To Be or Not to Be???

"To be or not to be..."
This phrase seems to be a constant part of the explanation of my life considering plans seem to change so suddenly, good things come to an end, and people betray you...sometimes I'm left wondering Why? or What if? However, I am definitely not to the suicidal point as Hamlet is (my roommate says she would be upset if I got to that low point...).  On the other hand, I would stick with the idea of good old sleep being my escape into dreamland where anything can happen!  Hamlet has so many depressing soliloquies...it makes me feel sorry for the guy, but he does have his weird moments too...like his relationship with his mother or his overall craziness...

When trying to read "Hamlet," I discovered that it seemed to be easier to understand if I read it aloud (even though my roommate made have labeled me as crazy as a result...oh well!)  I really enjoyed this quote that I found: "Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.  Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment."  It seems to be saying that listening is more valuable and often you should keep your opinion to yourself.  On the other side, you should listen to others' advice, but make the ultimate decision on your own.


Then it was decided that it would probably make more sense if we instead watched it...and indeed I think it does...reminds me of how it was easier for me to read Pride and Prejudice after watching the movie.  I think it is because you can see the characters' emotions and actually see their actions take place.  It is then easier to put a personality to the characters and hear the actor's voice even when reading the play itself.  It is a lot like still being able to understand the opera in Austria even though it was completely in German.


The most interesting character to me almost seems to be Ophelia...maybe it's because at first I can relate with her when she has a guy that seems to like her, but she is warned to be careful because he might be the type to hop from girl to girl.  It was funny to read how they described flirting in Old English.  According to my notes, "toy in blood" is translated to flirtation.  I guess maybe they get that idea from the fact that flirting could be described as toying and blood could refer to the blush that it could cause.  But anyways, it is interesting nonetheless...  Now I will eagerly await to see how the actors portray the ending...

Montaigne's Views on Life

Looking at the ideas of Montaigne from his essays and the class discussion that corresponds to this has made me discover even more that I love listening to different philosophical views and thinking how they match up with my own beliefs.  Why not add in some more deep thinking in the midst of my random, connecting-to-everything thoughts in my mind?!?

Wednesday's topic was regret and repentance and whether either was worth one's time.  I was of the opinion that you should regret past wrongs, however, one should not dwell on it because after all, one cannot change the past.  I believe that by regretting the past, you are actually sorry for those actions so this should help you avoid doing them again in the future.  Although I disagree with Montaigne that repentance is a waste of time I found it interesting with his view that you don't see something as it's going to bad when you do it, but only when you are looking back.  I think that is so true because sometimes I find myself looking back and thinking how dumb my actions were, but I must have been blind the moment I did them.  Some other interesting thoughts brought from discussion include the whole idea that someone does not "make" you mad, but you choose to be mad as a result of something.  Also, I had never thought about it before, but it is quite true that we don't see the cause of something until the effect occurs.  Overall, the weirdest topic of the day was that of living the same moments over and over again in life.  I am still puzzled of how this could be....maybe I don't fully understand what it means...  However, when faced with the question of "Would you choose to live your life over again exactly as it was?" I wanted to say no at first....I'd rather fix the mistakes I made.  But then I thought again and do truly believe that all the pain and tough times have molded me into the person I am today...I really don't want to change that at all....  Maybe the blessings do come through pain...

Friday brought about the uplifting topic of death, which we learned we should be constantly thinking about.  For me, I guess it would depend what aspect I'm concentrating on whether this would totally depress me or actually bring a bit of hope.  One aspect is scary & worrisome, especially with the pain issue.  On the other hand, as a Christian, I look forward to the end of this life and escaping this horrid life to go to heaven.  It is also interesting to think of death being the only thing that is fully ours....so does our death ultimately show our individuality?  Also, I found the video about Cambridge and Montaigne very interesting.  I was mostly intrigued by the questions he asked in the examination for wisdom versus the usual ones that only test learning...  The question mentioned that I felt would be interesting to hear others responses was, "How do you tell if you are 'in love' or 'infatuated'?"  But it is indeed true that sometimes the people who are the most knowledgeable about facts have the least amount of common sense or life skills.

Well I guess we are now going into the world of Shakespeare & Hamlet!  I'm kind of looking forward to this especially since looking at the character names I have heard references to some of them so maybe now I'll be able to understand them better!

Hello from Europe!!!

Well first of all I was informed by another Humanities student that we still had to blog over mid-term break, which scared me first of all because I was worried that we wouldn't always have internet.  Then I was also worried because we were supposed to have blogged exactly every 7 days according to her.  I was under the impression that we just had to do it once a week, but not necessarily exactly 7 days or less between....so hopefully I've done okay so far....  As for the internet, I have not seen any internet cafes so I am dependent on the hotels and the nice people who let me borrow their laptops!  So to post this blog we shared the cost of 15 Euro internet...yikes!!!!  Then I guess the website comes up in German at first....hmm, this definitely isn't my strongest or second strongest language!!!

But anyways, Europe has been absolutely amazing and breathtaking!!!!  I've loved every moment of it!!!  My favorite part was definitely the castle that me and a couple other girls hiked up to in the city of Salzburg.  It was a long walk, but was definitely worth it to get the magical feeling of being inside a castle with a awe-filling view of the city and the mountains!  Throughout the trip we've seen so many cathedrals and beautifully built buildings.  It always seems I'm looking up at the gorgeous artwork above.  It also seems extra magical and cool singing our songs in the atmospheres of huge churches and cathedrals!  The goosebumps I got didn't just come from the extremely cold temperatures inside the churches!  We also got to go to an opera last night and then saw a choir rehearse at a musical high school today!  Then at supper tonight we even got serenaded with music by a violin and an accordion player....music is everywhere!  Along with the delicious chocolate torte of Vienna that I've gotten to sample twice today....sigh....everything is so delicious!!!!!  Sometimes it seems that everything is better in Europe....except for the air totally ruined by cigarette smoke!!!  If you're wondering where we've been...we've been to Prague, Czech Republic; Cesky Kumlov, Czech Republic; Salzburg, Austria; and Vienna, Austria.

For stuff we've covered in class...there have been a few mentions of Renaissance architecture and that time period.  Even though we didn't see any of the artwork we've looked at in class, I have definitely found that whenever you look at art in person, it is that much more phenomenal!  In the architecture realm, one Renaissance thing pointed out was called some sort of graffiti art on the side of buildings.  It looked like things were tattooed on the side of the building.  There was so much history mentioned too...today, the Black Death was even mentioned when we saw this statue in Vienna.

Well, we're off to our last stop tomorrow....Budapest, Hungary....another castle!!!  Yeah!!!  I'm not sure if I'll really want to come home after all of this!

What is a true Utopia?

This week explores the aspects of a Utopia, both through the words of Sir Thomas More and through class discussion.  While reading I found it interesting how structured their schedules were and how they all had a job that they did for the same amount of time each day.  It makes me wondered if this supposed "utopia" could be so structured that it is almost boring.  What in the world is perfect about that?  Their families requirements seem a bit on the extreme side, but at least there is less chance for poverty since everyone is allowed to just take what they need.  I also liked how they described the hospital because it actually sounded like it might not be drudgery to go there!  In the area of dress, I wonder what the distinguishing factor is between those that are married and those that are unmarried.  Also, it is quite fascinating that jewels are only for the children.  Quite opposite of our society where children are not even allowed to touch expensive things!  Isn't it fun though to read about someone else's "utopia" and compare it to what you may imagine?

Then to the class discussion, which went in some interesting directions.  The main part of class was spent discussing whether the individual or society is responsible for a criminal.  I believe that it is society's fault because the environment and things around a person are what shapes his/her beliefs and morals.  In other words I agreed with the statement that society creates conditions to create criminals.  Personally I find this really sad and wonder if there is even a way to stop this from happening any further.  Then we discussed when capital punishment should be used.  I found that I don't really have a strong opinion on this issue.  Maybe it is based upon the fact that I just don't feel right about killing at all.  To end on an interesting note, it's mindboggling to analyze the statement that Dr. Tucker made about pleasure causing pain for someone else....is this absolutely true in every situation?  I guess it probably is, even if it is just a small element....this may in fact make me a bit more wary about everything I choose to do.

Now I will soon be off to Europe...possibly in some of the same areas these Renaissance artists and writers visited...stepping back in time...for a break...possibly a taste of a utopia...or does everyone have a place in their lives that is considered their "utopia?"