GL 350: How has the Rome Experience made you a global citzen?

This experience has changed us in many ways. There is much to say about how this experience has made us into global citizens. There is no better way to learn about a different culture and lifestyle than to study/live in another country.

The first thing that helped make us global citizens is the fact that right when we got here we were thrown into the culture. The first day we were in Rome and had only been on the metro once, we had to go alone to two different areas and explore on our own. This was good for us because in some job situations you are thrown into doing things you make have little or no experience with in an unfamiliar place. It was scary but once you did it right you felt so proud. There are many instances where we were put in situations like this whether it was ordering food or asking for directions in Italian, once you did it correctly you felt so relieved and happy. By experience this we will be able to do this in similar situations in different places with more confidence. Along with this we were also required to learn patience throughout Rome. Whether it be for the transportation or the people who can be quite rude at times. In "Coversations" Costanzo Costanini says "Are you aware that Rome has become more and more neurotic, chaotic, and jammed up?" all of which we experienced first hand here. While we all know where we would love to have a job, right out of college that place may not be available. Many of us will have to be placed within a bustling city which can be chaotic and annoying at times, but by being here we have been able to learn to practice, whether we want to or not, patience and calmness.

Second, we were emerged into the history throughout Rome. From the Colosseum with the real facts about gladiators and the Roman Forum to the catacombs and all of the stories behind most of the popes buried within the walls of Saint Peters basilica. This city has so much history to absorb and to be able to see how our country was able to help them and through that we may have lost many lives which we were able to see through the American Cemetery but it made connecting to our history more clear. Also we've learned about Roman history all throughout our lives and being able to be in he exact places of where it took places such as Julius Caesars murder as well as where some slaves were able to fight for their freedom in the Colosseum.

Another way we have learned to become a global citizen is through our home-stay experience.By living with an Italian family for a week, experiencing family meals and the day to day lives of an average everyday family. We had to use our minimal knowledge of the language to try to communicate with some of our host family members who knew little to no English. Also how the whole family has dinner together every night at nearly the same time everyday. I know many families at home who can barely sit together all together once a week especially when the kids are in high school and involved in different extra curricular activities. The children of our families also still live with their families although they are in the mid to late 20's which is very different from in America.

By being able to experience all of this and being able to understand why they do the things that they do it makes me feel like I can be put into different situations and as long as I keep an open mind, I can learn so many different types of cultural values and adapt accordingly. It has made me realize how appreciative of my high school art teacher for teaching me about all of the famous art works within Italy, and how none of the pictures will ever be able to show the true beauty of seeing them in real life.

Soc 490: Can we cure diseases with prayer?

Faith can be a very strong thing in everyday. It can have a big impact on your mind and body psychologically which can effect your health as well. But is it the prayers or the medications and your positive thinking that helps the sickness?

There are many people who believe that prayer is the only thing to keep you strong through tough times. In one of my favorite stories theres a line that says "medicine can only do so much and then comes God". The power of believing in something bigger than yourself can have tremendous change on your outlook on almost anything.

In class we talked about how even knowing someone is praying for you can make you feel stronger and have more hope. This works just the same when you are sick. You can take all the medicine they tell you to but if you don't have a positive attitude you'll never be able to fight off the sickness. Having a strong relationship with God is something I have seen throught the trip. So many times the people get lost within prayer and but all their trust in God which can be a scary thing, but an even more powerful thing than fear, is hope.

While there may be some things that must be cured by medicine such radiation and chemo for cancer there are things cured with the power of faith. While science seems to have an answer for almost everything, if our lives were based solely on science who would there still be all this fuss about religion. The miracles of the crippled and diseased being cured by Jesus along with other miraculous things not explain by science is something you must take into consideration when you think about these things. If science can't answer the questions there has to be another explanation

Sickness isn't something easily delt with. Whether you yourself is sick or someone you really love is, it is a hard thing to see. Sometimes you don't know what else to do other than pray because deep down you know theres something bigger out there. I do not think we will ever truly know if prayer will "cure" a disease, but I do know it gives us the faith to keep fighting for our life.

GL 350: How is the Catholic church Roman and universal?

Being in Rome and Italy in general, we are able to look more closely at Catholicism and determine if there are any similarities of differences between the way it works here and the way it works around the world in places such as our own home in America. You don't have to go very far to run into a church around here, to sit down at a mass and compare it to what we know about mass at home.

Here in Italy 81.2% of its population is Catholic, becoming its main religion throughout the country. We are able to see this by the thousands of churches that we see around Rome and other Italian cities we've visited. Here in Rome it is something that most people are passionate about within their own lives but they are able to share it with many other people in their communities.  While in the United States only 23.9% of our population is Catholic but that doesn't take away from the closeness one feels by having the bond with other Catholics whether it is American Catholics or Roman Catholics.

One way I have noticed it being universal is the mass from my perspective is almost, if not completely, the same as a mass at home. While at Papal mass on Sunday as well as the Papal audience on Wednesday, they translate the message in so many different languages that Catholicism has obviously reached. The order of every mass is fairly easy to follow even if it is in a different language. This makes coming to Rome knowing some of the Catholic traditions easier because you already know process and "schedule" of how mass is ran. It seems crazy to me how this religion can pick up every detail of its origin and bring it to another place.

Another way in which it is different is within the history of many of the churches here. While at home the Catholic churches are dedicated to certain saints, many of them do not have the history that the Roman churches do. For example when we went to visit the shrine of Santa Maria Goretti, her body was buried within that church. It is one thing to pray to a saint but to be able to pray to a saint in the presence of her body is something unreal. For me not being Catholic has made some parts of this trip confusing and I have questions about everything. Some of the stories I do not understand while this one helped me to understand some of the traditions which Catholics follow. Another example of the history being the within Roman Catholic churches versus the churches at home is there are many famous artists that helped create many of the works within the churches. In smiles, Michelangelo writes poems regarding his time he worked on the paintings within the Sistine chapel while many other churches within Rome were designed by artists such as him, Bernini, Donatello, and many others while at home we do not have the availability of that kind of history within our own chapels’ walls.

Being in Rome has taught me much about Catholicism that I would never have learned in a classroom. Being able to see the artwork and history first hand helps distinguish, in my mind, the differences, while it also helps be remember the universality of the religion itself.

GL 350: what is the difference vetween leisure for italians versus americans?

Many different things come to mind when you think of the word leisure. Relaxing and free time takes different forms in any country yet they all have their similarities. You can see things about culture through the main leisure activities.

We are similar in the fact that we both love sports, but are passionate about different sports. For example Italians love soccer they bleed soccer and most live for soccer. When we went to the Roma soccer game I was able to make so many connects by comparing it to the Browns games i go to with my dad. The energy in the stautium was incredible.  Americans love football, basketball and baseball and most families love and/or play all three. Being able to come together to support our local teams is something we have in common with Itaians. 

One thing i noticed that even thoigh it hasnt been consistently warm in Rome i haven't seen anyone having outside picnics or barbecues. For Americans things like that are so important to bond when we have a holiday or just a warmer day to invite people over and spend time together enjoying nature. I've notices Italians gather for meals but it is always in a resturant because of the small size of their houses.

Also there are many daily rituals which Itaians take as leisure everyday that most Americans don't do. For example stopping for an espresso four times a day or having shops close in all the small towns for four hours at a time for a siesta. While i know other spanish speaking countries take siesta as well during the day, there are many things that could also contribute to their overly leisure lifestyle. Barzini states "Those men conduct their affairs well who keep in front of their eyes their own private interest and measure all their actions according to its neccessities," to me this seems that they only want to do what is best and neccessary for them. For example cramming people father and father into a bus to go one stop after the one you just got on.

While I have learned many things from their culture, you can see a definate difference between the two through leisure. By being able to live their lifesyle it has given me the ability to see it firat hand.

Soc 490: Can we control our health?

When looking at any person, you could say "oh they got sick because they didn't take care of themselves," but many times you have to look deeper into their story. Many of us really don't have full control of our health.

First sometimes you have no choice when you encounter a disease. For example when you are born with a disease and they diagnose it at birth such as cystic fibrosis. The children and many times the parents don't know until the child is born that they will encounter this lifelong disease. Similar to down syndrome where you are born with it and there isn't anything you could do to change the outcome.

There are also other diseases in which some encounter at different points in their life such as breast cancer and juvenile diabetes. These are also diseases which are not caused by any certain lifestyle, just born into your genes that some people in the family get and others do not.

Goodman states "These differences are thought to reflect such lifestyle choices such as diet, exercise, and smoking."While there are some arguments that one could use for the lifestyle people choose such as smoking and drinking which can cause different cancers and diseases within the organs. But there are also people who are very healthy, exercise regularly and have a healthy diet who can have a deadly heart attack.

In life, our health is a game of chance. We can live very healthy lifestyles and still get sick. We can also not take care of ourselves and never get sick. Gaudium says "Citizens, on the other hand, should remember that it is their right and duty, which is also recognized by the civil authority, to contribute to the true progress of their own community according to their ability." It is all in the cards we are dealt and nothing is fair, that's why helping those who got dealt a bad hand would be helpful for the whole of our society.

GL 350: How does the piazza provide a lense into italian culture?

When wondering through the many streets of and Italian city, Rome especially, you can find almost anything in any of the piazzas you find. These piazzas provide more than fresh food, cappuccino, and selfie stick men. They provide a deep look into Italian culture.

First, the piazzas are known to be a place for meeting. Whether it be for a lunch in the open air or to listen to some live music or a common meeting groud before shopping, you can almost always find groups of people in the piazza. This could be due to the fact that their homes are very compact so meeting more than a couple people in their home may get crammed. They would rather enjoy lunch at an outdoor café.

Another way these piazzas show Italian culture is through the history behind the statues and fountains. If you go to almost any piazza there will be a statue, fountain, or both. If we take Piazza del Popelo for example, there is a large obelisk in the center that was taken from Egypt and placed there along with the two fountains on either side representing different gods of the time. And thats just one piazza, There a murder sites and chariot race sites all in a different piazza. In Barzini, he says "Fear is the fourth evil spirit. it is the offspring of the others, of poverty, ignorance and injustice." When you think about some of the reasons people where killed seems so confusing to us now, such as Bruno getting burned at the stake for believing that the world was not flat. Citizens were afraid of these types of answers and were too ignorant to think that anything else you told them was wrong because of pure ignorance. 

The last things that you can find in nearly all piazzas and that i can tell is very important for Italian culture is places of worship. There are so many churches from the twin churches in Piazza del Popelo to the Pantheon which used to be a church near Piazza Navona. Catholicism is such an important part of learning about this culture.

Soc 490: Why do people from other countries come to America for healthcare when we are so far behind in stats?

The statistics comparing the United states to other countries when it comes to things such as infant mortality rates are more than double in the U.S. than in Italy as of 2007. Statistically it shows that we are nearly the worst country when it comes to taking care of health problems, so why do citizens from other countries come to the United States come to get medical treatments? There are a few reasons this could be happening.

First reason I believe that people come to the U.S. for treatment is because we have some of the best medical schools in the world. Many of our Ivy League and private medical schools are nationally ranked and make some of the worlds best doctors, surgeons, nurses, etc. We are constantly making strides in improving our technology even if you look at the evolution of the different instruments in the medical museum we were at last week. I mean we've come from barbers and dentists doing surgery to having to graduate from medical school to do surgeries now. When having a big medical treatment done many people, if they can afford it, want the best of the best performing the treatment/surgery so it makes sense for them to want to come to the U.S.

The second reason that citizens from others countries come to the U.S. for medical treatment is that we get a lot of funding for disease research. We have hospitals like St. Jude that will help pay for the treatments and while I am unsure if people from other countries are able to receive that kind of help from those hospitals, it would make sense if they are to be able to come here to hospitals who are doing research and giving treatments that maybe their country doesn't have yet.  Gaudium says "A man is more precious for what he is than what he has" and i believe that is what those hospitals around America are trying to incorporate into their message by paying for treatments for people who cant afford it or to just help give back to society.

The third reason I believe people come to the U.S. is because the waiting lists in their countries to get a surgery/treatment could be months or even more than a years long of a wait because they do have universal health care so everyone has a right to get treatment and get assistance paying for it. Creech says "Instead of providing good health coverage for all, it will ultimately lessen the quality of care for all" which i do not agree with. Although more people will be trying to get treatment it will not change the training that the medical professionals have had to be able to give the treatments. And yes we will have to wait for treatment, in America we already have waiting lists but it may not take nearly as long to receive the treatment/surgery maybe because not everyone is getting treatment, but it will still help the overall health of America.

No country is perfect, they all have their flaws. And while Universal health care may cause more limitation and take more time, we also have to remember how much the statistics also show the help it has given to other countries with it. And while people from other countries are flocking to the U.S. to get treatments, I believe we should be trying to take care of as many people in our own country just as much as we help people from other countries get our grand treatments and surgeries.

GL 350: How does history help or hinder ones thoughts of faith?

It is clear that there is plenty of history here in Italy that pertains to the Catholic religion. From Vatican city to all of the old churches all over Italy such as San Marco, San Pietro and so forth. These from a Catholic/Christian standpoint could be very intensifying for your faith, but for others it may not seem as faithfully satisfying.

At first glance, these churches are breathtaking. The way they take a church and make it a work of art with many beautiful paintings and stained glass windows are very mesmerizing but that is from a art lovers point of view. Visser talks about in Smiles of Rome how "theater is like church" in ways such as gathering together to watch a "performance" in hopes that it changes them somehow. And while the beauty of the churches are helping to open our eyes to new beauty i do not think you have to know it's history for it to do that.

Also knowing the history behind a place can be disturbing. For example knowing all of the dead bodies that are buried within the church seems kind of morbid. Yes i understand that people like to go there to pay their repsects, but i do not believe that if these people, such as past popes, were so esteemed then i do not believe that should be buried where millions of people will walk on their grave unnoticed. They should have a special burial site where they won't be walked on like they are nothing.

One last reason i think history does that could help or hinder faith is the test of knowing if something is truly from the past or not. For example having pieces from the cross where Christ was buried or the chains that bound saint Peter, how do you really know they are from that exact moment in history? Yes we can do tests to say yes this is from around that time  period so it would make sense, but we did not have camera verifications. While some just have faith that these things are so, many people who are not strong with their faith may have a hard time believing these things are so.

While the history does help create a clearer visualization in our mind, there is always something to be skeptical about. I have always been told to never believe anything 100 percent and to question everything. Because there is always more to be found.

Comparaive health prompt 2: Opposing personal view point

"Nothing in life is free" we have been told this from day one. This can be seen in everything we want or need from food to schooling. When it comes to receiving health care things should be no different.

Being able to receive healthcare should be considered a privilege. For those who cannot put forth effort into finding a job, there is no reason to hand them healthcare. Boudreaux said that "Not everything that is highly desirable is a right" because when we are just handed things in life we become lazy. Being able to earn things makes you feel so much more proud of yourself in so many different types of ways and I think that most of those people haven't had that feeling in so long, they just give up and expect everyone else to pay for them

Another reason it should be a privilege is because people will take advantage of this system such as not getting a job or contributing to society because they don't have to have a job to get healthcare benefits. This can also be seen where people abuse the food stamps system by living off of this and not getting jobs yet can be seen spending their money on expensive phones and/or drugs. If they can afford that why can't they afford food or healthcare?

The last reason I believe this should be a privilege is because most everyone is born with the ability to work. Mostly everyone is born with the learning capabilities to grow up and find work and those who cannot or are disabled can receive social security/disability checks during the month to help them get by. Along with that they can be given an option to extra healthcare such as Medicare which is affordable to them.

We are already given the most important thing in our country which is freedom and as many people know, freedom isn't free. While it may be able to help those without jobs we must remember that if the homeless people can sit on a corner a beg for  money for  8 hours a day, why can't they go walk around applying to jobs and if they get their job they can work.

GL 350: How is Rome exhilarating yet oppressive?

While there are many things that come to my mind when I think of Rome. Having to pick which part of it goes with which word (exhilarating or oppressive)  can be a struggle. There are many beautiful things that Rome has to offer, there is also the "dark side" of Rome which i have been learning more and more about each day.

On the one hand Rome can be exhilarating for many different reasons. The first reason is all of the ancient ruins left behind by past Romans like the Roman Forum and and Colosseum and the history that goes along with it. It gives you chills to think about how you used to perceive it in pictures and how much different it is in real life. Another reason Rome/ all of Italy is exhilarating is how big it seems, yet there are all these little shops ran by local people who greet you (usually) with a warm smile that make you feel a small sense of home in this big place. This can be reflected back to Barzini when he says "it's the people who bring us back to Rome" and it can be seen all throughout Rome for example when we go to a cafe or a pizzeria and we tell them that we know Danilo or you see Danilo interacting with his friends it's like he's known them all his whole life or like they are his family. They also have such pride in this culture and lifestyle which I can relate to because of how proud I am to be an American.  You can see this by just seeing their faces light up with joy when they saw me with a Roma scarf for the soccer game, or how Danilo tries to get us as involved into the Italian culture as possible.

There is also oppressiveness about Rome as well. The city is beautiful, but there are bag things that go along with the beauty. For example, the Colosseum is so grant and breath taking, yet the area surrounding is also known as one of the most notorious for pick pockets in Rome. Another thing that kind of makes you not love Rome as much is all of the traffic and cars which is also mentioned in Smiles of Rome. And while there is always the subway, tram, or buses for other transportation, they are extremely crowded with people who push and show themselves up against you, especially when they are trying to pickpocket you or just be creepy on you.

There is one thing that i think can be related to being both oppressive and exhilarating and that is the people. People can be so nice, yet can also not give you even a second glance. While in some places it may seem that there are so many people around you that you can't breathe, you may also be grateful for that one person who does acknowledge you, like in my case when i was trying to get myself away from the creepy man on the bus, an Italian woman who had no idea who I was came to my rescue by yelling at the man n walking me safely off of the bus. had she not been there i have no idea what would of happened.

One thing we must remember is that every place has it's pros and cons and we can't just focus on only good or only bad. It's important to know the best and worse of everything so we don't go into it thinking it's perfect, because nothing is perfect no matter how good we think it is.

Comparative Health Prompt 1: Is universal healthcare a right or a privilege?

There are pros and cons to both sides of the spectrum when it comes to universal healthcare. There are different factors one may use to vote for or against. If we look at it without the cost or the efficiency of it and just look at if it is a human right to have healthcare or be able to receive healthcare benefits, I believe that it is a right.

My first reason I believe this is because the health of one person can have an impact on others, positively or negatively. For example if a person with healthcare gets the flu, they can go to the doctor and be told the steps and given the medication to get better again. While a person who does not have healthcare could get the flu and it could get others sick. This is just spreading the sickness more and more rather than being able to catch it and get better before you infect others.

The second reason i believe it is a human right goes right along with Redmond when she talks about the mentally ill. I feel very passionately towards the mental health field which is why I am going into this field. What many people  do not realize is how hard it is to just accept that you have a mental illness in the first place because of so many stigmas that go along with them, let alone get treatment for it when you do have the resources to do so. Also the resources do not always help the situation. For example, the healthcare I am under with  my mother's insurance only covers 2-3 psychologist appointments a year and you can only go to a certain list of counselors. Now while i do not have a serious mental illness, if someone is going through something troubling and if they don't have healthcare it will only get worse. This citizens can turn into criminals, murderers etc. By giving every person the right to health care, especially mental illness, i truly believe it will help our society.

While I do understand others who agree with Peikoff and they believe that you should only be able to have healthcare if you can pay for it or earn it I do not believe that every person who says it is thinking about how our healthcare works now. I disagree with it because i know how much college students use the healthcare provided by their parents jobs to get them through until they can get a job and can afford it on their own. For example for someone who needs constant treatment for say juvenile diabetes, if they did not have healthcare they wouldn't be able to stay healthy let alone alive because they rely on their insulin and their medication to keep their bodies going.Think about if it was you who wasn't able to afford it, what side would you be on then?

Whether is be for the common cold, a mild or serious mental illness, or having a life threatening disease without healthcare these people will lose their lives over something that should be given to everyone. They say "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" are our natural rights, being given life is one thing, but being given the opportunity to live a healthy life is just as important.

How Rome Has Changed Me

If I were on my way home from Rome and thinking back on how this experience has changed me I can only imagine how different I will be. In this first week we have already seen so many different things and have been submerged into their culture and I would hope that I would have a deeper understanding of these things when I leave.

One way I believe I'll be changed is my daily fashion choices. At home I would wear sweatpants or athletic pants almost everyday. Maybe it's because most days I don't leave my house or because it is so cold outside sweatpants just seem warmer but I do not think i will be doing that as often when we go back home. Reason is because here we are expected to dress nice or fairly nice every day so it will possibly be out of habit. Secondly i think it could be because in Rome no one really cares what other people think of you or what you're wearing. They have such confidence in their fashion no matter what it is, I'm hoping their confidence will rub off on me.

Another way I believe I will change is my crave for travel. The reason I wanted to come on this trip was because I wanted to see something totally new. I also have always wanted to go out of the country to see how people in a different part of the world live. Coming from a small town where hardly anyone leaves after graduation I didn't want to just live in a place my whole life and never see other parts of the world. I would feel like I wouldn't be a well rounded person if I never left the states. After this experience I think I will definitely want to travel to more places and probably back to Rome.

One last thing I think will be different about me when I leave is that my personality will be different. Not only my personality but how I do things in everyday life. for example I will probably take some of the Italian culture and find a way to work it into my own. Whether it be having coffee two, three, or four times a day or teaching my family Italian words they can use on a day to day basis. I want Rome to forever be apart of my life.

I may not know for sure what will be different about myself when we leave whether it be my clothes, my weight, or my new addiction to coffee. What I do know is that I will be changed by this experience, it will be a stepping stone in my life to grow and help me with different experiences later on in my life. Whether it be traveling abroad again, or helping someone within the social/mental healthcare system who only speaks Italian, this experience can only help me grow.