River in Siddhartha Essay Example for Free

River in Siddhartha Essay Siddhartha many times in the book, and has many meanings. In the first chapter, Siddhartha visits the river to bath and to make holy sacrifices. â€Å"The sun browned his slender shoulders on the river bank, while bathing at the holy ablutions, at the holy sacrifices. †(pg3) When Siddhartha left Govinda behind, Siddhartha meets with the river again, and crossing this river led him to a new beginning. â€Å"During the night he slept among the boats on the river, and early in the morning, before the first customers arrived in the shop, he had his beard shaved off by the barber’s assistant. He also had his hair combed and rubbed with fine oil. Then he went to bathe in the river. †(pg52) Moving into the town on the other side of the river, Siddhartha got caught up with having money, just like everyone else in the town. â€Å"He was not long in Kamaswami’s house, when he was already taking a part in his master’s business. Daily, however, at the hour she invited him, he visited the beautiful Kamala, in handsome clothes, in fine shoes and soon he also brought her presents. (pg66) After getting tired of the materialistic lifestyle, Siddhartha crossed the river again, he lets go of all the memories he had on the other side of the river. He started to let go, by giving away his fine clothes. So crossing the river again gave Siddhartha a fresh start. â€Å"Will you accept these clothes from me, which I find a nuisance? I should prefer it if you would give me some old clothes and keep me here as your assistant, or rather your apprentice, for I must learn h ow to handle the boat. †(pg103) Staying with the ferryman, next to the river, was one step closer for Siddhartha to find Nirvana. Whenever Siddhartha meets with the river, it represents rebirth and forgiveness. In this novel, they use the river as a symbol for the stream of life and unity. When Vasudeva teaches Siddhartha to listen carefully for one last time, he hears voices which he always heard before, but this time they sound different, he heard the whole of a thousand sounds, the sound of Om. The river taught Siddhartha unity, that how he left his father and his father was hurt, Siddhartha’s son left him, which left him hurt by the loss. And that the agony is experienced again and again throughout a lifetime.

Diabetes, Minority Status, and the African American and Hispanic American Communities :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Diabetes, Minority Status, and the African American and Hispanic American Communities In March of 2003, a bill known as the "Minority Population Diabetes Prevention and Control Act of 2003" was introduced to Congress, and then referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. According to this bill's findings, "minority populations, including African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Asians, have the highest incidence of diabetes and the highest complications of the disease" (1). The alarming rate at which the incidence of diabetes is affecting African American and Hispanic American communities has led the government, health care professionals, clinics, and other organizations to begin to question the process by which information and treatment is being accessed by members of these communities. Diabetes mellitus is defined as "a group of diseases characterized by high levels of blood glucose, which result from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action or both" (2). There are two types of diabetes, one that "occurs when the body produces little or no insulin, and that typically affects children and young adults," and the other, which "typically develops in adults, and occurs when the body does not use insulin effectively", types II diabetes being the most common (3). According to the CDC and the National Center for Health Statistics, "the number of Americans with diabetes in the year 2000 was 17 million or 6.2 percent of the population, as compared to 15.7 million (5.9 percent) in 1998" (4). However, and on average, Hispanic Americans and African Americans are almost twice as likely to have diabetes in comparison to white Americans. In addition, African Americans and Hispanic Americans show a higher incidence of suffering from diabetes related complications including but not limited to eye and kidney disease, amputations, heart disease, heart stroke etc (5). Various factors are said to increase the chances of developing type II diabetes. These factors fall under two categories-genetics and medical/lifestyle risk factors, which include impaired glucose tolerance, gestational diabetes, hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance, obesity and physical activity (6). Although studies have shied away from making direct correlations between obesity/physical activity and the susceptibility of developing type II diabetes, researchers suspect, however, that a lack of exercise and obesity, as well as other unidentifiable factors, may be contributing to the high diabetes rates in African American and Hispanic American communities. The NHANES III survey indicated that "50 percent of African American men/65 percent of Mexican American men, and 67 percent of African American women/74 percent of Mexican American women participated in little or no exercise" (7).

Interview with Colleen

For the Interview, I chose to Interview my good friend Colleen. I chose to Interview her because we became great friends during the fall of 2009 during an MET class at Greenfield Community College. The interview took place on February 1 1, 2009 after school at the Greenfield Community College library. I asked her several questions about her life and goals, and I learned many interesting facts about her Growing up she began to have a passion for working with horses. At the age of eight, she began taking rolling lessons and hasn't let that passion die. Enjoy riding and feeling the movement of the horse beneath me. When I ride, I feel like nothing can touch me it's just me and my horse. † Being homesteaded let her explore different passions she had. It gave her extra time to spend learning farm management at a local farm, also allowing her to pursue her growing passion for emergency medical care. While In high school she joined her local fire departments Junior department. â€Å" I found that I had a lot to prove joining the Northfield Jar.Program, I was about to embark Into a field that's considered a male dominant field ND me being a female, I had more to prove to my fellow firefighters. † Colleen knew at a young age that she wanted to follow in her grandfather's footsteps and become a firefighter. When asked how her family feels about her chosen career she stated, â€Å"My family doesn't accept my chosen career path. They don't understand why their little girl would want to run into a burning building when others are running out. † I asked Colleen how she felt about this, â€Å"It's something that Eve come to accept with my family.Thought-out life my parents never really supported me In any of my decisions that I've made, I just take it with a grain of salt and do what's best for me. † An example of how her parents don't support her decision in the fire service is recently she learned of Wild Fire Course in Languorous, Mass that after completing this course she would have attained her wild fire red card, which would enable her to be part of the Massachusetts Wild Fire crew which travels to California and many other western states during the summer to help fight the wild fires.When she asked her mother if she could attend this class her mother replied, â€Å"There is no way in hell I'm going to let my daughter travel to California and fight wild fires, I don't support you being on the fire department as is and you should be happy that you're on the local fire department, that should be go enough for you. † Colleen wants nothing more than to further her training and skills in the fire service and with her parents holding her back, she wonders If she will ever get the chance. Colleen Is currently active In academics and beginning her career.Colleen Is currently a part-time student at Greenfield Community College majoring in Fire Science Technology with a minor in Emergency Medical Services. She is looking for ward to finishing her associates degree and advancing her career as a Firefighter and an Emergency Medical Technician. In April of 2009, Colleen achieved her goal of becoming a certified Massachusetts Eve wanted since I can't remember when. Every time my pager goes off call, I still find it hard to believe that when I step out that door, I'm the difference between that errors who called 911 living or dying and to me that's a feeling that I don't think I'll never get use to. Going though the MET basic class Colleen sometimes found herself questioning her career path she had chosen. She would find herself second guessing herself and wondering why she went down this road. She wanted to at times drop the class, but she knew that it would only prove to others that they were right and that she didn't belong in the manly male dominate field of emergency medicine. She would have dropped the class if it wasn't for her current boyfriend a allow met/if, telling her don't listen to what others have to say, I know that you're going to make a great met/if and don't let anyone else tell you differently.With the backing of her boyfriend, Colleen went on to achieving and becoming a Massachusetts MET-Basic. After completing her associates degree at ICC, Colleen hopes to actively pursue and find a full time Job as a firefighter/met. Eventually going on and continuing her Emergency Medical career and becoming a paramedic. After graduation Colleen would love to find a full time Job as a paramedic/ airfreight for a local fire department. At some point Colleen would like to attend the Massachusetts Fire Academy in Stow, Massachusetts.After talking and interviewing Ryan Eve learned that she's not your typical kind of girl. Most guys I know wouldn't run into a burning building as others are running out. I have a lot of respect for her pursuing a career that is male dominate. With Ryan can do attitude I know that she'll one day reach her ultimate goal of becoming a paramedic. I wish hi m the best of luck wherever him career in emergency medicine and becoming a firefight

Positions and Duties on Board a Pirate Ship

While pirates and their ships have taken on mythic status, a pirate ship was an organization much like any other business. Each crew member had a specific role to play and a set of duties to perform that went with it. Life on a pirate ship was much less strict and regimented than it would have been aboard a Royal Navy ship or merchant vessel of the time, however, everyone was expected to do their jobs. As with any other ship, there was a command structure and hierarchy of roles. The better-run and organized the pirate ship, the more successful it was. Ships that lacked discipline or suffered poor leadership generally didn’t last very long. The following list of standard positions aboard a pirate ship is a whos who and whats what of buccaneers and their shipboard duties. The Captain Hulton Archive/Stringer/Getty Images Unlike the Royal Navy or merchant service, in which the captain was a man with a great deal of nautical experience and complete authority, a pirate captain was elected by the crew, and his power was only absolute in the heat of battle or when giving chase. At other times, the captains wishes could be overruled by a simple majority vote. Pirates tended to prefer their captains to be even-tempered and neither too aggressive or too meek. A good captain had to be able to judge when a potential ship could outman them, as well as know which quarry would be easy pickings. Some captains, such as Blackbeard or Black Bart Roberts, had great charisma and easily recruited new pirates to their cause. Captain William Kidd was most famous for being caught and executed for his piracy. Navigator It was hard to find a good navigator during the Golden Age of Piracy. Trained navigators were able to use the stars to determine a ships latitude and therefore could sail from east to west with reasonable ease. Figuring out longitude, however, was much harder, so sailing north to south involved a lot of guesswork. Since pirate ships often ranged far and wide in search of their prizes, sound navigation was crucial. (For example, â€Å"Black Bart† Roberts worked much of the Atlantic Ocean, from the Caribbean to Brazil to Africa.) If there was a skilled navigator aboard a prize ship, pirates would often kidnap him and force him to join their crew. Sailing charts were also considered extremely valuable and were confiscated as booty. Quartermaster After the captain, the quartermaster had the most authority aboard ship. He was in charge of seeing that the captain’s orders were carried out and handled the day-to-day operations of the ship. When there was plunder, the quartermaster divided it up among the crew according to the number of shares each man received as his due. The quartermaster was also in charge of discipline with regard to minor matters such as fighting or casual derelictions of duty. (More severe offenses went before a pirate tribunal.) Quartermasters often inflicted punishments such as floggings. The quartermaster also boarded prize vessels and determined what to take and what to leave behind. Generally, the quartermaster received a double share, the same as the captain. Boatswain The boatswain, or bosun, was in charge of keeping the ship in shape for travel and battle, looking after the wood, canvas, and ropes that were vital to swift and safe sailing. The bosun often led shore parties to restock supplies or find material for repairs when needed. He oversaw activities such as dropping and weighing the anchor, setting the sails, and making sure the deck was swabbed. An experienced boatswain was a very valuable man who often got a share-and-a-half of loot. Cooper Since wooden barrels were the best way to store food, water, and other necessities of life at sea, they were considered extremely important, so every ship needed a cooper—a man skilled in making and maintaining barrels. (If your last name is Cooper, somewhere far back in your family tree, there was probably a barrel maker.) Existing storage barrels had to be regularly inspected to ensure they were sound. Empty barrels were dismantled to make space in limited cargo areas. The cooper would reassemble them as needed should the ship stop to take on food, water or other stores. Carpenter The carpenter, who generally answered to the boatswain, was in charge of ensuring the ship’s structural integrity. He was tasked with fixing holes after combat, making repairs after a storm, keeping the masts and yardarms sound and functional, and knowing when the ship needed to be beached for maintenance or repairs. As pirates usually could not use official dry docks in ports, ships carpenters had to make do with what was at hand. They would often have to make repairs on a deserted island or stretch of beach, using only what they could scavenge or cannibalize from other parts of the ship. Ship’s carpenters often doubled as surgeons, sawing off limbs that were wounded in battle. Doctor or Surgeon Most pirate ships preferred to have a doctor aboard when one was available. Trained doctors were hard to find, and when ships had to go without one, often times a veteran sailor would serve in their stead. Pirates frequently fought—with their victims and with one another—and serious injuries were common. Pirates also suffered from a variety of other ailments, including venereal diseases, such as syphilis and tropical illnesses like malaria. They were also vulnerable to scurvy, an illness caused by a Vitamin C deficiency that most often occurred when a ship was too long at sea and ran out of fresh fruit. Medicines were worth their weight in gold. In fact, when Blackbeard blockaded the port of Charleston, the only thing he asked for was a large chest of medicines. Master Gunner Firing a cannon was an extremely complicated and dangerous procedure when pirates sailed the seas. Everything had to be just so—the placement of the shot, the correct amount of powder, the fuse, and the working parts of the cannon itself—or the results could be disastrous. On top of that, you had to aim the thing, which could weigh in the neighborhood of 1,600 pounds. A skilled gunner was a very valuable part of any pirate crew. They were usually trained by the Royal Navy and had worked their way up from being powder-monkeys—the young boys who ran back and forth carrying gunpowder to the cannons during battles. Master Gunners were in charge of all of the cannons, the gunpowder, the shot, and everything else that had to do with keeping the cannons in working order. Musicians Musicians were popular onboard pirate ships because piracy was a tedious life. Ships spent weeks at sea waiting to find suitable prizes to plunder. Musicians helped pass the time and having skill with a musical instrument brought with it certain privileges, such as playing while the others were working or even increased shares. Musicians were often forcibly taken from ships pirates attacked. On one occasion, when pirates raided a farm in Scotland, they left behind two young women—and brought a piper back instead.