Tuesday, May 12th 2009 @ 6pm Blog #11

Tuesday, May 12th 2009 @ 6pm
Blog #11

I decided today that I like the Italian healthcare system. It seems that I have sun poisoning because of the combination of medications I’m on and extreme sun exposure. All I had to do was go to the pharmacy and explain the problem and the guy wrote me a prescription right there. He asked me if I was Italian, and I said yes, so I only paid 5 euros for the cream. Very simple; they don’t waste time, money, and resources on simple medical issues. No insurance companies or bullshit. Granted they pay much higher taxes on their wages then in the U.S. (I think about 40%), but for me and the experiences I’ve had, I prefer this way because I think it distributes the wealth more fairly. (Yes, I realize how socialist that sounded!) That’s just my opinion…..
During today’s culture lesson, we discussed immigration and racism in Italy. Our teacher distributed various newspapers from the left, right and center so we can get a better idea of those points of view, which are different than those of the left, right, and moderates in the U.S. For example, religious people (Catholics) are on the left, and are democratic. Where in the U.S., we view the Christians of the South (the Bible belt) as being very right and conservative. One of the newspapers we read called Il Libero, of Berlusconi, was headlined “Are you a racist? Take our test”. I felt like I was reading a magazine or something. And the questions were all skewed so that being anti-foreign was a positive thing. For example, one question said “A group of immigrants above your apartment are making a lot of noise at 3am….how do you feel about it?” a) I’m mad as a bull and will take action b) they don’t know any better because of their culture c) I think foreigners are cute. I felt like I was watching Jon Stewart making fun of the news, but this was not for comedy, it was real. Another quote I found especially shocking came from the founder of the Lega Nord (political party). A journalist asked if a Lombard is at top of a tower with a black man and southern, which would he push off? The politician responded first the southern out of obligation, and then the black man for pleasure. Ugh.

(The photo is il castello at Vietri the other night with Raffaele and the Italian boys).