The Beginning of the End- Week 6

Something strange happened during my weeks in Germany. When we were away, and I was tired, and traveling, I would say "I just need to get back home." But I didn't mean Texas, I meant Bonn. At some point, Bonn had become my temporary home. I knew the train I took every day, I knew the walk through the town square, I knew where to eat lunch, I knew where to get good gelato, I knew where to get quick and cheap pastries, and I had reached a level of contentment with my host home. It's weird little things that make a home. I knew where the silverware was, I knew the perfect position of the shower knob for the perfect temperature of water, I knew how long it would take for my clothes to dry on the line. The cat recognized me, and would always follow me into my room. My host mom would always cut up watermelon for me after dinner because she knew I liked it. I had to force myself to slow down and appreciate it. When I took my last train ride into Bonn, to walk to the AIB. It was hot, there were so many people, the train was late...but I was so used to it. My last train ride home, my last time walking back from the train station, my last dinner with my host family. My last time using the key, and then sliding it back through the mail slot to return. That was a hard moment. Though I wasn't yet leaving Germany, and though I was quite ready at that point honestly to be heading home, it was hard to say goodbye to Bonn. It was the beginning of the end.

Berlin was an interesting experience for me. It was a big city....like a really big city. Loud, noisy, smelly, and probably the most American like European city I had seen. Yet, it was also the home of so, SO much history. So despite, my general dislike of large cities, I had to appreciate just how far the city has come. My overall experience in Berlin wasn't a fun one...and it wasn't supposed to be. Allow me to explain....because that sounds a little counter intuitive. Our first day in Berlin, we did the My Berlin program. All the other programs generally did a lot of activities through out Berlin, their tour guides were beekeepers, yogis etc. We had a very different kind of program. Our tour guide was a Syrian refugee. I wish I was somehow able to copy and past the entire powerpoint we made about what he talked about, because it was the only way I could truly do justice to everything he told us. Like I said, our day in Berlin wasn't fun....and it wasn't supposed to be. He spent the day explaining the crisis that is going on in Syria at the moment, and why there were so many refugees from that country at the moment. He compared it heavily to what was occurring in East Berlin during the time of the Berlin Wall. And you know.....I like to think I am an educated, well-informed American. But I knew very, very little, about Syria. Everything I heard, was pretty much new information to me. And it was horrifying. I was in shock for hours. I think it was a heavy day for everyone because....we just didn't know what to say. What do you say to someone who had to be smuggled into a country twice? Especially coming from someone, from a country with such an....interesting stance....on refugees at the moment. I wish every American had been on that tour. I wish everyone understood what it's like to be a refugee. It was an emotionally challenging day, but I am thankful to have heard his story, and to now be able to share what I learned with my family and friends. 

Our next day we visited an amazing medical museum, but the most prominent part of that day for me was our visit to Sachsenhausen. I had visited Dachou, with my dad, a few weeks prior. But you don't get used to visiting places like that. You shouldn't. When we reach a point, as a society, where we are all completely desensitized to the past suffering of others, I think we will have completely failed. To stand where they stood. To see what they saw every day. To try to imagine just how.....terrified they must have been. Just so absolutely terrified. It's really just indescribable.  It's not easy going to places like that. But we have to go. We have to make sure they are remembered. More and more every day I fear that we are so easily capable of returning to a path similar to that, and we have to make sure we are aware. 

For me, my visit to Berlin wasn't fun. It wasn't meant to be. It was an educational reminder to the pain in this world. I left with such a heavy feeling in my heart. It was an unusual note to leave Germany on. I left feeling...appreciative? determined? humbled? somber? There isn't really just one word for it I guess. 

I think the most important thing I took away from Germany, from Berlin, was that we are not so different from one another. We all love, and laugh, and feel pain the same. Traveling somewhere new, talking to someone with a different life as yours, is so crucial. We cannot live life in a bubble. We cannot simply ignore others. I am so grateful I got to immerse myself in Germany. It has truly changed my life. 

(I apologize for the lack of pictures with this post)