Getting through January
Mid-January in New Jersey is like waiting for a stupid song to end, like waiting hungrily in a horrible restaurant for the waiter to bring the food, like staring at the ceiling in the doctors office wondering what is taking him so long. In short, it is unbearable. This January is moody: starting with negative temperatures then dancing around above freezing. I've decided to get through it by:
1. Reading
2. Following my New Year's Resolutions
3. Thinking of summer....
For the reading: I toyed with the idea of doing a book review for each book I read this year. But I think I will just do an overview. I just finished reading an academic book. I plunged into it because I missed learning, missed Italy, and wanted to combine both. So, I read, "Abandoned Children of the Italian Renaissance: Orphan Care in Florence and Bologna"by Nicholas Terpstra. I am surprised to have enjoyed it as much as I did. Here are 10 things I learnt:
1. Famine and death of a father were main reasons children were left abandoned. If the mom died, the dad remarried and the new mom did everything...but if the dad died and the mom remarried she legally couldn't take her children with her. And a woman could not survive without a man....
2. One third of children in the 1520's were left orphaned.
3. The Catholic church established homes for abandoned girls to keep their honor and keep them from damaging their souls by going into prostitution to survive.
4. There were different classes of homes: rich orphans went to better ones, daughters of skilled workers went to labor homes and poor girls went to the poor scanty homes. Classes didn't mix and were separated by dress, dialect and education.
5. Girls were locked in the homes, rarely allowed to leave to lower the risk of rape. They were also discouraged from talking, at all....so people passing by wouldn't mistake the orphanage for a chatty brothel.
6. Girls were extensively examined for purity of soul and virginity before being admitted to a home
7. Boys had it easier. They didn't have their virginity or soul examined, they could talk, and most worked as apprentices daily out of the home. A widow often cooked, cleaned and cared for them.
8. Most babies were not allowed into orphanages so stayed in the hospital (coming from the word meaning hospitable) till the age of 5 or 7. During this time, most (80%) died.
9. The main food for girls was bread and wine. They ate a sliver of meat maybe once a week.
10. Boys ate better, were given education and regular baths.
11. Most female orphanages saved money each girl earned from her textile work for a dowry so she could marry someone to take care of her.
Bologna and Florence had different approaches to accepting and rejecting abandoned children. It was also useful to see some similarities in the way things are today. I think it is admirable of the nuns and monks to have created homes for the lost street children. The book started by saying how before there were orphanages one could hear the little hungry babies crying like kittens in the street. The orphanages were mostly austere and morally severe places that raised serious children. However, the structure they gave each child seems to have been done for the kids benefit to learn how to be self-reliant, moral, and to have a strong spiritual attachment.
I've started a new book, a fiction one this time, and thankfully it isn't as badly written as I thought it would be. I think I am going to alternate one fiction with one non-fiction. That should give me enough time to absorb what I learn while alternating with something easy.
Oh! And for my New Year's Resolutions: the one I am doing best so far (they are also taking turns) is eating petite to not gain weight like the Winter Walrus. Last week I updated the songs on my iPod shuffle (I have the original one from like 2005 and it works great). And here are my top 5 new work out songs:
1. Don't Stop Believing by Journey
2. Fresh Azimiz by Bow wow...don't judge...it will make you shake what your mama gave you.
3. Teenage Dream by Katy Perry
4. Be My Lover by La Bouche
5. Anything by the Black Eyed Peas
And best of all: I have gotten all of the songs for free by checking out Cd's from my local library. Seriously, January doesn't stand a chance against me speedwalking to Bow wow...
1. Reading
2. Following my New Year's Resolutions
3. Thinking of summer....
For the reading: I toyed with the idea of doing a book review for each book I read this year. But I think I will just do an overview. I just finished reading an academic book. I plunged into it because I missed learning, missed Italy, and wanted to combine both. So, I read, "Abandoned Children of the Italian Renaissance: Orphan Care in Florence and Bologna"by Nicholas Terpstra. I am surprised to have enjoyed it as much as I did. Here are 10 things I learnt:
1. Famine and death of a father were main reasons children were left abandoned. If the mom died, the dad remarried and the new mom did everything...but if the dad died and the mom remarried she legally couldn't take her children with her. And a woman could not survive without a man....
2. One third of children in the 1520's were left orphaned.
3. The Catholic church established homes for abandoned girls to keep their honor and keep them from damaging their souls by going into prostitution to survive.
4. There were different classes of homes: rich orphans went to better ones, daughters of skilled workers went to labor homes and poor girls went to the poor scanty homes. Classes didn't mix and were separated by dress, dialect and education.
5. Girls were locked in the homes, rarely allowed to leave to lower the risk of rape. They were also discouraged from talking, at all....so people passing by wouldn't mistake the orphanage for a chatty brothel.
6. Girls were extensively examined for purity of soul and virginity before being admitted to a home
7. Boys had it easier. They didn't have their virginity or soul examined, they could talk, and most worked as apprentices daily out of the home. A widow often cooked, cleaned and cared for them.
8. Most babies were not allowed into orphanages so stayed in the hospital (coming from the word meaning hospitable) till the age of 5 or 7. During this time, most (80%) died.
9. The main food for girls was bread and wine. They ate a sliver of meat maybe once a week.
10. Boys ate better, were given education and regular baths.
11. Most female orphanages saved money each girl earned from her textile work for a dowry so she could marry someone to take care of her.
Bologna and Florence had different approaches to accepting and rejecting abandoned children. It was also useful to see some similarities in the way things are today. I think it is admirable of the nuns and monks to have created homes for the lost street children. The book started by saying how before there were orphanages one could hear the little hungry babies crying like kittens in the street. The orphanages were mostly austere and morally severe places that raised serious children. However, the structure they gave each child seems to have been done for the kids benefit to learn how to be self-reliant, moral, and to have a strong spiritual attachment.
I've started a new book, a fiction one this time, and thankfully it isn't as badly written as I thought it would be. I think I am going to alternate one fiction with one non-fiction. That should give me enough time to absorb what I learn while alternating with something easy.
Oh! And for my New Year's Resolutions: the one I am doing best so far (they are also taking turns) is eating petite to not gain weight like the Winter Walrus. Last week I updated the songs on my iPod shuffle (I have the original one from like 2005 and it works great). And here are my top 5 new work out songs:
1. Don't Stop Believing by Journey
2. Fresh Azimiz by Bow wow...don't judge...it will make you shake what your mama gave you.
3. Teenage Dream by Katy Perry
4. Be My Lover by La Bouche
5. Anything by the Black Eyed Peas
And best of all: I have gotten all of the songs for free by checking out Cd's from my local library. Seriously, January doesn't stand a chance against me speedwalking to Bow wow...
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