A unique experience…...with exceptional people….going to incredible places….
Europetrip´13
Welcome on board…..by Katrin Huenemoerder Public transportation in Berlin …….by Enrique Morales
Anne Frank Center …….by Lilly Castellanos
Snowball fights …….by José Carlos Gonzalez The church of the Lady ……...by Sebastian del Valle YUM …… by Alexana Cabrera Prague City Tour…...by Juan Pablo Gaitan The torture museum…..by Ibrahim Radi
Night trains …….by Nicola Gallio and Nicols Botia
Ghettos …….by Ana Lisa Cabrera
Karaoke Night …….by Andrea Martinez
Schindler´s List …….by Mathias Tenenbaum Auschwitz the Deathcamp …….by Isabella Mira
Berlin flea market …….by Mariano Flores Herta BSC—a soccer game at the Olympic Stadion …….by Marcos Vela Berlin Underground …….by Ibrahim Radi
Welcome on board >>>
Guatemala, March 26th 2013…...5 am
R
ight when I saw them coming towards
me at the entrance gate of the Aurora Airport of Guatemala, I knew there was trouble. Hadn´t I explained excessively over the past four months, how a travel backpack should look like? Hadn´t I given out lists of things to bring? So how did I find myself standing in front of a group of 40 teenagers, equipped with 37 over dimensional suitcases, wanting to travel to Europe? (I do not want to ignore the few who had actually come with a backpack by mentioning them here).
Dragging suitcases up the train For almost half a year I had waited and prepared for the moment to take off to Europe – for many of our participants, unknown territory – to take them with me on a journey through time – back to the years between 1933 and 1989. We went to those places where some of the most horrible and brutal crimes against humanity had been planned and executed. Berlin and Dresden in Germany, Prague in Czech Republic, and Krakow and Auschwitz in Poland were on our agenda.
But first steps first. Before starting our history lesson, we had to get there, so we boarded the airplane to Miami and then to Berlin. Most people tried to sleep on the plane, but it was clear that once we got to Berlin on Wednesday morning, it was going to be a tough day for everyone. The 8 hour time difference and the lack of sleep kicked in quickly. We made it, nevertheless to the hostel, not without learning important lessons about how to use public transportation with a group of 45, of whom the majority had never used public transportation before. And had I not mentioned the amounts of luggage that accompanied us before? There are several things you need to know
about Germans and its public transportation system. It's very organized, very efficient, but it doesn't wait for anyone and it's not very tolerant to tourists. So we started off by putting everyone into Berlin travel groups, and gave out the group tickets. That went well, and only two busses had left by the time we got done. But once we wanted to get on the bus, our whole group tried to fit through one door, which naturally caused several problems. My pleading to use all the doors of the bus was overheard, and so half the group got on the bus, and the other half stayed behind. We just took the next bus and rejoined the group at the city train station, so no harm done. It reminded me of the time when I was still living in Berlin, and I had to get to work, and then there would be those huge and clueless school student groups with their luggage blocking everything in the bus or the train. Oh, I hated them passionately, and I was reminded of that when we got out of the bus and the whole group just dropped their luggage onto the bicycle road and didn't move further, under loud protest of all bicycle drivers who wanted to pass.
Once I convinced them that moving now would be a good idea, we entered the city train station and I discovered another phenomenon. People went down the stairs to the track, dropped everything and took out 45 cameras to take pictures. Bad idea, because not only did we block the entire train station again, but we almost didn't get on the train, because the doors only open for a minute. I explained the concept of "spreading out" and actually managed to use two wagons this time. Well, my travel group of four used one wagon that was completely empty, and the rest of the group squeezed into a wagon that was already half full. By the time we used the Metrotram, the message had sunk in, and our group managed to do a perfect boarding without delays. We made it alright to our first hostel, “Die Etage,” and jumped right into our program. After brunch, and a short visit to the heated stores of Alexanderplatz – it was minus 6 Celsius – we entered the exhibition “The Story of Berlin”. My intentions of starting our Berlin program lightly – with a good overview of the amazing city of Berlin – were not so much appreciated, as everyone was just incredibly tired. It took quite a bit of explaining to our guide, why our participants would drop onto the floor and fall asleep, whenever he would stop before an item to explain something. We made it back safely to the hostel, just stopping for some “Bratwurst” at Alexanderplatz, and fell into a deep sleep.
The next three days were full of visits to museums, exhibitions and Berlin sites. The exhibition, “Diversity Destroyed,” explained the situation in Germany during the years of 1933 and 1939 and the reasons why Hitler was able to rise to power. The Jewish Museum of Berlin's architecture itself is telling the story of the odyssey of the Jews over the past millenniums, showed Jewish life and Jewish persecution during the first half of the 20th century in Europe. In the Anne Frank Center, we learned about the destiny of Anne, a teenager just the same age as our participants. The Holocaust Memorial, right next
ask the experts >>>
to the famous Brandenburg Gate, gave us some time to reflect on the information we got about this war that affected the whole world, and the Holocaust, which aimed for the extinction of Jews in the world. It was cold. It was in fact not just cold, it was freezing and snowing, and extremely untypical for what´s supposed to be spring in Berlin. But, it also gave plenty of opportunities for snowball fights. Berliners, who after six months of heavy winter, were quite annoyed and tired of the weather, gazed at us in total disbelief, when forty happy Guatemalan
when forty happy Guatemalan travelers had nothing better to do than jumping through the white, wet park, stuffing snowballs underneath each other´s shirts.
Packed with information and a taste of European life, we left Berlin to go south and get to know the beautiful imperial city of Dresden, home to kings, dukes and counts during the time of Barock and Renaissance. By Katrin Huenemoerder
set the stage >>>
Diversity Destroyed—Berlin between 1933 and 1938
Berlin is a nice city, with a lot of people, big buildings and many trains.
It also has a lot of diversity, culture and history. There are many interesting museums and exhibitions about different times in the history of Germany. On the second day of the trip, we went to an exhibition called "diversity destroyed.” The exhibition was quite modern, even though it was part of the German historic museum right next to the Berlin Dome. Our guide was German, but he decided to give us the tour in Spanish, which made it a bit boring because he spoke too slow (and he was trying to show off his Spanish – didn´t work). The exhibition though was very interesting for me. It showed Germany between 1933 and 1938, the years when Hitler rose to power, and everything built up to the 2nd World War. It gave us many interesting facts about Berlin, which in the early 1930s was the third largest city in the World, and had even more inhabitants than today. It was a vibrant place during the 1920s, with lots of music and culture. The term “The Golden 20s” was used for Berlin a lot. But with the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party, things changed. Jews were starting to be harassed, the freedom of press would be suppressed, and everyone who thought differently from what the Nazi Party thought had to fear being arrested. In only five years, the politics had driven many people out of the city, trade and business life was affected, the Nazis held Berlin in custody, and the entire Berlin municipality was “gleichgeschaltet” (Gleichschaltung is the German word that explains how the administration was forced to follow the Nazi line). Not only Jews were persecuted, also communists, or other “enemies of the state” had to fear being arrested. But the Jews were the group of people that were hit the hardest, the aggression against them resulted in the “Reichskristallnacht,” a huge pogrom against Jewish businesses, and Jewish people. Entire streets and shops were burned, and lots of glass shattered, which is why it is also called “The Night of Broken Glass.” The exhibition “Diversity destroyed” was part of a one year initiative that was displayed throughout Germany. The year 2013 is exactly 80 years after Hitler rose to power in 1933. Projects and initiatives demonstrated, througough many different activities, the history of the country, and how we can learn from it.
By Mariana Carroll
Berlin is the capital of Germany. It has almost 4 Million inhabitants and a quite unique history. As it has always been an industrial and cultural center in Europe, Berlin became capital of the 1st German Reich, which was founded in 1871. After Germany lost the 1st World War, Berlin became capital of the “Weimar Republic,” a short democratic adventure, which only lasted until 1933, when Hitler came to power and the Third Reich was founded. After WWII, Berlin was divided into four sectors. The Russian sector served as the capital for the German Democratic Republic. Germany was reunited in 1990, but only in 1998 did all governmental institutions finally move back to Berlin.
Public transportation in Berlin
Once we arrived to Berlin, it was really cold but really nice. To get to the hostel, we had to ride a bus to a train station so the train could take us to the hostel. When the bus arrived at the bus stop, we all wanted to get in, but everybody wanted to get in inside just one door. So we were going to take lots of time getting inside the bus, that´s when we went into different doors and we almost occupied the whole bus with all of our luggage… When we got to the train station, we where really tired and we had to pull all of the luggage down to the Underground station where there were no elevators… After we pulled everything down, we had to wait for the train to come. When the train arrived, we all got inside and we didn’t know at what stop to get down. So when it was time to get out, everybody screamed “aqui?” and then we got down off the train, and we had to pull all of the luggage again to another station so that the tram could take us to our hostel. ( I can still remember the station of our hostel it was Anton Platz). After we got to the hostel, we wanted to get to know some areas of Berlin, so we went to Alexanderplatz. After Alexanderplatz, we went to the exhibition “The Story of Berlin,” and when we where coming back we to the hostel by bus, the bus was very crowded and we almost didn’t fit. So we started laughing and all the people in the bus watching us were pretty annoyed. So we started to talking about some people in Spanish, but then some of the girls in the back talked back to us – in Spanish. We all had to laugh, because we didn´t expect that anyone would understand us, and later that night we actually got into a bit of trouble with the adults. They said that in an international city like Berlin, with millions of inhabitants, it´s not unlikely that people speak Spanish, so we should watch our mouths. To wrap it up, the transportation system in Berlin was great, but the luggage issue was the only thing that ruined it.
By Enrique Morales
Germany during WW II >>>
The Jewish Museum A bus ride through the city of Berlin led us to a strange looking
museum. The Museum seemed classical, but it was only the entrance. A small sticker was handed to every member of the group and then we were separated into 3 groups. The first group went through the museum first, the second one left after the first one, and the last one had a workshop. As we entered the museum, we saw that the passage to the real museum was underground. Entering the real museum was strange; the floor was slanted and was uneven, like dirt. The exhibition was different from any we had seen, because it showed the items that were important to the Jewish families, like a camera, or silverware. We walked through the steep flooring until we entered the staircase. We climbed it until the floor where our part of the museum began. The tour was about the history of the Jews before and during the war. The First World War had finished with Germany being on the losing side.
Still, the Generals from that war remained in the country, and some of them were Jewish. As we saw, the Jewish soldiers who died during the battles, who had their tombstones removed, and the ones who remained, were treated terribly, even though the National Socialist Party stated that the veterans were to be respected. During the war, Jewish children were separated from society. They were not allowed to play with the German kids or enter their schools. The Jewish schools lasted much longer, and had many different languages taught. This was because they were expected to migrate to another country. Once the tour was finished, we got a bit of free time. I went to the Jewish tower with a group of students. The tower was cold, tall and only a sliver of light was shown. This symbolized the hope that the Jews never lost. We left the Museum tired and with our feet hurting, but we still had a bit to go since the hostel was far away.
By Javier Rodriguez
Anne Frank Center
While we stayed in Berlin, Germany, we had the opportunity to ask
Q: A:
visit the Anne Frank Center. We learned in detail about her, as well as some of the experiences she went through. The insight gave us a chance to participate in interactive activities that involved learning her past, as well as the history of Germany during the period of the Second World War. With the help of a guide, we took a retrospective of her life before and after the war, which allowed us to comprehend her situation better, though not entirely, and engaged us in learning. As the experience went on, we had the opportunity to share our thoughts on what occurred, and share them with the rest of the group. The thinking we did allowed us to think deeply and actually give thought to the tragic event; naturally, we came to realize how fortunate we are. I believe that this place, along with others as well, made us open our eyes and cherish what we have.
By Lilly Castellanos
Snow. This was one of the key words for the travelers of the Europe Trip 2013. Every place we went to had some kind of snow in the streets, in the parks, everywhere! Many of our Europe travelers had never seen snow before, and had never been to places with such cold temperatures. This means that whenever we could, no matter the place and time, we were throwing snowballs at each other. Students to other students, students to teachers, and even teachers to other teachers. It did not matter, because what everyone wanted was simply to have fun! However, there were two major snowball fights that are more important than the others. Snowball Fight #1 - Berlin The first big snowball fight took place outside if the university cafeteria. While some students were eating and finishing their lunch, the students that were not hungry stayed outside waiting. From the window, we could see that these three students were having fun, and started throwing snowballs at each other. Once everyone finished their meal, they left the cafeteria building and joined the others. It started with three students, and it finished with all the travelers and even some teachers in a very exciting fight. After about half an hour of joy, multiple accidental hits to nearby pedestrians, and most of the Interamericano group covered with snow, we left the university grounds to continue with other activities . Snowball Fight #2 - Dresden Out of all the snowball fights, big and small, we had, the snowball fight in Dresden was the most important and the most amazing one. The fight starred with some students throwing snowballs at Mr. Corner. He then threw even bigger snowballs at the students, and when the other travelers saw what their friends were doing, they joined. One of the factors that contributed to the fight was the "battlefield." The park we were fighting in was empty, there were no other people we had to be careful not to hit, and it was covered with a type of snow it was easy to compress. The snow was soft, clean, and it was all over the park! The fight lasted for about half an hour, and even the unknown people that were watching from the distance were having fun. This was by far the best snowball fight of the trip, and I can tell Mr. Corner was the one who got hit the hardest, and the most.
By JosĂŠ Carlos Gonzalez
Dresden in Saxony >>>
Dresden – A Taste of Royalty Mi Lords and mi ladies, welcome to the beautiful and breathtaking city of Dresden. Just two hours south from Berlin, right on the river Elbe, lies this paradise for lovers of the fine arts and architecture. The old town of Dresden with its castles and churches was, for a long time, the cultural center of the Saxon Empire, and home to kings and queens. We begin our visit to Dresden with a traditional “Bratwurst and Sauerkraut”, just before entering the glamorous “Church of the Lady,” one of the main sites of Dresden, and even beyond the city boundaries, known as a symbol for peace. Count and Countess “von Bruehl” took us on a humorous journey through Dresden in the 18th Century, when August the Strong ruled as king. They wouldn´t rest before
all of us were familiar with the courtly manners and were quite considerate about the inhumane cold temperatures, and had some warm tea for us. We learned about the struggles of the “Wettin” Dukes and Saxon Kings, and about the history of Protestantism in Germany. Count and Countess really tried hard to do a good job, but it was just so incredibly cold, that everyone was glad to get the tour over with and hurry into one of the warm cafés around the new market. In the afternoon, everyone got ready for a special treat – the visit of the Semper Oper in Dresden. The opera is one of the most famous opera buildings in the world, and our group was able to get tickets for a ballet, interpreting the story of “Romeo and Juliet.”
All of us had expected a classical interpretation, and where surprised to see the minimalistic and modern stage setting, contrasting the golden ranks for the audience. The presentation though was quite spectacular and exciting, even though not everyone managed to stay awake during the performance. Back in our hostel “The Mondpalast”, which was located right in the middle of Dresden´s “new city,” with tons of bars and restaurants, almost everyone was busy finishing up their packing, as we had to catch our train to Prague early the next morning.
Church of the Lady—Symbol for Peace Die Frauenkirche or “Church of our Lady” is a church situated in the main square, or plaza, in Dresden, Germany. This church is considered by many to be a symbol of Protestant architecture, since its main purpose was to spread Lutheran ideas during the Saxony Empire back then in the 1700’s. The church was originally built on the outside of the city, until 1727 when the first Fraunkirche was destroyed and replaced by a bigger one, due to capacity requests, in Dresden’s main city plaza. The architect George Bahr, very famous back then in Dresden, was in charge of the construction. With Frederick August I’s funds, there was a vast probability of success. Bahr used the typical church styles, which was Baroque. Nevertheless he incorporated some of his architectural ideas to the building, by adding an altar, pulpit, and a baptismal font. All this things also revolutionized and captured the new style of the Protestant church. The most important thing about this church is not only its architectural beauty but also the fact that this church stands as an anti-war memorial. During the Second World War, Dresden was bombarded by the North Americans. After a serious of bomb drops in the city, the church couldn’t stand it anymore, and it collapsed on the 13th of February, 1945. It was not until the end of conflicts, that it was decided to re-build the church. With the help of the architect and engineer Eberhard Burger, the construction began in 1993. The original plans of Bahr were used, and with the help of technological aid, the construction of the church only lasted 7 years. If we observe the church closely, we see that some of the stones are covered with a darker color. This is because Burger decided to add the old stones from the old church, which appear darker because of fire damage, making this construction a memorial, an anti-war memorial that shall stand as a warning for the people. My Experience as a student The fact that I saw this amazing architectural structure with my friends and representing my school was amazing. My colleagues and I were able to see the interior of the church, which in my opinion is one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen on this trip. We were also allowed to go to the top of
the church, outside the cupola, which was great, since you could observe all of the city of Dresden.
By Sebastian del Valle
Ballet Romeo and Juliet "Dresden was full of surprises"
Musical Director: Paul Connelly Choreography: Stijn Celis Music: Sergej Prokofjew Set Design & Lighting Design: Jan Versweyveld Costume Design: Catherine Voeffray
Classical music playing soft and tenuous, filling your ears with peace and emotion. Golden statues and exquisite, antique, architectural rooms flood your eyes with beauty. All this praise to the arts takes place in Semperoper, the Opera House of Dresden. I had the opportunity to go to this wonderful place and appreciate one of the world's best known works, Romeo and Juliet. Many composers have been inspired by this tragic love story of a young couple who get caught up in the quarrels of two opposing families. It is perhaps the best known ballet version directed by Sergei Prokofiev. He works in Dresden to offer a fresh take on Romeo and Juliet, snapping the shackles of tradition to present a contemporary tale of youthful tragedy. The Ballet, having its own vocabulary, makes the story stand out. From what started as a book, suddenly became a play which leaves the audience amazed by the emotions and love that the actors put into their characters. That’s the magic of the theatre, feeling the story through the music and delicate movements. Estefania Hegel
Prague – the most beautiful city between heaven and earth How can you not fall in love with the magnificent squares of Prague, the clean and magical architecture, and its friendly inhabitants? Prague, undoubtly one of the most famous and beautiful European capitals, found its way straight into everyone´s hearts. Maybe it was also due to the fact that our visit to Prague was considered a bit of a holiday after seven quite intense days full of program, and our participants had more time to explore the city on their own. Almost everyone considered Prague their favorite place of the trip. Our guides Pawel and Jan did an incredible job showing us the most important sites of the city, starting at the old town square with the astronomical clock, walking to the famous Wenzel´s square, to the old Jewish Ghetto with its old synagogues and cemeteries, finishing at one of the most famous post card imagines from Prague – the Carl´s bridge. The free time was used very differently by our participants. Many found out that Prague was not only very gorgeous, but also quite a shopping paradise….. others rented bikes and toured around the city, others entered some museums on their own.
cathedral right on the top of the hill, and all the other little chapels and corners. It was a beautiful walk, because it was finally not as cold anymore, almost spring like. But that same night another adventure was awaiting us because we were about to take our first night train from Prague to Krakow. It was hard to say goodbye to Prague, and several people assured me they would not get on the plane back to Guatemala, but escape and return to Prague instead.
All together we visited the Prague castle in the afternoon, with its impressive
Meeting the people you already know again has been one of the best experiences in my life. Not only did Inter Students keep up with the pace that the chaperones expected us to keep up with, but they got a really special place in my heart. It’s not only getting to know new places, but also getting to know those people who you spend time with every day a bit more. Even though Berlin, Dresden, Prague, and Krakow are beautiful cities, and have been such fun, it would have never been the same without those people you do not ever want to lose. I believe there are two kinds of families; the one we are born with, and the one we choose as our life progresses, and Inter students throughout this trip have made part of that family one creates. I have gotten to know those who I saw every day but barely talked to and actually let them into my heart. They form part of those people whom I never want to lose in my life. Also, throughout this trip, I got the privilege to meet new people I barely or did not talk to at all, and they have eased themselves to be part of that family you choose.
By Rodrigo Castañeda
YUM!
Intensely Delicious German Food By: Alexana Cabrera
Bratwurst
When travelling, the food is one of the most important experiences you should have. From country to country, food changes vastly according to the culture and appeal, to different tastes and textures of a certain group of individuals. Germany has a very diverse population, which has brought on the invention of a new and interesting food unlike any other country. German traditional food, such as Schnitzel, Bratwurst and Kartoffelpuffer, not only shows us the German way of life, but it also gives background about the past.
Schnitzel
Grilled or pan fried sausage served with either mashed potatoes and sauerkraut or French fries. No other sausage can compete with the mouthwatering German Bratwurst.
Kartoffelpuffer
Thinly sliced chicken breast covered in flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs and later fried is normally served with French fries and a slice of lemon, which gives just the right touch.
Potato pancakes served either as a desert or a side dish. When served as a side dish, they are normally salty and topped with sour cream or cottage cheese. As a desert, they are normally sweet and served with applesauce and coated with powdered sugar. When dipped in the sauce, it makes a heavenly flavor which you´d wish would last forever.
There are places that touch your heart: places of pure beauty, full of history and full of destinies. We are in the beautiful city of Prague, rightfully named one of the most incredible cities in the world. We got here this morning, after spending some hectic moments trying to reach our tram in Dresden that would take us to the main station, where our train to Prague left. Moving with 45 people has become much easier. In the beginning we seemed like 45 individual atoms, floating around, constantly bouncing into each other. We've bonded now, became a large unit that works together. While at the beginning ,everyone was just looking towards the floor, not noticing anything around, now all heads are high up, aware of the amazing environment that surrounds us. ……. From […] Emails from Prague
Prague: City Tour
The magical city “Old Town Prague is a walking distance town layout for you”. (Katrin H.)
“Prague came to be my favorite city and I really want to come back or even live there.”(Anonymous)
¡One of the most Exciting and Beautiful cities of Central Europe!
After a memorable opera last night in Dresden, the group, next morning, travelled to Prague, Czech Republic on a two hours train. There was a sense of curiosity, excitement, and expectancy around Prague because a lot of people back in Guatemala shared that Prague was an unbelievable city, and surely it will be our favorite city of the whole trip. The arrival was around 12 o’clock and right after delivering our luggage into the hostel, lunch was taken in a preordered restaurant called “Lokái Dlouha”. The food was interesting. But, for the first time, water was not sparkling, and we could say “free.” Then we moved to the city tour, and Prague’s first impressions were beyond expectation. An aspect that we were grateful for was that it was not as cold as Berlin and Dresden, and the sun was melting almost all remains of snow. It seemed as a turning point of the trip in weather, however, in Krakow, we saw a kind of snowstorm again, but at least Prague was much friendlier. The city tour began in the Old Town Square and two previously known groups were separated, and guide talked about the Square being the center of Old Town Prague. According to him, it gained that privileged name during the 14th century when a New Town (not as new) was founded around the town that used to be fortified against foreign raids. The fortifi-
cation was demolished during the late 19th century to its current appearance. Both guides were very kind and extroverted. People from both groups actively participated in a familiar tone with the guides during the tour. The tour included a brief but complete overview of Prague’s history combined with the contemporary and enchanting attractions where they actually happened. First of all, Old Town Square was the best example of architectural mixture in Prague. It goes from a huge gothic church to a baroque church, and the oldest object in Prague, a unique Astronomical Clock with movable procession of the Twelve Apostles shown every The tour continued through the city with various explanations about each awesome attraction. One can just turn around and have something else to admire. So, one of the most remarkable stops was the musical theater in which Beethoven was first encouraged to perform, and it said it was enormous. Then we visited outside the Old Town, remarkable synagogues on our way to the Jewish quarter. But, before getting into the quarter, we reached a place in which the monument representing the end of the regime in Prague was visible. At the Jewish quarter and the most expensive street, there was a synagogue and our guide explained that it was built with parts of the Jerusalem Temple in anticipation of the messiah. Living conditions
within the Jewish community in Prague were precarious and segregation made the cemetery that lay on the quarter have several levels of tombs. However, the quarter now has been rebuilt and it one more beautiful place inside Prague containing an extensive collection of Judaic art because Nazis used Synagogues as storage places. The tour ended near the Charles Bridge, and the group went to the symbolic bridge after the tour, passing the Old Town Bridge Tower, part of old fortification system. It was a well covered tour through Old Town Prague.
By José Carlos Gonzalez
THE MORBID MUSEUM OF MEDIEVAL TORTURE IN PRAGUE
“First the victim’s teeth and jawbone would Doctors who was once fond of them. be crushed, and eventually, as the pressure The Noisemaker’s Fife was used for minor increased, his brain tissue would actually offenses like arguing, disturbing the peace isitors to the Museum of Medieval Tor- start to come out of his skull. and swearing. It was put around the neck ture Instruments in Prague can check out These days, tourists’ heads are not crushed. of the “criminal” for varying lengths of some of the most gruesome instruments of Instead they are wrapped in fake fur hats time with their fingers locked in a special pain devised by man. that the Czech Republic’s new entrepre- vice; it was also used to punish “bad musiIf you do not get your fill of torment there, neurs have stamped, ironically, with Soviet- cians” whose music offended nobles’ ears. the streets of the Czech Republic capital style hammer-and- sickle badges. The guy who was rubbing the rims of offer plenty of chances to experience a Many of the devices in the torture museum glasses full of water to make musical modern form of torture — gift shopping. are items of weird clothing designed to sounds on the Charles Bridge is lucky the In fact, many of the instruments of pain humiliate the victim. Such as: Noisemaker’s Fife is no longer used. found at the museum have some rather painful — or at least annoying — counter- The Iron Shoe: invented in Austria at the Medieval torture was often punishment for parts in souvenir shops. Some examples: end of the 17th century; was operated by a some religious indiscretion. For example, screw that could shorten the shoe accord- the Fork of the Heretic was a spiked metal The Iron Maiden: The pièce de résistance ing to the gravity of the crime. The culprit collar placed on people accused of heresy of the torture museum, this is a sarcopha- was obliged to walk along the streets of his and witchcraft. Prague’s gift shops offer a gus fitted with spikes designed to pierce town with a bell to let people know that a million ways to punish the unbeliever. the body but miss the vital organs of a public punishment was in progress, a sign Perhaps the most fiendish is a gaudy, gold, victim who has been shut inside. Operators at the museum says. religious figurine. wanted to make sure the person trapped inside went through long, agonizing suffer- The ridiculous painted clogs sold to un- A full description of the various torture ing. Its modern equivalent — the Russian witting fashion victims at certain gift shops devices collected in the museum would fill are the Iron Shoe’s descendants. a complete edition of a college lecture. Be nesting doll — can be viewed in all its thankful that such hands-on torture has grotesque manifestations in virtually every largely been eliminated from the Free gift shop in downtown Prague. They feaWorld’s justice systems. But for those of us ture increasingly smaller versions of the who find shopping the ultimate form of outside doll. Strangely, their creators have torture, the future looks dark. yet to devise an Iron Maiden nesting doll with metal spikes inside.
V
The Frocks of Penance on display at the torture museum are macabre robes once worn as punishment for small violations or by people condemned to death. The frocks were often adorned with demonic scenes or inscribed with the crimes committed. The modern parallel are gift-shop T-shirts with pictures of old buildings stamped on them. Another item of clothing torture victims were forced to wear was the Mask of Infamy — a bizarre headdress that sometimes resembled a pig’s head or a devil. The Head Crusher: Another nasty instrument on display at the torture museum. Perhaps its modern equivalent would be The victim’s chin was placed on a wooden one of the gift shops’ most popular items or iron support and the instrument’s cap — the clown like multicolored knitted hat with earflaps like the singer from the Spin was screwed down on his or her head.
By: Ibrahim Radi
Travelling with Luggage By José Fernando Lopez
Travelling with Luggage might seem a really easy task to accomplish, but this idea is completely wrong. The people that think this means they have never been to Europe carrying around their luggage. There are many reasons why traveling with luggage is not an easy task. For example, for some crazy reason, there are this really small rocks on every sidewalk and corner of Germany. These rocks get stuck in the wheels of the suitcase, unless a backpack is being used instead of a wheeled suitcase. This is one of the main factors of why moving around the country with luggage is a really bad idea. This trip had many participants, and the sidewalks weren’t made for more than for 5 people to go aside. This was also affected because there are people who walk slower and stay behind when walking. This means that if a large group trip is planned, it must be asked if they are able to walk fast. Going into the subway stations wasn’t a good idea either. As you may have noticed, subways are underground, and if it is underground, then for sure there are going to be stairs going down and up. This is not the end, when entering the train, the luggage occupies a lot of space, and other people try to leave the train at each station, so they will get mad, and for sure you will be getting an insult in a language, that unless you know it, you won’t understand a word. So travelling with luggage is definitely not easy if it has wheels because of rocks, stairs, walking, and people.
Night Trains By Nicola Gallio
The first time we slept on a train was when we went from Prague to Krakow. This train was a 10 hour trip. For most, it was the first time sleeping on a train. I really thought it was completely different. I never imagined that in a room of 3x3m six people could sleep. It was an adventure because the tactic we used for putting our luggage in never worked. When someone wanted to enter the room, they had to climb. These were just tiny problems. Getting off the train, that was a severe problem. You had to be really fast because the train just stops for 5 minutes. In this train everything went smoothly. When we went from Krakow to Berlin, that train was a disaster. Many people were exhausted, but you couldn't sleep because it was very uncomfortable. The rooms were much the same as the last train. We really had a bad experience with some people. I remember that 30m before the stop, they knocked on our doors. I was ready to leave, but 2 of my roommates weren't. I was already off the train, but after a few minutes, I noticed that they were missing. The only thing I remember from that morning was seeing those 2 people throwing their luggage, and themselves from the train door. The problem was that one of them lost his wallet and they were searching it all around the wagon. Our train adventure didn't stopped there, after the 12 hour trip, we had to take another 30m train and then a 2h trip to get finally to Berlin. When we finally arrived in Berlin, you might think the problems were over, but you are wrong. The tactic for this train was putting all our luggage together and then using 2-4 people to get them off the train. The problem was when we did this, we did not think that other people were not in our group left their suitcases with ours, so unfortunately, those suitcases went off with us. Those people probably did not ever see their suitcases again, but we did the right thing and we deposited them in the station office. Luckily we did not see a train again.
Night Trains Part II By Nicolas Botia
Since the first experience of traveling by train for more than 8 hours was difficult, the second opportunity of doing this, was easier for people to accommodate themselves and their particular luggage. This time, the rooms already had the beds stretched out, and it was better for everyone because they could sleep better with their entire luggage up, or on the floor. As always, there were people visiting their friends in their rooms talking and listening to music, all this was until 10 p.m. In my room, there were 6 people, 3 beds on one side and the other ones on the other. It had a window, and light. When it was time to sleep, it was really cold because we put our heads behind of the window (it was the right posture of the bed) and the air filtered in some part that many of the travelers felt cold and need to wear a coat during the night. We needed to bring our own food since in the train they didn’t sell food; many people ignored that suggestion and starved. When we finally arrived at the destination, we took another train for 3 hours to Berlin.
Andrea MartĂnez
Suhad Aranki
Roxana Montenegro
Marianna Carroll
Javier Asturias
Marco Llort
Brian Corner (Clan Leader)
Silvia Arbizu (Clan Leader)
Rodrigo CastaĂąeda
Christian Hernandez
Isabel Pazos
Enrique Morales
Ximena Martinez
Diego Rodriguez
Mathias Tenenbaum
Gabriel Rivera
Ana Lisa Cabrera
Luis Pedro Archila
JosĂŠ Fernando Lopez
Jeremy Robberson
Marcos Vela
Nicola Gallio
Dayan Zahran
Danna Canek
Kristin und Kelly
Nicole Najera
Ana Cristina Farfan
Kelly Perez (Clan Leader)
Alexana Cabrera
Isabella Mira
NicolĂĄs Botia
Enrique Salazar
Estefania Hegel
Ibrahim Radi
Lilly
Allan Secaida (Clan Leader)
Lilly Castellanos
Maria JosĂŠ Pazos
Juan Pablo Gaitán
Gustavo Ponce
José Carlos Gonzalez
Luis Carlos Perez
Sebastián del Valle
Mariano Flores
Javier Rodríguez
Gabriel Castellanos
Katrin Huenemoerder (Clan Leader)
Kristin Horn (Clan Leader)
Krakow—Poland´s Secret Capital Surviving a night train ride is quite an accomplishment. Far worse than the actual trip, was what awaited us when we finally crawled out of the train, miraculously managing to not lose any luggage. After Prague gave us the illusion that spring had finally arrived, Krakow greeted us with 30 centimeters of newly fallen snow. We fought our way through the winter weather, arriving at Pink Panther`s hostel, a pleasant hostel with a cozy living room, quite in the center of Krakow. We went to McDonalds for breakfast, due to the lack of other options at 6.30 am. People took a nap, and were not amused when our guides picked us up for a walking tour. Our guides were quite ambitious, and showed us around, passing the birth place of Karol Woityla (pope John Paul II), beautiful churches with stained glass windows, and the Jewish quarter. They were not amused with our tempo, as everyone moved snail-like through the snow, and with little capacity to pay attention. It was cold and wet, and we were sleep deprived, and the only reason why at least half of our group endured the torture was because of the beautiful tour
guide that everyone instantly fell in love with. The other half of the group was not as lucky, as our guide was rather average looking, so we convinced him to take a shortcut and release us. Our hostel was quite sympathetic, with a cozy kitchen, and a room to hang out, wooden panels and sort of spacey rooms – as far as that´s possible with 8 – 10 people sharing a room with bunk beds. In Krakow, we prepared for what was supposed to be the highlight of our trip, the visit to the concentration camp of Auschwitz. So far, we´ve learned a lot about the history of Europe before and during the war, we visited places that stand for a horrible history. But now, we were actually going into the World´s biggest graveyard, where more than 1 Million people found their end in a perfectly administered death machine. But Krakow´s history is more than just the history of Auschwitz. Krakow was also the home of Oscar Schindler, a Nazi who ended up saving more than 1.000 Jews in Krakow, even though his initial intentions were not at all altruistic. So we watched Spielberg´s movie “Schindler´s list,” and actually took a tour through Krakow on “Schindler´s steps.” We visited the places that were described in the movie, where the actual movie was shot. We visited the Jewish quarter of Krakow, and ended up visiting Schindler´s workshop. That was partly disappointing, because we expected to still see the actual machines that were visible in the movie. But since polish people have quite an ambivalent image of Oscar Schindler, which is by far not as heroic as Germans or Americans might see him, the workshop was turned into a museum about the history of the Krakow Jews. Our restaurant visits in Krakow were quite unique. The first day we had dinner in a quite a rustic place with extremely good food. The next day, we went to a restaurant called “Babuschka,” the polish word for Grandmother. Ordering practices were quite interesting, as you had to wait in a long line to order and pay for
your food, and wait for your number to be called in order to get it. The main attraction was a real “Babuschka,” who was supervising the bathrooms. She had such a beautiful, toothless smile, that Quike Morales instantly fell in love with her. Good memories were the legendary “Karaoke night” on the first evening, and a definite highlight was our visit to the ice skating rink on the next night. On the day we went to Auschwitz, the weather was chilly, but not too cold. The museum of Auschwitz, which used to be the work camp “Stammlager Auschwitz I” is visited by more than 1 Million people a year from all over the world. It is not permitted to enter on your own, you have to have a guide. Auschwitz provides extremely experienced and knowledgeable guides, most of them are historians. Both of our guides, who we followed around with earphones in order to understand everything, were absolutely outstanding, and managed to pause at the right moments, asking the right questions. What should you feel, when facing so much horror, so much death? A visit to Auschwitz is also a very personal experience, it´s practically impossible not to be touched. I´ve been to Auschwitz many times, taking youth groups to learn about history and make connections with the present. The reason I wanted to take our students to Europe was because I wanted to take them to Auschwitz. It became so much more in the end. But while we were inside the camp, I started doubting whether it was right to bring a group of young Guatemalans to this place. A place that has everything to do with my own history, but little with theirs. I was not sure if this was fair. When we as the team leaders planned the debrief of the visit that same night, I realized that I was wrong. That what happened in Auschwitz is the history of mankind, not just the history of the Germans and Polish. When we talked about the
visit to Auschwitz the next day with the students, I was surprised how mature, how honest, and how emotional the discussion went. The students made the connection to far more than I´ve hoped to achieve with this visit. Connections to their own history of Guatemala, connections to their own behavior, to values, and to what they wished the world would be. In the afternoon of that conference day, the different groups went out to shoot a little video as a reflection about the visit. It was then again time to say good-bye to Krakow, and take the night train back to Berlin, where everything started. By Katrin Huenemoerder
Karaoke Night Energy was starting to grow even more. All the boys and all the girls wanted to have more fun than they had been having because it was a Friday night in Krakow. Suddenly, we started to notice that the Pink Panther workers were putting some karaoke materials for the guest to enjoy. We, the Europe group, invaded the living room with emotion. There were chairs all over, and even people on the floor, the best thing was that all the teachers were busy with preparing the debriefing session for the next day, so we were free to roar. The karaoke started with a few songs, but suddenly Mathias was brave enough to grab the microphone and started making his own rap with a little bit of background music. All of the students started laughing; yelling and we were all having a good time. Mathias was making us remember small things that had happen to every students individually. Laughter could not be retain from our mouths every moment was so hilarious, and at that point every person in that room became more than just students, we became friends, even with people that in school we never talked to. Mathias was getting tired and that was when the Guatemalan music started to be heard. Regetton was the hit, most of the girls and the boys started dancing on top of the tables and chairs. Their dances were unique and then even one of the teachers went and had fun with us for a while. Until a guy from the pink panther went and shut everything down because it was elven thirty already, and we did not notice. Still, we kept talking in the living room until little by little, everyone started going to their rooms because everyone was very tired. The next morning, we kept laughing about all the jokes, comments and dances everyone had with each other. It was a great night in Krakow, with a lot of fun, and with great people . By Andrea Martinez
Ice skating in Krakow
The Schindler´s List Movie This movie is a devastating three hour drama; it shows how serious things were back then. Unlike the other movies about the Holocaust, this one has something special, even though it is horrible to watch, you just can´t take your eyes of the movie, even more knowing it is based on written facts, and oral history from the survivors. Nazi commanders compare Jews to rats, children are killed, and there are scenes of shocking, graphic violence. The movie is very realistic, being in black and white, it makes you feel like if you are part of the movie. It is very detailed for the people who haven´t seen the movie, it is a total shock. After watching the movie, you´re still waiting to realize the seriousness of what you just saw, believe me you do realize it. Of course, everyone knows that there were good Nazis back then, but when you are shown the similarities and differences of two individuals, in the same political party, with different opinions, you´re even more astonished; even more when they show it with such detail. If you are interested, I highly recommend this movie, because of its purpose and meaning.
Schindler´s list Discussion After doing a lot of activities, in this case, watching the movie, random people were selected to be together and talk, discuss, express their feelings, etc. Also, some questions were asked for a better understanding of the movie. Everyone in the room took this conversation very seriously. Some jokes were made of course, but always with a good intention. The conversation was very mature, and it is for sure one of the few discussions I can say I had no doubts about anything, and I had a great time. One question we had that really surprised me, not because of the question, but because of the answers my classmates made was, “What does the girl with the red coat symbolize?” Everyone was very detailed, and no one had the same answer. Some of the things they mentioned were HOPE, FORGIVENESS, SELF CONTIOUSNESS, etc. In conclusion, everybody had a good time from my perspective, and we really learned to appreciate what we have, because the people in the Holocaust, that could´ve been us. By Mathias Tenenbaum
Ghettos
Auschwitz-Birkenau
By Ana Lisa Cabrera
By Isabella Mira
The word “ghetto” has been described in many ways. Mainly, it is used to describe an area where there is low-income and deals with drugs, crime, terrible poverty, etc. More and more members of a minority group, mainly Jewish, were restricted to live in a small area, because of social, legal or economic pressure. Around the ghetto, walls were built and were used to “protect the community” surrounding it. Typically, the walls were about 10 feet high, and were topped with barbed wire. Inside, the streets were narrow and crowded with tall houses. Most ghettos didn’t last long. In the year 1942, in Germany, the ghettos were destroyed, and the Nazis decided to deport the Jews to concentration camps where they were assassinated or forced to work. One of the most well-known memorials is the Empty Chair Memorial (below). There are a total of 70 chairs (33 larger chairs which measure about 1.4 meters high and 37 smaller chairs, 1.2 meters high) placed on the block where a Jewish Ghetto used to stand. This memorial represents a group of children who were walking to the ghetto resettlement, each carrying a single chair attempting to move their schoolroom into the ghetto. Today it stands in Krakow, Poland, in Plac Bohaterów Getta.
Main gate, where the train entered. The train that contained the people who were going to be killed after they get off. They thought they would be taking a "shower," when actually, they were going towards their death. They killed elderly people, and children under the
The memorial inside Auschwitz-Birkenau. Contained plates
The entreance to the Krakow Ghetto. Chairs symbolize all the things that Jews took with them when they were forced to leave their homes. They were promised to be resettled in a new country, so they took all their valuables, but also useful things such as chairs. For most of them, the journey ended in one of the death camps.
The bathroom the prisoners used. Inside, there is room for 4,000 people. Imagine going to the bathroom with 4,000 people starring at you, and how it used to smell.
It was very difficult to be in the largest cementary in the world. To be standing in a place were people were tortured, mistreated and killed and a horrible way. It is a expierence that changes you, it makes you feel lucky, because comparing yourself with the people who suffered in the camp, you have everything, a nice place to sleep and food. It also makes you feel sad, it is not the same only to hear the stories, you actually feel it when you are at the exact place where all this tragedy happened. Isabella Mira This was the entrance of the concentration camp. The phrase is translated to “Work will set you free.�
Crematorium in Auschwitz. More then 1 Million people found death in the gas chambers . The bodies were burnt here.
The excecution wall
The commander in chief of Auschwitz, Rudolf Hoess, was excecuted here by ex-prisoners of Auschwitz
Auschwitz I today is an exhibition. Here behind glass you can see thousands of shoes from victims. Another exhibition case shows tons of hair. Hair from Auschwitz prisoners was used to make clothes.
The first baracks in Auschwitz were made from Stone. The ones in Birkenau were made out of Wood, because so many people arrived daily.
One of the old gas chambers. Many of the facilities in Auschwitz were destroyed by ex-prisoners after they were liberated.
Visit to Auschwitz— Debriefing
Berlin Part II Spring finally made it and greeted us at our train stop “Gesundbrunnen” in the north of Berlin. After some adventurous night-train trip, and a quite uncomfortable ride with a German regional train (even though we broke a record— changing from one train to another on different tracks with 46 people and 75 suitcases in only five minutes) and some more bus and tram rides, we arrived to our last station of the trip. The “Jugendgaestehaus Nordufer” looked really nice, and we had the entire building for ourselves. The hostel was right next to a canal with a small boat rental. While at the beginning of the trip everyone was still uncertain where to go or how freely to move, there was no issue with that This Europe trip 2013 was not only for the students who travanymore towards the end. In the beginning, we were asked for elled with us an extraordinary experience, it was just as rewardpermission for everything—Can we go to the store? Can we ing and exciting for us as adults to have been on this adventure. look at this? At the end, we were hardly even informed where people would be going. To see this evolution in the group was the most rewarding experience of the trip. Our second stay in Berlin was dedicated to the time after World War II. Berlin was divided into four sectors, with three sectors forming the isolated “West Berlin,” which was part of the capitalistic Western Germany, still located in the East of the country. The fourth, the Russian sector, was East Berlin, and the capital of the socialist “German Democratic Republic.” Where the world was divided by the Cold War, Berlin was the center of it. The Berlin Wall became the most important symbol of the confrontation between two ideologies. Thanks to the group for being so amazing! Besides our insights into contemporary history, we also spent Katrin Huenemoerder, Brian Corner, Allan Secaida quite some time in the present. A soccer game of the local club Kelly Perez, Silvia Arbizu, Kristin Horn “Herta BSC” in the Berlin Olympic Stadium with 63.000 people was not just for Allan a highlight of the trip. In the Fleamarket “Mauerpark,” everyone completed their souvenir collection, where the Berlin Zoo had great things to show us, and we even visited the Gerrman Parliament, today situated in the old Berlin Reichstag. We left Berlin after almost three very intense and exciting weeks. As educators, we hoped to provide some real insight into history, to make history come alive. But we know that the content we covered was by far not all of it, maybe not even the most important part of such a project. The experience of travelling with friends, in a country you don´t speak the language of, with no parents to take care of your luggage, your money, your irty clothes, those are the things that make you grow.
The Mauerpark— Berliner Flea market When we first got to the flea market in Berlin, I honestly thought that it would be boring. I thought that there was only going to be souvenir shops and other "tourist-friendly" shops. I can gladly say that that was not the case. The flea market is so much more than that. It is a place where you can browse old items, chill in the park, eat some good food and listen to music. The first thing that you see when you enter the market are all the antique and craft shops. Just a few steps in, and you see incredible, old objects that you have never seen before in your life. They have a variety of old stuff and crafts, in these shops, and the best thing is that you are free to browse these rare and beautiful items. The shops vary from selling really old cameras and lenses, to hand- made ocarinas, and even old records. If I had the money and space, I would have bought tons of stuff from the market. Who wouldn´t want to have an old Pink Floyd record, or a 1970´s film camera. I know I would. Even if you don´t like these antiques and crafts, there are many t-shirts and souvenir shops. These souvenir shops are far more interesting than the ones that you would normally see in a mall. These ones have prettier and more amusing items, that I´m sure tourists would enjoy more. Even if you don´t buy anything at the flea market, you will have a fun time exploring the whole market to find cool stuff at every corner. Another nice thing about the flea market, is that it has a very big park. Just beside the market, there is a big park where people can go, have a nice walk, and just relax. It was indeed, a huge park. It was crowded, but it was big enough for people to have a lot of space for themselves. When we went, my friends and I found a local funk band playing at the park. We sat on some benches and enjoyed the awesome music. In my opinion, they were great, so I bought their album. We sat there through the whole set, enjoying the music and the environment around us. After the set was over, we went to a basketball court inside the park, and we watched some guys play ball. It was nice to be in a place where you could have fun and relax at the same time. This article can´t be over without mentioning the delicious food in the market. This food was very cheap and was sold at little carts, but I can say that this was one of the most delicious meals in the whole trip. I tried salad crepes that some girls were selling at a cart, and they were exquisite, possibly the best ones that I´ve ever had. This proves that you don´t need an expensive restaurant to eat like a king. The Flea market was an excellent place to pass time and have a good time with friends. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to have a relaxing time in Berlin.
By Mariano Flores
The Berliner Unterwelten the Berlin Wall was built on August 13, 1961, it divided The organization Berliner Unterwelten explores the under- When the city as well as the transportation system, but two subway (U worlds of the German capital; dedicated to the documentation and preservation of Berlin’s subterranean architecture, they take visitors on tours to the hidden worlds below Berlin streets, from World War II bunkers, and air-raid shelters, to forgotten subway lines, and ghost train stations. I took part in the tour “Breaching the Berlin Wall – Subterranean Escapes from East to West Berlin.” During the Cold War, when the country was divided into East and West Germany, people from the East were banned from going to the West; but the regime did not anticipate the creative ways people used to get past the Berlin Wall. This walking tour tells you how people literally went underground to flee the East through secret passages. Our Spanish tour guide Paula descended with us deep down into a labyrinth-like World War II bunker, where we delved into the history of the subterranean tunnels. Paula started with a brief, but thorough historical overview of the divided city after World War II; in the West Berlin civil defense shelters, they were reactivated, or newly built in preparation for a possible nuclear war. This brought almost everybody in our tour group on the same page. Our guide told us how people tried to use underground train tracks to flee the East; over our heads, the Berlin subways were rumbling and through slits in the wall, we could see the tracks – an appropriate and eerie backdrop to the gripping stories from the past. After that, we learned how people escaped through sewer canals. Maps and photos illustrated Paula’s lively stories about the successful and unsuccessful escape attempts and the sneaky ways the East German government tried to block the sewers.
-Bahn) lines and one commuter rail (S-Bahn) line with departure and destination stations in West Berlin continued to run through the eastern sector. The trains would slow down, but they did not stop at these deserted stations in East Berlin. Blocked off and patrolled by GDR armed guards, they became known as “ghost stations.” The Friedrichstrasse station with its border checkpoint was the only exception. In East Berlin, the stations along the western lines disappeared almost completely from view, thus the subway and S-Bahn signs were dismantled; entrances were walled up. Over the years, an underground system of barricades was erected, but people still tried to flee through the train tunnels. Only a few succeeded. After the Wall fell, the underground obstacles were removed and the transportation systems were merged again. The last part of the 2-hour tour was dedicated to home made tunnels that people dug underneath the Berlin Wall - some so narrow that you had to crawl on your knees, others tall enough to walk upright. There were 70 escape tunnels in Berlin and around 300 people managed to dig their way to freedom. Don’t expect to see or access these tunnels - they collapsed, got flooded, or destroyed by the East German government. But the dramatic tales of liberation, hope, and betrayal of the tunnel diggers and the fugitives revive the past; maps, photos, newspaper clips, and models help visualize the topic. The end of the tour takes place above ground; a short subway ride brings you to Bernauer Strasse, where you could see the spots where the secret tunnels were dug.
By: Ibrahim Radi
The East Side Gallery It was a day everyone was looking forward to, as everyone wanted to see the Wall of Berlin, and the incredible street art that was allowed after the wall came down to just old memories from the past, the effect that was shown because of World War II. Although it was farther than what everyone was expecting, the sensation of seeing the wall, finally, we could see the wall from the other side of the road, but we never expected something as big as the Wall during the occupation of the Russians in Berlin. It was incredible to see with our own eyes, the wall as it was seen by the Germans. It was not a monument, but it felt like it as nobody was making fun of it during the time we spent on the wall. However, there was something else about the wall we did not know, and that was that it was a mile long of the wall left, made by the Germans. Everyone was surprised to hear how long the East Side Gallery was, and that we had 45 minutes of freedom to see the wall, without someone telling us about the
By Gabriel Castellanos
wall was really a relief to hear as everyone wanted to see the wall by themselves, and take their time, and taking pictures. The street art was phenomenal and everyone could see how amazed we were by seeing the Berlin Wall with all the art painted on it after it came down. Although there was one thing that most of us will agree about, and it is how different it was, not in their original state, and some other street artists were expressing themselves in the art on the wall. It didn’t look as bad, but we were hoping to see what was created after the 1980’s. It is hard to get what you want, but it was better than seeing another museum rather than walking through East Side Gallery on our own, and experiencing thoughts and emotions towards the wall. Lucky for us, visiting East Side Gallery was last activity of the day, and everyone was tired, how convenient. But we all had fun, and the new bond we created during our wonderful trip will never break no matter what we do.
Travelling sickness By Gustavo Ponce When we all got into this trip, we certainly expected a variety of challenges. Walking from place to place each day, and catching buses and trains was not meant to be an easy task. What we definitely didn't see coming was the possible sicknesses we could develop overnight. Obviously, after we were already sick, we realized that given our poor relationship with the climate, all of us sleeping in the same places for 17 days, and constantly sharing food, drinks and other things, we were a pretty easy catch for any bacteria or virus at the time. At first, it seemed as if it would have only been a coincidence that many of us would be coughing non-stop, but after the fever brought down a few,
having a rough time keeping our body healthy under such cold climates, a virus was simply too much. Although most of us could hold it for the majority of the trip, by the last four days, you could pass through the hallways and hear a cough or a sneeze coming out of every room. A perfect example of a person who, after ignoring the cold and hygienic situation through the whole trip and finally succumbed to the inevitable illness, was Marco. After attending the opera practically shirtless, and avoiding taking medicine after everybody in the room told him to, he had to walk through the whole Reichstag building feeling as if he was one of the walking dead. But after two days of
and some would mysteriously disappear constantly to go to the bathroom, it was for sure more than just a few coughs. There were many denominators that produced the multiple sicknesses that we all came down with. The first one was the very long flights. The first day after we arrived, Mariano woke up terribly sick and, as most of the group did, automatically took antibiotics. Although his illness didn't last any longer than 2 days, it was a definitely foreshadowing as what was about to come. Another factor that aided the spread of this illnesses were the night trains. Not only were we all constantly sharing bedrooms, but now we had to share one of the size of a bathroom with another 5 people. This situation was extremely uncomfortable in many ways. The beds were either too hard, full of dust, or so soft, you were partially hanging. The position were you slept had to be thought through before actually sleeping, because you could either sleep next to the window with a high probability of waking up sick, or with a very sore throat, or you could sleep on the other side facing the door, where most people did, and expect a very sweaty night. Anyway, given the extremely small places where all of us had to be, viruses was easily spread, and the fact that our immune systems was already
coughing, pills, and antibiotics, good old Marco was back. I think all of us have gone through sneezing every once in a while during the trip, but gladly, all of us were having such a good time, we never even felt the magnitude of our illnesses. In the end, I don't believe there was anyone on the group who wouldn't go back and face the same situation, just for the joy of being back on such wonderful trip.
BREAKING NEWS HERTHA DEFEATS BRAUNSCHWEIG 3:0
3
0 After many days of seeing museums, visiting Historical places, and doing city trips, we went to see a soccer game in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. The entire group went to watch the match. The environment in the stadium was awesome, everybody was singing and screaming at the other team. This was a really nice experience that I think every sin-
What a big day for both of the teams, both were looking to ascend to the first league of Germany. The league table positions were like this: Hertha was first, and Braunschweig was second, only one point behind Hertha. We were inside the stadium, lineups were announced, players were warming up, the first half began. After 34 minutes of the first half, Ronny shot a free kick with his left foot, he shot towards the center of the goal, the goalkeeper couldn’t handle the pressure and it was a GOAL!!! Ronny made an awesome goal to take the lead with HERTHA 1-0 BRAUNSHWEIG. End of the first half. SECOND HALF BEGINS. 10 minutes have passed from the second half, deep pass to Adrian Ramos, right footed from the right side of the box to the center of the goal; he shot and he scores a GOAL!!! HERTHA 2-O BRAUNSHWEIG. 76 minutes have passed; a foul committed by Ermin Bicakic (BRAUNSHWEIG). Ronny takes the free kick, he hits the center of the goal, the goalkeeper couldn’t do anything, Ronny scores again, this is the second goal for him in this game. HERTHA 3-0 BRAUNSHWEIG. When the match ended HERTHA won 3-0 to poor BRAUNSCHWEIG. Not to mention that Hertha has fourty new Guatemalan fans now!!! By Marcos Vela
The German Parliament in the Reichstag By Luis Pedro Archila On our second visit to Berlin, we had the opportunity to visit the German Parliament. This was one of the groups´ favorite visits because of the beauty of the building, and the importance to Germany´s history. When the group got into the building, it was surprising to see how tight security was. We had to put all belongings in a tray to be scanned. We also had to show our passports. Then we were allowed inside. The group separated into two smaller groups, and the tour started. Our tour guide showed us through the old Reichstag´s building and explained all about its history, including the fire of the Reichstag. We went through the catacombs and did it all.
The way up into the glass dome was a very special part of the Reichstag, but was only built at the end of the 90s. From the Dome, you can look all the way down into the general assembly of the German parliament. After the tour finished, we had the privilege to talk to one woman that worked in the German Parliament. She explained to us what parliament work looks like in Germany, and how the parliament functions. We also compared the government to our own government, and had some interesting conversations about development work in Guatemala. After our visit to the parliament, we took some time to walk around the government district, which is nicely laid out next to Berlin´s River Spree.
The Berlin Zoo By Luis Carlos Perez This zoo is located in Berlin’s Tiergarten, and has almost 1,500 different species, and around 19,500 animals. That day, each one of us decided where to go, to the zoo, or to the mall. So, it was approximately half of the group at the zoo, and half at the mall. It was really cool to see a lot of different species of animals that Guatemala does not have. One of the coolest animals was the polar bear; it was very funny, because he was doing a moonwalk on a rock. There are also lions, kangaroo, giraffes, penguins, elephants, monkeys, and many others. It is considered to be the most visited zoo in Europe, and one of the most popular world-
wide. Visitors can either enter the zoo through the exotically designed Elephant Gate beside the aquarium on Budapester Straße, or through the Lion Gate on Hardenbergplatz. It is a really long a long route, and even though you stay two or three hours, it is not enough to see all the animals. At the very end, there was a kind of playground and there was this circle that moved around, and you have to jump to get on the circle while it was moving, but the hard things was to keep inside the circle, because it was inclined so you easily came off, flying away onto the ground. It was very funny.
The Farewell Party By Isabel Pazos
The last day of the trip had come, and we were planning to do something great for the last night, so we got the idea of a farewell party. Each group: red, green, purple, black, and blue had to bring something for the party like food, drinks, plates, etc. My group was the purple ones, so we had to bring drinks for the party, we all walked to the Alexa mall to get our things for the party. When we went back to the hostel with all our things for the party, we brought it all up and set it up at a table. At 7 or 8 at night, the party started, everybody started to dig in the table looking for chips, drinks and sour candy to eat, it was a mess. The people that had good music in their phones, started to play the music in a corner of the room, mostly the music was electronic or raggaeton. While we were eating, we had time to laugh about our adventures on the trip, like getting lost, how much time did they have with their feet frozen, trying to not fell asleep in the tours, and how many times did they got hit by one big snow ball. When everybody finished eating, Katrin started to say some words to the group, and so did all the chaperones and students. Some from the group said that it was a great experience and that it was a great trip and we all thanked Katrin for the great trip and effort that she put into this, even though it wasn’t easy. That time of sharing, laughing, and being all friends among us was the most unique and best time of the trip, because we all came to separate all our differences, and became just friends among the chaperones and students that had never even talked before at school. I loved seeing the chaperones being friendly and fun among us, the students, because in school, you just see them walking doing their job, but while on the trip, you could see them being themselves without the pressure of working all the time, and care about us when we walked by. This time was the moment of truth, this was the time when we proved that we did know other people, and talked to other people, and became friends with people that didn’t even know us at all. The party was a success and fun to do. Although there were some fun comments, there were also sentimental comments that made others cry. True, it was sad to leave such a great trip with such great company, but it was happy at the same time because we now have another great memory to remember, and to talk about when we are back in Guatemala.
Freedom By Maria José Pazos Freedom does not give license to do whatever you want, but the knowledge to choose what is right from what is wrong. Freedom, be it from humans, prevalent customs, ways of life or society, is a word that symbolizes man’s nature, and our own individualism. Freedom, the ultimate goal for thousands of centuries, the idea that consumed the minds of people throughout out the generations, faceless people, and their illustrious leaders. It is a word that has been expressed, explained, and expounded differently by many people around the world. Some disagree with each other, and some may have gone farther away from the limits of ethics. Nazi Germany for example, they had a very different meaning of freedom from the rest of the world. For them, freedom was eliminating people that they did not see fit, people that opposed them, people that were different. They will free themselves when they eliminate the problems of this world. This idea of freedom collided with the rest of the world, and created the Second World War. Battles for freedom everywhere are the beginning of revolutions and civilization. They are being fought all the time, albeit on different scales, in our house with our parents, in the political conflicts in Africa, with human rights violations, society, and even our own minds. With all these struggles or revolutions, the definition of freedom is usually different. This is because freedom has been proven to be a mental characteristic, a mental phase, not the same for different people. But, all these definitions have to go through the test of society, and the scrutiny of our morals. So, there are fights for freedom which have united people, and on the other side, there are those fights that have triggered our most basic and ancient instinct, anger, and hate, creating more violence. Thus, freedom does not mean license, but the wisdom to choose what is right from what is wrong. As a President of South Africa once said, “To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” True freedom is to respect each other, to live in harmony.
How do we Move on?
I want them to realize, that the things that have happened in the past are not the past. They are still changing and affecting our present in ways that we are comFor me, this was one of the most amazing pletely unaware of. So many times in class, I have heard that we learn about experiences of my life, and quite possibly, genocide and atrocities so that they never happen again. But they do, and they the most validating experience of my educa- have. The Armenian genocide, the Rwanda massacre; even the slightest amount tional career. I have spent three years of uni- of discrimination against any group of people can lead to something similar to versity studying Germany, but never visiting this; hate only breeds more hate. Thus, it is impossible to be free, while there are it. I have friends that speak German and still those that suffer injustice. Czech, and neighbours that speak Polish. In So how do we move on? How do we continue with our lives, knowing fact, a month after I returned, my mother told me that our neighbour would be going that people suffered and died at the hands of other people? The answer is not to push it to the dark recesses of our minds, pretending that it didn’t happen, that to Poland, her birthplace, on a trip, and asked for my recommendations on things to it didn’t impact us. It is our duty as citizens of the world to take what we learned, and apply it to every day life, and encourage others to do the same. Yes see. But how could I recommend things to see in Poland, or anywhere that we went as a this effects us, and yes it hurts, but denying ourselves the privilege of saying what millions of others wanted to, but died before they were able to, is unspeakgroup? The things that I saw, and experienced changed me in the most drastic way. ably irresponsible. There is so much beauty in this world, and so much good that people can give, and as we learned, there is hope even in the most desperate How could I communicate those things to of times. No one becomes poorer by extending a helping hand, or speaking for anyone who did not join us on this adventure? I asked myself that question for quite others. For as a beautiful young Jewish girl once said: some time after I came back, and I realized “Think of all the beauty still left around you, and be happy.” that everything that we saw, and everything ~Corner that we learned simply could not be communicated. What we saw together, what we learned together, was so unique, and so inspiring as a teacher, that I cannot begin to write the words; a first. I know that some things that happened were bad, and that some of the things that happened were fantastic, but on the whole, this was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I didn’t know what to expect coming into this. I had no idea what I would really feel, having learned about all of the things that happened during the Nazi Party’s rule over Germany. How would I be able to control my feelings that I might have, while still being able to be a Chaperone on my first international school trip? When I was still in my Teacher Education Program, I was once asked: “How can you sleep at night, knowing what you do?” This trip made it all real to me. I knew what I would see, I knew what I expected to feel, and I knew what I thought I would feel. But I felt much more than that. I lost it at Auschwitz– Birkenau, when I saw what was written on the stone slates: “Let this place be forever a cry of despair, and a warning to humanity.” This is what I want them to be aware of, and this is what I want them learn from this trip; beyond independence, and beyond cooperation.
Impressum: Editor in chief: Katrin Huenemoerder
Project organization : Katrin Huenemoerder, Brian Corner, Kristin Horn
Articles: individually named authors
Project support: Allan Secaida, Kelly Perez, Silvia ArbizĂş