My first memorable experience with a hurricane was during hurricane Katrina.  I lived in a small country outside of New Orleans so we did feel some effects but it was as bad as those living in New Orleans.  My family knew the risk of not evacuating even though everyone warned us of how bad things would get.  We took the hurricane warning as just another break from school and work; I think everyone did.  No one knew the seriousness of it. 

            The morning the hurricane hit I was still in bed.  The shaking of the house, my dad yelling, and my mom screaming, “Oh, my God, get back in this house!” awoke me from a deep sleep.  I was so scared! I had never experienced anything like that before in my life.  The lights began to flicker and they went out completely.  After the hurricane was over, I walked outside and the air was silent.  I was so amazed how quickly the atmosphere changed.  Being without electricity for a week and a half was the worst part.  Sitting outside in the heat was horrible.  After my parents realized that they should have evacuated when the parish told them to they felt bad and bought a generator.  I would have to claim that as the best part of the hurricane.

            Since this is only week one of the class, I do not have many thoughts about it.  I am looking forward to this class because I have never taken a course like this before.  Many people say that it is hard, but I believe that it is only what you make. People go into this class feeling like it should be like it is a break for the semester, but you have to treat this class just like any other course. I am going into this class with an open mind even though my biggest fear is to having someone down my religion and everything else I believe in.  I want this class to make me knowledgeable of other cultures.  I also want to learn the background to different bible stories.

            I have been into the church all my life.  In my religion we turn to the bible for guidance.  I am a firm believer in the bible because it has the key rules in order to survive in life.  The bible is like our daily bread.  We need it in order to survive.  I have attended bible studies since I was about eight years old.  Every time I went I learned something new.  So I believe that everyone should have a certain time set out where they just take out there bible and teach themselves even they can not attend a church.  The bible can be your encouragement when you need it and a friend when no one else is there.

            My major is Chemistry/ Pre-pharmacy and I am praying that it is Pharmacy by the fall.  I did not take this course by choice.  It was a course requirement for my major.  I believe that the reason Xavier University made theology a course requirement is because they want us to be a well rounded student.  This means they want what is best for the students. One day I may have a patient that is in a situation where she is dealing with something that conflicts with her religion and hopefully I can use the knowledge that I obtain from this course and apply it to that real life situation.  It is best to know a little about everything than to know everything about one thing.  I believe that statement proves to be true.

            In the future, my plans are to be a pharmacist.  I chose this major because I love to help people and I am a big fan of chemistry.  So by putting both together I decided to become a pharmacist.  When I reach my graduation date in 2013, I want to work in a hospital pharmacy and then work my way up to retail.  Also in the future I want to teach pharmacy courses.  Theology is not in the plan, but I am sure that I will learn something that I will have to apply to my career.

            I am definitely committed to the class commitments.  Everything that is stated is to benefit us.  So I will do my best to follow all directions so I can get the most out of this course.

            In 586 B.C.E the city of Jerusalem was captured by the Babylonians. At the order of King Nebuchadnezzar Jerusalem was burned down, the Temple was demolished, and the people were taken into exile. A small number returned 50 years later.

            The book of Lamentations is basically about the destruction of the city and all the events closely related to it.  This book describes some of these horrors. Jerusalem was denied access to, and the famine drove the people to depression. When King Zedekiah and a group of his soldiers tried to escape during the night, they were passed by the Babylonians and brought before Nebuchadnezzar for punishment. King Zedekiah was forced to witness the execution of his own sons. He was then blinded and taken to a Babylonian dungeon to spend the rest of his life. There was suffering caused by the famine and harsh anxiety brought on by the terrible destiny of Judah’s last king.

            Parallels between Jerusalem and New Orleans were the after effects of the devastations.  People did not expect to come home to nothing.  Many people were on there own to fix what the disasters messed up.  Some people had to move to new areas because the damage was that bad in both the cases of New Orleans and Jerusalem.  Another similarity is that people say the city of New Orleans needed a “wake up call” because of the things that were going on.  The same thing happened in Jerusalem because the people were being punished for their wrongdoings.  So this meant that God was trying to make everyone see that they need to change because anything ca happen.

            The Merneptah Stele is a stone slab engraved with a description of Merneptah’s military victories.  The Merneptah Stele is significant because it is the first object besides the bible to mention Israel.  So it is also known as Israel Stele.  This monument is significant to our class because we can use this monument and many others to find the accomplishments of people, kings, from the past.

                 The story of Babe Ruth was shown in the class to show how things are recreated to make the story sound better or to add in some thing that would have added more significance to the story.  The Bible is constantly being rewritten, just like Babe Ruth, so people can add in what they think happened.

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