Hope

I am currently reading the second book in the Twilight series, called New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer. In the book the main character, Bella, is in love with a vampire, Edward. They would do anything for each other and promise to be together forever. But one day Edward is forced to move away from Forks, where they both live, and has to say goodbye to Bella. He tells her that they cannot communicate in any way because it will only make things harder for them. Bella does not belong in the world the way Edward does. Once Edward is gone, Bella can't even function. She can't eat, she can't sleep, she can't even see her friends because she is so miserable without her lover. But even through all her suffering, Bella still has hope that Edward will come back for her one day. She believe even after everything he said, he still loves her and they will be together forever. This reminds me of Nathan in Nectar in a Sieve because he has hope that things for his family will get better even though they have hardly any money or food. If I ever were to be left by someone I loved very much, I think I would try to get on with my life and not wait around for them. To me, that is kind of pointless because if they really did want to be with me, they would try their hardest to and not just leave me.

Religion/Spirituality/Belief/Non-Belief

I read an article how Muslims had to adjust their living styles when they first came to America. One woman described how when she first got to the airport many people were staring at her because she was wearing a dress and head wrap that covered her whole body except her face. One person said, "I expected people to say, 'What is this terrorist doing here? We don't want your kind here,' " said Woldt, a 22-year-old blue-eyed Catholic, recalling her anticipation before stepping into a local barbecue restaurant. "I thought I wouldn't even be served." I don't understand how people can be so judgmental towards someone only based on their appearance. It's not like you know someone's personality traits or background just by looking at them. I know I do this sometimes, though, but I'm going to work on that because I know I don't like when people I don't know judge me. I think it is just hard for people to adjust to the changing world around us, and the fact that people are coming to America for many reasons. I think overall, they are helping our country because they are exposing us to new cultures and such.




Ravitz, Jessica. “Muslim in America: a 'voyage of discovery'”. CNN News. 9 Feb 2009. 16 Feb 2009. .

Gender Roles

Men are you usually seen as the superior sex. However, the arguments men and women have been fighting over have come to an end. The problems in it's place are the stress, lack of time and financial pressure of modern life. Surveys show that both genders believe their lives has been enriched because of the increase in gender equity. They also both agree that it is more difficult than ever to build and maintain successful marriages, families and lead satisfying lives. The surveys also showed that men and women think it is very important to have a happy family, but the parents who have to put their children in child care say they wish they didn't have to do that. Although men are accepting to women working outside the home, large majorities of both sexes agree that it would be better if women could stay home and take care of the house and children. Overall, i think our society has greatly impacted from the acceptance of women in the business field.



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/gender/gender22a.htm

Cultural Differences

I read an article on Wikipedia about Muslims. I learned that they are much more religious than Christians are. They have prayer times, rituals and religious gathers throughout the day. Muslims have certain foods they can and cannot eat. Arabic names are now being called ''Muslim" names because they are being passed down from their families. Regardless of their religious beliefs. 99.8% of Turkey is Muslim, however one can accept Muslim aspects without accepting all of the Islamic theology. This is unlike the Western part of the world because they base statics on the religion as a whole that a person follows. As you can see, Muslim culture and Christian culture differ in many ways.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Muslim

Overcoming Conflict

when a jessica was 14 years old, she started using drugs. it started with marijuana, and then progressed into pain killers, and eventually cocaine. she used these drugs at least once a day for a few years. Jessica lost her boyfriend, her job and dropped out of school because the drugs took so much control of her. she was always depressed when she came off the drugs, and thirsted for more. that is when she realized she had to quit. Jessica is working very hard and getting and staying clean, but she says that it's hard for her to. her body tells her that she needs it. however, when she goes a whole day without using, she feels so good about herself. in the article, she really stresses how one should never get started on drugs. they ruin your life and some people can never get their lives back together. even though jessica hasn't completely overcome her addiction, she is working at it every minute of every day and i am very happy for her.

http://www.thailandlife.com/drugs/story_001.html

Natural Disasters

Natural disasters can cause not only physical pain, but emotional pain as well. When a natural disaster occurs, it may sometimes permanently damage lives in many ways. The houses, jobs, and loved ones can be gone forever. Some people even are scarred for the rest of their lives because their losses are too tragic for them to even bare any longer. Bill O'Callahan says, "Losing a home is like losing a limb". He is expressing that it is terrible when one losses their house and getting another home may even be impossible if one is still paying the mortgage on the home that was destroyed. Others, however, can easily get their lives back together, find new jobs and move on with the rest of their life. I think if I were to ever be in a natural disaster, depending on how tragic my losses, I would try to get my life back together because living in the past isn't going to get me anywhere. 



http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=990CE1D8133BF934A15755C0A965948260&scp=10&sq=natural%20disasters&st=cse