The Journey Home: Reflecting on Our Poland Personally Seminar – By Rebecca Baxter
Today, we journeyed home to our individual paths. There were many struggles to get there for some, accompanied by moments of anxiety, stress, and disbelief in failed systems—much like the history of the past 10 days. It was a journey that, at times, caused many of us to be deeply emotional as we came to […]
Kielce – By Amanda Brown
We arrive is this beautiful and sweet town that is having a wonderful festival. They have street vendors, good, singing, kids running around playing. We spread out and get amazing food and drinks. We have been told before coming into Kielce of the atrocities that happened but as you enter the festival how do you […]
Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, Into the Cool We Go – By Bella Patel
Leaving the oppressive summer heat wave and descending into the Wieliczka Salt Mine was pure, blissful relief. The drop in temperature felt like a cool exhale as the scorching surface world melted away, replaced by a sprawling maze of passages interspersed with beautiful carvings and sculptures. Deep underground, reality blurred into a surreal mashup of iconic fiction. Descending into the […]
Krakow Free Day – By Diana Farrell
Today’s free day in Krakow was a much needed respite from the heaviness we experienced over the past week. After morning reflection and collaboration sessions with our peers, each person was free to explore the city as he or she pleased. Immediately following the morning session, lunch was on our own. Despite the blazing 95 […]
Marching Down Freedom’s Road: Reflections
by Julia Williams Harris Earlier this week in Georgia we visited several sites that highlighted the work of key civil rights activists such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Congressman John Lewis and Mrs. Rosa Parks. We also visited places of worship that was integral in supporting the civil rights movement. I noticed in so many […]
Reflection – By Camila Gonzalez
“Every day, every hour, offered the opportunity to make a decision, a decision which determined whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of yourself, your inner freedom; which determined whether or not you would become the plaything of circumstance, renouncing freedom and dignity….” Throughout this journey, I […]
Six Days – By Chris White
I can’t believe it’s been six days since first arriving in Poland. I could have postedreflections earlier, because there’s been so much ground covered every single day. I’mglad I waited until today to post, because it’s an indication of all of the places we’veseen, and also because it’s taken that long for me to attempt […]
Friday, June 26: By David Hall
At Auschwitz I, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the scale of what happened. The numbers are almost too large for students, or for any of us, to fully comprehend. But then you come to the rooms filled with ordinary objects: pots, pans, shoes, suitcases, eyeglasses. These are not just museum displays. They are […]
Friday, June 26: By Tony Bartolotta
Visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau was one of the most profound and emotionally challenging experiences of my career as a history teacher. Standing in the place where over a million innocent people were systematically murdered transformed historical facts into a deeply personal reality. Walking through the gas chambers, the barracks, seeing the preserved belongings of victims, and reflecting […]