Pergamon

          Another long travel day in Turkey from Assos to Bergama, site of the ancient city of Pergamon, but full of exciting sites and reflections. Again we stopped at a small rest stop after two hours of bus travel and it reminded me of the ancient traditions of war to stop for lunch at noon and when the sun goes down to break for dinner and rest for the night. In the Odyssey, Menelaus insists on feasting and enjoying each other's company before discussing important matters. It's a loose connection, but both have the theme of tradition and fellowship.

          When we arrived in the city of Bergama, we first visited the Asclepieion or the Sanctuary of Asclepius, the god of healing. The people of the ancient Pergamon would go there to receive a holistic healing process. The natural spring would flow into the Asclepieion and the doctors used these natural resources to cure their patients. The hot and cold water would flow separately into two areas and were utilized for hydrotherapy, where the patient switches between the two temperatures of water for pain relief. This technique is still used today in advanced treatment rooms for athletes. After long workouts and weight lifting sessions, you can see the Baylor Track and Field team alternate between the hot and cold jet tubs every two minutes to flush out the lactic acid. How this works is the hot water relaxes your muscles and then when you switch to the cold water it constricts the muscles and releases the lactic acid into your blood vessels like squeezing a toothpaste tube. For this reason, it is so important to drink plenty of fluids before and after workouts to excrete the lactic acid waste. 

          This is just another great reminder of how people back then were not so different then people today. This idea makes learning history a better experience because you can relate to the figures you are studying versus them just being some random person in time. Soon we will be part of the history books and future space living, car flying, teleporting people will read about what we did during this century. Isn't that cool to think about how people might look at buildings we see on a daily basis and study them and try to uncover our culture. 

          For example, Odysseus' longing for home is the same sentiment shared today's society. I think everyone has that innate desire to eventually want to return to your home, where you belong and where your heart is. I don't think Penelope was just his loving wife that matched his wit and intellect, but she was his home, his haven. It's also not a matter of location, but the meaning and significance behind it. Ithaca was a rocky and non-fertile area, but to Odysseus it was the most beautiful site to see. It's like my run-down, old, torn up track in East Austin. It will always have a special place in my heart because it is where I first found my true passion for track. I realized I was great at it on my newly renovated middle school track in Westlake, but the East Austin track is where I found my love for it. I had to work twice as hard there because the competition was stiffer and the environment was tougher. I spent long evenings there trying to just keep up with the other girls at practice. It's odd to think that my fondest memories of track were of my most painful practices, but they really shaped me as a runner and as a person. Being the least experienced runner, minority in an all African-American team and an outsider in an established group of girls, I had to persevere through the first season. From it, I became a faster, stronger racer, made lifetime friends, and less racially conscious. I feel that because I emerged myself within a different race group, I'm more comfortable around any race. Society creates various stigma to all races, but I feel like I was almost desensitized to it. Now, I can honestly say sometimes I don't even notice race. I don't group my friends into race categories even though I easily could. My sorority sisters, who are mainly Caucasian, and my track friends, who are mainly African Americans, all seem to blend in together in my eyes. That was a long tangent, but basically the East Austin track will hold a special place in my heart because it made me who I am as did the whole city of Austin, my home or Ithaca. 

          Back to to the Asclepieion, the holistic nature of the healing process that it encompasses was the most fascinating to me. The idea of health as the mind, body, and soul was very prevalent during these times. In order to increase morale, the Asclepieion had a Roman theater, temple, and a library. There was an underground tunnel that the patient would slowly walk through and steam would rise within the dark walls with opium while the doctor would walk along the outside of the tunnel and speak encouraging words. Positive affirmation is so powerful that successful athletes go to sports psychologists to practice it. Every Monday, the Baylor track team has a devotion for the week and I firmly believe that it impacts not only our morale but our performance. 

          I hope that western medicine soon adopts a more holistic style, not only for our own personal health to improve, but our lifestyle. I feel that we rely to much on prescription drugs and for doctors to just cure us instantly. Often we worry to much about our physical health, but neglect our mental or spiritual health. I believe that all three are connected and if one is lacking, then all three will decline. When all three of these things are actively working together, then our lifestyles changes dramatically for the better and our overall health skyrockets.