GL 350 Final Blog

Before coming on the Rome trip, I had never really been anywhere that is very far away let alone a place that isn’t even in the United States. I grew up in a small town called Ashland which is in Ohio. There is about 20,000 people in the city. It is made mostly of farmland with the exception of a few housing developments. So I was used to the small town feel that the city gave off. Upon arrival to Rome, I felt way out of my comfort zone. There was chaos everywhere, cars fighting each other for position on the crazy roads, and people pushing to get a good spot on the metro. Now, at the end of the trip I have learned to appreciate some things that I have learned here which has helped me to become a “global citizen”.

                First of all, I think its important to discuss what it means to be a global citizen. I believe that being a global citizen means that someone identifies with being part of an emerging world community and whose actions contribute to building this community's values and practices. There are many ways in which I believe me, and others in the group have contributed to the society in Italy. We contributed to the economy of Italy and other countries we have visited by making purchases, some of which may have been pretty expensive. Another aspect of being a global citizen is observing and appreciating the lifestyles of different cultures.

                One example that I observed about Italians is that they obtain more natural exercise than Americans. In rome, transportation is fairly difficult. Many people do not own a car because it is simply too much of a hassle to drive in the chaotic city as well as that most things are within walking distance. In America, we just hop in the car and drive to our destination even if its only a few minutes away. We don’t even really think to walk there because driving is so convenient. This causes Italians to be thinner than Americans due to this natural exercise. I believe that I have learned to take this practice back to America with me.

                Another example is simply appreciating the unique culture that Italians possess. In Barzini throughout the whole book, he talks about certain aspects of Italian culture that viewers should look out for. By reading this book, it has made me more aware of the little things about the Italian culture that make it unique. For example, their attitude towards life and work is totally opposite that americans. We always put work first but Italians put the joys of life first while work is on the back burner. Siesta is when Italians take a 3 hour break from work to just enjoy their day. America doesn’t have anything like that.

                This trip has overall transformed me to be a global citizen by appreciating and understanding a different way of life. It has broadened my horizon on what life looks like by showing me the diverse cultures of different cities, and groups of people. Learning about lifestyles, practices, routines, etc has taught me to bring some of those things back with me to the United States. I am so glad to have come on this trip due to this reason. 

Can prayer heal disease?

                This is a very common question that many people have. Can praying really help to cure disease? In my personal opinion, I believe that prayer works to a certain extent.

                If prayer worked all the time, there would be no more disease ever! Many people ask God to heal someone of a certain disease but obviously that doesn’t always happen. I believe that when God chooses to heal someone of a disease, its called a miracle. I believe that God has a plan for every single one of us and sometimes that includes dying when you have the whole world praying for you. God has his reasoning for why he takes people, and why he heals others. It’s all in his plan. I believe that prayer influences his plan to an extent.

                In the bible, it talks about many miracles that happen including Jesus tending to the sick and healing them, making the blind see, etc. The people often prayed for healing and it was given to them. God tells us to pray when we are in need. If he tells us this, shouldn’t that mean there is reasoning behind what we are praying for? A real life example of why I believe that prayer works is a personal story of a friend who was terminally ill. She had breast cancer and was told that she only had a certain amount of time left to live. After this time period was up, she was still alive. Throughout this time, she had many people that were praying for her so that she would be healed through the power of prayer. Upon another visit to the hospital she was told that the cancer was not progressing like they had originally thought it would. How could this be? She went from having a terminally ill disease to now saying that she may not die? What caused this abrupt disruption of the spread of the cancer? She is still alive to this day. I believe that Gods plan for her was not to die, but to live and to live our her purpose on earth. I also believe that the power of prayer from her friends and family aided in her recovery. Because of this personal experience, It sways me to believe that the power of prayer is real and that it influences the outcome of certain situations. 

Soc 490: What can we take from Italy Health to the U.S?

                While studying in Rome, we have learned many important things about the Italian lifestyle including how they live, their daily routines, their abundance of walking, and their hectic roads. Italians for the most part, do not put an emphasis on health. For example, in the U.S there are banners and such that promotes no smoking saying it can cause lung cancer, dependence, etc. In Italy, there is no such thing. Almost everybody smokes here because there are no efforts to stop it such as the posters I mentioned.

                One aspect that we can take from the Italians is the amount of walking they do on a day to day basis. The transportation within Rome is not the best and some people do not even own a car. This means they either have to take public transportation (which costs money obviously) or simply walk. Many choose to walk which helps them to maintain a healthy weight while getting the heart rate up for a while. In the United States, it is hard to walk everywhere because everything is so spread out. Therefore, we simply hop in the car and drive to our destination. Overall, Italians get more of natural exercise which is something we should incorporate within out daily routines to stay healthy.

                Our book on Universal healthcare talks throughout the book on whether or not Universal healthcare is something the U.S should do or not. There are many debates to this which is what the emphasis of this class is based on. There are many people (not including myself) that believe the U.S should take the ways of Italy into consideration and switch over to a universal plan instead of private. Although not an advocate for that myself, these people believe the U.S citizens are being neglected because they cannot afford the price of insurance. Also, insurance companies deny people based on preexisting conditions such as those you were born with. Advocates believe that having a universal system would help out our countries “statistics” within our health.”

                Looking at this question at a different angle, we can take a look at mental health instead of just physical health. Mental health is just an important as physical. Italians have a very different viewpoint on life itself. They know how to take time out of their day to enjoy it. This promotes healthy mental status. In America, we usually get stuck in their daily routines which prevent us from actually taking time out of our hectic schedules to enjoy the little things in life. Americans can learn from Italians that life is supposed to be fun and not all about work. Taking time out of the day can help keep the mind in the right place and even help to excel at work instead of always rushing around to get things done.

                

Week 6 Prompt GL350: In what ways is the Catholic Church both Roman and Global?

Blog 6: In what ways is the Catholic Church both Roman and Global?

                To begin, the Catholic religion is a very widespread religion which is located in every country in the world. Members of the Church can range from young babies, to fellow senior citizens. This diverse widespread population of Catholicism is one of the most well-known and popular religions that exists. When trying to decipher the difference between “global” and “roman” we have to first explain what both terms mean in relation to the context of the discussion. To me, the meaning of global is that it is not centralized. The religion is not concentrated to a certain geographic region, or certain ethnicity of people. Rome is the center of Catholicism and there are also many ways in which Catholicism is Roman.

                First the ways in which Catholicism is “Roman” will be discussed. On page 295 of Barzini he says that “Rome was the great mother, the womb from which everything Italians held dear had come, without whose possession they could find no peace. It’s loss was irreplaceable.” This is an example of how Italians treat what is dear and close to them; which is Catholicism. 90% of Italians are of the Catholic religion. Rome is home to the Vatican which makes it “Roman”. On the same page (295) of Barzini he says that “Rome was also God’s seat on the Earth, the rock on which Christ had extablished His Church, the center of a vast spiritual empire of which all Christians had been subjects until a few years before” Rome is the center of the religion and Barzini states that this make it Roman because it is held so dear to Italians.

                Catholicism is global because it meets the standards for being so which is that it is not ultimately centralized to its home, and to its home group of people. The religion is spread throughout the world. Each region has its own slight differences in the ways that the religion practices are carried out. In other words, Rome is not the only place in which there are Catholics obviously. It is without a doubt that Rome is the center of the religion, but the widespread practice of it makes it global.

                The global spread of the religion is just one of many examples to why it is Global and not just “Roman”, but the quote by Barzini is an example of why it is “roman” and not only global. We talk in class about the Italian culture in relation to our own and how in some ways they are the same but in others they are different. I think that this applies to Catholicism as being global as well as roman. This mix generates the religion that we know today. Rome will always be the home to the religion but the religion will always be the centralized to Rome itself. Gaudium states that “It is the role of the international community to coordinate and promote development.” It is very important to keep this mix of roman and global under control so that there is order within the religion as well as conformity. 

GL 350 Blog 5

Blog 5 Prompt: What is the point of leisure? Compare and contrast Italian culture to your own as it relates to leisure.

                “Leisure” is a word that means entirely different things to different people, especially when discussing the matter in relation to people in different countries. People have different viewpoints on leisure time and what they do with it. For example, Americans definitely have a different viewpoint on leisure time than Italians. Another thing to look at when discussing leisure is to examine the surroundings of each individual and the access to certain technology, activities, and events that one can choose from to spend their “leisure time”.

                The classic American leisure time is sitting in the comfort of our own homes, drinking a beer, and watching the game with our friends and family. Although not all Americans would choose this as their ideal leisure time, most would say that it is one of the ways which many Americans pass time. My prime leisure time would be to work on cars all day. When I’m turning a wrench, installing a new engine, or simply changing my oil, time seems to not exist. I think this is the point of leisure time. To find something that you enjoy doing in which you don’t have to worry about time and responsibilities.

                Italians, I believe, have the same viewpoint but use their leisure time to get away from the hectic Italian lifestyle. Italians are always on the go, never stopping to really enjoy the little things in life. Italians create places like Piazzas to spend their leisure time in. These piazzas serve as a place for Italians to get away from their everyday lifestyle. Leisure time can be spent sitting in the sun, eating gelato, and admiring the stunning architecture that most piazzas have to offer. Again, this may not be all Italians choice. Others may decide to go to the Borghese gardens to escape horns, traffic, and noise. They may like to enjoy a bike ride or admire the city from one of the many amazing overlooks that Rome has to offer.

                In Barzini, he states on page 165 that “Italians, when safe to do so, enjoy genuine and unrestrained emotions as well as anybody” Although Italians are fast paced, they have some practices they do in which they can enjoy some leisure time. One example is when stores and shops close from 1-4pm. Italians have a chance to enjoy leisure time and relax before going back to work. Americans do not get this mid-day leisure time. Some parts of America are fast paced just like Italian life and sometimes even faster paced in some US cities. Leisure time is very important to both our cultures and the both relate and differ at the same time. Overall, Americans are open and expressive about their leisure time while Italians are not as outgoing about it. They enjoy their time to themselves in private while America is based completely on leisure time instead of trying to focus on work. Barzini says that “The free expression of genuine emotions is a luxury for the privileged, often a dangerous and expensive luxury.”

Soc 490 week 4: Are we in control of our own health?

Soc 490 Week 4: Are we in control of our health?

                I believe that we are in control of our health to a certain extent. There are many ways in which we can keep ourselves healthy. These things we have heard hundreds of times. It is important to eat healthy so that your body can use the best nutrients to function. It is also important to exercise to elevate heart rate which makes us condition the heart to be healthy. Another reason to exercise is to burn calories. Burning calories makes you lose fat which promotes good joints and less cartilage wear due to not carrying as much weight.

                Along with the main concepts of staying healthy, there are also a few different ways to stay healthy. For example, going to the doctor for a regular checkup can prevent diseases from surprising someone down the road. If people don’t get examined by a doctor regularly, chances of a surprise down the road may make it too late to save someone’s life. In the book Universal Healthcare, it states that “healthcare debt is the leading cause of debt in the United States”. This is one reason why some people don’t go to the doctor. Other people just simply hate the doctor’s office so they choose not to go. Taking a multi-vitamin can also help people stay healthy because they can absorb most of the vitamins they need through pill form. There are also other countless supplements that can be taken to get certain nutrients to promote good health.

                Not that the ways that we are in control of our health have been discussed, there are also ways in which we cannot control what happens with our health. One way that we are not in control of our health is conditions in which we are born with, inherit, or develop within our lifetime. There are many diseases that we can be born with in which we have no control over. We can be born with deformities, missing limbs, etc. This prevents people from exercising and doing things to make them healthy due to disabilities. Cancer is also something that we (mostly) do not have control over although there are ways to help prevent certain types of cancers like not smoking, or using tanning beds. Some cancers develop on their own which we have no control over.

                Work conditions are another thing that we do not have control over. Sometimes, the work conditions are very harmful to people’s lives. For example, miners work in harmful dusts which can tar their lungs with black soot. Other people work dangerous jobs in which injury can occur. These jobs include construction, mechanics, heavy machine operators, etc. Altogether, the access to care is very important in prolonging life and promoting health. In Goodman’s article on page 129 he states that the United States has better access to healthcare because we do not have to wait for it like other countries. At any given time, there are 1.8 million people waiting for care in Britain. This wait can cause death numbers to increase. Overall, there are ways in which health can be taken care of by ourselves, but there are other factors that we simply cannot control.

GL 350 Prompt 4

Prompt 4 GL 350: How does the piazza provide a lens towards Italian culture?

                In our class experiences and travels, we have visited and toured multiple piazzas in Rome. They are everywhere! Each has its own unique sculptures, churches and architecture that give it its own sort of feeling. There is so much history in each individual piazza that is sometimes very overwhelming and hard to comprehend. For example, Piazza Navona was once a dirt racing track for horses where thousands of people used to gather to watch the races. Nowadays, it has giant fountains and an obelisk that have been built throughout its history to make it what it is today. People are selling their artwork left and right, restaurants are booming and people are just enjoying life. Take Piazza della Rotunda for example. Its home to the single oldest Roman building still standing today which is the Pantheon. Both of these Piazzas, along with all the rest, offer its own unique feeling and view into the past and towards Italian culture.

                Piazzas provide a lens into the Italian culture due to the past history and sculptures/architecture presented. A major quote in chapter 5 of Barzini he states that “Italians love their own show. They prefer to live in their own ambiguous world of make believe, among paper mache reproductions of reality.” I feel like these Piazzas are a reproduction of Italians imagination. They are what they want all of Italy to look like. These Piazzas are made for Italians to go to for relaxation and to enjoy themselves. Private space is non existent in Italian homes, therefore places like Piazzas are made to get away and to relax, have some time alone, and enjoy life exactly how it’s imagined.

                Italian culture is that of food, atmosphere, and precision. What I mean by precision is that everything has to be completely perfect or else it is completely wrong. For example, in Piazza Navona when the pope wanted the Fountain of the 4 Rivers to be built he had to have the perfect design or else it wasn’t good enough. The fountain today is perfect thanks to Bernini. Surrounding the piazza is a plethora of foods, shops, and nice restaurants for people to enjoy. On page 92 of Barzini he writes that “It is not surprising, therefore, that the possession of a knack to correct and embellish the appearance of life may at times tempt some Italians to utilize it to mystify their neighbors for their own private advantage.” This quote shows what I mean by precision. Italians have a way of correcting things in life to make them perfect. This is part of their culture. It shows in the Piazzas and provides a lens into their culture due to how perfect each Piazza is. Piazza della Rotunda’s Pantheon is made so that a perfect sphere could be fit inside the dome with one inch to spare; the obelisk on top of the fountain of the pantheon was carefully transported back to Rome to show how they conquered Egypt; Navona’s fountains were placed perfectly so that the pope could see them when looking out the window. This shows how precise everything is inside the Piazzas. It’s a home away from home where Italians can go and enjoy their perfect imaginable life but have it be a reality.