“Analysand” : a person undergoing psychoanalysis.

I use this word to describe these two weeks with the utmost seriousness. The first reason is because these two weeks took me through a journey that sent me diving deep deep down into myself and asking “What can I do to help the world?” Not only did I spend my fall break traveling through Poland learning about the atrocities the Polish people have endured, but I also turned 22.

We will start where it began:

I boarded a plane around 9:00am having no idea what the week had in store for me. Luckily I was surrounded the entire time by some incredible people (faculty, alumni and students) who would share my feelings along the way. We arrived in Warsaw where we had free time and then took a tour of the historic Jewish Ghetto. Previously, I must mention, we were given a book by Jan Karski, A Secret State, that outlined his experience as a member of the underground movement in occupied Poland during WWII. When reading of the atrocities he witnessed in the Jewish Warsaw Ghetto I was immediately nauseous, but witnessing it full force in Warsaw everything really came to life.

That was just the beginning. We continued onto Torun (the hometown of Nicholas Copernicus), a small university town, where we met Polish college students, sat in on a symposium based around Jan Karski and the fight for Poland during WWII and the Cold War, and spent some downtime visiting a gingerbread factory. Luckily, our SLA Jenny Ruffing was conscientious of the fact that we would need some cheering up after the horrors we were first hearing about and added that last little adventure into our itinerary.

Now, let me take a moment to describe the symposium and the people that we met in Torun. We arrived at the college library early in the morning and sat among 2 other groups of college students to listen to 4 of the most educated people I have ever had the privilege of meeting speak about human rights. We learned about the underground government that was able to continue during occupied Poland and then the way that the allies sacrificed Poland to the Soviet Union even after they promised they would never do such a thing. We learned about Poland’s first fake liberation and then its real liberation with the ending of the cold war. We learned about the sacrifices that millions of individuals made in order to serve and save the country that they loved with a deep compassion. And we learned that we, as American students, had no idea what it meant to suffer, to be oppressed, to fight or to love anything the way the Polish people had in their lifetimes. In the end, we were taught what it meant to love your country and to be a human being in the face of disaster and death.

The people we met included my 3 favorite alumni of all time (who accompanied us throughout the entire trip) John, Leonard and Jim. These three men devote a large part of their lives to teaching young people, especially my generation, what it means to believe in human rights and the ability to do good in the world.

After the symposium we headed to Krakow where we had downtime and then saw Auschwitz. I cannot even begin to describe to someone who has not been there the way that a place like that can make you feel. I think the only way I can even try is to say that afterwards none of us felt much like eating or talking. My most vivid memory was walking through the room where they had preserved the hair that had been shaved from the Jew’s heads after they had been killed in the gas chambers. A whole room that was dedicated just to this part of the process of extermination that had children’s braids that had been thoughtlessly taken from them after they had been murdered in masses. Now before I described this part of my experience I thought about warning my audience that they should not read on if they did not wish to hear of such atrocious acts, but then I realized that that is what America has taught us to do. We allow our children, our citizens, my generation specifically to simply avoid such horrific matters. We give the choice to ignore all of the inhumane things happening in the world instead of simply teaching them and telling us to go and do something. If we all went and did something, do you think these things would still be happening around the world? I don’t. As we walked into the next room there were millions of shoes crowding the glass case and finally in the room after that there were dishes and silverware and briefcases that the Jews all brought with them simply thinking they were taking a trip to work camps that had been set up for them. At this moment I began to cry. It wasn’t one of those cries where it racks your body with sobs, but an internal cry that only lets out a few tears but makes you feel more beaten down and tired than you would have had you physically let everything out. What struck me even more was that no one else around me was crying. I don’t think it was because they were desensitized though, I think it was because they could only numb themselves down with all of this new information flooding their brains. How could people be so cruel?

We had a nice finishing dinner the day after when we were all able to stomach our food again and luckily the air was finally vibrating with the energy put into what we could do. What can you do? Well, that’s exactly the psychoanalysis we began to undergo.

From Poland I traveled to Prague. On the way there I met a woman who, back when she was younger, worked as a nurse in Northern African countries. This further fueled my realization that I could do something and I could do something big.

Then, being in Prague and turning 22 it began to hit me that I am maturing and now is the time to change whatever I can for the best. I began my morning with a more self-indulging gesture by getting my nose pierced. Ultimately it symbolized the change I was undergoing. Sometimes a change in appearance helps to solidify an internal change. I spent the rest of my weekend in Prague vacationing with friends and taking a small break from the difficulties I had experienced vicariously through my fall break trip.

Upon returning to Rome (now I can call it home, though) I opened up my Peace Corps application and started even more intensely to finish it as soon as I can.

I hope everyone can have an experience like I did during fall break because it is eye-opening. If everyone could go through that and come out with the positive outlook that I have now, the world could be a better place.

Cheers,

Megan

Last week my friend Natalie came to visit me from Rome. It was great to get a little taste of home while being so far away!

Low point in the week: Really missing my American peanut butter.

Highlight of the week: Discovered ‘Sainsbury’s  Lemon Curd’, a sweet, lemon, jelly-like spread. I ate it with shortbread cookies, ritz crackers, and straight out if the jar with a spoon.

This past weekend I went to Germany with Catie. It was a really great time! We left London on Friday morning and flew to Munich, where I had my first European foreign language encounters. Luckily, the ATMs and train ticket machines had language options so we knew what we were buying. However, pronouncing names (especially figuring out what sound “ß” makes), locating points on maps, and communicating with locals wasn’t so easy. The Munich City Center was a huge shopping complex in the middle of the city. I bought a German wool hat and ate weinerschnitzel for dinner. On our second day in Munich we took a trip to Dachau Concentration Camp. It was absolutely the most uncomfortable place I’ve ever been. I’ll never forget that experience. After Dachau we took an overnight bus to Berlin.

At first, I had doubts about Berlin. It was more difficult to travel through and didn’t seem to have the same energy as Munich. That afternoon we took a free walking tour and learned a lot about the city’s history and development. To my surprise, Berlin by night was much more exciting than Berlin by day. The city was hosting a Festival of Lights, and there were some very impressive displays throughout the streets. On our second day in Berlin, Catie and I visited the Reichstag (German parliament building). There is a huge dome on top of the building for visitors to get a birds-eye-view of Berlin. We could see the changing leaves in Tiergarten (huge park in the middle of Berlin) and the constant construction taking place. Overall, I would consider the Germany trip a complete success…even though I left my watch on the overnight bus.

I’m still not loving the study part of studying abroad. I feel guilty for neglecting my schoolwork, but it’s hard to think about studying when there’s an entire continent waiting to be explored. I do make it a point to keep up with my developing creativity course. This was my latest homework assignment: http://www.toondoo.com/cartoon/6717451

I’m leaving tomorrow morning for a 3-day guided tour of Paris, and I’m really looking forward to it! It’s a great feeling to be able to experience so many new things in such a short amount of time. If only my whole life could be like this…

 

Merci, Paris, for a spectacular weekend!

London will always be my favorite, but spending this past weekend in Paris made me realize why everyone loves it so much. It was beyond gorgeous. Even in the wind and rain, the beauty of the white stone buildings made the whole city feel like a palace. The Eiffel Tower was much bigger than I had imagined, and the view from the top was amazing! When we came back down, I ate a crepe under the Eiffel Tower, probably the most ‘French’ thing to do possible.

The second day our tour group walked through Montmartre. I saw the largest mosaic art piece in the world at Sacred Heart Church, bought a really nice silk scarf of a Monet water color painting, saw the Moulin Rouge, and then departed Paris for a trip to the Palace of Versailles. I’ve studied Versailles a lot, but never completely grasped how massive it was until I saw it in person. No wonder there was a revolution! It was over-the-top decorated with more paintings and gold trim than imaginable. Unfortunately, the huge crowds packed in each room took away from the awe, and it was an additional fee to visit the gardens, which would have required more time to fully appreciate than I was allowed. That night I ate dinner at an old wine warehouse with a few other people from my tour group. The food, wine, and creme brulé were delicious!

We spent our last day in Paris visiting the Louvre art museum. It was a bit overwhelming to see so much art in one place. The building itself was huge, but again the crowds of people really took away from the experience. I risked my life pushing through tourists to snap a shot of the Mona Lisa (which was surprisingly smaller than I pictured).  After the Louvre we took the Eurostar back to London. The trip was expensive, but I valued having a guide and not stressing about how to get from place to place like in Germany.

In other news, I shattered my iPhone by dropping it down the center of a spiral staircase. I’ve had an iPhone for almost 3 years and never even scratched a screen until now. Fortunately I brought my old phone here with me and can use it when I’m on wifi. Europe in general has been good about having wifi connections, so I’m not too worried.

My goal this week is to do at least half of the things on my ‘To Do’ list, which includes writing papers, reading books, and sending post cards. I’ve vowed to stop buying clothes and only spend money on food, respectable souvenirs, and memorable experiences. We’ll see how long that lasts.

It’s hard to believe my time here is already half way over. I’m homesick for my nieces and American food, but I can’t say I’m at all looking forward to leaving London.