GL 350 last blog: How has the “Rome Experience” prepared you to become a global citizen?

I cannot believe I am in the middle of my eighth week here in Rome. I keep thinking about what Mike said the very first day. “The first week will go by slowly, but after that, every week will fly by faster than the week before it.” He was right, it seems like such a short amount of time since I first got here.  But after reflecting on the places I have been, all the things I have seen, and all the wonderful people I have become so close to, it is now evident that I have done so much in this short period of time.

A completely different person is coming back to America. The old me is now lost somewhere in Rome, Venice, Barcelona, Florence, Paris, Sorrento, Positonno, and Amsterdam. With every place visited, I saw things that changed me. I believe that I have changed for the better. I am now more independent. I feel as though I could go anywhere in the world by myself and be ok. I also have gained a global understanding. That not everything is the same as the U.S. That people can have different viewpoints, different lifestyles, different everything, and it is perfectly ok and beautiful for them to do so. I believe that I now am able to see the big picture when I look at problems before me.

I am now going to be more globally conscious of the world around me. I think I am going to stay more up to date with everything that’s happening in the world. My opinions on things have also changed, before, I only really cared about myself and my country and family. Now, I have a broadened view, one that takes the world into consideration.

I have become more connected to God after this trip. This is one of the things I am the most happy about. Dealing with my aunt’s death and all the struggles my mom has gone through over the years took me to a dark place, a place of doubt about His realness. Coming on this trip I have seen things that prove to me He is real, and He is more powerful and all knowing than I ever thought before.

 I have come to grips with how truly blessed I am to have everything in my life that I do. My family, friends, and life are now more cherished to me than ever before. I have seen many beautiful things on my travels, but there has also been some difficult things. This includes the homeless on every street corner and the woman with her toddler on trains begging for money for her child to eat. I’ve spoken with an Italian during my homestay, who was the same age as me, about the struggles of living in a country that has too many old people and not enough jobs for the young. These things I will also remember when I go back home.

Being secluded, not just by distance but emotionally, from everything in your life in a completely new place really gives you time to reflect. To reflect on what is important in life, what your priorities are, where you see yourself in the future, where you may have thought you saw yourself going and if that is still where you want to end up. The possibilities are endless! I am so thankful I got some time away, and that I was able to take some time to really reflect. It’s so important, especially at my age. I am a big believer of everything happening for a reason. The world is way bigger then I think anyone really realizes until they get out an experience it first hand. I am so thankful I got to travel and take advantage of all the opportunities I have before I have huge responsibilities to hold me back.

I now also know all in all I will be a better person because of this trip. I now feel as though I am limitless, that I can conquer anything in life that I want to. I can be whoever I want to be and live wherever I want to live. The world is mine for the taking.

What can we take from the Italians in terms of health?

I believe there are a lot of things that America can learn from the Italian health system as well as their lifestyle. Italians are generally healthier than Americans. If you were to walk along the streets in the U.S. you would see roughly every other person being overweight. When I walked on the streets in Italy however, over an entire eight-week period, I could count on one hand how many obese people I have seen. I haven’t seen one gym while I have been here. The only conclusion one can come to when they ask how, after all the food and carbs that Italians consume, the Italians stay healthy is that it is a combination of their lifestyle and their national health care.

In the U.S. our lifestyle mainly consists of working 8 hours a day and then coming home to watch TV until we go to bed. We eat out half of the nights in a week. Parks are empty and abandoned as kids play videogames at home instead. In Italy, parks are full of people walking. Kids fight over the grassy areas for space to play their pick-up soccer games. Italians walk, often miles, to and from work everyday. They also cook more than Americans do. This allows them to consume fresh, more-healthy products. In the U.S. many families order their food from restaurants who often do not have healthy food. Restaurants in Italy on the other hand buy all their ingredients from the local market every day. It is these little differences that Italy has that make them healthier than the U.S. I would be very surprised if everyone in the U.S. changed their ways, as it has become our culture. However, I do believe that we can take a few of these things and change for the better.

One thing I think America has to change is our diet. We consume to many unhealthy foods. This is something that we could change immediately. It starts with the kids in school. We need to provide them with more information on eating healthy and make sure that all the school lunches are healthy as well. Michelle Obama has started this, but we as a nation need to make sure we really strive to achieve this. Often times a person’s eating habits start when they are young, if they change it at a young age, they will grow to be healthy individuals and thus have healthy families for future generations.

Italy has national health care. Everyone in Italy who needs health care gets it. I believe that this has helped dramatically with the overall health of the citizens. They can go see the doctor if they’re not feeling well early on and spot any problems and treat those problems before they become too serious. In the U.S., not everyone has health insurance and those who do pay for it themselves. Because of this, they are not as inclined to take advantage of the cutting age science that we have. If we were to provide it to everyone I believe more people would use it, and thus be healthier.

Can prayer cure diseases?

This is a very controversial question. It is a question that requires a lot of thought. I believe, to answer simply, no, we cannot cure disease through the power of prayer.

Praying to God is vital to maintaining a valuable relationship with Him. However, I do not think we can simply cure diseases by prayer alone. Some might say that, through the power of prayer, we can ask God to grant health to our sick relatives. That we can pray for Him to be in room with them on the operating table, to guide the surgeon’s hands in the dangerous procedure that may not prove to be successful. It is not wrong to ask for these things. However, I believe that God has a plan for all of us. If it is you or your loved one’s time to pass away, that is God’s will for them to do so, and regardless of how much you may pray otherwise, He knows all. We do not know all and therefore have no place whatsoever to judge.

My family recently went through a hard time. My aunt passed away from breast cancer, after already fighting winning the battle cancer a few months before. This happened a few years ago, but she still greatly missed by us all. She had two daughters, one of which only 13. Watching my grandparents bury their daughter was one of the saddest things I have seen. I won’t even go into the details of just how truly genuine, whole-hearted, and beautiful my aunt was, as I could spend hours on the topic. When my family dealt with this tragedy it was hard not to feel a little confused as to why she had been taken from this earth when there are so many ugly, mean, things and people here. My family and I prayed more than ever during the short two days she was in the hospital before she passed on. Our prayers did not cure her. It was a hard pill to swallow, but God has his reason for taking her at that exact time in her life as well as all of ours. What that reason is not for us to know, nor is it possible for us to know.

Everyone has a path laid in front of them when they go through life. We make the choices as to what we want to do with the time we have here, but God already knows what our entire story is when we are just babies in a crib. He is all knowing. When it is time for us to pass on to heaven or hell, it is the perfect time.

In conclusion I believe prayer cannot cure disease. We may ask for good health or help in times of need and we may get it. It is important for us to praise thanks for another day of life. That is something that I think more people need to understand. Many, myself included, only ever turn to prayer when we are in need of something. It is even more important for us to praise thanks to lord for everything we have, all the blessings we have, and all the time we have with each other. When our time does come, it is His will, and we should embrace His decision and rejoice that we, or our loved ones, are now dancing with angels and are free from all the burdens and sin of the world.

In what ways is the Catholic Church both roman and global?

The Catholic Church is one of the biggest religious groups in the world. As Barzini puts it, “The Church is a world within itself, the most labyrinthine and complicated of all human organizations.” It is especially big in Rome and Italy in general. This is mainly due to the Vatican being in Rome, and the history of the Catholic faith in the ancient city over the last thousand years. The Catholic Church is roman, but it is also global.

The Catholic Church is Roman and it always will be. I have come to this conclusion after living/visiting the city over the last six weeks. Everything that I have come into contact with in the city, whether it be the hundreds of churches or the countless monuments that symbolize something religious, is connected to the Catholic Church. Everywhere you look there is Catholicism. You do not need to be standing in the marvelous St. Peter Square or even the basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere to see it. The Catholicism flows from the people of Rome themselves. In the crosses they wear around their necks and the way they live their lives in such kind, holy ways. Barzini describes their virtue when he says, “They are relatively reliable, honest, truthful, just, obedient, generous, disciplined, brave, and capable of self sacrifices.”

One way they have come closer to the Catholic Church is through the importance of family to the Italian people. Barzini explains this importance when he says, “The Italian family is a stronghold in a hostile land: within its walls and among its members, the individual finds consolation, help, advice, provisions, loans, weapons, allies, and accomplices to aid him in his pursuits. No Italian who has a family is ever alone.” It is advised by the church to look out for the common good of others, even more so for those you love most. Family is paramount in Italian culture. I believe it is paramount because of the church. Gaudeum explains this too, “All pastors should remember too that by their daily conduct and concern(18) they are revealing the face of the Church to the world, and men will judge the power and truth of the Christian message thereby. By their lives and speech, in union with Religious and their faithful, may they demonstrate that even now the Church by her presence alone and by all the gifts which she contains, is an unspent fountain of those virtues which the modern world needs the most.”

Barzini describes the Church as, “honorable, virtuous, far-reaching, powerful and omnipresent…it offers infinite possibilities, it protects and aids its followers, it solves all kinds of problems, it promotes prosperity and security of good men in all kinds of circumstances.” The Catholic Church is also present on a global scale. It starts in Rome, but it reaches out across land and sea. When something has these great characteristics, it is not hard to see why it has lasted so long, why it will continue to last, and why it stretched to a global scale. It is present in the U.S. as well. One way that I have noticed how globally present the church is, is by going to mass where the language is Italian. It is the exact same as mass in the U.S. The readings are the same, the prayers are the same, the kneeling and standing are all done at the same time, the only difference is the language. This proves that the Catholic Church’s reach is in fact global. It is also global in the way the hierarchy of the church works. With the Pope being at the top and then reaching down to young priest in a small county in Ohio.

It is important for the Catholic Church to continue to direct the world and stay relevant even in today’s times. As Michelangelo describes in Smiles, “The Creator, who from nothingness could make all Time and every creature in the void…” It is important for everyone to remember this in the materialistic society we have. With the Catholic Church functioning as it has, I do not think this will be a problem.

Addendum:

I have had the pleasure of attending both Easter and Papal mass in Saint Peter’s square since I wrote the aforementioned blog post. The mass was led by the Pope Francis himself. I cannot think of a time in my life where I have ever felt more connected to my faith. To be there in the square, that has so much history, with around 100,000 people in it was simply amazing.

When I was in attendance I could not help but think how global the Church really is. Sitting in my chair, I was surrounded by people of different heritages. Some even brought their country’s flags to wave for the Pope. The mass itself was given in over 10 languages by different members of the Pope’s staff. The best part was how everyone came together. It did not matter where they can from, everyone was together celebrating with the Pope in the cold rain on Easter Sunday. This was different to what Barzini was talking about in Chapter 15 when he talked about the Alexander VI, “The people cheered also because they hoped the Pope and all his family would soon come to a bad end.” Sunday, everyone was chanting in pure love for the Pope. Barzini also spoke of how the Church is Roman, “The Church had been, since the early Middle Ages, the rallying point of the Italians against the menace of imperial power.” Whenever the Italians had a problem, they would turn to the Church for guidance and direction. It was the only thing that was strong over all the years.

This has all further confirmed what I had talked about previously, the Church is very Roman, but its reach stretches all around the globe.

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

Having time to leisure is a necessity in life. Both the Italians and the Americans leisure, they just do it in different ways. The Americans typically spend their leisure time sitting in front of a television. At best they get out of the house to play a game of golf. Italians, on the other hand, spend their time working out, meeting friends for coffee, grocery shopping, or walking their dogs in the more peaceful parts of the city. I know if I had the time to leisure during my regular work day I would spend it with my dog in the grassy fields near the aqueducts or in the calm and quiet parks of the Borghese Gardens.

Leisure is a necessity in order for people to remain sane. It is impossible to perform at a highly productive rate in the work place without taking some time to recharge the batteries. The Italians do a great job in taking time out of the day for leisure by having siesta in the afternoons from 1pm-4pm. Having a break like this allows them to be more productive in the times they actually work, because they know they will have time to relax in the afternoon. Americans on the other hand, has little time in the day, especially the workday, for leisure. Often times people work between 40-80 hours a week and whatever free time they do have is filled with doing other chores that are necessary in life. This could be things like picking up the kids from school, cooking dinner, or even just sleeping. Italians also find pleasure in the little things. Barzini explains this when he says, “Above all he believed in all kinds of physical pleasures. The feel of a panting horse at a gallop between his knees, a swim at dawn in the sea, rare perfumes, the killing of enemies in battle, and the endless delights of women’s bodies.” These things cannot be enjoyed, it least not so in depth, if you are working for so many hours. It is in times of leisure that Italians become the most connected with the beautiful life around them.

The Italians tend to be very relaxed in nature. I believe this comes from them having so much time to for leisure. It gives them a lot of time to reflect on things. Like Barzini says, “They mind their own business. They behave with circumspection, caution and even cynicism. They are incredulous: they do not want to be fooled by seductive appearances and honeyed words. They cannot afford to be carried away by emotions. They keep them under control.” I have noticed when walking around Rome. Sometimes you see things that may not always be right, and yet, people rarely do anything. They just mind their own business.

In conclusion, Italians go about leisure differently than Americans. Their work day is better because of it and the people are more happy and refreshed. They are living life to the fullest, the way it should be lived. Not just in a desk chair for 10 hours a day. I think Americans sometimes forget that. Life is better lived when enjoying the little things, as Barzini describes, “But then you listen to people talk in cafes, watch them diffidently buy fish or fruit in an open-air market, watch them rapturously listening to sonorous band-music, watch old men smile to an unknown pretty girl in the street…” Italians love their leisure time and it is not hard to see why in such a beautiful country.