Health Readings

Women's Health Issues in Kenya
The statistics in this article were very interesting to me. First, women do 65% of the agricultural work, they are more likely to vote and they are over 50% of the total population. I then was alarmed when I read that women must get their husband's signature in order to obtain a passport.

One thing that did not alarm me much in this article were:
There is a high mortality rate and morbidity rate with pregnancy, childbirth, and sexual transmitted diseases and AIDS

I also had to look up the date of this article because some of the statistics are no longer relevant. For instance, 70% of the AIDS transmission is not from homosexuals in the West.

However, in Kenya students associated condoms with mistrust and infidelity. This is interesting to me because we see it differently here and in China. From my recent trip to China I think I can easily say this. Our first hotel (in Beijing) offered free condoms in the bathroom for its guests.

Some cultural and traditional practices that I saw as either harmful or discriminatory were (and I know that I have a very western view and that is why I feel the way I feel about these topics):

• female circumcision
• early marriage
• polygamy
• high inheritance cost
• eating taboos
• preference for sons rather than daughters
• low literacy rate for girls
• women can not refuse sex and should not questions husband's sexual tastes

Another major health related issue in Kenya is Malaria. 75% of the children born in the Rift Valley Province get infected with the disease.

China's Big Mac Attack
In 1999 there was one McDonald's Restaurant for ever 42,000 residents. I can honestly say now, there is probably more. There is a new restaurant in the world ever 17 hours. Snacks at the restaurants are different in every country. However, I talked to people who ate at the KFC and McDonald's in China--they said most of it was the same but there was different stuff on the menus, like chicken wings in McDonald's. I will say, the Pizza Hut in China is 100 times better than the Pizza Hut in the US.

Popular TV shows search for an ideal husband in China. The wife's mother is more reliable and the husband's mother expects the daughter-in-law to be subservient. The new Chinese family system is changing as the focus becomes more about the couple. In fact, our tour guide Sean said the men have to buy an apartment in order to get married. Before, filial piety was the major focus (which means respect for parents/elders).

Prior to McDonald's in China, festivities marking youngsters' birth dates were unknown in Eastern Asia. Hong Kong followed the lunar calendar (in fact mainland China still does) and the date of birth was used to help match prospective marriage partners. In Beijing, Ronald McDonald (Uncle McDonald) is usually with Aunt McDonald who entertains children and helps flustered parents. Children do not order their own food. Some fast food places turned into leisure centers for seniors and after-school clubs for kids. Parents see restaurants as safe-havens because no alcohol is served and it eliminates drugs and gangs.

A World of Food: Tastes and Taboos in Different Cultures
I planned on showing this in class last week. It talked about the food hierarchy with what people can and are willing to eat. Some people see things as being edible, delicious, and disgusting. It also showed what Kosher means in the Jewish culture. There was also a conversation of vegans and vegetarians. I loved this video because it portrayed so many details about why some people are willing to eat things that they are willing to eat.

I can't wait to see you all in class again! It has been a while!