Best Things to Do and Places to Stay in Savannah, Georgia

Best Things to Do and Places to Stay in Savannah, Georgia SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips â€Å"Savannah... looked inward, sealed off from the noises and distractions of the world at large...The ordinary became extraordinary. Eccentrics thrived. Every nuance and quirk of personality achieved greater brilliance in that lush enclosure than would have been possible anywhere else in the world.† John Berendt wrote these words about Savannah and its people in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, his bestselling book that put Savannah on the map. Largely due to Berendt’s colorful love letter to the city, over 13.5 million travelers head to the riverside capital of Georgia every year. I’ve driven down the east coast to Savannah several times, lured by the city’s fading antebellum mansions, the graceful Spanish moss that hangs in curtains from huge oak trees, and the artistic influence of Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Savannah’s historic district is uniquely arranged around 22 squares in an arrangement that forces you to take your time, relish your surroundings, and consider the idea that the best way to travel between two points doesn’t necessarily involve a straight line. This travel guide will share the top 10 things to do in Savannah, GA, along with some recommendations for inns and hotels. Read on to learn more about this evocative Southern city perched beside the languid Savannah River. Fun Things to Do in Savannah, GA: Table of Contents Here’s the full list of the best things to do in Savannah, GA. Click on each attraction to learn more about it, or continue to scroll down to learn about what to do in Savannah, GA. Explore the Squares of Savannah Wander through Forsyth Park Cross the Cobblestones of River Street Visit the Historic Telfair Museums Look for Apparitions on a Haunted Savannah Tour Support Savannah Artists at shopSCAD Eat Southern Barbecue, or Try Exotic Meats Drink Mint Juleps and Artillery Punch Tour Oak-Shaded Plantations Hit the Beach on Tybee Island After you finish reading about the top Savannah attractions, continue on for some recommendations for the best hotels in Savannah, GA across a range of budgets. For now, let's start with Savannah's famous squares. #1: Explore the Squares of Savannah Miguel Vieira/Flickr It’s easy to see what makes Savannah so unique and atmospheric. The city is organized around 22 squares, the first of which was laid by the city’s founder, James Oglethorpe, in 1733. Most of these squares are filled with lush gardens and lined by oak trees and dogwoods. Many have statues and monuments that honor soldiers from the American Revolution and Civil War. The picturesque squares are popular spots for visitors, walkers, joggers, picnics, and couples doing photo shoots for their weddings. The following five squares stand out as the most beautiful and historically noteworthy: Johnson Square - This square dates back to 1773 and was laid out by Savannah’s founder, James Oglethorpe. The square features an obelisk dedicated to the Revolutionary war hero, Nathaniel Greene. If you visit in the summer, you might stumble upon a jazz, Dixieland, or big band concert. Monterey Square - This picturesque square features a 55-foot Italian marble monument dedicated to General Pulaski, a Polish nobleman who was killed in battle in Savannah in 1779. Wright Square - This much-visited square contains the burial site of Tomochichi, a leader of the Creek nation who forged an alliance with Oglethorpe. Franklin Square- Named after Benjamin Franklin, this square has a monument for Haitian soldiers who fought at the Siege of Savannah in the American Revolution. On the edge of the square sits the First African Baptist Church, the oldest black church in North America. The church was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Madison Square- This square is often filled with students thanks to its location beside SCAD, the Savannah School of Art and Design. It also honors the American Revolution with a large statue of noted American soldier, William Jasper. Because of its squares, Savannah’s uniquely designed historic district is supremely walkable. Whether you find yourself in a residential or commercial area, you’ll be strolling through a pedestrian-friendly downtown draped in lush greenery and flowers. #2: Wander Through Forsyth Park Savannah’s lovely Forsyth Park stretches across 30 acres of the city. Built in 1858, the park hosts concerts, sports games, and fairs, along with a crowd of sunbathers. Every Saturday, there's a farmer’s market in the park that sells fresh produce, baked goods, and flowers. Vendors roam about selling flowers and baskets weaved together from dried palm fronds. The park also has a charming cafe where you can stop for breakfast, lunch, coffee, or a glass of wine. Forsyth Park’s most notable stop is the white iron fountain in the north end of the park. Prominently featured in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, this two-tiered fountain has been the subject of many a photograph. Like Savannah’s historic squares, Forsyth Park has several large monuments and statues. The largest ones commemorate Southern soldiers who fought in the Spanish American War and the Civil War. Forsyth Park is especially beautiful in the evenings, when street lamps cast golden light across the winding paths, flowering trees, and old oak trees draped with Spanish moss. #3: Cross the Cobblestones of River Street W/Flickr One of the oldest streets in Savannah, River Street still sports its original, 200-year-old cobblestones. This one-way street spreads alongside the Savannah River as 19th century steamboats drift past. To get to River Street, you walk down stone stairs or ramps from the adjacent, elevated streets. One of River Street’s top draws is the River Street Marketplace, an open-air market where local artists and craftspeople sell their creations. Beyond local talent, the market also attracts vendors from all over the world who sell global crafts from Ireland, Costa Rica, Australia, Nepal, Peru, Japan, Vietnam, and China. You can also go shopping in small artisan and souvenir shops, some of which sit inside restored 19th-century cotton warehouses. There are a bunch of restaurants, as well as lively bars featuring live music after the sun goes down. As for historical sights, look for the Waving Girl statue and the Olympic Cauldron monument. The Waving Girl statue honors Florence Martus, a woman who was said to wave at ships leaving and entering Savannah port everyday for 44 years. According to legend, she waved her white handkerchief hoping to reunite with a sailor she had fallen in love with. The more recent Olympic Cauldron monument was lit as part of the Olympic torch relay when Savannah hosted the Olympic yachting events in 1996. River Street is a popular stop for anyone visiting Savannah. It’s definitely worth a visit for the open-air market, views over the Savannah River, and historic charm of the cobblestoned street and passageways through 19th-century warehouses. #4: Visit the Historic Telfair Museums JRP/Flickr Savannah puts great efforts into preserving its history and celebrating art and artists, a commitment that you can see in the city’s many historic monuments and the influence of SCAD. These two commitments unite in the Telfair Museums, elegant landmarks with exceptional collections of historic and contemporary art. Two of the three buildings that make up the Telfair Museums are housed in elegant mansions that are now historic landmarks. One is the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences, a grand 19th century residence and the oldest public art museum in the southern U.S. The second is the Owens-Thomas House, an English Regency-style mansion built in 1816. The third Telfair Museum is located in the recently constructed Jepson Center for the Arts, an impressive example of contemporary architecture. The Jepson Center holds permanent collections of modern art, the Owens-Thomas House mainly has decorative arts, and the Telfair Academy features 19th and 20th century paintings and sculptures. Visit the Telfair Museums to view Southern art, stroll through sculpture gardens, and browse the museum stores. The Jepson Center also has a 3,500 square foot interactive space for kids to explore art. One unique feature is the magnet wall where anyone can assemble sculptures from various common items. The museums are open from 10 AM to 5 PM Tuesday through Saturday and 12 PM to 5 PM on Sunday and Monday. Tickets cost $20 and grant you access to all three museums. #5: Look for Apparitions on a Haunted Savannah Tour As anyone devoted ghost-hunter will tell you, Savannah is considered to be one of the most haunted cities in the world. Much of Savannah was built atop the burial grounds of Native Americans, slaves, and colonists. The embattled city has seen war, disease, fires, gruesome murders, violent pirates, and destruction from hurricanes. Today, one of the top things to do in Savannah, GA is to take a ghost tour. You can find a variety of ghost tours to take you around Savannah’s old cemeteries, voodoo ritual sites, and haunted hotels and bars to hear the legends and history of the darker side of Savannah’s past. One of the main attractions is Bonaventure Cemetery, a Southern Gothic cemetery that sprawls over 100 acres. As you walk past elaborate burial vaults and moss-covered angel statues, you’ll start to see why Savannah is considered a center of paranormal activity. Another featured spot on Savannah ghost tours is the Mercer House, the site of the alleged murder investigated in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The nearby Marshall House is another common stop, a hotel that was used as a hospital during the Civil War and outbreaks of yellow fever. Finally, most ghost tours take you to the Moon River Brewing Company, where people swear that ghosts have flung silverware at them. Some of the best ghost tours in Savannah are Legends of Savannah Ghost Tour, Grave Tales Ghost Tour, Beyond Good and Evil Tour, and the Dead of Night Ghost Tour. For a tour with less gravity and more craft beer, sign up for Savannah’s Ghost Pub Crawl. These spooky tours range between $10 and $14. The pub crawl costs $25. #6: Support Savannah Artists at shopSCAD Savannah is a city filled with artists and students thanks to the renowned Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). You can browse students’ creations at shopSCAD, a gallery retail space that curates the best creations from SCAD students out of thousands of submissions each year. The teeming shop displays new items on a daily basis. You can find eclectic, one of a kind items, including original paintings, photography, sculptures, clothing, jewelry, and handbags. Anything you purchase goes toward supporting artists and the shop. ShopSCAD is located at 340 Bull Street beside Madison Square. #7: Eat Southern Barbecue or Try Exotic Meats Savannah has a lively food scene with some of the best barbecue and weirdest meats in the country. Wiley’s Championship BBQ, with its menu of barbecued and smoked meats, fried pickles, okra, cornbread, and cole slaw, has won several national awards. You can find it at 4700 Highway 80. Some other great spots for barbecue are Angel’s BBQ, Babe’s BBW, Wall’s BBW, and Johnny Harris BBQ. If you’re looking for culinary adventure, check out Alligator Soul. The ever-changing menu has featured a variety of unusual meats, including alligator, bison, elk, antelope, kangaroo, ostrich, game birds, rattlesnake, and wild boar. If you’d rather go traditional, you can find some more common meat and vegetarian options on the menu, too. This locally sourced, farm to table restaurant can be found at 4 Barnard Street in downtown Savannah. #8: Drink Chatham Artillery Punch and Other Southern Cocktails Savannah’s contribution to the world of cocktails was the Chatham Artillery Punch, a mix first concocted in the 1800s for a visiting military unit. This super-strong drink consisted of cognac, bourbon, Jamaican rum, lemon, sugar, and champagne. The punch has weakened some since the 1800s, as David Wondrich quotes from a 1907 recipe in his book, Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl, â€Å"Its vigor in those days was much greater than at present, experience having taught the rising generation to modify the receipt of their forefathers to conform to the weaker constitutions of their progeny.† If you're one with a "weaker constitution," you can skip the Chatham Artillery Punch completely and enjoy another Southern cocktail, like the mint julep, sazerac, Ramos gin fizz, or brandy milk punch. These are some of the best bars for tasty cocktails in Savannah. Sparetime- Come to Sparetime for the chic interiors with floor to ceiling windows and the rotating seasonal drink menu. Sparetime takes a modern and fresh approach to traditional cocktails, Address: 36 Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard. Jen’s Friends- This popular spot offers over 100 specialty martinis, including blood orange, birthday cake, white chocolate, Swedish fish, and lemon drop, Address: 34 Bull Street. Lulu’s Chocolate Bar- Anyone with a sweet tooth will enjoy Lulu’s decadent dessert martinis, with flavors that include salted caramel, pineapple upside down, raspberry truffle, and peanut butter cup. If you want to skip the alcohol, you can choose from a selection of cakes and cheesecakes. Address: 42 Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard. Rocks on the Roof- This sophisticated rooftop bar sits atop the Bohemian Hotel. Sip fresh cocktails here while enjoying views over the Savannah River. Address: 102 West Bay Street. Pinkie Master’s Lounge- If you want more of a dive bar atmosphere, head to Pinkie Master’s Lounge. You can drink inexpensive drinks with a mix of locals and SCAD students. Address: 306 West Upper Factors Walk. Savannah also has a smattering of microbreweries, like Moon River Brewing Company or Southbound Brewing Company. You’ll also find over 500 brews at the World of Beer, or you can head to The Distillery for a large selection of craft beers. #9: Tour Historic Mansions and Oak-Shaded Plantations Outside of Savannah's city center sit restored historic homes and former plantations. You can take a day trip to walk the grounds, explore the stately mansions, and get a sense of 18th and 19th century life. Wormsloe House is a mid-18th century mansion that belonged to one of the first Georgia settlers. The site, which is partly in ruins, is open to self-guided tours. One of the most impressive features of the estate is the long oak-lined drive and old stone gate at its entrance. To tour a restored mansion with furnished period rooms, head to Rose Hill Mansion. Built in 1860, this house is an impressive example of Gothic Revival style. Outside of the home, you can explore Rose Hill’s pretty grounds, which feature expansive lawns, hundred-year old trees, and a lagoon. If you don’t mind traveling a little further afield, head north to Magnolia Plantation, which sits just outside Charleston, South Carolina. This famous estate, founded in 1676, has beautiful gardens, a petting zoo, and delicate red bridges that evoke a Monet painting. Its exhibit, From Slavery to Freedom: the Magnolia Cabin Project Tour, shows visitors the cabins once occupied by slaves. #10: Hit the Beach on Tybee Island Tybee Island has over three miles of public beach, along with salt marshes full of birds and other wildlife. You can easily access Tybee by bridge from Savannah. The island is a popular spot for swimming, fishing, and dining on fresh seafood. You can rent a deep sea charter, explore the marine science center, and enjoy a tour of the picturesque Tybee Island lighthouse at sunset. In addition to beach-goers, Tybee Island also attracts sea turtles every year. They return annually between May and October to nest on the beaches. The Tybee Sea Turtle project protects the turtles from human interference and habitat destruction. If you’re visiting Savannah during the summer, Tybee Island can be a welcome relief from the heat and humidity. Stroll along the shoreline, shop in the glass studios and art galleries, and enjoy some crawfish or scallops at a seaside restaurant. As the â€Å"Hostess City of the South,† Savannah has lots of things to do and places to stay. Where should you call home base as you explore this atmospheric city? Read on for a few suggestions for the best hotels in Savannah, GA across all budget levels. Ken Lund/Flickr Where to Stay: Guide to Savannah Hotels Where are the best places to stay in Savannah? Below are recommendations for the top Savannah, GA hotels that span a range of price points, from budget to mid-range to upscale to luxury. Let’s start with the least expensive hotels in Savannah, GA. Budget Hotels in Savannah Thunderbird Inn- This revamped motor lodge is decked out in a 1960s theme, with retro furniture (think white leather armchairs) and Moon Pies on your pillow when you arrive. You’ll get modern amenities at low rates. The Thunderbird Inn perches right on the edge of the historic district, so you have easy access to this quarter. You can also bring pets for an additional $50. Eliza Thompson House- This 1847 mansion is filled with antiques and gilt mirrors. You can stay in the main house or find more reasonably priced rooms in the adjacent carriage house. Just be warned that the Eliza Thompson House is rumored to be haunted (but this isn’t so uncommon in Savannah). Mid-Range Hotels in Savannah Catherine Ward House Inn- This cozy bed and breakfast is located in an 1886 home close to Forsyth Park. The antiques and gilt mirrors give the inn a historic, luxurious feel. The inn also have a relaxing garden with a fountain and koi pond. Kehoe House- This 1890s mansion will impress you with its 14-foot ceilings and elegant fireplaces. The Kehoe House has a Victorian feel with its antiques and other ornate furnishings. The inn features a courtyard garden and a music room with a grand piano. Mansion on Forsyth Park- This red brick mansion is filled with eccentricities, from its room bursting with antique hats to its floor-to-ceiling â€Å"water wall.† The Mansion has a full-service spa, large marble pillars, and a large collection of art on the walls. You can enjoy fine dining at its in-house restaurant, 700 Drayton, and then go next-door for live jazz at Casimir’s Lounge. Upscale Hotels in Savannah Ballastone Inn- The Ballastone Inn dates back to 1838. Its sumptuous furnishings recall the Victorian era, and most rooms have working gas fireplaces and exposed brick and beamed ceilings. Azalea Inn and Gardens- This 1889 mansion exudes Southern charm with its slowly rotating ceiling fans and wicker furniture on outdoor verandas. You can relax by the pool in the inn’s tropical gardens and easily access the nearby Forsyth Park. Hamilton Turner Inn- This 1873 mansion overlooks the pretty Lafayette Square. Guests enjoy an afternoon reception with fine wine and hors d’oeuvres. You can also get exceptional scones in the morning from the inn’s in-house bakery. Luxury Hotels in Savannah The Bohemian- Voted one of the top 30 hotels in the South by Conde Nast Traveler, The Bohemian offers modern luxury with 18th century style. This luxurious hotel sits beside the Savannah River. The Gastonian- This historic inn dates back to 1868. The spacious rooms are furnished with antiques and fresh flowers, and all of them have working fireplaces. Guests enjoy complimentary wine and cheese and an afternoon tea, as well as room service. Andaz Inn- This new, trendy hotel overlooks Ellis Square a couple blocks from the Savannah River. Expect exposed brick walls, a pool on the outdoor terrace, and farm to table dining in the Andaz Inn restaurant. Savannah is a popular destination for both US and international travelers, so Airbnb is another increasingly popular option. You can rent a single room or entire apartment for a couple of days or weeks at a time. Whichever type of accommodation you choose, you should make your reservation well in advance. Get ready for a romantic Southern city with history and art around every corner- and perhaps a few ghosts, as well! Traveling to Savannah: Final Thoughts Savannah is a city that exudes American history and Southern charm. Its urban layout is unlike that of any other city, with 22 oak-shaded squares throughout the historic center. Savannah's well-preserved mansions and evocative streets and greenery date back to the city’s beginnings. In fact, some say that Savannah surrendered immediately to General Sherman during his destructive Civil War march to the sea to protect Savannah’s architecture. Because of its efforts at preservation and restoration, Savannah is a beautiful city and one of the top tourist destinations in the U.S. When you visit, you’ll enjoy Savannah's evocative atmosphere, thriving food scene, and commitment to art, creativity, and design.

Idiots, Imbeciles, and Morons

Idiots, Imbeciles, and Morons Idiots, Imbeciles, and Morons Idiots, Imbeciles, and Morons By Maeve Maddox In a recent state election Arkansas voters were asked to alter the following constitutional phrasing: No idiot or insane person shall be entitled to the privileges of an elector. Legislators objected that the language was archaic and disrespectful. (Not to mention the fact that the law has never prevented idiots from voting.) As the current Arkansas state constitution dates from 1874, I decided to find out what the drafters meant by the word idiot. Idiot derives from a Latin word that referred to an ignorant, uneducated person. The word came into English from an Old French word with the same meaning. By 1300 idiot had acquired the meaning of a person so mentally deficient as to be incapable of ordinary reasoning. For a time, idiot was used by doctors to refer to a specific degree of mental retardation: A person of profound mental retardation having a mental age below three years and generally being unable to learn connected speech or guard against common dangers. The term came to be regarded as offensive and is no longer used as a medical classification. Two other words once used alongside idiot as medical classifications are imbecile and moron. Imbecile derives from a Latin adjective having the sense of weak and entered English from an Old French word with the same meaning. For a time it was used to refer to physical weakness. For example an imbecile person might be someone unable to walk without crutches. The first recorded use of imbecile as a noun is 1802. Its medical definition was A person of moderate to severe mental retardation having a mental age of from three to seven years and generally being capable of some degree of communication and performance of simple tasks under supervision. Moron comes from a Greek word meaning stupid. Its meaning in the now disused system of medical classification was: a feebleminded person or mental defective with a potential mental age of between eight and twelve years who is capable of doing routine work under supervision In current English usage all three words are perceived as insults. Apparently idiot is the least offensive of the three since a publishing empire employs the word in its titles with great success. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Bare or Bear With Me?List of 50 Great Word Games for Kids and AdultsEmpathic or Empathetic?

Auditing. The series of scandals caused a general crisis of confidence Essay

Auditing. The series of scandals caused a general crisis of confidence in the integrity of the entire system of corporate accoun - Essay Example Thereafter the author described financial scandals as those corporate scandals that involve misappropriation and misuse of money or economic resources. The chronicles of business history are filled with errors related to accounting, judgements, financial management and financial skulduggery. Over the last few decades unscrupulous entrepreneurs have been heavily involved in financial scandals where they allegedly diverted funds from one stated use to another, paid dividends out of borrowed money or capital, traded stocks on the basis of insider information as well as concealed vital information regarding those stocks, practiced creative account thereby altering the company’s records so on and so forth. Auditing failure has been a major concern over the last two decades with case of Enron and WorldCom coming into the limelight. According to Tackett, Wolf and Claypool (2004), a severe distortion in the financial statements that has not been reported in the audit report can be ter med as audit failure. Thus the auditor has committed a serious mistake while conducting the auditing process (Arens, 2002). Normally, auditing failure would not happen if an auditor is abide by the Generally Accepted Auditing Standards despite the fact whether the financial statement is accurate or fair. ... Thirdly, auditing failure occurs when the auditor is lured into committing such frauds by the company. Lastly, auditing failure might occur if the audit officer may commit fraud intentionally because of having some private relationship with the client beyond a certain level which is normally not expected in normal audit between independent parties. The following sections will highlight the integrity in the System of Corporate Accountability thereby commenting on the role of auditors and their effectiveness in the auditing process. The issues which undermine the credibility of audit reports will also be discussed. Thereafter, the changes that have been made in the auditing regulation will be explained followed by an explanation of the corporate governance framework that exists in Parmalat. Henceforth, the issues of audit reporting will be discussed and appropriate conclusions will be drawn. Integrity in the System of Corporate Accountability Corporate accountability is of utmost impor tance in debates around social issues, ethics and businesses (Brenkert, 2004). Accountability generally refers to the reliability and authenticity in the financial accounts reporting related to the financial status of any corporation. Integrity in the corporate accountability system should be maintained in order to reduce fraudulent activity within the financial reporting system. In the latter half of the twentieth century, the social and environmental issues were also brought under the financial accountability making them responsible for the environmental and social records. Linkage between the accountability and the integration of the Corporate Social Responsibility within the businesses helped to take the Business for Social responsibility to greater heights. It

What is Cultural Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

What is Cultural Diversity - Essay Example Globalization and culture diversity are two different phenomena, but these are closely interlinked with each other in terms of popularity and influences on different societies of the world. Various scholars and intellectuals have given their views about notion of cultural diversity. In this paper, we shall analyze what cultural diversity is about, how it is practiced along with the thoughts of Professor Sarat Maharaj, who has highlighted the concept of culture diversity with respect to his personal perceptions. The phenomenon of cultural diversity is not simple to understand because it involves contribution of a lot of people, their territorial boundaries, power, and racial, religious, and ethnical practices (Diller, 2010). Emergence of mixed beliefs, trends, fashions, practices, thoughts, legal or illegal immigration and overpopulation are some important factors behind the concept of culture diversity. However, it is an era of technology in which globalization is the strongest force that works behind every notion in today`s century (Maharaj, 2007). Sarat Maharaj is a visual art professor of Lund University, who has critically explained notion of cultural diversity mainly in terms of its relation with art culture and history. Sarat Maharaj`s lecture on cultural diversity is based on the emergence of different practices and notions that eventually became important part of diverse culture with the passage of time. Additionally, he has highlighted critical aspects of the phenomena and practices associated with the global diversity (Maharaj, 2007). He has focused that cultural diversity has now become an important term for the governmental bodies in order to run and maintain state system efficiently with the upgrading demands of time and individuals living in diverse cultural era (Maharaj, 2007). His lecture is important as it includes insight regarding the concept of cultural diversity through wider-spectrum. He has used various important terms to interlink with t he notion of cultural diversity such as origin of the diversity, revisionary concepts, modernity, colonial power and different racial and ethnic groups other than white people (Maharaj, 2007). Further, his lecture is considered important because he has motivated listeners to understand a revolutionary turn in the history of diversity and has compelled people to think about backdrops of the practices that emerged through diverse culture notions. Multiculturalism is another term that is used to define cultural diversity. Fundamentally, it is believed that culture is a set of values, norms, customs and traditions, which is practiced by the groups of people (Baer, 2004). When people belonging to different cultures come closer to each other while living in a specific region, they start sharing their thoughts and practices both. This trend gives rise to multiculturalism. The word multiculturalism has been associated with cultural diversity because globalization and technology have brought various regions and different individuals closer to each other (Baer, 2004). Global distances have been shortened and communication has transformed into its fastest possible form. Cultural diversity is about ethical standards of social interactions with members of other societies. Today, cultural diversity is practiced everywhere most specifically in large and strong states of the world (Diller, 2010). For instance, countries like the US and UK, these are two powerful nations of the world with strong economy and well-structured state system. People across the globe tend to migrate in these countries in

Vietnam :: essays research papers

North Vietnam was battling for ownership of South Vietnam, so they could be a unified nation. To prevent the domino effect and further spread of communism, the USA troops in 1965 went into action against the Viet Cong until 1975. Not only did the Greatest superpower in the world get bested by a third world nation, but also lost many of it's young men to a meaningless war that they could have never won. To prevent the domino effect and, from America's point of view, stop the further spread of communism, the U.S. held on to the Truman Doctrine and stood behind the South Vietnamese leader, Diem. The United States supplied Diem and has party with economical and military assistance to fight the forces of Ho Chi Minh, who was fighting for a united Vietnam and at the same opposed American and French intervention. What the United States did not realize was that Ho Chi Minh had the backing of the people of Vietnam, " By Supporting Her (France) attempt to establish a Vietnamese regime which lacked nationalist support, we helped insure that Vietnamese patriots would have no real alternative but to rally to the banner of Ho Chi Minh". Deim himself acknowledged that he was not excepted by the people of Vietnam nor did he have their support " Gained popularity as a leader of the resistance, not as a communist", and that the vast majority of his followers were nationalist and in no way pro communist. America failed to open It's eyes and realize that a man such as Ho Chi Minh, who was the established leader of the nationalist movement, could never be replaced by a man, Deim, who was supported by foreign forces and was lesser known then Ho Chi Minh. Deim was a leader of a government that was deeply corrupted and inefficient, resulting in it being unpopular with it's people in Saigon and villagers in the interior, who were neglected by the government. Vietnam :: essays research papers North Vietnam was battling for ownership of South Vietnam, so they could be a unified nation. To prevent the domino effect and further spread of communism, the USA troops in 1965 went into action against the Viet Cong until 1975. Not only did the Greatest superpower in the world get bested by a third world nation, but also lost many of it's young men to a meaningless war that they could have never won. To prevent the domino effect and, from America's point of view, stop the further spread of communism, the U.S. held on to the Truman Doctrine and stood behind the South Vietnamese leader, Diem. The United States supplied Diem and has party with economical and military assistance to fight the forces of Ho Chi Minh, who was fighting for a united Vietnam and at the same opposed American and French intervention. What the United States did not realize was that Ho Chi Minh had the backing of the people of Vietnam, " By Supporting Her (France) attempt to establish a Vietnamese regime which lacked nationalist support, we helped insure that Vietnamese patriots would have no real alternative but to rally to the banner of Ho Chi Minh". Deim himself acknowledged that he was not excepted by the people of Vietnam nor did he have their support " Gained popularity as a leader of the resistance, not as a communist", and that the vast majority of his followers were nationalist and in no way pro communist. America failed to open It's eyes and realize that a man such as Ho Chi Minh, who was the established leader of the nationalist movement, could never be replaced by a man, Deim, who was supported by foreign forces and was lesser known then Ho Chi Minh. Deim was a leader of a government that was deeply corrupted and inefficient, resulting in it being unpopular with it's people in Saigon and villagers in the interior, who were neglected by the government.

The Host Chapter 12: Failed

It's impossible! You've got it wrong! Out of order! That can't be it!† I stared into the distance, sick with disbelief that was turning quickly to horror. Yesterday morning I'd eaten the last mangled Twinkie for breakfast. Yesterday afternoon I'd found the double peak and turned east again. Melanie had given me what she promised was the last formation to find. The news had made me nearly hysterical with joy. Last night, I'd drunk the last of the water. That was day four. This morning was a hazy memory of blinding sun and desperate hope. Time was running out, and I'd searched the skyline for the last milestone with a growing sense of panic. I couldn't see any place where it could fit; the long, flat line of a mesa flanked by blunt peaks on either end, like sentinels. Such a thing would take space, and the mountains to the east and north were thick with toothy points. I couldn't see where the flat mesa could be hiding between them. Midmorning-the sun was still in the east, in my eyes-I'd stopped to rest. I'd felt so weak that it frightened me. Every muscle in my body had begun to ache, but it was not from all the walking. I could feel the ache of exertion and also the ache from sleeping on the ground, and these were different from the new ache. My body was drying out, and this ache was my muscles protesting the torture of it. I knew that I couldn't keep going much longer. I'd turned my back on the east to get the sun off my face for a moment. That's when I'd seen it. The long, flat line of the mesa, unmistakable with the bordering peaks. There it was, so far away in the distant west that it seemed to shimmer above a mirage, floating, hovering over the desert like a dark cloud. Every step we'd walked had been in the wrong direction. The last marker was farther to the west than we'd come in all our journeying. â€Å"Impossible,† I whispered again. Melanie was frozen in my head, unthinking, blank, trying desperately to reject this new comprehension. I waited for her, my eyes tracing the undeniably familiar shapes, until the sudden weight of her acceptance and grief knocked me to my knees. Her silent keen of defeat echoed in my head and added one more layer to the pain. My breathing turned ragged-a soundless, tearless sobbing. The sun crept up my back; its heat soaked deep into the darkness of my hair. My shadow was a small circle beneath me when I regained control. Painstakingly, I got back on my feet. Tiny sharp rocks were embedded in the skin on my legs. I didn't bother to brush these off. I stared at the floating mesa mocking me from the west for a long, hot time. And finally, not really sure why I did it, I started walking forward. I knew only this: that it was me who moved and no one else. Melanie was so small in my brain-a tiny capsule of pain wrapped tightly in on her herself. There was no help from her. My footsteps were a slow crunch, crunch across the brittle ground. â€Å"He was just a deluded old lunatic, after all,† I murmured to myself. A strange shudder rocked my chest, and a hoarse coughing ripped its way up my throat. The stream of gravelly coughs rattled on, but it wasn't until I felt my eyes pricking for tears that couldn't come that I realized I was laughing. â€Å"There was†¦ never†¦ ever†¦ anything out here!† I gasped between spasms of hysteria. I staggered forward as though I were drunk, my footprints trailing unevenly behind me. No. Melanie uncurled from her misery to defend the faith she still clung to. I got it wrong or something. My fault. I laughed at her now. The sound was sucked away by the scorching wind. Wait, wait, she thought, trying to pull my attention from the joke of it all. You don't think†¦ I mean, do you think that maybe they tried this? Her unexpected fear caught me midlaugh. I choked on the hot air, my chest throbbing from my fit of morbid hysteria. By the time I could breathe again, all trace of my black humor was gone. Instinctively, my eyes swept the desert void, looking for some evidence that I was not the first to waste my life this way. The plain was impossibly vast, but I couldn't halt my frantic search for†¦ remains. No, of course not. Melanie was already comforting herself. Jared's too smart. He would never come out here unprepared like we did. He'd never put Jamie in danger. I'm sure you're right, I told her, wanting to believe it as much as she did. I'm sure no one else in the whole universe could be this stupid. Besides, he probably never came to look. He probably never figured it out. Wish you hadn't. My feet kept moving. I was barely aware of the action. It meant so little in the face of the distance ahead. And even if we were magically transported to the very base of the mesa, what then? I was absolutely positive there was nothing there. No one waited at the mesa to save us. â€Å"We're going to die,† I said. I was surprised that there was no fear in my rasping voice. This was just a fact like any other. The sun is hot. The desert is dry. We are going to die. Yes. She was calm, too. This, death, was easier to accept than that our efforts had been guided by insanity. â€Å"That doesn't bother you?† She thought for a moment before answering. At least I died trying. And I won. I never gave them away. I never hurt them. I did my best to find them. I tried to keep my promise†¦ I die for them. I counted nineteen steps before I could respond. Nineteen sluggish, futile crunches across the sand. â€Å"Then what am I dying for?† I wondered, the pricking feeling returning in my desiccated tear ducts. â€Å"I guess it's because I lost, then, right? Is that why?† I counted thirty-four crunches before she had an answer to my question. No, she thought slowly. It doesn't feel that way to me. I think†¦ Well, I think that maybe†¦ you're dying to be human. There was almost a smile in her thought as she heard the silly double meaning to the phrase. After all the planets and all the hosts you've left behind, you've finally found the place and the body you'd die for. I think you've found your home, Wanderer. Ten crunches. I didn't have the energy to open my lips anymore. Too bad I didn't get to stay here longer, then. I wasn't sure about her answer. Maybe she was trying to make me feel better. A sop for dragging her out here to die. She had won; she had never disappeared. My steps began to falter. My muscles screamed out to me for mercy, as if I had any means to soothe them. I think I would have stopped right there, but Melanie was, as always, tougher than I. I could feel her now, not just in my head but in my limbs. My stride lengthened; the path I made was straighter. By sheer force of will, she dragged my half-dead carcass toward the impossible goal. There was an unexpected joy to the pointless struggle. Just as I could feel her, she could feel my body. Our body, now; my weakness ceded control to her. She gloried in the freedom of moving our arms and legs forward, no matter how useless such a motion was. It was bliss simply because she could again. Even the pain of the slow death we had begun dimmed in comparison. What do you think is out there? she asked me as we marched on toward the end. What will you see, after we're dead? Nothing. The word was empty and hard and sure. There's a reason we call it the final death. The souls have no belief in an afterlife? We have so many lives. Anything more would be†¦ too much to expect. We die a little death every time we leave a host. We live again in another. When I die here, that will be the end. There was a long pause while our feet moved more and more slowly. What about you? I finally asked. Do you still believe in something more, even after all of this? My thoughts raked over her memories of the end of the human world. It seems like there are some things that can't die. In our mind, their faces were close and clear. The love we felt for Jared and Jamie did feel very permanent. In that moment, I wondered if death was strong enough to dissolve something so vital and sharp. Perhaps this love would live on with her, in some fairytale place with pearly gates. Not with me. Would it be a relief to be free of it? I wasn't sure. It felt like it was part of who I was now. We only lasted a few hours. Even Melanie's tremendous strength of mind could ask no more than that of our failing body. We could barely see. We couldn't seem to find the oxygen in the dry air we sucked in and spit back out. The pain brought rough whimpers breaking through our lips. You've never had it this bad, I teased her feebly as we staggered toward a dried stick of a tree standing a few feet taller than the low brush. We wanted to get to the thin streaks of shade before we fell. No, she agreed. Never this bad. We attained our purpose. The dead tree threw its cobwebby shadow over us, and our legs fell out from under us. We sprawled forward, never wanting the sun on our face again. Our head turned to the side on its own, searching for the burning air. We stared at the dust inches from our nose and listened to the gasping of our breath. After a time, long or short we didn't know, we closed our eyes. Our lids were red and bright inside. We couldn't feel the faint web of shade; maybe it no longer touched us. How long? I asked her. I don't know, I've never died before. An hour? More? Your guess is as good as mine. Where's a coyote when you really need one? Maybe we'll get lucky†¦ escaped claw beast or something†¦ Her thought trailed off incoherently. That was our last conversation. It was too hard to concentrate enough to form words. There was more pain than we thought there should be. All the muscles in our body rioted, cramping and spasming as they fought death. We didn't fight. We drifted and waited, our thoughts dipping in and out of memories without a pattern. While we were still lucid, we hummed ourselves a lullaby in our head. It was the one we'd used to comfort Jamie when the ground was too hard, or the air was too cold, or the fear was too great to sleep. We felt his head press into the hollow just below our shoulder and the shape of his back under our arm. And then it seemed that it was our head cradled against a broader shoulder, and a new lullaby comforted us. Our lids turned black, but not with death. Night had fallen, and this made us sad. Without the heat of day, we would probably last longer. It was dark and silent for a timeless space. Then there was a sound. It barely roused us. We weren't sure if we imagined it. Maybe it was a coyote, after all. Did we want that? We didn't know. We lost our train of thought and forgot the sound. Something shook us, pulled our numb arms, dragged at them. We couldn't form the words to wish that it would be quick now, but that was our hope. We waited for the cut of teeth. Instead, the dragging turned to pushing, and we felt our face roll toward the sky. It poured over our face-wet, cool, and impossible. It dribbled over our eyes, washing the grit from them. Our eyes fluttered, blinking against the dripping. We did not care about the grit in our eyes. Our chin arched up, desperately searching, our mouth opening and closing with blind, pathetic weakness, like a newly hatched bird. We thought we heard a sigh. And then the water flowed into our mouth, and we gulped at it and choked on it. The water vanished while we choked, and our weak hands grasped out for it. A flat, heavy thumping pounded our back until we could breathe. Our hands kept clutching the air, looking for the water. We definitely heard a sigh this time. Something pressed to our cracked lips, and the water flowed again. We guzzled, careful not to inhale it this time. Not that we cared if we choked, but we did not want the water taken away again. We drank until our belly stretched and ached. The water trickled to a stop, and we cried out hoarsely in protest. Another rim was pressed to our lips, and we gulped frantically until it was empty, too. Our stomach would explode with another mouthful, yet we blinked and tried to focus, to see if we could find more. It was too dark; we could not see a single star. And then we blinked again and realized that the darkness was much closer than the sky. A figure hovered over us, blacker than the night. There was a low sound of fabric rubbing against itself and sand shifting under a heel. The figure leaned away, and we heard a sharp rip-the sound of a zipper, deafening in the absolute stillness of the night. Like a blade, light cut into our eyes. We moaned at the pain of it, and our hand flew up to cover our closed eyes. Even behind our lids, the light was too bright. The light disappeared, and we felt the breath of the next sigh hit our face. We opened our eyes carefully, more blind than before. Whoever faced us sat very still and said nothing. We began to feel the tension of the moment, but it felt far away, outside ourself. It was hard to care about anything but the water in our belly and where we could find more. We tried to concentrate, to see what had rescued us. The first thing we could make out, after minutes of blinking and squinting, was the thick whiteness that fell from the dark face, a million splinters of pale in the night. When we grasped that this was a beard-like Santa Claus, we thought chaotically-the other pieces of the face were supplied by our memory. Everything fit into place: the big cleft-tipped nose, the wide cheekbones, the thick white brows, the eyes set deep into the wrinkled fabric of skin. Though we could see only hints of each feature, we knew how light would expose them. â€Å"Uncle Jeb,† we croaked in surprise. â€Å"You found us.† Uncle Jeb, squatting next to us, rocked back on his heels when we said his name. â€Å"Well, now,† he said, and his gruff voice brought back a hundred memories. â€Å"Well, now, here's a pickle.†

How Can We Assess Health Care System - 1718 Words

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