OH no! Got swine flu?

As many people have heard, a breakout of a type of influenza by the name of Swine influenza has been traveling around part of the United States, Mexico, and parts of Europe. Not only is the swine flu very popular and growing in Mexico, but it is heavily spreading around in the United States. There are currently nineteen states that are either expected to have the flu or are for sure at least one person has it in the state. The most effected state is New York with 50 confirmed cases. There have been an incredible number of 68 deaths in Mexico already and over one thousand people infected. The swine influenza was raised to a level 5 pandemic on April 29, 2009.

Swine flu is usually diagnosed only in pigs or people in regular contact with them. The majority of the cases are occurring in people from age 25-44. I think that this is something that people need to take in and realize what kind of damage it can do for our country. Yeah, sure, the news cast does exaggerate a lot of stories in order to make money, but these kinds of pandemics could tear up the entire United States, just as the "black death" did in the late 19th century during 1347 and 1351. It is considered one of the deadliest pandemics in American history. It was spread around all of Europe by fleas and with the help of the black rat.

If anything, there is one thing to look forward to during this whole time of sickness; if one gets sick, they cancel school! I know we are all looking forward to that, hoping not to be the one that gets sick. You would think that more people in Iowa would be retracting the flu because we are all farmland and own so many cattle. There has not yet been one person with the flu in Iowa. I think that one of the reasons that the news overstresses the pandemic is to scare Americans into being more careful and sanitary than they have to be in order to stop the spread of the flu.

The last time that America has seen any traces of this flu was in 1976 when David Lewis of Ashley Falls, Massachusetts had been killed during his army training. After he caught it, 500 after him retracted the flu and died. Before that there was a massive killing of the swine flu in 1918 that killed 500,000 Americans and two million people world-wide.

There are some very simple ways of avoiding the swine flu. Since influenza spreads between humans by sneezing or coughing or people touching something with the virus on it and then putting into contact with their own mouth or nose, the easiest way to avoid it is to wear a face mask around pigs or other people with the flu and/or just simply don’t be around them. Scientists and researchers have not yet found a cure for this pandemic, but they are very close to one, possibly finding one within the next week. BE CAREFUL, please.

Mexico- the other follow-up

Over the few days we spent outside building the house, I got to know the family pretty well. I was one of two people out of 22 that could actually have a conversation in Spanish. Conversing with the family was one of the most memorable experiences during the whole trip. There were three members of the family: the mom, the dad, and one son.

The son was very sweet and had a very cool personality. The sun was so hot when we were working. We finished the house very fast compared to previous mission groups, so we got to have a lot of chill time. Getting to know the family was something I cherished, but the friendship I made with them was so hard to leave behind. I found out later that we have no way to connect with them after we leave the work site. I actually cried when I heard the news.

We stayed at one church during our stay in Mexico; Jesucristo es la respuesta, which means Jesus Christ is the answer. We were told that the church we stayed in was one of the nicer ones in the whole town. We even had the chance to attend a Spanish church service. One of the most memorable moments during the service was during worship when a song that both the Mexicans and the Americans knew. No matter what language you’re speaking, God always knows what you are saying.

The ride home was treacherous. I had such a hard time sleeping because I was too busy recalling all of the cool experiences I had during the trip. Going to Mexico made me realize how much I have compared to people of other areas.

Mexico- the follow-up

This is the end to the last Mexico trip blog I posted. It felt like it took years to finally arrive at the border. One thing that really shocked me was the lack of security they had when entering Mexico. We rolled down the windows to the Excursion and held our passports right next to our faces. Without checking the dates on them or really paying attention to the connection between the picture and our faces, they let us pass through. It was obvious that they didn’t care about what passed through there. The thing they cared about most was us entering back into the United States. We passed about 300 cars trying to enter into the U.S., most of them Mexican.

The change between El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico was such a downgrade more than I can even explain. You would have to see it yourself to believe me. It seemed as if everywhere you looked was the “ghetto”. Buildings were run down, small, and had graffiti tattooed all over them. There were Mexican people trying to make a living out of selling pop and miscellaneous items on the street corners or on the median between going and coming traffic. There was more poverty in that one city than I had ever seen in my entire life. Overall the scarcity, deficiency, and poverty Juarez was so beautiful.

I felt so much of their pain throughout the four days I stayed there. Little things like not being able to use the tap water, taking cold showers, surviving the awful wind and sandstorms, the dreadful beating sun, the violence, and scarce materials really made me think of how much better life is for me, yet I still complain.

The house that the family had already was made out of cinderblocks, a material that acts like a freezer in the winter and a sauna in the summer. I felt so bad for the family. Their bathroom wasn’t connected to the house and was made out of plywood and duct tape, barely standing up. It looked like random scraps were holding it up. Since the family didn’t have running water anything other than a liquid put down the toilet was to be washed down with a bucket of water.

Too fat to fly?

United Airlines is currently charging "extra-wide" passengers for an extra seat. Now the flight attendants will be on the plane looking for large passengers who can't buckle their seat belts or put their arm rests down completely. This is something that should've been paid more attention to earlier. They are doing this because the weight of one person may be the weight of two, which cannot happen or the weight of the plane won't be evenly distributed throughout the whole plane and could cause problems, especially when the bad whether kicks in because there could be uneven balancing.

If the plane is full, the overweight passenger is to wait until two seats are available that they can purchase. The passenger either has to choose from buying a whole extra seat or upgrading to a cabin seat. One of the reasons companies are doing this is to try to make the goal to make sure that the majority of the passengers are happy and comfortable while still making a profit on the discounted seating.

This will also solve any of the problems with neighbors having to deal with 'crowded space'. A lot of overweight people do not feel that this is right for them to have to pay for being a larger person. They think that it would be more sensible just to have to pay a little extra. Now that United Airlines has issued this new "law" more and more airline companies are starting the new trend as well.

Purchasing a second seat comes in helpful also for the passenger, however. Most say that it is very uncomfortable if you don’t and one seat makes you very sore after you get off the plane. It used to be that the airlines would just offer you a seat out of politeness, but now they are charging passengers because they were losing too much money considering 35 percent of all United States citizens are obese ( according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

In my opinion they should either make the seats wider, or keep charging passengers double the original price, making them very angry. If I was riding on the plane and the flight attendant approached me telling me that I am too big for just one seat I would feel very embarrassed and humiliated. That is why I would ask for a second seat even before I boarded the plane so that wouldn’t happen.

Airlines are even scrapping unnecessary items such as magazines, telephones, and occasionally life vests to make up for overweight loads. Another way to make up for people’s weight is to decrease the size and weight of their carry on bags.

Smokers can increase cancer chances by consuming fruit?

Yes it's true. On Wednesday, a new scientific study says that smokers could increase their chances of contracting colon cancer by eating fruit and vegetables as oppose to non-smokers. Consuming fruit actually helps non-smokers from catch colon cancer.

"People who eat 600 grammes or more vegetables and fruit a day appear to have a 20 to 25 percent lower chance of developing colon cancer than people who eat 220 grammes or less."

- Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment

Protection against colon cancer through the consumption of fruits and vegetables all depends on the amount of smoking the person does. I think that this should be a wake up call for smokers. If someone loves fruits or vegetables, or better yet is a vegetarian, they would have to pick between the two, or risk the chance of contracting colon cancer.

In the Netherlands, colon cancer is the second most popular type of cancer right below breast cancer. The conclusion for the research about this project took approximately eight and a half years and questioned about 500,000 people about their smoking and eating habits within ten European countries. It was the first study conducted that examined the effects of fruits and vegetables on smokers versus non-smokers.

...on a sad note..

A man from Maryland is being accused of having stabbed and shot his wife and three of his kids to death before taking his own life with the same gun. Stories like this are the ones that make me question the very existence of human kind. How could someone do that to their own family? I mean he killed the ones that he made.

Despite the note the cops found telling them he had "psychological issues", there is still no reason for any of this kind of negative action to go on. Coming from someone who has dealt with violence her whole life, I say that the signs are very easy to see. If you are close to the person, it’s your job to get help for them because most of them won’t do it for themselves. A lot people with "psychological issues" tend to keep it to themselves and don't tell anyone about it. You have to be the bigger person, realize their problems and connect with them, and take them in to get some help. I can't even begin to count how many occurrences have been in relation to this one.

People that kill anyone, let alone members of their family, more than likely had problems at home or with their life during their childhood. I just finished reading a book called A Devil in the White City by Eric Larson and it tells the tale of two men who team together to create one of the first massive serial killings the United States had ever seen. H. H. Holmes, the mysterious killer who owned the World's Fair hotel where he killed young women, was very crazy and psychotic and had troubles when he was a kid. Sometimes it's very hard to tell whether someone is dealing with personal issues or not; they could keep to themselves. In the book Holmes keeps his killings as a secret and kept it out of the news for years. He used his charm and incredible personality to lure his victims in to the hotel.

So back to the original story, do you think it’s the family’s fault for not recognizing the crisis and getting the father some help? Or his own fault for not confronting the family or any others about the issues he was dealing with? Well, no matter whose fault it was they all ended up dead, anyways. Check it out at http://www.kcrg.com/

News about Juarez, Mexico has been all over the world. It’s been said that it’s the most dangerous city on Earth. Some parts of me say its true, but I went there this past spring break and nothing appeared to be that harmful. The only thing that really popped out to me was the army soldiers patrolling the area pointing their guns at you, but unless you were directly involved in the drug wars you were not to be harmed. Rumor has it that there are random shootings and stray bullets flying around the border, but in reality, that is not true. You have to be either selling drugs or buying them to be harmed in any way.

So basically what I was told was that the majority of the newscast is false and they are only trying to say those things because it’s their job and they want to make money off of interesting stories. This really made me distressed. Since Juarez is a very run down place and nothing positive has been on the news about Juarez, Mission groups all over have been canceling due to fear of the violence. Do you know what this means for Mexico? Fewer houses are going to be built which means more poverty. Part of the reason why there is so much violence is because the Mexican government just doesn’t care so they let it fly for so long and eventually got out of hand. Going to Mexico was something that I will never forget and violence shouldn’t be something that should stop anyone. Just don’t get involved with the drugs and everything will be fine and dandy.

ps: dont listen to the news.

Mexico first-hand

This last spring break, I went to Mexico with my church, which was 22 other people, in hopes of going on a life changing experience. I have been inspired in more than one way. I have really become fond of mission trips and am considering making a career out of it. I have always wanted to help others, but was never really sure how to get involved. Let me give you an overview of the whole trip.

First of all, we left New Covenant Bible church at around 8:00 pm on March 20. I was so very excited. There was only one other time that I had been out of the country before this and that was to Canada. Most mission groups cancelled their trip to Mexico this year due to all of the violence. The drive took around 24 hours to get to Albuquerque, New Mexico. I can not even begin to explain the amount of sleeping positions I tried. I also became very fond of coloring books and making bracelets. That was basically my life for most of those hours. When in doubt, whip out the crayons and coloring books! I also played some puzzles and games with the people on the bus. I developed a mad skill for the game “catch phrase.” Ever played it? It’s really fun and time consuming.

When we got to the church (Sandia Presbyterian Church) we were staying at in Albuquerque we went to church service. We all took showers in the University of New Mexico; I thought to myself that this wouldn’t be such a bad place to go to college. It felt nice to step in a nice warm shower after being on the road for so long. We arrived back at the church and eventually fell asleep after a couple hours of just chatting outside in the beautiful weather. The background filled with mountains made me stare in awe, for I don’t usually get to see such stunning sites as that. I had never been to New Mexico, or even anywhere in the South West for that matter. We went out to eat at The Frontier, probably the best authentic Mexican food I have ever tasted. You wouldn’t think that the best Mexican food would be anywhere other than Mexico, right? No, that’s wrong and I found the right place.

The next morning we packed our bags and were off to the city of El Paso in Texas, a very populated Mexican town. The temperature was absolutely amazing. There were so many things to look at, I was in awe. The drive to El Paso wasn’t that bad. El Paso was a city right on the border so the view into Mexico was so amazing. Its incredible how close to things can be to each other, yet the amount of difference is still massive. It made me want to cry at the look of the little run-down houses and I wasn’t even in the worst part. We went to a mall called the Kennedy mall. I swear it has to be the biggest mall i have ever been to. My story continues in a new post.