Week 4 (and one month mark!) Update
Buonasera :)
Today marks one month since arriving in this beautiful city, I'm not sure where the time has gone. It scares me how quickly this semester is flying by (I have midterms in 3 weeks?!).
This weekly update post is going to be a little different, as I was only on the ground for 38 hours and didn't accomplish much. I'm currently writing this from the Frankfurt Airport, waiting for my flight to Norway :)
One thing about coming to a foreign country that has been extremely interesting for me has been comparing the culture of Italy (and the places I've visited) to America. Just for example-- the lifestyle in Florence is much much slower than it is in the states. People work from 9-2, take a break, and return from 4-8. Dinner is eaten late here (around 9 pm), and the service is slow, as you're supposed to enjoy the food and the people around you. Even on my way to class in the morning, locals are inside of coffee shops sitting with friends or spouses, talking amongst each other and to the servers inside, no one is ever in a rush (unless you're in a car or on a moped, then there's some urgency). Also, fridges are small because no one buys groceries for more than day or two at a time, because they want everything to be as fresh as possible. Italy is considered the India of the Mediterranean, in the sense that we purge/use everything and don't have much.
Aside from the cultural differences, living in a foreign country has opened my eyes to a lot of things that I never would have thought about. This week's 'wow that changed my perspective' is Universal Healthcare. As I'm sure you're all aware, universal healthcare is a topic in the states that gets tossed around every election (this post isn't about to get political I promise, just food for thought is all :) ).
My HR professor works in the HR department for a public healthcare company in Italy, and made a comment to us in class on Monday about how Universal Healthcare works in Italy because the people here are healthy. I didn't think much of it until I was in my Mediterranean Diet/Nutrition class today, where we were comparing the food triangles of the United States and the Mediterranean. For starters, the United States thinks a potato falls under the 'vegetable' category on the triangle, so we're off to a rough start with our knowledge of a healthy diet.
The Mediterranean Diet consists of a high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, and 'cereals' (unrefined wheat, barley, spelt, and whole grains). There is a high intake of olive oil, but a low intake of saturated lipids. Depending on the proximity to the sea, there's a moderately high intake of fish too. There's a relatively moderate intake of dairy products, mostly in the form of cheese and yogurt, and a low intake of meat or poultry (only once a week, and vary rarely red meat). As far as their lifestyle goes, people of the Mediterranean are very active. The average life expectancy of an Italian person is 82.5 years, and of their 60 million people, only 9% are overweight.
Now--keeping this all in mind, just a quick comparison to the United States. The bread, rice, and pasta group is at the bottom of our triangle making it the most important, followed by fruits and vegetables, dairy, meats, and fish are lumped together, and then fats/sweets/oils at the top. The average life expectancy of an American is 78 years, and of our 325 million people, 35% are obese.
So, back to my HR professors comment about universal healthcare working in a country where people are healthy-- Universal Healthcare works here (and is affordable for everyone at every income level) because people here don't have health issues. Aside from the fact that there are only 60 million people here, taxpayers aren't supporting people with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or any other health issues associated with obesity, because those people don't exist. The Mediterranean diet and lifestyle are set up in such a way that are preventative of health issues, and people aren't needing crazy procedures or medicine. Something to think about next time a politician talks about universal healthcare in the United States.
Also a sidenote about the Mediterranean diet-- Italian food is INCREDIBLY fresh and healthy, none of that Americanized 'Italian' BS. I've yet to see a cheesy pasta dish here, or pizza that's smothered in garbage. Not only that, but their pastas and breads are made with unrefined and unprocessed hard wheat. My professor actually compared American flour to dust today, lol. If there's more than 3 ingredients on a label, they won't use it. Everything is plant and grain based here.
SO! Aside from my little epiphany, this week was short and sweet. I learned about the nutritional needs for children and adolescence in my nutrition class, and made Insalata orzo tone e pomodori (barley salad with tuna and tomatoes) in my Mediterranean Diet class. Lots of recipes to bring back home with me after this seater :)
Continuing to love every second of my semester here :) and very excited to make my way up to Norway for 5 days!! Only having class Monday and Tuesday is such a blessing that I'm taking FULL advantage of while I'm here.
Ciao,
Katie girl
Today marks one month since arriving in this beautiful city, I'm not sure where the time has gone. It scares me how quickly this semester is flying by (I have midterms in 3 weeks?!).
This weekly update post is going to be a little different, as I was only on the ground for 38 hours and didn't accomplish much. I'm currently writing this from the Frankfurt Airport, waiting for my flight to Norway :)
One thing about coming to a foreign country that has been extremely interesting for me has been comparing the culture of Italy (and the places I've visited) to America. Just for example-- the lifestyle in Florence is much much slower than it is in the states. People work from 9-2, take a break, and return from 4-8. Dinner is eaten late here (around 9 pm), and the service is slow, as you're supposed to enjoy the food and the people around you. Even on my way to class in the morning, locals are inside of coffee shops sitting with friends or spouses, talking amongst each other and to the servers inside, no one is ever in a rush (unless you're in a car or on a moped, then there's some urgency). Also, fridges are small because no one buys groceries for more than day or two at a time, because they want everything to be as fresh as possible. Italy is considered the India of the Mediterranean, in the sense that we purge/use everything and don't have much.
Aside from the cultural differences, living in a foreign country has opened my eyes to a lot of things that I never would have thought about. This week's 'wow that changed my perspective' is Universal Healthcare. As I'm sure you're all aware, universal healthcare is a topic in the states that gets tossed around every election (this post isn't about to get political I promise, just food for thought is all :) ).
My HR professor works in the HR department for a public healthcare company in Italy, and made a comment to us in class on Monday about how Universal Healthcare works in Italy because the people here are healthy. I didn't think much of it until I was in my Mediterranean Diet/Nutrition class today, where we were comparing the food triangles of the United States and the Mediterranean. For starters, the United States thinks a potato falls under the 'vegetable' category on the triangle, so we're off to a rough start with our knowledge of a healthy diet.
The Mediterranean Diet consists of a high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, and 'cereals' (unrefined wheat, barley, spelt, and whole grains). There is a high intake of olive oil, but a low intake of saturated lipids. Depending on the proximity to the sea, there's a moderately high intake of fish too. There's a relatively moderate intake of dairy products, mostly in the form of cheese and yogurt, and a low intake of meat or poultry (only once a week, and vary rarely red meat). As far as their lifestyle goes, people of the Mediterranean are very active. The average life expectancy of an Italian person is 82.5 years, and of their 60 million people, only 9% are overweight.
So, back to my HR professors comment about universal healthcare working in a country where people are healthy-- Universal Healthcare works here (and is affordable for everyone at every income level) because people here don't have health issues. Aside from the fact that there are only 60 million people here, taxpayers aren't supporting people with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or any other health issues associated with obesity, because those people don't exist. The Mediterranean diet and lifestyle are set up in such a way that are preventative of health issues, and people aren't needing crazy procedures or medicine. Something to think about next time a politician talks about universal healthcare in the United States.
Also a sidenote about the Mediterranean diet-- Italian food is INCREDIBLY fresh and healthy, none of that Americanized 'Italian' BS. I've yet to see a cheesy pasta dish here, or pizza that's smothered in garbage. Not only that, but their pastas and breads are made with unrefined and unprocessed hard wheat. My professor actually compared American flour to dust today, lol. If there's more than 3 ingredients on a label, they won't use it. Everything is plant and grain based here.
SO! Aside from my little epiphany, this week was short and sweet. I learned about the nutritional needs for children and adolescence in my nutrition class, and made Insalata orzo tone e pomodori (barley salad with tuna and tomatoes) in my Mediterranean Diet class. Lots of recipes to bring back home with me after this seater :)
Continuing to love every second of my semester here :) and very excited to make my way up to Norway for 5 days!! Only having class Monday and Tuesday is such a blessing that I'm taking FULL advantage of while I'm here.
Ciao,
Katie girl
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