What the Italy?!?! #2

A picture's worth a thousand words. These are on every corner. Welcome to Italy.

Quote of the Day 10/25/12

“It’s the oldest story in the world. One day you’re seventeen and planning for someday. And then quietly and without you ever really noticing, someday is today. And that someday is yesterday. And this is your life.”              [Nathan Scott]

mind over matter, part 1

     Renowned German psychologist Bruno Klopfer published a famous study in 1957 on the connection between human psychology variables and cancer. In this famous study, Klopfer documented the life of a man named Wright who had been diagnoised with an advanced form of cancer in his lymph nodes. All treatments had been tried, retried and Doctors were accepting that Wright would not have much time left. Klopfer wrote the following: 

      "His neck, armpits, chest, abdomen, and groin were filled with tumors the size of oranges, and his spleen and liver were so enlarged that two quarts of milky fluid had to be drainedout of his chest every day. Wright heard about an exciting new drug called Krebiozen, and he begged his doctor to let him try it.  At first the doctor refused because the drug was being tried on people with a life expectancy of at least three months.  Finally the doctor gave in and gave Wright an injection of Krebiozen on Friday, but in his heart of hearts he did not expect Wright to last the weekend. Ten days after Wright’s first treatment, he left the hospital and was, as far as his doctors could tell, cancer free.  When he entered the hospital he had needed an oxygen mask to breathe, but when he left, he was well enough to fly his own plane at 12,000 feet with no discomfort.Wright remained well for about two months, but then articles began to appear asserting that Krebiozen actually had no effect on cancer of the lymph nodes.  Wright, who was rigidly logical and scientific in his thinking, became very depressed, suffered a relapse, and was readmitted to the hospital.  This time his physician decided to try an experiment.  He told Wright that Krebiozen was every bit as effective as it had seemed, but that some of the initial supplies of the drug had deteriorated during shipping.The physician used only plain water and went through an elaborate procedure before injecting Wright with the placebo. Again the results were dramatic.  Tumor masses melted, chest fluid vanished, and Wright was quickly back on his feet and feeling great.  He remained symptom-free for another two months, but then the AMA announced that a nationwide study of Krebiozen had found the drug worthless for the treatment of cancer.  This time Wright’s faith was completely shattered.  His cancer blossomed anew and he died two days later.”

     Many studies have come to show that the human is more powerful than most of us believe it to be. Harvard professor Ellen Langer has devoted her life to the research of the human mind. She has found that giving nursing home resident more control over their lives made them live longer, or she made hotel maids lost weight simply by telling them that their work burned as many calories as a typical workout, or Langer found that instructing a group of elderly men to talk and act as if they were 20 years younger reversed the aging process. 

Quote of the Day 10/7/12

"I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see. The longer I live the more my mind dwells upon the beauty and the wonder of the world."

[John Burroughs]

Quote of the Day 10/6/12

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”                                               [Ralph Waldo Emerson]

What the Italy?!?! #1

In honor of my study abroad voyage, separate from my more philosophical, analytical posts, I have decided to start sharing short and sweet life tips that Italy will teach me. Here is one as I start my weekend…

In Italy, they thoughtfully produce and sell wine juice boxes. No worries, the straw is included! So next time you're packing your kid a nice brown bag lunch, don't forget to include their juice for the day. Don't want them getting dehydrated or anything….

La Bella Vita

I call this one "pondering my Italian future"

     They say theres a first time for everything… Well, this is my time first time blogging…in Italy! I have been away from the states for 3 weeks now. Seems like just yesterday I was lugging my luggage through 6 different airports to make it to Italy. Yeah, 6 different airports: Santa Barbara to LAX to Denver to Chicago to North Carolina to London Heathrow to London Gatwick to Florence. If you've never trailed to so many airports you should, you get a cross country tour within 48 hours. Super exciting, you should really try it. 

     This semester I am very fortunate and blessed to have the opportunity to spend a semester in beautiful, one of a kind, splendid Rome, Italia. The first two weeks of my program were spent in Florence. There we did an extensive, 4.5 hour a day Italian language immersion program. During the day we learned the language and during the night we attempted to tie together bits and pieces of any Italian we knew. Try asking a old little lady in a tiny market in a village for a few slices of prosciutto and she hands you a kilo of it. Atleast the prosciutto here is amazing so 3 pounds of it is the smallest of concerns.