Auschwitz: A Sobering Experience

An Auschwitz survivor - before my trip it was something completely different than it is now. Before when I heard that someone survived Auschwitz - I didn't really understand what that meant - because there are really few words to describe what an unbelievable feet that was.

When you tell someone that you are going to Poland - they say - cool what are you going to do there - then when you tell them you are going to visit Auschwitz - they usually don't say much - but oh. But I just felt that it was something I needed to see. I am not the generation of World War II - but I think that war shaped the future for my generation as an American. What happened to the world during that time is still have long lasting effects. So I wanted to see for myself - so I could just have another perspective on history.

I went - and the only world to describe the experience is overwhelming. I had seen movies and documentaries - but nothing prepared me for just how big the camp was - especially Birkenau. The vastness - the almost peaceful park like setting gives an eerie foreshadowing to what happened there.

When you go to visit - the first place you go is Auschwitz, which was a camp for polish soldiers before the German Invasion. The tour guide told us the original purpose of this camp was for Polish Political Prisoners - not for Jews. Now there were some Jewish prisoners - but they were mostly imprisoned because of their place within the Polish Political community.
But then the camp evolved. Then they began to execute people, first by shooting them then by using gas. But their operation got to big and they moved to Birkenau.
While walking through Auschwitz you see the Arbeit Macht Frei sign - which really seals the irony of this camp - because they always gave the prisoners hope - a hope that trually didn't exist. The former baracks had been transformed into more of a museum - there were maps and pictures and numbers and it was all very intense. But nothing was more intense than we learned about the place the Germans called Kanada (Canada - like the country) it was the place within the concentration camp - where they stored all the stuff that they stole from the prisoners. Shoes, luggage, clothes - there was a room dedicated to each of these things - you walked in and saw thousands of shoes, then you saw hundreds of suitcases. But the room that drew the most emotional and physical reaction from me was the room with the human hair. Yes, when the woman arrived to the camp they cut their hair - which they sent back to Germany to make fabric - in this room (behind glass) there was piles of human hair. I was overcome and had to leave before I got sick.

When we were walking outside the buildings - it was calm and surreal. Then all of a sudden these large dandilion type seeds started falling through the air - almsot like it was snowing. It felt you could see the souls flying in the air. I tried to capture a photo - but it didn't work.

Then after going through the museum - you got in the car and made the five minute drive to Birkenau. That place is just so massive - there is just no way to get the perspective of how big it actually is until you step inside. My photos don't really capture it either. On the hour drive back to Krakow - both Mary and I fell asleep. I think that it was just that emotionally exhausting. I am very glad I went, I can't understand anyone that denys what happened there, but I know that I don't think I could ever go back. And the words Auschwitz Survivor mean something entirely different to me now than they did to me two weeks ago.

SkillsUSA

Well I'm in Kansas City and let me tell you one thing - it's hot. Today we went downtown for a our meetings with the students. I felt bad for them because they were in their full uniforms for competition. However, tonight will be worse because we will be in our full dress uniforms - which include a wool blazer. However, they will also include this very very awesome hat, that I was sporting last night during the meeting. You can just call me Jennie "International Video Teacher of Mystery" Holladay.

Tonight we head over to Kemper Arena for the opening ceremonies. Right now, I am catching up on the blog - I am hoping to post some more European pictures. Which I will start working on immediately (Mary.)

Back from Europe

Well the good news is we made it back safe and sound. However, I don't have much time from blogging about the trip because I am headed out tomorrow morning to Kansas City. I will be there for a week with my students - who are competing in the SkillsUSA National Competition. It's really cool - however, I am wishing right now that I had maybe one more day at home before leaving - but, I guess one is better than none.

Packing has been easy, I just unpacked my luggage - washed the clothes and then repacked into the bag again. In Europe I went all carry-on luggage - this time I have to bring video equipment for my students - so I got the old trusty large suitcase. But when you have a homebase large luggage isn't too cumbersome. I am hoping that I will have some time to write about my experiences in KC - while my students are competing. You can read all about it at the blog I will be keeping for them: Lapeer SkillsUSA.

Bruce won't be coming this year - he's learning about networking mac computers. I saw him for just over 24 hours before he had to head out to training. It's going to be that kind of summer.

I was watching our video blogs - that Mary and I made while in Europe - and it just reminds me of what a whirlwind trip it was - but how much fun we had. I posted a picture from Berlin - Mary, Me, Wolfgang & Barbara at the tennis club right next to Barbara's apartment - I plan on posting more when I recap each city (hopefully this next week.) We didn't have the internet access that I would have hoped for in Europe. But maybe that's better - it will give me more time to reflect.

St. Charles Bridge

Taken by the friendly woman from Seattle.

Self portriat Prague

Last Stop Prague

We arrived in Prague early this morning. Our train car was just us -
as to the four other bunk mates we had on our Berlin - Krakow trip.
Plus the train looked like it came right out of the USSR. So the bunk
mates - three were 20-somethings backpacking from Norway. The other
was a polish woman who lived in Berlin who spoke mo English but a lot
of German and quickly told Mary her life story. She was high energy
and somewhat crazy which made the trip entertaining to say the least.
The train conductor only spoke polish and the girls from Norway were
trying to communicate with him - but couldn't. So crazy Polish woman
spoke Polish to the coductor - german to Mary - Mary spoke English to
the girls. It was somewhat comical. But we arrived safely in Krakow -
so all is well.

On this trip to Prague we were warned several times to keep our door
locked the entire night - apparently the are having problems with
theft on the train at night - however robbed was used more than once
which implies something different to me. But we were in luck no one
came busting in - but as a result of these warnings and a very creeky
bunk - neither Mary nor I got much sleep.

We arrived to our hotel by 8:30 am and despite saying we would have an
8am arrival there was no one there- we rang the bell not less than 10
times before calling them - thNk you iPhone. The guy was nice and was
here in the ten minutes they promised. Also they got us a room to
store our luggage and take a much needed shower.

We were very hot and sweaty from trampsing around a very warm krakow
all day. The city was beautiful. People were pretty nice - not overly
friendly - with the exception of the people in our hotel and our taxi
drivers.

The day before we went to Auschwitz - but that story is for another
post. Today we will be exploring Prague however it might be a slower
day - we've been going full speed all week and it's catching up to me
at least.

I will try to write more later.

Sent from my iPhone

Chillin' in Krakow

More scenes from Krakow

Coffee in Krakow

Tage Eins & Zwei in Berlin

So it's day two in Berlin. We made it in yesterday morning. Barbara was prepared for my usual routine - yes despite the fact that I know you aren't supposed to nap - I always take a nap. The good news - Mary was not upset with this plan. So we arrived in Berlin - Barbara picked us up at the airport - we had a typical German breakfast of bread, butter, meats and cheeses, then Mary and I took a 4 hour power nap. We had a surprise - Barbara has a new roomate - Wolfgang. He is very nice and has a great sense of humor - constantly joking with Mary and I.

We woke to another meal - Barbara treated me to my favorite Käse Späztle - noodles and cheese. Then we went to Potsdam to see Sans Souci - a castle built by Frederick the Great. He was buried there with his 11 dogs. Then we drove the Olympic Stadium. This is the first time I have ever seen that. And finally we came back to the tennis club next to Barbara's apartment for a typical German night cap.

We had every intention of waking up early and to go running. However, that did not happen - but we needed a day to relax. Then we were off to MexicoPlatz to meet Frau Davis. Frau Davis is Mary and my German teacher from high school. She was my best teacher of all times and every year she brings Manchester High School students to Berlin. This year she brought Mary's niece Emily - so we spent the morning with them. We went to a play at a youth theater - it was about bullying - but Mary and I understand roughly 60 percent of the dialogue - not bad for not having a German class in a couple years.

Then we left the class and went to Potsdammer Platz. We had a liquid lunch. Then we headed to the Brandenberg Gate and to the American Embassy. I wore my totally awesome Obama shirt and took a picture for my dad. Then we came back and Barbara treated us to a wonderful dinner.
As for pictures - those will have to come later. I don't have a way to upload them yet.

Tomorrow we have another day in Berlin before leaving for Krakow on the night train!!!

The Last Days of School

We are in the last days of school - and because students are taking finals and I don't work at a "high school." The hallways are very empty. In fact only 1 out of the 5 school districts that my building serves is still sending students. Which means, I only have two students, yes, there is a two teachers and two students left in the classroom. It's kind of crazy.

Tonight I met my two students who will be heading to Kansas City with me at the end of the month for the SkillsUSA competition. We recorded the Adult Education Graduation - it was a fundraiser for our trip. Bruce helped - because well this is more his thing than mine. So since I helped him on Sunday - he helped me today.

However, I should be doing laundry for my trip on Saturday - but I am frankly too exhausted - plus what is Friday night for anyway. However, I am looking for suggested reading while I am there. Remember, I will be in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic - so if yo have a book set there that would be fabulous.

The last books that I have read - well are the Twilight series. Yes, I fell into the trap - everytime I mention them, watch the movie or say anything remotely linked - Bruce mutters under his breath - 12 year-old girl. And to be honest - I am thinking about rereading them. I don't know if it's because the transition from one school to another mid-year has been so hard and there is something comforting in the teenage angst. I am nto sure if I am in a midlife crisis - or if like any women Edward is just too hard to resist. But it could be that I am fanscinated with vampires - I remember that I nearly wore out the VHS tape of Lost Boys. And no it wasn't because of the "two Coreys." I am not sure if there is some freudian fascination with the "never dead" but whatever it is - I am hooked. And when one of my students told me that she was going to publish another book in the series after all (despite it being leaked to the press before it was finished) I immediately got excited. However, I have been googling that tonight and don't see where she is finding this information - maybe its from MySpace.

Dagmar the Star

So a while ago, I got a new car. Her name is Dagmar - she is Swedish. Yes, I bought a Volvo C30. It's funny because Amber (my silver chrysler sebring) was a great car and I had her for nearly 200K miles, but well she was on her last legs, so we decided it was time for something new.

I call Dagmar - my car - but I am sure that Bruce would argue. But I am sure the question is today - why are you talking about your car you bought a while ago today. Well this week we watched Twilight in my afternoon class. Yes, Twilight the hit teenage vampire novels - turned movie. And well Dagmar has a starring role. I know you are saying WHAT? But that's the truth my Dagmar is the cute Volvo driven by the hunky teenage vampire heartthrob Edward. Edward drives quite defensively - like I drive. I mean I really appreciate the turbo - I am sure Bruce again would beg to differ.

Dagmar hasn't let her stardom get to her head - even though someone stopped me at the mall to tell me how cute she is, but other than that she lives her stardom low key, no one clamoring for photos or autographs. You won't find her on Perez Hilton out late at night at a club doing God knows what. For the most part she likes the quiet country life and her 1.5 mile commute to school.

The first step to any addiction is admitting you have an addiction.

So I admit - I am addicted to Bejeweled - again.

This can all be blamed on my boss - Cathy. She told me that I should try the bejeweled on Facebook. Why? Well unlike the endless bejeweled this is only a 1 minute game. So that's where I fall into the trap - because it's only one minute game.

7:36
Like right now I am going to stop blogging and play "just one game."

7:37
And I did just play one - but my score was a poor 21K - and in my addiction I was able to get a score of 250K which means I can't be satisfied. So I am back to play another game.

7:38
Another game.

7:39
Now I am at 31K and that's not good enough.

7:59
Just realized that I am still playing.

So clearly I am addicted.

It's 8:02 and now I am off to plug in my computer and ok I admit play some more.

Graduation

Today I went to the Oxford High School graduation to help Bruce with video production. It was a pretty nice ceremony. There were two interesting speeches - first was done by the 10 graduates with the top GPA's. They each picked one year of their education to reflect on. I loved that they started their education career in 1996 - the year I graduated. They reflected on the music like the Spice Girls and N'sync. Harry Potter was published was when they were in third grade (or when I was in college.)

However the best speech was done by that of the principal.
I will quote part of the speech:

"Once upon a time
Not so long ago

Tommy used to work on the docks
Unions been on strike
Hes down on his luck...its tough, so tough
Gina works the diner all day
Working for her man, she brings home her pay
For love - for love

She says weve got to hold on to what weve got
cause it doesnt make a difference
If we make it or not
Weve got each other and thats a lot
For love - well give it a shot

Chorus:
Whooah, were half way there
Livin on a prayer
Take my hand and well make it - I swear
Livin on a prayer"

Oh yeah - he started singing the 1986 (I was 8 years-old) Bon Jovi hit - Living on a Prayer! I loved it - however, I am not sure that a lot of the graduates knew the song - but some did because it is part of the collection in Rockband 2. I could listen to that speech again and would be willing to attend another event where he was the key note speaker.

So it's Saturday night - Bruce is at work and I am at home - doing laundry - watching TV - thinking I should blog - thinking I really don't have much to blog about. I am getting ready for my trip to Europe. I bought some gifts today - reese peanut butter cups, jelly bellies, reusable shopping bags and graphic t-shirts. My mom helped me out big time - by heading to the seconds sale at Matowi pottery in Ann Arbor.

It's funny - I always try to bring something truly American to Germany with me - to thank my host family for their wonderful hospitality. However, I had the hardest time coming up with gift ideas this year.

I am very excited about the trip. I have been reading all about Krakow. I think that Poland should be very interesting.

As for this blog, I know it's not much, but hey, I am getting back into blogging. I have been addicted to Facebook and Twitter - which I guess is the micro-blog. You can follow me at twitter (JennieHolladay) or find me on Facebook - I am going to do my best to keep the blog up this summer - during my travels. So check back here starting the 15th of June to see how things are going.

Deutschland (Poland & the Czech Republic), ich komme!
(Germany, here I come)

So tonight Mary and I spent planning our European vacation. We are taking an all girls trip to Europe: Berlin, Krakow and Prague. The first part of our trip will be to Berlin - where we rejoin our favorite high school teacher Frau Davis. She will be there with students from Manchester - one which is Mary's niece. We will be hanging out with them for several days.

Then we take the midnight train to Krakow (I think that may be a song.) If the Euro sucks against the dollar you have to love the Polish zloty.

1 Polish zloty = 0.314713 U.S. dollars

With an exchange rate like that expect to see me in all the latest Polish fashions. We found - what we hope to be a great little hotel. I have become a big fan of trip advisor. I am planning to do my part of the community and give my ratings when I come back - because I have found the site uber helpful while planning for the summer.

While in Poland, we are planning a trip to Auschwitz - which should be memorable and interesting - but heartbreaking. Then the next day we will be exploring the city.

Then we are off to Prague before returning to the States. I am very excited. It will be a lot of fun - I rarely get to pal around with Mary because she is so busy at work - so it will be an excellent adventure.

This will be my sixth time to Berlin - so I feel like I have that covered - however, if you have any tips on Poland - those are welcome. Seeing that neither of us speak Polish - this could be interesting.

13.1 Miles & Still Standing

The last time I had attempted a half-marathon on March 8th, I had run exactly .8 miles since October. This time I was by no means ready, but I had run a lot more. I even ran one 5 mile run. I can give a list of 1,001 excuses - but to be honest - I just didn't run. That is the reason I wasn't ready. So instead again - this would be another "training run." We met up with Robert and Heather (part of the Ohio contingency of the 7:11 running club.)

We woke up early on Saturday - caught the bus to the start. It was beautiful, high 50's and slightly overcast. I started running and felt great. We did the run a mile - walk a minute strategy that works well for me. Most of the miles were around 11 minutes. But again, this was training. Bruce is a great partner, but I always feel that I am holding him back. I made a deal with myself - I would at least get to 8 miles - that is what I got to in the Disney Princess half-marathon. But once we got to 8 and I was still feeling good we made it to 10. Then we walked two and ran the last 1.1 mile in. It was fun, at the end, I did not feel like death and the scenery was awesome. I would definitely run this 1/2 marathon again.

After the run - we took a short nap - then we headed to lunch at Sledders (a not so crowded bar close to downtown.) Then we did some shopping - I was a big fan of the shoe stores, because there was ample seating - though I did not die, I was still tired. We tried to find a decent cup of coffee in Traverse City - but we had no such luck. So entrepreneurs - here's a call - start a coffee place in TC - serve a decent cup of Joe and you will make a killing.

So what do tired runners do when they are well tired. See a movie off course at the local cinemas. What hot summer hit movie did we see? Drum Roll...... The Hannah Montana Movie. Oh that is right - we did surprise the ticket salesman - when he asked what we wanted to see and how many tickets and we said "Hannah Montana & two adults." But due to the fact that the 7:11 club - loves Hannah & Miley (playing many of the songs on repeat on our car rides to Interlaken.) It just made perfect sense. The theater consisted of 8 people - a father/daughter, a mother/daughter and well us. We sang, we clapped, we cried and we had a lot of fun, but now we are trying to learn the line dance - this quickly reveals that we are way above the target audience, because well I can do the first part slow - very slow - but once you get the music going at tempo - well that is were I faulter.

Yesterday, we enjoyed a trip to the Mission Point Lighthouse, a winer, dinner at Boone's (No not Boones farm - however, - "I hear that the snow peak peach flavor is the best flavor of Boones." - Juno) - Go Karting and then the pool. Frankly I am exhausted just thinking about it.

Today we were up early and on the road - because we stopped for lunch at the Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth. Robert had never been and thought that today would be the perfect time. Then I came home and quickly took a long well deserved nap.

The start!

America Girl Weekend

Mother's Day weekend - I headed to Chicago with my mom for a girl's weekend out. My mom had promised Sophie a trip to the American Girl Store - to much of my sister's shigrin. See growing up, I had been the one in our family that had loved barbies and dolls. Krista preferred legos and games. Well she was blessed with the girliest girl ever. Sophie loves barbies, dolls, cries that the notion of wearing jeans and of course her favorite colors are pink followed closely by purple.

So when she at five years-old started to devour the American Girl books - my mom knew that she must go to mecca (aka the gates of hell for my sister) the American Girl Store in Chicago. Now this was supposed to be a trip that included my cousin Olivia and my Aunt Elena, but then there was a conflict - so instead Krista and I filled in. Now this was not an awful trip for me because despite the fact that I am 30 - I have an American Girl doll that is living in mint condition in my basement that I bought when I was about 10 years-old.


So we headed to the store - Sophie had narrowed down the list to three or four dolls she was interested in. But we all knew that she would end up with the depression era doll - Kit because well Kit and Sophie have the same hair cut, same coloring - well everything except the eyes. Sophie will quickly let you know that Kit has blue eyes and her eyes are hazel.


It was so much fun watching Sophie jump around the store with pure joy. Krista was a little more reserved. We looked at each doll and all her accessories (pronounced by my niece Asorceries - she is an avid reader and she knows alot of words - but some only because she has read them, so they have a unique pronounciation. She is smart as a whip though - that unlike the girliness she gets from my sister.)

Finally she decided on Kit. And Aunt Jennie - well I had to do my part - so my mom bought the doll and I bought the matching outfit for Sophie. Sophie put the outfit on immediately and everyone in the store was like - that little girl looks just like Kit. She felt like a movie star.



Then we headed up stairs for lunch. Of course Kit got her own chair next to Sophie. And Sophie made sure she had enough tea. I think my sister hit her American Girl Quota before lunch was even over, however, Sophie told us during lunch that this was her best childhood memory. I know that made her Grandmother's mother's day.