Here's the standing ovation part! Or the Epilogue.

Hooray I'm back with the family in the US of A!! You never can really grasp how much you appreciate it until you spend 6 weeks out of it. Even when I made it to Atlanta I was so excited to be the one that understood everyone and not the other way around! But if you can believe it, I had an adventure just getting home!
At 6am on Thursday I was picked up by an airport shuttle. I was the only one with the guy because the person I was supposed to go with decided to get a later shuttle since his flight didn't leave until almost 10am. S we are driving and the cobblestone roads are putting up a fight! I love cobblestone roads but they are MISERABLE for traveling on. I feel like I got my brains knocked a little loose. Anywho, we get to the airport and the driver goes around to get out my bags. Now mind you, I had fragile things in my smaller suitcase because who knows what could happen if I put it in my checked luggage. So this fragile bag had my computer and some souvenirs for my people. The driver opens the door and my bag falls the ground- the fragile one. I almost had a fit. And what's worse is that he BROKE the bag so it only had one of the little stands so it was lopsided and couldn't stand on its own. UGH! So he says he THINKS that my flight is in Terminal 1. Excuse me? What do you mean you THINK! Luckily it was in there or I would have dropped Fragile and womped on him. I find my gate and all that jazz and I get really excited because I knew I was on my way home. I even got to sit by myself in my row of seats because our flight wasn't full! But that's where the trouble started.
I looked at my watch and realized that it was 10:45 and my next plane left at 11:20 and we were still in the air. Not even making our descent in to Dublin! So I pushed my little call button and the flight attendant came and just stared at me. I was like I'm going to miss my flight because we aren't going to get there until 11:15 and it leaves at 11:20. She continued to stare and I asked her what I could do about it. Then she says to me like I'm so sort of idiot, we are now an hour behind, it's only 9:45 their time. Ok fine but I didn't realize that! I felt stupid but she didn't have to look at me like I was! So then it was the worst landing of my plane experiences. We were teetering back and forth from wing to wing all the way to the ground and we bounced so hard when we hit... I thought I was going to be really ill. I rushed to customs- they had 2 lines open and there were a large number of Non EU people there- including myself! In retrospect, I realize the guy that stamped my passport when I got to Ireland was the same guy who stamped it when I was leaving it. Weird. Anywho, I got stamped and rushed to my gate where I realize, in horror, that the plane that was supposed to leave before mine at 9:30 still hadn't left yet. So it was like 11:30 and I was so LE MIZ!! So then I hear my voice paged over the intercom to go to the desk- Ok happy to get away from the screaming children. I was secretly hoping they weren't on my flight. I get to the desk and I don't even really know what they were talking about- something about not having an actual ticket and just having an e-ticket- I don't know. But I asked the lady if, since we would be leaving considerably later, if I would miss my connecting flight in Atlanta. She said no but that she could put me on a later flight if I wanted to be sure- NO THANKS. So we finally get gone from Ireland and it turns out, we already were made to go through U.S. Customs in Ireland before we even left so we wouldn't have to do it when we got to the US.
The flight from Dublin to Atlanta wasn't so bad. I sat next to someone who didn't speak and only had to get up once. The food was actually pretty delish! I was able to watch 3 complete films and a couple of episodes of TV. It was really a pleasant flight and much shorter than the one that took me there. So I arrived in ATL, I normally complain about the heat but when I felt the warmth as soon as I got off the plane I was so excited because I knew I was home, and I had to go get my luggage from the baggage claim and take it over to have it RECHECKED to go back on my plane. I thought this was the most assinine thing ever! Not to mention that now I had TWO broken bags because either the Czech people or the Irish people broke near the top of my big bag so the handle to roll it came out like 2 inches... more LE MIZ! Imagine my frustration. So I recheck my stupid bag and get lost trying to find my gate but I had time because we landed at 4:30 and weren't supposed to leave until 5:50, so I was good. I get to the gate and get in line to board the plane and when my boarding pass is scanned it makes this terrible beeping sound- Oh crap. It turns out that even though I had told the happy ladies in Dublin NOT to change my flight, they did that anyway and I was put on a flight leaving at 6:50! UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH! That's exactly how I felt. These are the times when I wish I had the super power of Teleporting- just like Kurt from X-Men 2.
I sat in the corner and pouted. I spent $1 on a 2 minute phone to tell Parker to tell mom that I was going to be late. I saw people I knew from my trip and I didn't even try to get their attention. I was ready to be done. Finally it was our turn to leave and everything was going better or so it seemed. I got on the plane and it was all fine and dandy until this family with 2 small children sat next to me. They were a cute family, going to Disney World to see the princesses, you know the type. The youngest girl could not have been older than 3 or 4 and she proceeded to scream for long periods of time, although intermittantly, the entire 1 hour and 5 minutes of our trip. And what did the parents do? Shhh please sweetie don't do that. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!!? Take their ass to the bathroom and have a good talking to about how you behave on the plane or there will be NO PRINCESSES!! That's just me. I would have done it for them. However, they let me go in front of them to get off the plane. This was bliss for me. I strongly resisted the urge to through myself on to the ground but I didn't. I took the happy tram to the main terminal and I swear it couldn't get there fast enough! I saw Mom and Jay on the other side of the glass and it was just amazing happiness. When I got to the end of the corridor though, leaning up against the giant planter was PARKER!!! I was so excited! He tricked me but it was the best trick EVER!!
We got my bag, which was already waiting at the baggage claim- SWEET! And we left. We went to Chick-Fil-A which was pure happiness and then came home. That's all and it was amazing. So now I will go see Dad and Grace (yay) and start my life back over again in Tallacrappy.

Hope you enjoyed my adventures! Thanks for reading them!

Leaving on a jetplane... Tomorrow!

So this is the end of my trip.  First of all it could not have been as much fun and full of amazing adventures without my group of friends, but mostly, my roommate Lindsay Alma Meadows.  I feel that I have gained a friend for life in her.  We are so similar that it's almost scary, but not too bad.  And so, this trip couldn't have been as fantastic without her here with me.  I got lucky, we both did, in the roommate match up.  I feel like Julie might feel about me... as if Lindsay were my younger sister and we are almost the same person... crazy!  Sarcastic, kind of mean, and always fun!

As far as the trip goes, there are hardly words to describe it.  Everyone at orientation said that this would be the best trip of my life and they were so right.  An amazing experience that I can certainly never forget.  There were so many things that I experienced and that I learned that I can hardly contain it all or put it in words.  The culture, the history, the lifestyle.  If you can only go to one place in Europe, Prague is a place I would recommend to everyone, even though some asshole stole my bag.  I can't be too mad because I'm sure it was someone who needed the money in it more than I did, but it was an inconvenience to say the least.  But this still doesn't make me feel any different about Prague.  And Munich isn't bad either. 

I think one of the most important things that I will take with me from this trip, if not THE most important, is the necessity of preserving history so that it does not repeat itself.  I truly believe that it is imperative to keep learning about what happened before us so that we can learn from mistakes.  Even if nations around the world do not choose to heed the warnings from history, it is very critical that people take the time to learn anyway.  

For a less intellectual point of view, I loved my trip!  My friends were awesome almost all of the time, except those times that I vented about them.  This last night we went on a dinner cruise with the whole group up and down the river (I can't remember the name of it right now) and it was so cool!  The food was pretty delicious compared to some of the things they have tried to feed us.  We took fantastic friend pictures and just had a generally good time.  It was a little bit bittersweet but to know that we will see each other, some of us in a week, others when school starts... it's no problem!  I love my friends, even if they have annoying qualities that make it hard to be with them sometimes.  I'm so happy that I was able to make this trip!  I'm starting to get teary while I'm writing this so I will have to end it soon.  

One final thing, despite the incredible amount of work that was piled on us in such a short amount of time, I am glad that I was able to study under the professors on this trip.  They seriously need to rethink what they expect from us in a 6 week period.  I didn't have this much work in a normal semester of grad school so I felt bad for the kids who just finished their freshman year at college.  However, we were able to finish even if there are those who didn't do an amazing job, at least we are done.  

And so my friends and my family, my avid readers, I leave you with those final thoughts on my trip and my final blog.  Should you have any questions or if you would like to get a CD with my pictures on it, please let me know!  This is the last time.

i'm done

Finito.  Finished.  It's all over for me with the schoolwork.  And I feel amazing.  Even though I would rather be home feeling amazing, but the point is that I feel great after finishing all of my work.  And the bonus is that my paper isn't total crap, mostly.  So today I have nothing to do.  Or more importantly, I have nothing that I HAVE to do and no plans that will constrict what I do today.  This is amazing.  I read a book for pleasure last night and almost didn't know what to do with myself.  It was a very foreign feeling since I am usually always reading one at home.  It felt nice.  Tomorrow my plan is to leave you with my final thoughts on my experience of the trip.  Until next time...

Schoolwork... Bah!

So here we are at the institute in Prague working diligently (only some people, but me of course!) on our final papers for this class.  I'm very annoyed with it because I just want to be done with this!  AH!  I'm jealous of my friend Ryan because he got to leave today, under extenuating circumstances of course, but still!  I'm so ready to be home.  I will definitely be bored these last few days because I will have finished with my paper but don't have money to do anything.  And it's supposed to be raining the rest of the week.  It's cold rain.  Perhaps I will watch the movies that I stole from my friend's computer.  Anyway, there is nothing too interesting going on in my life right now except that I'm trying to finish this dang paper.  Boo.  Until next time...

Happy Father's Day to all of you Fathers!

We are back in Prague fighting out our last days.  Fighting is the correct word because we are dragging to finish our papers and our journals and our professors keep adding new crap in... UGH!  We don't have time for this ish and that's what these final days in Prague are supposed to be for.  I cannot express my anger in words because I'm that irate.  I don't need their help!  If I wanted help, I would go to them individually and ask for it.  I do not wish to get together in a group with people who don't even have topics near to mine and 'discuss' my paper.  For what? I know what I'm doing and don't want to listen to anyone else's paper topics.  GRRRRRRRRRRRRR.  Only 4 more nights and 3 days.  Thank goodness.

Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II- Birkenau

Yesterday was something I wasn't sure how I would handle.  We went to the Auschwitz camps.  What many people don't know, including myself before yesterday, is that Auschwitz was really two camps.  There was Auschwitz I, which was the original camp that the Nazis took over that had been used previously by the Polish army.  Then when it got too big they made an even larger camp called Auschwitz II- Birkenau.  It was a total of 440 acres and the sheer size of it was just breathtaking and I was speechless.  At the first Auschwitz camp, we saw several buildings that were the original buildins on the outside but restored on the inside to serve as space for the exhibits.  Only one building remained completely original inside and out and that was what the prisoners there called the 'Prison inside the Prison'.  This is where they had special cells that served specific purposes of torturing prisoners who misbehaved and they wanted to teach a lesson.  There were suffocation cells that had no windows or cracks for air so they would just die.  There were starvation cells and also standing cells where prisoners were made to stand with several other prisoners for days on end without food or windows and would die from exhaustion of having to stand all the time.  These cells were still in tact and visible.  There was the square where they held roll call and if even one prisoner was absent, either from escaping or from dying during work duty, the prisoners were made to stay there until the missing prisoner was found.  The longest roll call lasted 19 hours.  They even performed this in the freezing cold of winter while the SS guard had a small guard booth to sit in.  We saw the hair that was cut off of the prisoners before they were gassed, found by the Soviet Red Army, and even though it was behind a glass wall it still smelled terrible.  We saw the shoes, the glasses, the suitcases, and several other personal items of the victims taken there.  We saw the gas chamber and the crematorium, which were both enormous and enough to make you sick.  

We then took our bus over to the second Auschwitz camp- Birkenau.  As I said before, there are no words to describe the massiveness of this place.  There were only a few buildings remaining of the originals but what was very eerie was that most of the wooden barracks had collapsed over time and the only thing that remained standing were the brick chimneys used to heat the barracks.  The train tracks led from outside the camp, through the 'Gate of Death' and all the way to the end where the gas chambers and the crematoriums stood.  In their haste to leave, the Nazis tried to destroy the crematoriums and gas chambers but only did a half-ass job and so there are still enormous chunks of the buildings still in place today.  The most sickening part is the stairs that the prisoners were made to take down in to the chambers to die.  There isn't really one word to describe this experience.  But I leave you with a question... What do you think 'the Holocaust' means?  Until next time...

Old City Krakow and Kazimierz

First thing today we had our final book presentation... woo hoo!  It was about the post-communism period and the aftereffects of that time period.  We then went on a tour of the old Jewish city of Kazimierz which used to be its own city set up by a king (I can't remember his name) because all the stuff the Jews were selling was cheaper than the merchants inside the town  so they were sent away. Then when Krakow got too big they absorbed in Kazimeirz into the city and was just the Jewish part of the town.  There are a total of 8 synagogues and 8 churches in the city of Krakow but there are only 3 synagogues that are being used.  All of them are the originals because they were spared by the Nazis so nothing is damaged from war, only from time.  It was really cool to see all the old Jewish things that were still in tact from when part of Krakow was the ghetto.

We walked around some more and went to the archbishop's house/palace, which is where Pope John Paul II lived.  Did you know that he was from Krakow??  It's true!  We saw the cathedral where he gave his first mass and the oldest university in Poland, which is where he studied.  We walked to the Wawel Castle which is a major historical place for the Polish because when Krakow used to be the capital, it was where the royal family lived and of course, where Pope JPII gave his first mass.  All of these things were so interesting to see, however, whoever the moron is that planned this trip... I would like to SMACK upside their head because they ALWAYS plan these tours at lunch time!!!! ALWAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So since these are mostly walking tours, we are weak and starved the entire time we are walking around.  And I thought this trip was focusing on human rights... BAH!  

At 2:30 we finally made it back to the city center where we were last night and we got to get up close to this fantastic statue called the "Head of the Blind Lover", I believe.  It's so interesting to see.  And you can climb in it and take a picture from the inside out.  I was too dang hungry to do this so I just took a photo instead.  We finally got to eat lunch at this place called "Sioux", yes as in the Indian tribe and my lunch was called Aerial Flight of the Steppe Eagle.  No lie.  It was grilled chicken with french fries but it was delish!  Another name was Indian Woman's Ecstasy on a Cactus in Cherry Marinade!  It was chicken on kebab sticks.  Needless to say, all of the names were like this.  It was really funny.  After we got done eating, Lindsay (my roommate) and I decided that we didn't really want to stick around and shop because we felt like crap.  So, even though I felt bad about saying it but it needed to be said, I told the group of people we usually hang with that we have to cut the umbilical cord sometime and that it would be ok if we left without them.  It turned out ok for them because I saw them later on.  Linz and I took a taxi- NOTE TO SELF AND EVERYONE ELSE- Don't take a taxi in Poland.   Just believe me and don't do it.  After we got back to the hotel, I took a major nap.  Then we had to watch Schindler's List, which I have never seen before and so it was pretty depressing.  And to top that off, we go to Auschwitz tomorrow and it's supposed to be pouring down rain.  How amazing.  Until next time...

Krakow

Today was another long, obnoxious bus ride throughout Poland.  This time, though, we were going on easier roads and we didn't have to go for as long before we reached where we wanted to be.  We got all checked in at like 2:30 and hung out for a little bit and then had some snackage in the restaurant in our hotel.  Our hotel is again, in a sketchy part of town but the good news is that there is a bowling alley in our hotel so we won't have to venture too far to get some entertainment.  After this we met up with the group for a bus ride tour of Krakow.  Very interesting places to see which include: 1.) The old Jewish Ghetto of Krakow where we stopped in the big courtyard area where they used to assemble the Jews who were about to be transported to camps.  Now there stands empty chairs which symbolize two things a.) the amount of stuff that was always piled in the courtyard like luggage, furniture, clothing, etc. and b.) the emptiness of the area and what it meant for the people who were taken there.  Area 2.) We stopped at an area that used to be a camp, I think for transportation but I can't even pronounce the name but the monument that is there for the Christian and Jewish Poles is amazing.  And 3.) We went to the old town of Krakow that has a bunch of beautiful old buildings that are the originals because the Germans weren't that interested in destroying Krakow because it was the capital.  And it turns out that Poland is a very homogenous country with less than 1% of the population being a minority.  That minority is about 300,000 Germans.  So amazing that they can keep statistics like that!  Anyway, tomorrow we are getting a more intense tour of the old city and the old Jewish quarter.  Should be fun, especially if the cool air sticks around.  Until next time...

Wroclaw, pronounced 'Rotslaw

We took a 6 hour bus trip in to Poland.  Our guide, Dasa, told us that the roads in Poland are horrible but we figured how bad could they be, cobblestone highways?  When we got to the border, took our break, and continued on our way, we knew instantly that we were in Poland because the roads were THAT terrible.  Every five seconds there were huge bumps or ruts in the road and so our brains were rattled the entire trip.  When we finally reached Wroclaw, I figured out why we were stopping here for only day and what was its significance.  Turns out that the trip from Berlin to Krakow is an extremely long trip and our bus driver can't drive for more than 2.5 hours at a time without taking a 30 minute break and then he can't go over 10 hours each day.  So that is why we stopped here.  This is the nicest hotel we have had since the first one we had back in Prague.  It has a deep bathtub!!  And it is very clean and sits right on a little canal.  Although still slightly in the ghetto like the rest of our hotels, except the first one, it's very nice.  When I was walking up to see if I could find Dasa, I walked past one of the dumbest girls on our trip and just caught her saying, So the Polish money is called 'Slutty'?  WHAT!  It's Zloty and she's a freakin idiot!  Oh well.  We are just going to chill and not even do anything today because we need to have time to collect our thoughts before we get down and dirty in our work these next 9 days.  Tomorrow we go to Krakow for 4 days, then to Prague for 5, and then home! HOORAY!!! Until next time...

Last Day in Berlin

Today was our last day in Berlin.  We started off at the Stasi Museum.  For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, the Stasi were the Communist secret police that bugged everything, including watering cans at graveyards, of East Berlin.  It was, of course, really hot and I felt bad for our tour guide because he was a large dude with long hair and a thick beard... but he was a Ginger like me!  We got to sit in the lounge where the Commies would all chill and have their coffee.  It was cool because the chairs were still the original ones from the commies.  Then after like 2 1/2 hours there... we left and got to walk around in Potsdamer Platz the rest of the day.  Unfortunately, there were people within our group who were being so damn annoying.  And I just wanted to get away from them.  They kept talking and being obnoxious and just wouldn't shut up.  I don't mind being the leader of the group because I know where to go and I speak German and all these things but sometimes I just wish people would take the initiative and find their way without having to worry about whether or not I'm there to show them where to go.  I honestly wonder if they hang out with me because they will get back safely.  It's annoying. I think they take advantage of it but I am tired of showing everyone where to go.  It's like the end of a family vacation where you are just ready to be by yourself again.  UGH!  Tomorrow we go to Poland and I'm not sure of the internet situation there so... Until next time...

It's Like a Real Weekend!

Yesterday we started at 11 am which isn't too bad, however, it was once again a time for the professors to call it a 'lecture' while they basically are just chatting and having a discussion with the speaker.  I don't have professors who do this in Int'l Affairs and I will be happy to be done with these guys.  Don't get me wrong, these are brilliant men.  I mean, they write books, are considered the top experts in their fields, they have doctorates and come from Brown University, etc., etc. but they sometimes are lacking when they make decisions that 'will be good for the group.'  Dang!  Anywho, after we were done with the speaking time... 2 hours later, we were free for the day! Woo hoo!  I was able to get some money finally, I went and bought some snacks for when we go to Poland because they apparently have no grab-n-go type of food places.  I don't know what I will do without my Chinese food! Just kidding.  I came back and read for my paper and washed some roos (good thing!) and took a quick nap while I waited for my roomie to get back from the Homosexual Museum.  Believe it or not, this group was extremely persecuted during the Nazi era.  Definitely more so than you might imagine and since my roomie is writing her paper about it, she went to this museum.  Then we went to Hard Rock Cafe!  There was a bachelor party there, a bunch of Irishmen who were already drunk when we got there.  And on our other side were 4 Americans in the Air Force stationed at Rammstein.  The Irishmen got rowdy and a tad bit out of control because one minute I'm sipping my beer and the next minute I look over and see the tiny bald Irishman standing right in plain view with his pants down.  That's right, we got a full frontal.  Really gross, especially when you are eating.  Next thing, he's tapping on my roomie's shoulder, apologizing for exposing himself.  We didn't care, we just didn't want him near us.  So then our waitress came up and was like, I have to tell you something about these two groups of men sitting on either side of you.  Irishmen tend to misbehave when they are drunk.  American men tend to misbehave either way! I laughed of course but come on, not every American is a drunk asshole.  And she said this knowing full well that we were Americans.  Oh well.  Good times anyway.  Then some of us went to an Irish pub and met up with the Air Force guys where the waiter dumped almost an entire tray of drinks on this guy in our group.  Poor kid.  But on the bright side, he got a free beer and us girls who lost our drinks got free shots.  So that was a bonus!  And then our friends left and my roomie and I went to this place called 'Club Q-Dorf' with the Air Force homies.  We had a great time because it was like 5 clubs in one.  We went back and forth between the hip hop part and the techno part.  My roomie and I danced like fools but it was fun because we were actually sober so we were able to steer clear of the creepy guys!  The drinks are EXPENSIVE!!!!! Wowsas!  What was the best was watching all the German dudes dancing to the techno music!!  They loved it!  And it was mostly just the dudes dancing, only a couple of girls.  Made me smile.  And in the Hip Hop part, everyone loved it but the songs were SO OLD!  It was fantastic!  I mean, they played P. Diddy back when he was still Puffy!  And for those of you who don't know what I mean, well just know it was the late 90s that these songs were coming from!  After we decided to leave, the nice American fellas made sure we got in to a cab ok and then we got home at like 3-ish and all was well!  And now, I'm just working on school work all day.  It sucks but I have the time to do it so I should.  Until next time...

Pardon Me

Could someone please make a comment!!! You give a little,  you take a little and I'm the only one giving here folks!  It makes me happy to know that someone is reading!

Wannsee Conference

Today's adventure was the best one so far, at least in Germany.  We went to the Wannsee Villa/House just on the outskirts of Berlin.  Here's its significance to our trip: Some of the top Nazi, SS, and other group officials congregated here to discuss their plans for the 'Final Solution to the Jewish Question.'  It was chaired by Reinhard Heydrich and Adolf Eichmann, two of the bigwigs in the Nazi party.  As it was important in the fate of the Jews, I had a realization (for lack of a better word) about the Nazis here.  Going to this house, seeing all of its beauty like the outside architecture, the gardens, and the spectacular lake that it sat on, in this moment I first saw the Nazis as human beings.  No, no I don't condone anything that they did or believe them to be less than the murderous monsters that they were, but here it showed that they appreciated the simple beauty of nature.  The house is, of course, beautiful in its own right but it is made amazing due to its surroundings. There is nothing extravagant or exquisite inside.  The peace and relaxation that I felt being there, the feeling of being at home by the water and in the warm but breezy sunshine, made me able to bring the Nazis to a human life form.  That they could enjoy this place could only have been because of the same beauty that I saw in it.  I can't say that it makes me feel really awesome to be able to say that I can relate to the Nazis in some way but I think that if anyone saw what I saw and felt the ease I felt there, they would be the same as me, associating themselves in some part to the Nazis.  It is a creepy thought considering their track record for inflicting terror and brutality on innocent people, but it does show that they weren't totally devoid of being able to appreciate nature and the feeling that it gives you.  Until next time...

I saw the new Russian President... Sort Of

Today was another one of those extremely full days with museums all around.  We started at 9 today, got in trouble for not hauling ourselves on to the bus fast enough but I don't really care because our professors LOLLYGAG all the dang time at exhibits so I don't care.  We first went to the German Resistance Museum.  The only interesting part is that there was a large part about the assassination attempt of July 20, 1944 on Hitler.  It didn't work, obviously, and the building where the assassination was planned (also the place of the museum) housed the courtyard where the men responsible were executed.  I sat in this courtyard.  But honestly that was about all we could do because the entire museum was in German and my vocabulary is limited to say the least!  The only thing that I am good at, which I have repeatedly told my classmates, is pronunciation.  And they said they only had a few audio guides so we couldn't all get one.  This meant that the professors were supposedly going to explain stuff to us, room by room.  There were several pieces of the exhibit, I think 28 in total.  No way I'm following my professor around waiting for him to tell me what the audio guide said.  Forget it!  Turns out that there was a huge cabinet full of audio guides... I saw it!!  Jerks.  Needless to say, it took me all of 25 minutes to get through the museum.  As I said, there are only so many words that I know.  These were particularly difficult because they are about a specific time period which I didn't learn the words for in my classes.  

We left there and walked to the "Topography of Terror" museum.  This was an outside museum, which was nice due to the heat usually found in other inside museums, and there was a nice breeze flowing.  It was the remnants of the SS Headquarters building.  It was very interesting to see.  One of my professors, Dr. Greek, is famous among the group for his fantastic quotes and I was able to get one out of him today!  The conversation goes as follows:

H: (after looking at a picture of Hitler and men on horses) Dr Greek, do you think Hitler knew how to ride a horse?

DG: I don't know.  That's a good question.  Maybe he had a pony when he was little.  Or maybe he didn't get a pony when he was little and that's why he was a psycho!

HA!  In context, it was hilarious.  Of course, I don't expect my avid readers to roll laughing, but I nearly did.  If you could just see the professor... you would understand.

Anywho, we were supposed to meet at 12:15 to go to our last museum thing and OF COURSE we had to go find Dr. Maier-Katkin because he was taking his sweet-ass time looking at every single thing in the exhibit even though he knew we only had 45 minutes.  URG! He always does that and turns right around and says crap to us about being on time.  I don't care if he is the director, our poor group leader, Dasa, has to make sure we are on time for our appointments and stuff and he always makes us late!  So we then walked to the Checkpoint Charlie exhibition/museum area.  This is the place where, during the Post War period, you would leave the American sector of Berlin and would go in to the Soviet section.  It was cool because they were selling all this Soviet/communist stuff like the big furry hats with the Communist symbol on it.  Several people bought hats with the Commie symbol on it.  After we looked around for about 30 minutes, we were done for the day and were able to either go off by ourselves or wait for the bus to come get us and take us back to the hotel.  Well we waited for 30 minutes for our driver, JAN, to get his self to where we were.  During this time several things happened.  1.)I got delicious Subway with ICE and it was the yummy crunchy ice, too! 2.) I was asked by some Bosnian woman if I spoke English or German and then she tried to hand me a card that all the "Bosnian" beggars have in English on one side and German on the other, all asking for money.  She had a gold tooth in her mouth.  I tell you what she should do to get money... refer to the tooth and think for yourself.  This way if I don't say it, it's not as mean. 3.) Got a wicked sunburn on my chest and a farmer's tan on my arms because, even though the wind is great, the sun is really hot!  And then the bus came.

I took a nap which I enjoyed except I kept having weird dreams and waking up to look at my watch.  It was strange.  Then me and my girls went to the Tiergarten to read stuff for class.  Some guy threw the ball for his dog by where we were sitting and the dog proceeded to take a giant crap next to us so we decided to leave.  Ate pizza (again!) for dinner and  on the way back to the hotel there was this outrageously long Police motorcade with all these important cars including a Mercedes limousine but I had no idea who it was so I asked the receptionist at the desk, apparently it was the new Russian president.  Who knows what he's doing here, maybe just visiting but he was here and I saw his cars!  Then I came back to my room and have just been hanging out and trying to get work done.  I went and made sure my buddy Ryan was ok because he didn't come with us today, so I thought he was sick like so many others on our trip.  Turns out he told one of the professors that he really just needed his own time so he went off by himself today.  I was like Must be nice buddy!  But he's really cool and he gave me some aloe for my chest and my arms.  It's bad enough that there is no air here but to be sunburnt and having no air... DAMN IT'S HOT!  Anyway, tomorrow we are going to the Wannsee Conference building outside of the city.  I'm hoping that I won't be bored out of my gourd but there is no guarantee.  Until next time...

Berlin Day 1

Today we started out very early... well 9:30 which is early for me, especially with what we had to do all day.  My poor roomie was sick though so I had to go get her some medicine and had like 15 minutes to eat breakfast.  She stayed at the hotel.  We went first to the Jewish Museum, which was by far the best museum that we had been to.  It was so awesome, we could actually touch things and there were so many fantastic things to see anyway.  Then we met up with our tour guide again and he showed us some cool things.  In particular, he showed us a factory where there was a man who hired many blind and sometimes deaf Jewish peoples who would have otherwise been taken to extermination camps and killed instantly.  It turns out he saved many people and he was able to go to the camps and get people out because he had influence.  We then went to the Pergamon Museum where they have several greek and middle eastern artifacts.  We saw the Gates of Babylon which were so beautiful and made out of blue tile.  Anywho, we are now watching the movie, The Lives of Others.  I am trying to hold down the curtains so that the light doesn't shine through into the room but it's very very windy.  We have to have the windows open because there is NO air conditioning .  Ah oh well.  We have a very full day tomorrow... again!  We are going to the German Resistance Museum, Checkpoint Charlie, and some other museum that I can't remember what it is because I'm so damn tired from today's events.  Until next time...

Ich bin ein Berliner!

So now we are in Berlin... finally a place where we have the internet, freely, in our hotel so that we can finally do our homework!  But on a sadder note... this kid that is the youngest one on the trip and who is socially awkward had some trouble last night.  He had been complaining that his back hurt, his tailbone area, but nobody believed him.  Then he was almost reduced to tears from the pain, had to go to the hospital last night, and had emergency surgery.  Apparently he had an ingrown hair that created a cist that was so deep that they had to put him under to cut it out.  And now, he has to fly back to the states tomorrow because he can't do anything.  Poor kid.  However, today we had a guided tour by an Aussie.  It was cool.  And we went to the Reichstag- the German Parliament building that was also the seat of the Nazis.  We were also teaching our Czech bus driver, Jan, who speaks Czech and German, how to speak the English through my German translations of words.  It was a good time.  But he has a hard time with the 'th' sound as many who are not native English speakers do.

Yesterday we went on a tour of the Volkswagen factory in Dresden.  It was very cool and we were able to do a driving simulator thing in the new car model they are producing.  It's called the Phaeton.  It's very nice.  They make 30 cars per day in this particular factory.  I had a lot of fun!

Anywho, tomorrow we are doing something... I think perhaps some sort of museum but I can't recall.  Oh well. Until next time...

Dreeeeeesden

It's so freaking hot in Dresden! And for all the creative, genius ideas that I have so readily credited the Germans for, they definitely don't get points in the area of air conditioning. NO ONE has air and it's damn hot! I'm sweating like some giant animal and there is no air in the hotel! What's worse is that they give you down comforters for blankets so then should you choose to use a blanket, you will sweat profusely! Good thing we are only here for 2 days. Surely there is air in Berlin. And there is no internets anywhere and we are in a Soviet era hotel. AH! The buildings have been beautifully rebuilt since the war! Until next time...