My trip to Europe didn’t just impact my life it shaped my life! On a daily basis, I relate things that happened in my life, to the experiences of a different culture. It wasn’t the idea of one whole trip through Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic that comes to mind when I think of my trip, it’s more about the little stories that made my trip so much more than just being in a foreign country; it gave me wanderlust. I experienced a new passion for seeing another way of living, or deciphering an unknown language, more than I would experience from just reading about it. It can’t even be slightly compared to one another. As I’ve grown up, every year in school the topic of the Holocaust always seems to come up.  But, I didn’t understand it fully until I experienced it first-hand.
 

In Berlin, the main thing that sticks out to me was the Berlin Wall. Although through history, it is known for separating Eastern and Western Berlin, it was actually used as so much more. If you were trying to escape Eastern Berlin to get into Western Berlin you must not only climb over the wall, you must also run through an open field and then proceed to swim across the river. Once upon reaching West Berlin dry land, you were safe. This is meanwhile guards are trying to shoot you. The odds were not in your favor if you were attempting to be an escapee. We also got to visit Checkpoint Charlie which was the name given by the Western Allies to the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War. There was a multitude of places in Berlin alone, which significantly affected the things we were being taught in school. But in one school year, there is no time for learning all those things. Being there is what made all the difference.
 

When we first got off the train in Poland, I remember being completely in awe of Warsaw’s beauty.  It was a mixture of old, almost ancient architecture with modern glass malls and in the now designers. But as you walked away from the inner city, it began to become picturesque. I realized that I didn’t want to take pictures of just the basic things that everyone else saw. I wanted to capture the things that only I saw, and only I experienced. My creativity began with lying down in the middle of an empty street, to lying in the middle of a museum exhibit to capture the rectangular columns shooting up from the ground, forming an unseen cross. I wanted other people to be able to witness not just the city itself, but the little things of the city that I was able to capture. Thus, my love of photography flourished. Even my trip mates were entertained at the sights of my “unseen” photos. Even now, after I’ve been home, I continue to strive for the perfect picture. Photography is something that will definitely remain in my life for the rest of my life.
 

After Warsaw, we went to Krakow. Not too far from Krakow was the infamous extermination camp used by the Nazis, Auschwitz. Auschwitz is the place that that affected me most. But, it is also the one I remember the best.  Auschwitz One: We climbed off the bus and headed inside to get our tickets. I remember having to pay money to use their restroom, even though we were buying tickets from them. Which I thought was completely insane. As we walked to the gate it read, “Arbeit Macht Frei”, translating to works makes you free. The Nazis used propaganda to make the victims more cooperative. Auschwitz One, during the time of the Holocaust, was used primarily for sorting the victims’ things, experimentation, and labor. There was a gas chamber in Auschwitz One; we went inside. I remember having to remind myself to breath and to keep walking. Upon entering the gas chamber, there was an apparent feeling of discomfort. You felt cold, and I immediately noticed the little hairs on my arms were raised. There were fingernail markings on the wall, almost as if the people thought they could dig themselves out. On the left wall of the chamber was a small, barely noticeable door. When we walked through, we suddenly knew where we were now standing. I found myself a few feet away from two crematorium ovens. My heart suddenly sank. As we left Auschwitz One, I left a pink carnation on a little brick wall just outside of the chambers. Feeling then sick to my stomach, we proceeded on to Auschwitz Two, known as the primary extermination camp.
 

Auschwitz Two/ Birkenau: Upon arrival at Auschwitz Two, I was as quick as I could to get off the bus. I wanted as much time as I could possibly get there. We did a quick tour through one of the barracks. The living conditions these people were forced to live under should not be considered “living” conditions. There were a few pieces of wood nailed together; at max it was only an area of about eight feet. Around eight to twelve people were forced to sleep on this “bed”. The bathroom conditions were even worse. The “bathing” quarters consisted of an open barrack that was at a slight incline. There were about twenty-four holes carved into the cement, these were their toilets.  After leaving the barracks, our tour guide told us that the little bit of time we had left was ours. I walked from the barracks back to the train tracks and laid down on them. I picked my head up to realize that approximately six inches from my face, laying on the tracks, was a small pink carnation. About six inches up from that, the tracks were spitting in multiple direction. This would’ve eventually decided the fate of the victims. With one snap of my camera, it has become my favorite picture of the entire trip.
 

Telling you my story now, has put me back to Poland, roughly seven months ago.  I feel as if I were still there, being affected the same way I was that day. This feeling, this experience, simply cannot come from a lesson in the classroom. It can only be experienced by being here, living it. 
 

As we visited the last city on our list, Prague, Czech Republic, I carried the same heavy heart from Auschwitz. Prague was still physically beautiful, but now it was meaningful. I paid more attention to the meaning of it, then just it itself. The architecture and the view from the rivers were magnificent. Even the “lucky” bishop, seemed to have made my wish come true. We, as a group, took our time. We paid more attention to the little things, then just the big picture itself. As the time for heading home became closer and suddenly abrupt, we realized how close we had all become. The relationships we had made with each other and with our teachers were very familiar by now, and very family like.  We looked out for one another and we came to see how important it was to stick together.
 

To say that my trip affected me wouldn’t be enough. It has changed me and shaped me. It allowed me to grow up and to make a connection with school and the world around me. But, it also has made me a better person. I brought back a piece of Europe home with me, but in return, I left a piece of myself back in Europe.

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Sincerely,
S. Duffy
10th Grade student, ZAP CLUB MEMBER 2011-PRESENT