Photos and Memories

After several of us have put together presentations about what to expect in Poland, I was surprised at how interesting everything has been! Because of the huge amount of information that we’ve been presented with the last couple weeks, I’m just going to make a few comments on the things that stick out in my mind. The first presentation was about polish Food - and who doesn’t get excited about food? There were some surprising similarities between Polish and American food. I’m definitely excited to try some infamous Polish sausage! And dessert doesn’t look so bad either.. :There was also a presentation about Polish entertainment. Again - I guess that I assume since Poland is so far away that its culture is going to be completely different, but surprisingly, music is very similar to ours.I guess overall what I’m expecting is something very different from what were actually going to encounter. I mean - I know it’s a different culture, but at the same time, globalization has definitely taken its toll on the individualistic identities of cultures throughout the world. Today we had a presentation about photography. It was EXTREMELY interesting and Professor Anwar is a wonderful photographer. What I do love about photography is that it can emphasize the many similarities that we as human beings have - no matter where we are from. The pictures we saw today were from everywhere - but many of them looked very familiar. That’s what I would like to do with my trip - I want to bring the world to the panhandle. I want to let people know that even though we may be half a world away, we’re all so much more alike than we realize.As time passes I’m getting more and more excited about heading over to Europe. I was lucky enough to visit England and Scotland over Winter break, and I’m ecstatic to be able to go back so soon. I love Europe because of its colorful and long history and can’t wait to get back and take some more photos and memories back with me.love love! Katie

My Weekly Pick-me-up!

For once in my entire life I am actually looking forward to Mondays. They reason you ask? Because I can enter into my Poland class completely drained from the week before and leave with the same excitment I had the day we won this trip! It is so fascinating for me to be learning about this whole other culture that before going in I didn’t know much about. Until now, for me, the word Poland became synonymous to the Holocaust and oppression throughout their very long history, but I’m beginning to see why the Polish people are so proud of their culture.This week we learned all about Polish customs, entertainment, and current events. Some of the Polish traditions I found really funny, most notable, was the tradition of setting an extra plate out for an unexpected guest, who I guess is supposed to be God. I really wish we were going during Christmas so I could walk into random peoples houses and they treat me like God! (Is that sacrilegious?) It was quite morbid, however, when we learned that you are supposed to have and uneven number of people at Christmas dinner or somebody will die before next year! So…. maybe, I wouldn’t crash random peoples dinners. I can tell that this is going to be such an amazing experience! I am looking forward to meeting new and fascinating people and visiting such beautiful places like the Tatra Mountains and all the castle and cathedrals. But I also hope to grow a lot during this trip. I have to admit that going to Auschwitz is something that I am dreading, but I feel that it is something that I need to see to better understand the Polish people, and in doing so better understand myself, my world, and my heart. To look at the remains of what was pure evil and to refuse to stand idly by!-Brant