And So it Begins

In all honesty, I have been avoiding writing in the blog as long as possible.  The idea of sharing my thoughts on the internet doesn't appeal to me.  Who would want to read them anyways?  I have been keeping a personal journal of my travels, so I will pull from that as I go.

May 16, 2011

3 days in!  The flight over was even more uncomfortable than I remembered, but I survived and I'm glad to be here! Sunday we explored the Eiffel (sp?) region of Germany and it was great.  We started the morning with a traditional Catholic mass at Maria Laach.  Part of it was in German and part in Latin.  Needless to say I didn't understand a word of it. The church where the mass was held was beautiful.  They used a local volcanic stone to make it.  The stone gave it a very unique appearance with denser, darker stones on the corners and support stones, and a lighter stone for the rest.  Nearby, there's a lake that people are forbidden to swim in because carbon monoxide (I think) bubbles up from the water, creating the potential for people to essentially suffocate.  Apparently it's not that uncommon to occur in volcanic regions, but it still seemed quite strange to me.  After the monastery, we went to the last remaining castle in the Rhineland.  It was inhabited until the 1930's.  It was so damp, dark, and cold.  I don't know why anyone would want to live there! We also visited a little town called Monreal.  It was beautiful!

Monday, we began the day with a visit to an organic farm.  They grew/raised a wide variety of crops and livestock.  The manager of the farm was very nice and brought up some thought provoking points.  However, I still don't understand how organic farming is a sustainable process.  Don't get me wrong, we need to make changes to the ways in which we currently farm on such a massive scale, but I don't think organic is the answer for an ever growing population.  After the organic farm, we had a lecture on homeopathy.  As with the farm manager, the homeopath brought up some interesting points, but I still don't quite trust in it as medicine.  Apparently by adding a substance to water and then diluting it many times, you alter the water molecules, creating a healing substance.  You are supposed to treat like with like.  For example, if your patient comes in with stomach discomfort and heartburn, you are supposed to use a substance that if consumed in it's pure form would cause the same symptoms.  It's an interesting idea, and I would like to try it on my future patients if traditional Western medicine fails them. However, until there's some solid evidence supporting these types of treatments, I think I will stick with what Western medicine has provided us. 

Overall, an interesting and thought-provoking start to the program!