It’s hard to believe but the final week of my stay in Middle Earth is here. In just 9 days, I’ll be flying back to my homeland for the first time in a year. I’ve been slowly preparing for the day when I have to drag myself out of bed at 0430 hours to get to airport by 0500 & then wait for my 0700 flight. Since I’m not a morning person, I’ll be relying on a good energy drink to keep me awake while I drop off my baggage & go through nit-picky security.
Scared that its 15 minutes of fame are over, swine flu has launched a surprise offensive, especially in Australia, with the total number of cases spiking to 1300! That’s a slight worry for me because I’ll be travelling to Sydney to meet my older brother whose been studying in Canberra for a year. Although, my roommate Ryan just came back from a week long trip to Sydney, he said that he didn’t notice a pandemic & that he was swine flu free.
With the end in sight, the midyears in my class have been planning on how to celebrate the inevitable end of the graduate program. On the 19th, both senior professional studies’ classes will converge to have a group lunch and/or morning tea. Hmm, I should probably ask someone if I have to bring something & if it’s a BYOB?
Most of my assignments are completed with some already handed in. I just have to put the finishing touches on the remainders & then I can sit back & relax . . . for several minutes because my suitcases need to be packed. On Monday morning, [insert The Mamas & The Papas song here], I’ll be starting the senior history lecture with a presentation about Parihaka & its significance to NZ & Mäori history. Long story short, think 19th century NZ, Mäori land resistance, & Gandhi like leadership.
Creative English class has been interesting & humourous because students have been showing vids & pics of English being used creatively. And that includes Engrish (failed Chinese/Japanese attempts in translating to English). So far, the class favourites are: Total Eclipse of the Heart - Literal Video Version; The Longest Words in the English Language; & Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukak
Apikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu (all one word) - one of the longest place names in the world. One exercise I particularly loved was creating new diseases; I came up with cardiorrhea – when the heart craps out.
In the world today, it looks like Iran is getting close to erupting into anarchy because the hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won reelection amidst allegations of vote rigging & fraud. The world would be much better off without that lunatic but in a totalitarian society, I have my doubts that the moderate protests will achieve anything.
Speaking of protests, conservative Americans are once again trying to convince the American public to not support Obama’s health care reforms because it’ll turn the system into a failed Canadian system. I have no idea what these people are smoking or getting their information from, but the Canadian healthcare system is far better than the one down south. Sure, we have long waiting lists but at least we don’t have to pay gigantic hospital bills. It’s one of the main reasons why thousands of Americans flock across the northern border to buy the same prescription drugs for a fraction of the American price.
One of the main reasons why I’ll never live in the USA is because of the greedy healthcare system, where the pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, clinics, and hospitals are allowed to charge whatever they want, rendering millions of Americans bankrupt. It would appear that healthcare is only for the rich. (Currently, there are 43 million Americans without health insurance). I would like to recommend Michael Moore’s film Sicko, which deals with this situation. Only a socialized health system works.
Scared that its 15 minutes of fame are over, swine flu has launched a surprise offensive, especially in Australia, with the total number of cases spiking to 1300! That’s a slight worry for me because I’ll be travelling to Sydney to meet my older brother whose been studying in Canberra for a year. Although, my roommate Ryan just came back from a week long trip to Sydney, he said that he didn’t notice a pandemic & that he was swine flu free.
With the end in sight, the midyears in my class have been planning on how to celebrate the inevitable end of the graduate program. On the 19th, both senior professional studies’ classes will converge to have a group lunch and/or morning tea. Hmm, I should probably ask someone if I have to bring something & if it’s a BYOB?
Most of my assignments are completed with some already handed in. I just have to put the finishing touches on the remainders & then I can sit back & relax . . . for several minutes because my suitcases need to be packed. On Monday morning, [insert The Mamas & The Papas song here], I’ll be starting the senior history lecture with a presentation about Parihaka & its significance to NZ & Mäori history. Long story short, think 19th century NZ, Mäori land resistance, & Gandhi like leadership.
Creative English class has been interesting & humourous because students have been showing vids & pics of English being used creatively. And that includes Engrish (failed Chinese/Japanese attempts in translating to English). So far, the class favourites are: Total Eclipse of the Heart - Literal Video Version; The Longest Words in the English Language; & Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukak
Apikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu (all one word) - one of the longest place names in the world. One exercise I particularly loved was creating new diseases; I came up with cardiorrhea – when the heart craps out.
In the world today, it looks like Iran is getting close to erupting into anarchy because the hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won reelection amidst allegations of vote rigging & fraud. The world would be much better off without that lunatic but in a totalitarian society, I have my doubts that the moderate protests will achieve anything.
Speaking of protests, conservative Americans are once again trying to convince the American public to not support Obama’s health care reforms because it’ll turn the system into a failed Canadian system. I have no idea what these people are smoking or getting their information from, but the Canadian healthcare system is far better than the one down south. Sure, we have long waiting lists but at least we don’t have to pay gigantic hospital bills. It’s one of the main reasons why thousands of Americans flock across the northern border to buy the same prescription drugs for a fraction of the American price.
One of the main reasons why I’ll never live in the USA is because of the greedy healthcare system, where the pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, clinics, and hospitals are allowed to charge whatever they want, rendering millions of Americans bankrupt. It would appear that healthcare is only for the rich. (Currently, there are 43 million Americans without health insurance). I would like to recommend Michael Moore’s film Sicko, which deals with this situation. Only a socialized health system works.
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