be around the area he was talking about, even in Naples but for a brief time. As the chapters pasted by I immediately recognized that Tom was a psychopath or at least acted like one, pretending to kill friends girlfriend because she is trying to break up their relationship or the fact that he, Tom, pretends to be Dickie, dressing in his clothes and acting like him, a bit weird and creepy. I was on the train this morning and was reading “The talented Mr. Ripley” when Tom finally did the expected and well, I was not shocked but surprised he did not do something else, I do not want to say because I do not want to spoil it for someone not as far. I had to close the book after reading this because the train has arrived in Termani and I shall expect that the rest of the book will get better and hope that it does!

            Saint Peters square, the basilica, the underground and even the museum, all of it was amazing. The museum, I forgot to talk about it earlier, it was good, felt like, looked like and smelled like a museum but when we got to the Sistine Chapel, it was such a sight to see. Michelangelo’s painting of the last judgment and the ceiling, just amazing to think about how he could have done that. While we were inside the museum, just before the Sistine Chapel, I went to the little café shop to get a bottle of aqua and an espresso because I was very tired and thirsty but what I did not realize is that it was busy and after I paid for my espresso, the line to order was long. Needless to say, I did not get my espresso that I paid for because the line was taking too long and I was afraid for my group to leave me again and, or, miss the Sistine chapel. Luckily, I only paid uno euro for the espresso, so I was not too frazzled about it. For this week coming up, I not only get the chance to go back to Saint Peters basilica but also to see the Pope! I am beyond stoked to attend the Papal audience; I will be bringing all three of my camera’s for that day, Wednesday to be exact. An experience that I think will strengthen my faith a little more and leave a lasting impression.

Soc 490; week sei

                                                     The Italian Market experience
                      

Can a disease be cured through the power of prayer? This is a question that can be answered many ways, yes, no, maybe, it depends. My answer to that question is miracles can happen, they happen almost every day and that through prayer, a disease cannot necessarily be cured by it but the suffering, pain and/or depression from it can be helped. There is indeed the power of prayer and with that it can help a person deal with the disease and whatever comes with it. The power of prayer works in mysterious ways, correction God works in mysterious ways. God will not give us anything that we cannot handle and through prayer we can handle whatever comes at us better.

             The Italians healthcare system is different than that of ours in the United States; t.hey have a complete universal Healthcare system. Yes, the United States is implementing a full Universal healthcare system soon, some parts have already begun, but Italy is a little different. For instance the government employs the doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals like fire fighters and police officers. There doctors and nurses are given a lower salary than that of their counterparts in the United States. As for the quality of healthcare given verses the United States, well, that is a question I cannot answer. So this week for our sociology we were given the assignment of surveying ten Italians about their healthcare system, questions like “Do you like your current doctor”, “what is your age” and “do you like your healthcare system”?

            When we got to the market, I was not nervous about asking complete stranger’s questions or not understanding them because most people me and my partner asked said yes and I never really understand what Italians say anyway so it was no different. Me and my partner, Sydney, we to a university where there were a lot of college students and well, all the ones we talked to smirked at the questions we asked and laughed. Most of the college students, I had answer the questions said “no” about liking their healthcare system and laughed at the question and also said some things in Italians. Then, there was an instance with a group of people where they found a mistake in our Italian translated survey paper, medico was spelled on the paper without the c and, two other people that day pointed it out and scolded me for spelling it wrong, which it was not my fault to begin with. I felt like that most of the college students did not take the survey and the questions seriously but thought it was a joke. Now, when we went to the food/ meat market, it was another story.

            As soon as we went into the food and meat market I felt more comfortable asking the older people the survey because they took it seriously. Most of the older people said “yes to liking their healthcare system and almost all considered themselves to be in good shape. There was a specific gentlemen I remember, he was in his 50’s and was very happy to answer my questions.  As soon as he was done with his survey, he made his son, I assume, fill out the survey too, but as his son begun filling out the survey, the man started talking in Italian to me. I nodded my head and said “Si” even though I was clueless to what he was saying until the very end, “Obama, Obama”, that was the only thing I heard clearly and his son raised his hand in excitement. I told professor about this and he said that Italians love Obama. I thought this was very interesting and wondered what the reasons were as to why they liked him so much? As much as I would like to talk about Obama and my opinion of him, I shall keep my feelings to myself on this one, not like that Italian gentlemen that, I think wanted to talk about Obama and really liked him.

            As for our assigned readings for that week, nothing really caught my eye except for Johnathon Ross’s article where he talked about Massachusetts healthcare model. I was unaware of the fact that Massachusetts has a universal healthcare system in place and that it is working for that state. Now, in Ross’s part where he mentions the states system he complains about it and giving negative facts about it like “Costs continue to rise sharply” and “insurers keep 15-20 percent of the premium dollar for their operating costs and for shareholder profits” and then Ross makes a good point about making universal healthcare nationwide “Do we really want to multiply this complex state experiment by 50 before we see if it can actually work?” I think that this point is excellent because Massachusetts is struggling on how to make universal healthcare work and multiply this by 50 like Ross says and well you will have a mess. Another interesting and 100% agreeable quote he makes is “America needs guaranteed, high-quality, affordable health insurance for all, with “everybody in and nobody out.”We cannot attain this goal if we rely on schemes designed by Wall Street and the for-profit health insurance industry.” I agree that the healthcare system needs some work to provide a way for everyone to be able to get healthcare and get high quality care that is universal from the poor to the wealthy but I do not entirely agree that the Universal Healthcare Obama is enforcing is the best way.

            While I do not believe Obama’s way of going about healthcare is the best, I do not have a choice nor does anyone else because it has been passed and America must agree with Obama because he was reelected. Is the Italy’s Universal healthcare working, yes it is, but just because it is working there does not mean it will work in the United States? As for myself being in the medical field and my future is going to be in the medical field, the whole topic of healthcare is very important to me because I am going to be at the center of it, as a nurse helping the sick, the poor, the wealthy, people of all backgrounds, colors and age, people with no insurance or with it. I am already an STNA, working with people of different backgrounds, ages and reasons for needing care, I see that something needs to be done about the healthcare system we have not, especially Medicaid and Medicare, I just do not know what. Well, I do have several ideas but I do not feel like rambling on and on, more than I have to. We did talk in class about how the Universal healthcare document is available for the public to read but it is over 1200 pages long. I would love to read this document, so I could see the true program for what Obama and congress has said it is but it is not only 1200pages long but is full of small print and full of mumbo jumbo, no doubt