Garmisch & Mittenwald, Germany

On December 21, 2014, Mom & I drove 4½ hours up to Garmisch, Germany from Vicenza, Italy. We went to the Christmas market where I got hot spiced mulled wine (also called glühwein), a hat, & a scarf. Then we went on a 55-minute train-ride to Tirol that was free with our hotel stay at Hilleprandt (buses & other attractions were free/discounted with our stay as well).

Note to Ariel Viewers: Most everything in Southern Germany is closed on Sunday so be prepared to not do anything on Sundays other than church if you're into seeing a German service.

However, the train ride was nice. The landscape is beautiful: the mountains, trees, animals... It was breathtaking. In Tirol, we ate at the only café open & everyone in the café smoked, which drove us crazy, but we dealt with it. We ate two hotdogs, which were delicious & then a drunken old German man tried to strike up a conversation with us, but completely forgot how to speak English & gave up. We then ate dinner at Hofbräustüberl back in Garmisch & it was super good. Then we went back to our hotel, passed out at 20:00, & woke up at 08:30.

Mom & I both slept horribly despite the long time laying in bed; the beds were rock solid & very hard to sleep in considering Mom & I love our memory foam/Temperpedic type mattresses. After our free breakfast at the hotel, we drove to Mittenwald, which is a town near Garmisch. In Mittenwald, we saw awesome little shops, ate a great lunch, went inside St. Peter und Paul Mittenald Church, & I bought a nice leather backpack & wallet.

We drove back to Italy on December 23. I would definitely recommend going to Germany, especially Garmisch & Mittenwald. They are very small, cute, & quaint towns; the people are super nice, & the gypsy population is low, which means theft is low.

Until next time 💗

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Get educated to be in everlasting debt

It is instilled in most of our heads that higher education is one of the only ways to get ahead in life, to make more money, & to get a better career, but is it really worth it? Students leave college with sometimes $100,000 of debt or more & they end up paying it off for the rest of their lives on top of the accruing interest. So many people these days have degrees & it makes it difficult to stand out in the crowd to get chosen for a good position & ultimately, graduates are left taking jobs that pay $10-$15/hour until they gain years of experience. How can people reasonably live on that & still pay off their loans? Many graduates live at home to save, pay off loans, & figure out their lives & it is truly unfair on both the parents & the graduates (even if your parents are like mine, who would let you live at home forever).

A degree does not guarantee a job; it just gives people a leg up to be noticed, but now to get noticed, seen, & heard, one either needs a master's, which requires even more money, or experience, which is nearly impossible to have being a young & recent grad. Phil N. said, “Can you make it without one? Yes, but you need to work your tail off. Can you make it with one? Yes, but you need to work your tail off to pay for it. Either way, the work has to be put in for the lifestyle that you want. It’s almost a personal preference. I personally think I need it because the lifestyle I'm destined to lead requires it, but I also know that for a solid part of my life I'll be paying back loans- everything has its cost. By no means do I think it's fair, but I can’t argue with the system currently.”

Basically, in order to get the life I want, I need to pay huge amounts for it as an American. Why is our economy set up to get young people in debt from the get-go? Countries like Spain have close to free education & graduate with almost no debt. Yes, Spain has many economic issues, but at least their graduates have a chance to succeed. However, there are people like my older brother who is doing incredibly well for themselves without a degree. He has a nice home in Texas, a nice car, & he & my sister-in-law comfortably support my adorable niece & nephew &can still take vacations. So many paths, so many choices & ways to be successful in life. It's all up to you & choosing a way that works for the life you wish to live.

If I were to give any advice as a recent grad, I would say to get your associate's degree at your neighborhood community college. This is what I should have done & regret not going to community college before Pace University. Once you have an associate's degree & try to transfer to a 4-year institution, you may have to take some of the University's mandatory classes, but most, if not all, of the prerequisite courses will transfer. It is a huge savings & I recommend everyone do this rather than going to a four-year school from the start. Not only do I push education, but I push getting it the smart way, not the expensive way. What do you all think? How was your financial experience in & after college?

Until next time... ciao 💗

Follow me on Instagram: @arielviewyoga

Free Education in Prison & Where on Earth our Taxes are Going

“Prison education is a means of rehabilitating & re-directing. If you release someone with the same skills with which she came in, she’s going to get involved in the same activities as she did before.” – Marymount Bedford Hills Program student.

According to the Prison Studies Project, there have been studies conducted over the last two decades that have confirmed that the higher the education level in prison programs, the crime rate ultimately reduces saving the taxpayers money. However, taking into consideration that less than 5% of American’s taxes are going toward prisons does not make this situation any better.

From what I have researched, I do think that prisoners who are not serving a life sentence & are not mentally ill should be educated to high school level for education is an important step for people to grow. However, I do not think that it is fair that hardworking Americans with clean records & are earning a living for themselves are spending thousands of dollars on college educations when people who have done wrong are getting a college education for free.

The government justifies their spending by telling us where our money is going (see photo from www.cbpp.org). Even so, many citizens do not see results. 22% of our taxes go toward social security… Oh, I’m sorry, I am pretty sure that I have heard that social security will be nonexistent by the time I need it so what am I paying for? Also, why are only 2% of our taxes going toward education? That seems insanely low to me.

Here is what our taxes should be paying for:

1. High school education for prisoners (ones without life sentences)

2. Defense & international security assistance

3. Healthcare for EVERYONE (which should include medical & scientific research since it betters life for humans)

4. Free education

5. International affairs

6. Fixing of roadways, transportation routes, etc.

7. Financial support for the elderly & disabled I may be missing some here, but these are the 7 that I think are the most important. I don’t understand what is so difficult about changing the system to better the people. Our system is so backward that we make it a struggle for working-class people to get a higher education, but our criminals are getting it for free. If we had the American money-hungry mentality with Europe’s healthcare & education system, we would be unstoppable. We need a change & we need it now before our economy collapses as a whole. We’ve already gone through one recent government shutdown; let’s try to prevent another.

Until next time... ciao 💗

Follow me on Instagram: @arielviewyoga