My Family Traditions

A few weeks ago, one of my classmates did a wonderful presentation on Jewish Food and their holidays. After the presentation she asked my class to write a blog post about my religion and what food traditions we have. So I'm going to write about growing up Catholic.

Although my family weren't model Catholics, we still participated in very many traditions revolving around the church. One thing we did that I'll always remember was go to breakfast after Mass Sunday morning. Although not exactly a catholic thing, it was a time where my family would eat together and it happened to only happen after Mass. We would usually go to my favorite restaurant, Sero's, and I'd always get their chicken fingers, even though it was still "breakfast time". My family would complain and harass me about getting lunch for breakfast but I got it every time, despite their bereavement. And their harassing me also became tradition.

Another big tradition we had was eating dinners at Grandma's house. Typical Catholic families ate dinner as a family and a lot of the time, it was at their grandparents' house. It didn't matter what the occasion, dinner was always at their house. Throughout the school week we'd eat dinner at home due to time, but every Sunday and every holiday it was there. And everyone was invited. All the cousins, uncles, aunts, friends, friends of friends, new girlfriends or boyfriends, and everyone's pets. This went on for years as I was growing up. As I got older it didn't happen as much. My Aunts and Uncles started getting divorced, as did my parents, and everyone started drifting apart. It also didn't help that we were all starting to go to college as well. Nowadays we're lucky to even get a few relatives together. I miss the old days.

Shawarma House

Today I decided I'd pick a little something up from Shawarma House over on the corner of Howard and W. Michigan, behind Two Fellas Grill. Since I had no idea what Shawarma was, I decided I'd eat that. I ordered a chicken shawarma from the nice fellow at the restaurant. The man was very friendly and treated me like a friend he had not seen in years. He asked me how my day was, harassed me when I said I was tired by saying "You're too young to be saying that!", and was very cheery about his own day, saying it was "better than perfect". While we were talking he made my chicken shawarma which consisted of an assortment of condiments, pickles, cucumbers, and the shawarma itself. Shawarma is a preparation of the meat where they put it on a "spit" (Tall, vertical rotisserie) that slowly cooks the meat, in this case, chicken. It is of middle-eastern origin and leaves you with awful breath. I wish I could have talked to the main man in the kitchen more but he was quite busy with the customers they had. 10/10 would definitely go again.

Climate Change

I've been hearing about Climate Change ever since I was a little boy. Back then the only information I had on Climate Change was from the Al Gore episode of South Park, the same episode that featured ManBearPig. So obviously, my knowledge wasn't too vast. As I grew up more and more information became available to me and I learned about what has caused it, what can be done to "fix" it, and what will happen if we don't. But until we had our most recent lecture in English 1100, it never really struck me as a "top priority" kind of issue.

Dr. Karowe was invited to speak to our class this past Monday about Climate Change and how it is affecting not only the climate but our agriculture. Throughout my years of college I have been "molded" into a skeptic through the Psychology department, because skeptics make for good scientists. So obviously, I questioned everything Dr. Karowe had said (in my head, not out loud). However, his presentation was very well put together and answered just about every question. It also brought to my attention how big of an issue Climate Change really is. I never really thought a few degrees would make a huge difference. "Oh no, it's going to be a little hotter this summer! Better buy some stronger sunscreen or stay in my air conditioned apartment more!". But that's even close to the actual damage these few degrees could cause. Dr. Karowe mentioned that if the global climate were to raise five degrees (like it is predicted to in the next century), that agriculture would suffer tremendously. What really convinced me of these problems was the picture I've posted below in Figure A. This is a picture of the U.S if the climate were to drop five degrees. Can you find Michigan?

Figure A (The only figure) 

I don't know about you, but I'd rather not see what happens to Michigan, and the rest of the world, if the temps were to increase.

Edible Stories

Earlier this semester I decided, along with a few others, to read Edible Stories by Mark Kurlansky. Edible Stories is a "book in 16 bites", meaning there are 16 different stories that discuss people and how their lives are affected by food. I was supposed to write two other blog posts about this book but failed to do so, which I apologize for. But frankly, this book hasn't really motivated me to write anything more than a rant-filled post about how I dislike it.

     You're probably wondering, "Why didn't you like this book? It sounds pretty neat!", and it sure does sound pretty neat. I decided to become a psychology major because I love people and relationships between people, so obviously, this book caught my eye right away. Unfortunately, these edible stories weren't all that intriguing and kind of felt forced. Although there is no central character, the "main story" focuses on a man named Robert Eggles, who has lost his memory, sense of smell and taste, and shortly thereafter, his wife and job. It tells a story of how this man loses his wife due to him not being able to appreciate her gift of food, which highly offends her. Unlike most people in the world, he neglects telling her what had happened to him, which I feel would have solved a lot of his problems and wouldn't have made this a book worth reading. Anyway, the stories go on to talk about a politician who is being held hostage by a little Mexican woman who won't let him leave until he tries her slow cooking Menudo, a fitness freak that's obsessed with low-fat muffins, and a combative dinner scene that turns out quite comical.

    Despite my opinion of this book, I do very much enjoy the idea behind it. Food has a mysterious way of bringing people together or tearing them apart. Wars have been fought over it, relationships created over it, and lives ended by the lack of it. I think this is highly due to the fact that it's the one thing we can all, mostly, agree on. Food is necessary for our survival and there's not a lot of people who dislike eating (save for those who have mental disorders). It's a universal agreement that can ultimately bring people together in peace. It can also decide our future in the most obscure ways. Think about how it affects your first date with someone you're interested in. If you're the one in charge of setting up the date then you probably thought very carefully about where you're going to eat, considering his/her likes and dislikes or food allergies, and trying to find the perfect place to make a good first impression. While you're on the date, the both of you probably consider what you're going to order more carefully than you would if you were out with friends, as to not seem odd to your potential suitor. Their food choice or pickiness may even factor into your consideration of the potential of future dates. Obviously, this isn't something that would make or break the relationship, but it may help sway you one way or another if you're on the fence. Overall, food has a uniquely powerful control over our lives and even our relationships and that intrigues me.

The Hunger Games (Chapters 19-27)

This blog post is dedicated to the final chapters of The Hunger Games. Last time we left off at the death of Rue and a surprising rule change. The Capitol has decided that if two tributes from the same district stay alive until the end of the Games, they will both be crowned victors. Obviously, as soon as Katniss hears of this she rushes to find Peeta. Knowing he needs water to survive she follows the stream until she finds him caked in camouflage mud, a skill he gained from cake decorating. Peeta is badly injured so Katniss takes him to a cave for safety so she may take care of him until he is better. During this time his infection starts to get worse and Katniss figures out that the more romantic they become, the more help they will receive from Haymitch and their sponsors. Katniss starts to act romantic with Peeta and even kisses him. After a few days and a few care packages from Haymitch (all without medicine) it is announced that there will be a feast at the Cornucopia. Knowing this may be her only chance to get medicine for Peeta, she knocks him out with some sleep syrup she received from Haymitch and goes to retrieve the medicine. Doing so puts her life at risk as she is cut on her forehead by a knife from the other tributes. She obtains the medicine, brings it back to Peeta, and proceeds to pass out. After waking, Katniss finds Peeta healed, for the most part, and that he has taken care of her. They stay a little longer in the cave and Katniss starts to actually develop feelings for this young man. What were once fake feelings for the audience are now somewhat genuine. They are then lead out to the Cornucopia where they're met by Cato and some mutated Tributes. Cato ends up dying, making Katniss and Peeta Champions and you know how the rest goes.

Sorry for the brief summary, I just wanted to clarify what we all read.

Although there are many underlying themes and ideas throughout these last few chapters, the topic that struck me the most was Katniss' and Peeta's relationship. Due to some unfortunate events in my own personal life a week or so prior to reading this, it has definitely hit me harder than any other theme or idea. Peeta, being the stereotypical nice guy that he is, is deeply in love with a girl who wants almost nothing to do with him. This is probably the most common love story in the history of love stories, and for good reason. People, man and woman alike, are plagued by this problem throughout their wishful lives. Most everyone wants their Prince or Princesses Charming but have been hopelessly crushed in their pursuit. This theme keeps getting used again and again because it will almost always be relevant to society. Watching Katniss and Peeta grow and develop their relationship probably makes you think about your own life and your own relationships. How they started, how they grew, and sometimes, how they ended. It pulls at your heart-strings because it's something you can so easily relate. Of course, this story typically ends with a happy ending but in the case of The Hunger Games, it's not so cheery. This is how it should be though, in my opinion. It shows us that even love that's forged in the fire can have its bounds. Nothing is impervious to the shadows of despair. But, in the end, love will be obtained once more, and hopefully, until we're no more.

The Hunger Games (Chapters 6-18)

Hey everybody, I hope your Spring Breaks went well! As you all know, we had to read The Hunger Games Chapters 6-18 over break. Last time we left off, Katniss and Peeta were still with Haymitch and were preparing to train for a few days.

We pick up with the start of that training. The tributes get three days of training and one chance to show the Gamemakers what they can do. During this time, Katniss and Peeta decide to not show the other tributes their strengths and instead, learn practical skills like how to to tie knots and camouflage. After the few days of training it's Katniss' turn to show the Gamemakers what she can do. As she's showing off her skills with the bow and arrow she notices no one is paying any attention, so she shoots an arrow at the Gamemakers, piercing the apple in the mouth of the roasted pig that was just brought to their table. She then storms out and begins to panic, thinking she just ruined her chances at a good sponsorship. Turns out she didn't and receives a score of 11 out of 12, meaning she was very impressive. After their interview with the Gamemakers Katniss and Peeta rest up for the next day, which is the start of the 74th annual Hunger Games.

For the next few chapters we follow Katniss around the arena. Tributes are dying left and right, including a friend she makes name Rue. And Katniss is finally forced to kill somebody. Throughout these chapters I slowly started to realize that these were kids fighting and dying. These kids are younger than me and have to put their lives on the line for the sake of a game. At one point they describe a girl begging for her life when a group called the "Career Tributes" find her. That scene really got to me. At first I pictured this as just another video game that I play. People are put in an arena and you kill each other for points. There's no harm in the video game and you don't feel bad because, aside from the fact that they're fictional, they're also warriors. They were made for this. In The Hunger Games, they're kids that were chosen at random. Just think about what is going through their heads. Especially the girl that was begging for her life. Imagine how afraid she must be, knowing full-well that her life is about to end and not in a very peaceful way. Now imagine what it must be like for those kids who must kill to survive. Some may welcome this feeling, being that they were trained for these games, but others probably fear it just as much as they fear death. Taking the life of another human-being. This book is really making me hope that I am never put in this type of situation.

The Hunger Games (Chapters 1-5)

This week's reading was the first five chapters of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. For those of you who don't know, The Hunger Games is a book about a girl named Katniss Everdeen. Katniss is a 16 year old girl who lives in a place called District 12. North America has collapsed and in its place rose Panem, a new country consisting of 13 districts of impoverished people. Each district is sectioned off and guarded by tall gates. The people in these districts (especially 12) are filled with poor people who can barely feed their families. 

As an act of power, the Capitol (the main power of Panem) puts on an event every year called The Hunger Games. These games ask for two "tributes" from each district. Tributes are kids from age 12-18 and are picked at random. The tributes are sent away to the Capitol and forced to participate in a "fight to the death". The last tribute standing wins his/her life and fame across the districts. 

After reading these first few chapters, and having watched the movies, I couldn't imagine a world like this. They're pitting children against each other for their entertainment. It doesn't matter if they just turned twelve and can barely hold their own, they still have to fight for their survival. This reminds me a lot of third world countries in our world currently. Even though no one is forcing the kids to fight, most of them have to learn to survive on what they have. Poverty is high and kids starve everyday due to a lack of resources. Even some countries are forcing their kids to fight. A few years ago we had the "Kony 2012" ordeal where a ravenous leader was making the children become soldiers. Some places don't seem too far off from the idea of this book, and that frightens me.