hw # 18

My experience this holiday fits into both "anti - body" and "body - centered practices, because at first the minute our guests walked through the door we hug and kiss on cheek due to having hispanic background which is more touchy feely than in the American culture, so we pay more attention to each other's body movements. Then when it came time to eat it became anti - body ( although not as anti - body like in school) but we still sat very still and listened to each other say what they were thankful for and say grace. At Thanksgiving in my family the food pleasure supplement did dominate the event, because most of what we did was sit there and eat as a family, all 7 of us on one table and talk about how good the turkey and sweet potatoes were, even my sister in law's dog joined us eating turkey as well under the table. Which makes me wonder for other animals like dogs isn't most of their life body - centered?

A tradition we have after we've "stuffed" ourselves we watch TV, usually the specials that are on like the Beyonce Special. So this is an Anti - Body practice we have because we sit on couch ignoring our bodies and just concentrating on the TV screen for the rest of the night. Except when we say goodbye again. But this time when the Beyonce Special ended I decided to take my sister- in law's dog for a walk, so now I was paying attention to my body and the dog's ( as well as protecting it from other dogs) after leaving my body for an hour.

The nutritiousness of the meal was definitely huge for my family dinner, the first thing my mother commented was that turkey compared to other meats isn't as bad for us. And she made sure we all had our huge share of veggies, a side of fresh homemade sweet potatoes my father made, and with only a piece of turkey. Health was a topic that was brought up at the table because my brother was sick so we started talking about what medicine he should take. Shoud he take Dimatap or DayQui? Or something natural? Like his wife suggested a ginger tea with raisins which helped her feel better when she had a cold. There also were empty chairs which should have been filled by my sister-in law's parents but because of her dad's condition (diabetes) they were back in Domincan Republic so he would not have to deal with winter in NY. And the main reason he had come to NY was because unfortunately he had a stroke, so he had come to New York to get check up and medicine here then go back to DR but he promised to come back. So during dinner we asked questions on how they were and his health for politeness and our general care. So as you can see my Thanksgiving dinner had both of the anti - body practices and "body - centered" practices that occurred through out the night.

hw # 17

My experience with illness is not much, I've seen my little brother get a cold and everyone else I know but experiencing some one who has been seriously ill I have not. Dying unfortunately I have had experience with, I had a class mate die in front me ( honest truth not trying to sound melodramatic) in middle school. At first the feelings I felt were of confusion, why did he collapse when he seemed so healthy? It kinda hits you how quickly a person can go from seeming so alive at one moment and the next be dead. And the thoughts one has after, of the dead can be "was it my fault this happened? Or why couldn't I have done anything to save him/her?" and even feelings of pain, loss, regret come to mind as well.

The way I've been taught to see dying is that if he/she was a good person and followed god's path, he/she would join him in his kingdom, if not he/she would go to hell. My entire life I've been brought up to believe this due to my family's religion. Illness I was taught was something that one should avoid by keeping healthy and choosing the correct life style. It is also something that must not to be avoided and should be treated right away. But for my family, the medicine doctors prescribe aren't the always the answer to an illness because they can fix your problem but can cause another in a long run. So my grandparents and mother are huge believers of homeopathic medicine, because it is natural and will still treat the problem but without causing any other.

A social norm of illness and dying is to always rush a person who is ill or dying to a hospital to be cured or to find them a cure. The idea of a hospital brings several images to my mind: blue uniforms, hospital beds, seat right next to bedside, curtain, and the smell of plastic and fear. Hospital; Someone being born in a hospital at the same time that someone is dying is what comes to mind when I see the word. How life and death can all occur under the same roof. A second social norm is to visit the sick and accompany them through their pain because you know one day you will have the same fate. Another social norm is to shrink away from the idea death, to avoid the thought and topic, so we occupy our mind on everything else and try to forget. Last social norm I can think of at the moment as I mentioned before is to use medicine as the answer of many illnesses and research to find one for those that are still incurable.