Demotion from World Traveler to Euro Traveler

After seeing Jack's graduation in the morning in ND, mom and I drove to O'Hare for me to catch my flight and meet up with the other students going to Spain. Ran into some traffic, but uneventful. Thanks mom!
Total travel time thus far: 3 hours

We flew in last night/this morning to London which was mostly uneventful. I ended up sleeping most of the flight and missed out on dinner and other such details, although the lady I was sitting next to was nice enough to grab me a breakfast pastry in the morning.
Total travel time to date: 10 hours

Fortunately I had packed gummy bears. We hung out in the vastly confusing mouse-maze of shops in London until our flight gate was assigned and then flew into Madrid. Again I successfully went the whole flight only being awake for maybe a total of twenty minutes. I also got to see the aerobus when we drove past! (Well at least I thought it was cool...)
Total travel time thus far: 2.5 hr in airport + 2 hr flight = 14.5 hours

At Madrid we were met by our RA's, the Professor from ND and a Professor from Universidad de Valencia and packed onto the bus. The plus to this was that I was the only one awake for the bus ride from Madrid to Alcoy. I went through all Muzzy DVD's that were borrowed from mom. I may not be a pro yet, but you better believe that I can dominate my numbers and colors again! :)
The drive was very pretty, we basically drove through the plains of Spain (according the RA's this is where the seasonal flooding and storms come through). There were tons of wind turbines which was interesting to see. Once we got closer to Alcoy there was a lot of driving through the mountains which was absolutely gorgeous. There were some areas that looked like there were some ruins etc so I'm excited to do some hiking in the area. I believe they said we may be doing some of that next week. After an uneventful (highly confusing) orientation of the dorm we had so erm-gormet dining hall dinner ;) and everyone retreated to their rooms to unpack and SLEEP!
Total travel time thus far: 4.5 hours of driving + .5hr mandatory break = 19.5 hours

Below are some pictures from the drive:

just some mountains on the way to Alcoy from Madrid


castle? Ruins? This was just outside Alcoy by maybe 15 minutes

Windmills!

Spain!

Soooo...this was my old blog from my super-sweet FYC class freshman year, but oh well.
I will try to be updating this as much as possible this summer as long as I have internet acces :) but for now, here is where I will be going to school:

http://www.alcoi.upv.es/index2.php?lang=en

And this is where I will be:

New Ramblings!

So this blog was originally set up for my FYC class last year, but I think I'm actually going to start putting up some more thoughts up here like my brother does to make it easier to see what is up in my life!

SO, just spent a few days in Chicago, I stayed with Karl. Jimmy picked me up from the airport and we spent the next few days exploring the additions on the high school, falling in the lake and other such things :)


Christmas shopping with Karl.



Right before we fell into the lake...



back to the old window in senior hall...





Some new pictures of the additions on the high school.

I got into Colorado last night, mostly just a day of travel...caught an early flight out of O'Hare, grabbed colorado mountain express and crashed for a bit. We went to dinner since it was my Mom's bday, but a pretty quiet night.

Research Topics

Ethanol Efficiency:
There are many claims that say that ethanol is both an improvement over traditional fuels and those who say it actually has a bigger impact on the environment. It would be nice to know what is the truth behind all the hype, and, if it is inefficient, why politicians continue to support/subsidize it. There is a lot of talk about global warming and how Americans need to reduce carbon emissions, but it seems very little action being taken. The future of transportation and the economy could be at stake for if there were fuel shortages like there have been in the past, the American economy would severely suffer.

Stem Cell Research:
There are many who both strongly support and oppose stem cell research and particularly where the stem cells originate from. Stem cells can be found in various places in the body as well as in embryos that have been developed in a laboratory. People also have a wide variety of reasons that the oppose or support such research. Everything from curiosity and hope for large leaps in the area of society to religious opposition, it would seem that almost everyone has some sort of an opinion on whether or not stem cell research is moral and/or whether it should proceed.

Euthanasia:
Euthanasia is a fiercely debated topic for many people both religiously and in principle. Some people refuse medical care on religious grounds stating that it is in God's hands. But does God allow other people to assist? Are available doctors a form of God's helping hand or are they people interfering in what naturally should occur? Euthanasia is at the brink of this debate bringing personal judgment, religious views and political opportunity all on the line.

Rhetorical Analysis of The Border Patrol State

The main purpose of Leslie Silko's article "The Border State Patrol" is to raise awareness and comment on the state of things within the borders of the United States. The main claim that is presented in the article is that the power and control of the Border Patrol has become corrupt and needs to be curtailed. As far as trustworthiness Silko is already an established and successful author which certainly brings some credentials to the text, however the admission of possession of medical marijuana is not something that continues that. On the flip side, the fact that she was willing to admit such possession shows that the author is being honest and is more likely to write exactly as she sees it, rather than necessarily through the 'rose glass'. Silko appeals logically to the reader through demostration of the futility of the Border Patrol. She sites (and emphasizes) the negative effects and treatment of innocent citizens shows how it truly is ineffective. Silko effectively appeals to the reader's emotional nature through her imagery and Native American stories. There is very clear description of the freedom of the road and just how that has changed in the past years. All in all, the text certainly advances the main argument relating to the futility of the Border Patrol through clear narration of personal experiences of living near the border.

Taking Action

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/opinion/19tue1.html

The main argument of the article is basically that presidential candidates, and more importantly presidents need to be more proactive. Rather than simply ignoring difficult issues and addressing those that will please people, candidates need to address, and take action, for change, in particular change in the cities. The author argues that with the continuation ignoring such major issues in urban areas, the nation will have more major catastrophes that will need to be handled. He notes that there is one man, Mr. Bloomberg who is attempting to change the plight of the urban area, however there is a severe lack of interest from the current political candidates. All in all, the article is arguing that all the candidates across the board (though he acknowledges Obama and Clinton's mild policies) need to change perspectives and focuses.