So I like this whole 'starting blog posts with a rant' thing so I'm just gonna continue that trend. This weekend, I had the opportunity to travel outside of France for the first time. This was my first experience during study abroad that I wouldn't be able to communicate with the native language of the country I was visiting. For some reason, I underestimated the importance of that. Sure, many kids study abroad in countries where they don't speak a word of the language, but I've always had the comfort of knowing I will understand signage and be able to ask for the bathroom whenever I need it.
Grace, Lily and I met up in Munich, Germany in honor of Oktoberfest. Since this event has captivated the attention of the world, especially Americans, it is fairly easy to find people who speak English. Despite the ease of communicating, I still felt extremely uncomfortable approaching Germans initially with English. My German vocabulary stretches about as far as "Danke" and I'm 900% sure I say it wrong.
In the middle of my language anxiety, I began noticing the small people who are so incredibly intelligent that they can alternate between different languages instantly. It might be the cashier at a fast food chain, but these people are incredible. It takes an enormous amount of intelligence to be able to communicate quickly in multiple languages - I can't even do two. But I saw multiple customer service-like representatives who were happy to speak in German, English, or even French or Spanish if they were prompted. Although these people have jobs that might not be considered "high up," I have so much newfound respect for these people. They are obviously insanely smart and don't get any recognition for it. It's possible they might not even get a "thank you" from the foreigners who force them to speak other languages.
I am incredibly grateful for all of the kind Germans who put up with my English this weekend. Your language confuses me and I don't understand why "w's" are pronounced like "v's" but I can appreciate your effort to accommodate all of your visitors.
Grace, Lily and I met up in Munich, Germany in honor of Oktoberfest. Since this event has captivated the attention of the world, especially Americans, it is fairly easy to find people who speak English. Despite the ease of communicating, I still felt extremely uncomfortable approaching Germans initially with English. My German vocabulary stretches about as far as "Danke" and I'm 900% sure I say it wrong.
In the middle of my language anxiety, I began noticing the small people who are so incredibly intelligent that they can alternate between different languages instantly. It might be the cashier at a fast food chain, but these people are incredible. It takes an enormous amount of intelligence to be able to communicate quickly in multiple languages - I can't even do two. But I saw multiple customer service-like representatives who were happy to speak in German, English, or even French or Spanish if they were prompted. Although these people have jobs that might not be considered "high up," I have so much newfound respect for these people. They are obviously insanely smart and don't get any recognition for it. It's possible they might not even get a "thank you" from the foreigners who force them to speak other languages.
I am incredibly grateful for all of the kind Germans who put up with my English this weekend. Your language confuses me and I don't understand why "w's" are pronounced like "v's" but I can appreciate your effort to accommodate all of your visitors.
München, Deutschland
Thursday, I had to go to the Gare de l'Est Paris train station to print out my tickets. I went in between my classes to try and be productive. In Paris, the train stations are pretty much giant malls with a ton of amazing shops attached. As I was heading out, I saw a shop that looked adorable, and in the distance I saw a sign that said "18 EURO - JEANS." In case you don't know, Paris is the 2nd most expensive city in Europe, behind London, so when you find a cute and affordable store it is preeeetty much impossible to ignore. As I began roaming the store, I got caught up in all the gorgeous clothes and lost track of time. Soon enough, I didn't have enough time to make it back to my afternoon class (SORRY MOM I SWEAR I NEVER SKIP THIS WAS A ONE TIME THING). Obviously this was the perfect excuse to stick around and buy some 27 euro brown booties that I desperately needed in my wardrobe. In the midst of my shopping trance, a woman was trying on a jacket that I loved. I must have been staring too long because she turned around and murmured something in French. I didn't exactly understand, but I thought she was saying something nice so I just looked at her and smiled. A second later, she turned around and sharply said "Est-ce qu'il y a un problème?" which means "Is there a problem?" I basically freaked out and began apologizing instantly. Home. Girl. Was. Crazy.
On Thursday night, I spent the night at my friend Grace's apartment in the city because we had to leave early Friday morning. We figured it would be a good idea to just stay up all night and sleep on the train instead of getting a good nights sleep.... WRONG. We were up and at em and made it to our train that left at 7:15 AM, thank the lord. This was my first experience on a long distance train and I absolutely loved it. The country side of France is insanely beautiful with the misty morning, and we passed a ton of mountain ranges with towns set along the sides. I didn't have a window seat, so unfortunately I didn't get any good pictures.
One of the employees came around to check our tickets. I had previously purchased a "Carte Jeune" which gives me discounts because I'm a young poor kid. The employee checked my ticket and asked to see my Carte Jeune. I was thoroughly confused because I never received any physical card. The employee proceeded to reprimand me loudly in front of the entire train and charge me 70 extra euros, which will eventually be refunded. This is why I should not receive emails with instructions in French.
We arrived in Munich around 1:30 PM and were trying to meet up with Lily who was in charge of hunting down the owner of our Airbnb rental for the week. When we got off the train, we realized she was having some trouble and spent close to an hour trying to communicate with both Lily and the owner. We finally got in worked out and Lily got in to the apartment.
The next struggle was finding our way around the Munich train station. Remember how I can't read German? None of the posted signs really made any sense and we knew we had to take a tram to get to our airbnb...but we didn't know which one. Luckily, a girl noticed our lost faces and took out a map to help guide us on our way. She showed us the correct lines to take, and the stops for our apartment, the festival, and the main square of the city. THANK YOU CAROLINE YOU ARE THE SWEETEST ANGEL!!! After helping us find our way, she took us to a cheap shop in the middle of the train station to buy our dirndl dresses for 35 euros. Suuuuch a steal.
By 4 PM we finally made it to the apartment and I got to see my love Lily!!!!!!! I can't exactly explain how happy I was to see this girl but oh my god I missed her so much. She took us up to the apartment and showed us the little surprise waiting for us: TWO cats in the apartment. For those of you that don't know, I am deathly allergic to cats....SO this was exciting.
We settled in and decided to have a chill night before the madness on Saturday. We were all STARVING so we headed to Marienplatz, the main square of the city. After walking around looking for the right place, we stumbled upon a restaurant that seemed to have exactly what we were looking for. We sat down at the table and a large German waiter came up and asked us if we were having beer. So ooooobviously we had to have some. After we got our German beers, we ordered a family style platter of some traditional Bavarian food. It was freaking amazing complete with duck, many different kinds of pork, sausage, polenta ball (things), stuffing ball (things?), sauerkraut and cabbage. I could probably eat that meal 20 times over. A nice little break from baguettes and cheese.
On Thursday night, I spent the night at my friend Grace's apartment in the city because we had to leave early Friday morning. We figured it would be a good idea to just stay up all night and sleep on the train instead of getting a good nights sleep.... WRONG. We were up and at em and made it to our train that left at 7:15 AM, thank the lord. This was my first experience on a long distance train and I absolutely loved it. The country side of France is insanely beautiful with the misty morning, and we passed a ton of mountain ranges with towns set along the sides. I didn't have a window seat, so unfortunately I didn't get any good pictures.
One of the employees came around to check our tickets. I had previously purchased a "Carte Jeune" which gives me discounts because I'm a young poor kid. The employee checked my ticket and asked to see my Carte Jeune. I was thoroughly confused because I never received any physical card. The employee proceeded to reprimand me loudly in front of the entire train and charge me 70 extra euros, which will eventually be refunded. This is why I should not receive emails with instructions in French.
We arrived in Munich around 1:30 PM and were trying to meet up with Lily who was in charge of hunting down the owner of our Airbnb rental for the week. When we got off the train, we realized she was having some trouble and spent close to an hour trying to communicate with both Lily and the owner. We finally got in worked out and Lily got in to the apartment.
The next struggle was finding our way around the Munich train station. Remember how I can't read German? None of the posted signs really made any sense and we knew we had to take a tram to get to our airbnb...but we didn't know which one. Luckily, a girl noticed our lost faces and took out a map to help guide us on our way. She showed us the correct lines to take, and the stops for our apartment, the festival, and the main square of the city. THANK YOU CAROLINE YOU ARE THE SWEETEST ANGEL!!! After helping us find our way, she took us to a cheap shop in the middle of the train station to buy our dirndl dresses for 35 euros. Suuuuch a steal.
By 4 PM we finally made it to the apartment and I got to see my love Lily!!!!!!! I can't exactly explain how happy I was to see this girl but oh my god I missed her so much. She took us up to the apartment and showed us the little surprise waiting for us: TWO cats in the apartment. For those of you that don't know, I am deathly allergic to cats....SO this was exciting.
We settled in and decided to have a chill night before the madness on Saturday. We were all STARVING so we headed to Marienplatz, the main square of the city. After walking around looking for the right place, we stumbled upon a restaurant that seemed to have exactly what we were looking for. We sat down at the table and a large German waiter came up and asked us if we were having beer. So ooooobviously we had to have some. After we got our German beers, we ordered a family style platter of some traditional Bavarian food. It was freaking amazing complete with duck, many different kinds of pork, sausage, polenta ball (things), stuffing ball (things?), sauerkraut and cabbage. I could probably eat that meal 20 times over. A nice little break from baguettes and cheese.
After dinner, we walked around a bit more and decided to find a place to get some dessert - since this was going to be the fat weekend anyway why not. We found a little shop and I ordered a piece of cake with chocolate, cream, pistachio and many other layers of delicious things. It was light and an amazing combination of flavors. I was loving life until the waitress spilled 3.30 euro water on me. No, I wasn't mad she spilled it I was mad it was 3.30 euros...god I miss free water in America.
The next morning, we woke up at 7 AM to be out the door by 7:30 which quickly turned in to 7:45...we are girls after all. There was a bakery across the street from our apartment so we decided to stop and grab a pastry for breakfast before the madness began. When we got to the train station, we had a 20 minute wait and it was freeeeezing cold (mind you all we had on were our dirndl dresses). We spied another bakery across the street from the station and decided to grab some coffee to warm us up. Little did we know, the pastries were going to look undeniably delicious and we decided to have pastries...round 2. Like I said it was fat weekend.
When we got off at the stop for the festival, there was an insane mass of people heading in the direction of Oktoberfest. When we walked up, we saw what looked like the entrance for a state fair. I'm not sure what I expected but it wasn't exactly this. Grace's friends recommended that we go to the Hofbrau tent so we hunted it down and waited in line until they let people in a few minutes later. We were SOOO lucky we didn't have to wait long and we still got in. The tent was absolutely enormous and filled with long tables for people to sit at. Everyone was dressed in lederhosen and dirndls and the atmosphere was indescribable. From the minute we got in, people were dancing, cheering, singing songs, drinking beer and eating pretzels. Everyone was incredibly friendly and we met a group of girls from Georgetown who let us crash with their friends. (If any of you happen to find this y'all are amazing and I hope I see you guys again sometime!!)
After what seemed to be like the most fun 6 hours of my life, Lily and I decided it was time to get some food and head back to the apartment. No joke, I think I could have slept for 3 days straight after that.
Lily had to leave early in the morning on Sunday, but Grace and I were still in Munich until 4 PM. Although Oktoberfest was incredible, we wanted to do something else with our limited time in the area. I researched things to do around Munich and came across Dachau Concentration Camp which was a 15 minute tram ride away from the center of the city. Although this was a weekend for fun and celebration, I have always wanted to experience an actual visit to a concentration camp and I knew this was something I had to do.
Grace and I took the tram toward Dachau. I can't really describe it, but I got a weird feeling knowing I was talking a train to Dachau. It was the same train line used during the holocaust and the entire setting was overwhelming. When we got off at the stop, we decided to walk to the site instead of taking the overcrowded bus.
The strange thing was, Dachau is a town. We walked through streets lined with businesses, stores and restaurants. I imagined to be in the middle of nowhere, but we were in the heart of everyday life. Since it was Sunday, everything was closed and there were very few people on the street. The weather was gloomy and clouds covered the overcast sky.
As we walked to the entrance, we passed the SS headquarters. Dachau was also used as an SS training camp, as it was one of the very first concentration camps. It was also largely a concentration camp, not so much an extermination camp. Directly across the street from the SS headquarters were apartments in the town of Dachau. The only thing separating them was a barbed wire fence and a narrow street.
We got audio guides to help give us more information as we toured the premises. The first building at the head of the camp, was large and in the shape of a lower case n. It was the building where prisoners would register and have all of their belongings taken from them. Now, it is a museum that houses historical artifacts. We toured the museum last, but the one thing that struck me the most was the glass case full of ID registration cards. Each one containing a life that had been destroyed.
Outside of the museum were various memorials comprised by different donors. On the far side of the museum, there was a memorial that displayed the words "Never Again" in various languages beginning with hebrew. The memorial contained ashes from victims of the Dachau Camp. I placed a stone on top of the grave next to bouquets of flowers and other various stones.
We then walked through the first buildings in the block. The barracks were arranged in rows, but the only remaining buildings where the very first 2 of each row. Barracks were replicated to demonstrate how they had changed over time. They began as individual wooden cots and evolved into giant cots for hundreds of people to share. Dachau was built to house 6,000 prisoners and in reality, held 30,000, confined to an incredible small space.
At the end of the rows, there are different religious memorials. The Jewish Memorial was a small tunnel with a hole at the top and a sculpture of a menorah. It signified the everlasting light that would never fade.
The hardest part of all was Barrack X. This was the site of the crematorium. The barracks are set up into 5 different sections, each containing something different. I didn't know what to expect, I didn't know how I would react. As I walked into the 3rd room in Barrack X, I looked over and saw a spicket coming out from the side of the wall. Without realizing, I had walked into a gas chamber. It is said that this gas chamber was not used for mass murders, but testimonies from prisoners have confirmed it was used for murder.
There was also a forested walkway behind Barrack X. It was strange because it was so beautiful and it was accompanied by a creek. We passed a few memorials, including one for the unknown victims. Directly following the memorial, there was a stone wall with hundreds of bullet holes. A stone sign indicated that this was the firing range, where prisoners would be shot point blank.
I hope I don't upset anyone with the end of this post. It was a difficult day, and I wish I could write more, but I don't exactly have the words to describe my experience. I wanted to write about it for the same reason we still talk about it today. It's the same reason Dachau is still around also. We must educate people. It's unbelievable that today we are still living in a world where people have to fear for their lives because of who they are. We must continue to be advocates for ALL people and constantly work to make the world a better and a safer place. No one deserves to lose a life or their rights because of the things that make them who they are.
It was an emotional day, but one thing that helped to lift my spirits was the thought of heading back to Paris. It finally feels like home to me and even after one weekend away, I missed it. I missed the familiarity of the language and mastering the metro system. I missed wandering the streets of the beautiful city because Munich was nothing compared to the city I call home. It was a comforting feeling because I knew that I had made the right decision when I decided to come to Paris. I can only imagine what it will be like when I have to say goodbye for more than just a few days.
To end on a happy note, Michael is coming to visit me in 5 days and I couldn't be more excited to be back with the love of my life! I'm sure I will be posting about all of our adventures and our trip to Marseille on the 17th. Thanks again for reading and until next time....AR!
The next morning, we woke up at 7 AM to be out the door by 7:30 which quickly turned in to 7:45...we are girls after all. There was a bakery across the street from our apartment so we decided to stop and grab a pastry for breakfast before the madness began. When we got to the train station, we had a 20 minute wait and it was freeeeezing cold (mind you all we had on were our dirndl dresses). We spied another bakery across the street from the station and decided to grab some coffee to warm us up. Little did we know, the pastries were going to look undeniably delicious and we decided to have pastries...round 2. Like I said it was fat weekend.
When we got off at the stop for the festival, there was an insane mass of people heading in the direction of Oktoberfest. When we walked up, we saw what looked like the entrance for a state fair. I'm not sure what I expected but it wasn't exactly this. Grace's friends recommended that we go to the Hofbrau tent so we hunted it down and waited in line until they let people in a few minutes later. We were SOOO lucky we didn't have to wait long and we still got in. The tent was absolutely enormous and filled with long tables for people to sit at. Everyone was dressed in lederhosen and dirndls and the atmosphere was indescribable. From the minute we got in, people were dancing, cheering, singing songs, drinking beer and eating pretzels. Everyone was incredibly friendly and we met a group of girls from Georgetown who let us crash with their friends. (If any of you happen to find this y'all are amazing and I hope I see you guys again sometime!!)
After what seemed to be like the most fun 6 hours of my life, Lily and I decided it was time to get some food and head back to the apartment. No joke, I think I could have slept for 3 days straight after that.
Lily had to leave early in the morning on Sunday, but Grace and I were still in Munich until 4 PM. Although Oktoberfest was incredible, we wanted to do something else with our limited time in the area. I researched things to do around Munich and came across Dachau Concentration Camp which was a 15 minute tram ride away from the center of the city. Although this was a weekend for fun and celebration, I have always wanted to experience an actual visit to a concentration camp and I knew this was something I had to do.
Grace and I took the tram toward Dachau. I can't really describe it, but I got a weird feeling knowing I was talking a train to Dachau. It was the same train line used during the holocaust and the entire setting was overwhelming. When we got off at the stop, we decided to walk to the site instead of taking the overcrowded bus.
The strange thing was, Dachau is a town. We walked through streets lined with businesses, stores and restaurants. I imagined to be in the middle of nowhere, but we were in the heart of everyday life. Since it was Sunday, everything was closed and there were very few people on the street. The weather was gloomy and clouds covered the overcast sky.
As we walked to the entrance, we passed the SS headquarters. Dachau was also used as an SS training camp, as it was one of the very first concentration camps. It was also largely a concentration camp, not so much an extermination camp. Directly across the street from the SS headquarters were apartments in the town of Dachau. The only thing separating them was a barbed wire fence and a narrow street.
We got audio guides to help give us more information as we toured the premises. The first building at the head of the camp, was large and in the shape of a lower case n. It was the building where prisoners would register and have all of their belongings taken from them. Now, it is a museum that houses historical artifacts. We toured the museum last, but the one thing that struck me the most was the glass case full of ID registration cards. Each one containing a life that had been destroyed.
Outside of the museum were various memorials comprised by different donors. On the far side of the museum, there was a memorial that displayed the words "Never Again" in various languages beginning with hebrew. The memorial contained ashes from victims of the Dachau Camp. I placed a stone on top of the grave next to bouquets of flowers and other various stones.
We then walked through the first buildings in the block. The barracks were arranged in rows, but the only remaining buildings where the very first 2 of each row. Barracks were replicated to demonstrate how they had changed over time. They began as individual wooden cots and evolved into giant cots for hundreds of people to share. Dachau was built to house 6,000 prisoners and in reality, held 30,000, confined to an incredible small space.
At the end of the rows, there are different religious memorials. The Jewish Memorial was a small tunnel with a hole at the top and a sculpture of a menorah. It signified the everlasting light that would never fade.
The hardest part of all was Barrack X. This was the site of the crematorium. The barracks are set up into 5 different sections, each containing something different. I didn't know what to expect, I didn't know how I would react. As I walked into the 3rd room in Barrack X, I looked over and saw a spicket coming out from the side of the wall. Without realizing, I had walked into a gas chamber. It is said that this gas chamber was not used for mass murders, but testimonies from prisoners have confirmed it was used for murder.
There was also a forested walkway behind Barrack X. It was strange because it was so beautiful and it was accompanied by a creek. We passed a few memorials, including one for the unknown victims. Directly following the memorial, there was a stone wall with hundreds of bullet holes. A stone sign indicated that this was the firing range, where prisoners would be shot point blank.
I hope I don't upset anyone with the end of this post. It was a difficult day, and I wish I could write more, but I don't exactly have the words to describe my experience. I wanted to write about it for the same reason we still talk about it today. It's the same reason Dachau is still around also. We must educate people. It's unbelievable that today we are still living in a world where people have to fear for their lives because of who they are. We must continue to be advocates for ALL people and constantly work to make the world a better and a safer place. No one deserves to lose a life or their rights because of the things that make them who they are.
It was an emotional day, but one thing that helped to lift my spirits was the thought of heading back to Paris. It finally feels like home to me and even after one weekend away, I missed it. I missed the familiarity of the language and mastering the metro system. I missed wandering the streets of the beautiful city because Munich was nothing compared to the city I call home. It was a comforting feeling because I knew that I had made the right decision when I decided to come to Paris. I can only imagine what it will be like when I have to say goodbye for more than just a few days.
To end on a happy note, Michael is coming to visit me in 5 days and I couldn't be more excited to be back with the love of my life! I'm sure I will be posting about all of our adventures and our trip to Marseille on the 17th. Thanks again for reading and until next time....AR!