Category: Uncategorized
Jun 01
Digesting the pieces…
What can I say about the last few weeks? Actually, quite a lot. My best thoughts always come after I’ve spent time in solitude to digest the pieces then put them together into a whole, sort of like a jigsaw puzzle. I ask myself all of time why I chose to study the Holocaust. After …
May 31
Post-trip reflection
Since coming home a week ago from Poland, (I can’t believe it’s already been a week!) I’ve had a moment to readjust to the time and weather.. (I definitely could go back to the cooler weather over this hot, sticky mess). Going on this study abroad trip, I didn’t know what to expect, except that …
May 27
Thank you….
Many thanks to those who worked with us in Poland on an amazing study abroad. The list is quite extensive…all gave amazing presentations/tours/conversations/insights/relfections. THANK YOU! Annette Finley-Croswhite, Ph.D. and Tom Chapman, Ph.D. Krzysztof Suszkiewicz, Plaszów; Dr. Edyta Gawron, Jagellonin Unviersity, Kraków; Maciek Zabierowski, Learning and Special Projects, Auschwitz Jewish Center, Kraków, Oświęcim; Paweł Sawicki, Press …
May 27
Projecting Empathy in the World; believing in the human race.
I’m not sure why I trek half way across the world taking students to sites of atrocity. Many people tell me that they don’t know how I do it. My response, is: how could I not? I was born Christian, the daughter of a Protestant minister, and it was devout Christians who in many instances …
May 25
We made it home!
Yesterday is a blur. 6:30 am hotel departure, 10:40 am flight from Krakow to Munich; 12:20 pm flight from Munich to Washington, D.C. Dulles; 515 pm flight from Washington to Norfolk. Below is our last picture, minus Kaerra Smiley who left a few hours before we did for a flight to Guam and Dr. Chapman …
May 23
The end of a journey, but we’ve made new friends…and we beat Princeton!
Today was our last and maybe our hardest day. I can’t explain enough to the world out there what a hard trip this is. Most people don’t get it. For most people at ODU, it’s one of many classes, and we have lots of hard classes at this university. And students probably don’t realize when …
May 23
Don’t ever assume!
Many eat with their eyes rather than their stomachs. I am one of those individuals. The presentation of food, along this fourteen day journey, has been extraordinary. From three course meals to grab-and-go, I assure you, Polands cuisine has been delicious. I have taken pictures of almost, everything I have eaten while traveling Poland. I’m …
May 23
Serenity
I love nature. I love the peace and the tranquility that nature provides. On this day, a brief rain storm came and went. The birds were singing, and the sun was shining through the trees. The air was calm, and even though it was a small hike, I could just sit and take in the …
May 22
Into the past.
Today was the most profound teaching experience I’ve ever had, the culmination of years of work, reflection, research, and networking. Today Michał, Renata, and Hubert from Yahad-in Unum led Tom, the students, and I deep into the past. They introduced us to the world of witnesses, children who long ago sat atop trees or perched …