December 25

Merry Christmas!!!
Currently there is 1 more week remaining in our break!
As I sit here I look back to my past before becoming an optometry student....however not to far...just back to the days of travel and freedom where I wasn't bound by anything.
As carefree as I was while traveling it wasn't everything I'd dream it would be come to think of it perhaps it was everything our parents dreamed it would be.
We had to manage our limited funds, book, plan, and figure everything out ourselves without any assistance, and in the event we were to encounter a problem we were left to manage on our own for our parents had officially cut the strings that bind us temporary at least.
A trip of a lifetime was about to begin for my sister, yassi, and I (we).
Our travels took us from the Netherlands to Iran.
How we managed to convince our parents to willingly let us, 3 girls, travel to countries we have never been to before by ourselves is still a mystery to me, we all still wonder about it even today.....
The Beginning:
Our first day in the Amsterdam, Netherlands we encountered beautiful yet freezing weather and came to realize that EVERYONE rides bikes there... there are even special lanes just for bikers so walkers beware stay off the bike lanes or face being run over! The sun also sets alot later so close your curtains and pretend the sun is no longer up and it's time for sleep. Speaking of sleep it took us a train and bus ride which lasted about 3 hours to reach our hotel before we could sleep. What more can be expected, we had booked our hotels from the USA with out adequate knowledge of the regions we were visiting. During our stay at the Golden Tulip Hotel we met a Pilot who offered to take us on a mini tour with his wife, but we were headed to Berlin, Germany the next morning. Unfortunately we missed the blooming of the Tulips by a week or two =( ..................

December 19

Tonight I am finally the champion of sushi-go-round....yeay! Also a friendly warning to all out there please be advised not to run with socks and long pants on and tile or hard wood floors for that creates the perfect recipe for a fall... one which I have experienced tonight which has left me with several bruises that shall last a few weeks. ciao

December 18

Winter break is coming to an end... in two weeks... My boredom has led me to evaluate our economy in its current state. The dollars value: 1 USD = 0.6944 EUR, 1 USD = 1.0055 CAD yes it seems official the US dollar is now equivalent to that of the Canadian dollar Does this mean that all those little labels they have on books and magazines in the amount of USD and CAD must all be changed? I for one have hopes that the new president can bring change to our dwindling economy and even though the value of the dollar depends on several factors I have hopes in regaining the previous prosperity that the USA once had economically where it wasn't just the large companies racking in the money leaving a large middle class that is increasingly finding themselves no longer secure as they once were but approaching poverty Needless to say my knowledge on the presidential candidates is limited however I do find myself favoring two lets examine their political advocacy's: Barack Obama: "We should be asking ourselves what mix of policies will lead to a dynamic free market and widespread economic security, entrepreneurial innovation and upward mobility...we should be guided by what works." April 2005, he defended the New Deal social welfare policies of FDR, associating Republican proposals to establish private accounts for Social Security with social Darwinism. Shortly before announcing his presidential campaign, Obama told the health care advocacy group Families USA: "I am absolutely determined that by the end of the first term of the next president, we should have universal health care in this country." Hillary Clinton: She has previously tried to implement her own form of socialized health care but failed due to lack of support...... more on this later..... as a student in the field of health care I am often questioned by my peers and others why I am supporting socialized medicine for I reap no monetary benefits from it; it stems from the desire for all those needing health care to be provided with it in the same fashion as anyone else for every life is equally precious. How could there be a price set on well being of a person...to me it is just unheard of.