Chapter 4 "Walking with Wolf"

While reading chapter 4 it spoke about Kay getting Hodgkin's disease (a lymphatic cancer). Lymphatic or lymphoma is cancer in the lymph nodes (apart of the immune system), it can spread to the lungs and the liver. I can only imagine what kind of struggles she was going through. She just got over a horrible divorce and she must have figured her weight lost was due to depression. She was fainting, and having a hard time breathing. That's when she finally went to the doctors and was diagnosed in 1990. Kay felt as though her body was falling apart. She was always getting sick. Hodgkin's attacks the immune system. She went back to Canada in 1990 after her medical blow.


Back in 1952 there was a lot of illness in Costa Rica. Lucky and Wolf along with many other community members got Hepatitis. Some symptoms of Hepatitis A are jaundice, flu like illnesses, itchy skin and abdominal pain. During this same time Lucky was pregnant and lost the baby due to jaundice. It doesn't say whether or not it was a coincidence but I can make a connection with the two.


These really spoke to me in the chapter because I'm working towards getting my LNA certificate during my senior year of high school. I'm learning all about disease and illness. When I'm finished with high school my plan is to move on to college to get my RN and become a pediatric nurse. When I read that Lucky lost her baby to jaundice it made me really think of my future and the work field. If I plan to go down the path of being a pediatric nurse I'll either witness miracles everyday, or heartbreaks. Its strange because when reading the chapter I got a little emotional when I read that her baby died. I guess I was upset that it didn't get a chance at life, and I feel like I can give families and babies a chance. No parent should have to go through that.



I think the Costa Rica trip will really help me get my ducks in a row, and shoot for the stars. I feel like if I can reach my goal and make it to Costa Rica then I can be the nurse that I want to be. My class can't make it there on our own. If you'd like to help us make your dreams come true please send a check, payable to Robert J. Lister Academy. Mail to 35 Sherburne Rd Portsmouth NH 03801, to the attention of Kristine Tirone. Please leave a return address so I can personally thank you. =]

Why I Want To Be Involved With The Costa Rica Class

My teacher Bryan sends out a message that you shouldn't be okay with the bare minimum and you should always strive to want more. This is a concept that I've put much thought into. I think it's a very strong message. "To always want or expect more of yourself" is a good value to have.





My name is Kristine Tirone. My goal is to do something I never thought I'd be able to do. Meaning, I never thought I'd even get close to having the opportunity to leave the country, or be involved with a class in this way. Setting standards for myself and working towards something is a new thing for me. I'm writing this blog to raise money to send my class to Costa Rica. Our class, as a whole, is trying to fundraise over $15,000. This will fund everything from our food, a place to stay, to our flight.


I'm getting a new understanding of what it's like to deserve what you work for. Before, I would sit back and let everyone do the work and I would take the credit. My personal struggles got in the way of my everyday functioning. My focus on education was lost to my other struggles. Not only was I not understanding the work, but I had an increasingly low work ethic. This all started to change over the summer of 2010. Bryan, my teacher, makes it known that he has an extremely low tolerance for slackers. I didn't want to disappoint him, and this motivation was new to me.


He explained that over the summer we would be working hard to raise the money. At the end of June my classmates and I went to Shell on Middle Street to host a car wash. The most exciting part of the day was when we got a huge mobile home and Winston got on the roof and we washed the whole thing! Towards the end of July our class worked at the Stratham Fair. We had a table at the front for people to sign up for a raffle and we had our own booth. In the booth we sold a lot of things. Earrings, necklaces, bracelets, pillows, and raffles. I had a lot of fun at the fair. I worked 2 days at the fair and one of the days was a 12 hour day. The best part for me was getting to know Bryan a little more and seeing a lighter side of him, and seeing what he enjoys in life. And that truly is to work with kids, and be with the person he loves. Carmela is Bryan's wife and she's awesome. Shes really nice and makes really cool jewelery. Carmela helped out at the fair and the car wash as well.



I realize as my interactions with people started to change, I started to as well. Bryan always expected nothing but good things from me, and I've given him nothing but that. I suppose if you feel a certain way or act a certain way, you become a certain way. From there it's history, ever since I've excelled in my school work and always do what I say I will. Your only as good as your word.

George Fox & Quakerism

Walking with Wolf is a book I've been reading with my class , it's a book about families moving to Costa Rica to get away from the wars and to be able to believe in what religion they'd like.In the mid 1600's a man named George Fox founded a group called Friends of the Truth. Friends of the Truth was a group followed by people who had an alternative method of worship. I found Fox to be a very interesting guy because I appreciated his methods and how he presented himself. George believed that you didn't have to go to church or a place of worship to believe in God. He believed that if you believed and if God was real he would be with you anywhere you chose to pray. I'm not a Quaker but I agree with parts of Quakerism. I think it's a very respectable religion.





In 1650 Justice Bennet charged Fox with blasphemy. Bennet called Foxes followers Quakers as meaning the synonym of tremble , because supposedly they tremble at the word of God. Bennet's beliefs were not only offensive to me but outrageous. Just because George didn't believe the same as him he became the total outcast. Fox didn't push any religion or belief upon anyone, so why does anyone have the right to do that towards him or anyone else. This is exactly why we made the 1st Amendment. We all have rights, even if your not an American I believe that you deserve your rights just as much as the next guy. Nobody has the right to take away someones religion. I think Bennet was scared that Fox might have been different than him, and anyone different is a menace.





Fox and his followers were not only beaten for believing differently but imprisoned for not changing their minds about their beliefs. That is so sickening to me, it seems very prejudice. Just because something is different than you, it's wrong or weird. In reality different is change. Friends of the Truth believed in Peace, Equality, Integrity, and Simplicity . I believe that those are all the qualities that it takes to be truly be happy, and enjoy life, those are the values I live by.

"Walking with Wolf" Chapter 2

During chapter 2 I got a much better understanding of who Wolf was. This chapter had a lot of information for me to take in. Something that caught my attention right away was the religion aspect of Wolf and learning about him in that sense. Wolf is a Quaker, and when you think of religion you think of something very formal or traditional.

In the beginning of the chapter I figured that Quakers went to church and they were very generic in the way that most religions go to church to pray. They actually have these meeting were they sing songs, and talk about quotes. They do pray and speak of spoken messages but its very laid back I suppose.

On pages 11-12 of the book it talks about how a man named George Fox founded a group called "Society of Friends of Truth". People around him started calling him a "Quaker" and meaning it in a derogatory manner. Since then Quakers have saved the name and taken pride in it.

After reading the second chapter I learned that Quakers aren't very judgemental and do not push their religious beliefs upon anyone. They understand that people are different and believe in different things. Quakers are peacemakers. I agree with a lot of the ideas of being a Quaker.

"Walking with Wolf" Chapter 1

My thoughts on Walking with Wolf were that it was semi-confusing. I didn't quite understand who was speaking at all times. I felt that between the tape recorder, Kay,and Wolf it made it slightly harder for me to follow.

A few things I might like to research in the future would be the Tapir and Mortadela found on pages 4 and 6. I believe that the Tapir is a bird perhaps and that the Mortadela is a type of meat I'm not really sure what type though. Later on in the class I would like to get a better understanding of the diverse animal life in Costa Rica.

I personally can't wait until my class moves on to Chapter 2. I want to really get a better understanding of the book and I want to learn more about the culture and ways of the
'Ticos' a common name used for Costa Rican's.