I went on a study abroad in March for my spring break and it was probably the best decision that I've ever made. We went to Germany, Poland and Austria. I particularly studied theology of human dignity through the lens of the Holocaust. It was the most heart wrenching thing but it has changed my life in the most positive ways. I learned so much about human dignity and I learned a couple other things. Here is where I will post the couple other things.... And maybe include some deep theological and meaningful things as bonuses. These are listed in no particular order, in case you were wondering.
Number One
At one point or another you will hate almost everyone you travel with.
....and I mean this in the nicest way possible. You will be cranky and hate them. They will be cranky and that's why you hate them. They will make one tiny mistake and you will hate them out of proportion. They will be a cultural blunder and you will hate them appropriately. They could be complete strangers or closest friends BUT YOU WILL HATE THEM. For me, I was actually getting angry that I was getting angry with people. Since the trip was about human dignity, I thought that I shouldn't be frustrated with people. I was getting angry that people wouldn't listen to me, that people wouldn't get out of their comfort zone, that people were inconsiderate, and a multitude of other reasons. But here's the thing, I was probably that person a bunch of times to other people. It just happens when you travel with people and that's okay. It really is ok to be frustrated, you just can't stay there. You have to get over yourself and love the people that make you angry. Your anger will subside and you may actually gain friends.
Number two
Wander.
I cannot stress this enough. I learned that wandering is one of the greatest thing to do when abroad. It is genuinely ok to reply to someone that asks you the question "what did you do?" with " Nothing, I wandered." Wandering was my favorite part about this trip. It's how I fell in love with the cities and how my heart was torn out in Dachau concentration camp. When we wandered we found an back alley that housed three museums. (Ok, that was intentional wandering but still that place was beautiful.) We found a movie theater back there and amazing street art. We found an art market. We found an adorable coffee shop and then a bistro with amazing food and almost better WiFi. We found a store that sold bow ties in a random crevasse. We found a Dunkin Donuts, a fountain and a street musician. We found the greatest paninis and ice cream. I found a statue that changed my life. I found a poem that changed my perspective. I found a place of beauty after devastation. I found perspective. I would say I found myself in my wanderings. "Not all those that wander are lost." I will never be opposed to wandering.
Number Three
Life is about selfies.... with other people.
When I was in the fifth grade I went on a field trip and came back with a disposable camera filled with pictures. My sister looked through them and told me something probably insignificant to her and she probably doesn't even remember but to me it was incredible. "When you go places, take pictures with people." I think ever since then I kinda live by that motto. Because of this my phone is filled with selfies of me and my friends at various places AND pictures of the beautiful scenery of Europe. But when I go back years from now and look at my pictures I will never be wishing "Oh I wish I got pictures of that building at that one place." I'll be sitting down, reminiscing about the time that one of my friends dumped Q-tips all over the floor, or when we pretended that the statues were our friends, or when we got those awesome food things in Poland that we can't seem to pronounce, or being ridiculously giddy in the Museum of Communications with my fellow Comm major, OR GETTING ICE CREAM SIX TIMES (absolutely no shame, European ice cream is my fav), or any of the crazy things that happened with my friends over there. I'll never be wondering who I was with or what we were doing because I caught that on camera instead of a building that won't mean anything to me years from now.
Number Four
The most random things can change your life.
This particular random thing was a small statue in the Catholic memorial at the Dachau Concentration Camp. This is one of the places where I wandered by myself for the entire time. I first stopped at the statue that makes bodies look so tangled that they represent barbed wire. It's a powerful image that makes you think and I stood there for a good 10 minutes just studying the statue. How thin they made the people look, how they looked like they were crying for help, how twisted the bodies were. I walked away shaking my head at how awful everything was and continued to wander around Dachau. I eventually made my way to the back of the camp where the Catholic memorial was located. I walked up to it, looked inside and noticed that it was a small statue of Jesus and I was about the walk away. Then I thought "That's interesting that Jesus looks like the bodies of the other statue. Jesus looks like the prisoners." Jesus looked like the prisoners. I started bawling. I have recognized before that because of the torture before the crucifixion Jesus was barely recognizable as a human being. BUT I never made the connection that Jesus was dehumanized, that people attempted to strip Jesus of his dignity. The realization that Jesus still knows where we are and meets us in the middle of despair... even in the middle of a concentration camp.
Number Five
Don't hold on to old adventures.
I've been to Germany before but the last time I was on an army base and was in a small town with cobblestone streets. I was so excited to go back to Germany (especially for the ice cream) but I eventually realized that if I was going to enjoy this trip that I couldn't expect it to be like the last time I was there. I wasn't with my parents, I wasn't 12 and I wasn't going to see my sister. This was going to be an entirely different trip.... and I'm glad I let go of that attitude early on. I've seen it happen that adventures lose their luster because we try to stay in that mindset for as long as possible.Or we ruin it by always wanting to go back to a place and time that no longer exist. Remember the adventures but don't cling to them. Enjoy them for what they were and go on new excursions with
Number Six
Atrocities don't always look like atrocities.
This was actually difficult to wrap my head around. I was shocked when we walked into the concentration camps and they were nicer than I expected them to be and nicer than I wanted them to be. They were organized brick buildings with little lights on the outside. They could have been nice old houses from a time long ago. I wanted them to be disgusting little shacks. I wanted them to be completely falling apart and I wanted them to be dirty. I don't know why I wanted them to be this way but I knew that it made it worse. It made it worse that one of the most devastating events in history took places in camps that had alright brick buildings that were lined up in rows. It was the weirdest feeling and this probably doesn't make sense but I hated it.
Number Seven
Get that one souvenir that will forever remind you of the trip. (Or five.... ok maybe fifteen)
For me that includes rubber duckies, ornaments for a tree, Fanta bottles, a little box and of course, postcards. I'm such a sentimentalist and these items will forever have significant meaning to me because I got them from Europe. I think often times I memories get spotty and forget even the best memories that we ever had.... that's why I take pictures, get souvenirs and become a borderline hoarder. I want to remember everything, not to stay in the past but to see how the past plays into the future. So I will never be ashamed of my love of little souvenirs.... even $20 worth of German chocolate, Ok I should be slightly ashamed of that one.
Number Eight
Street performers should be recording artists.
I am so thankful for street performers. I know that they are out there performing in an attempt to make even a small amount of money but they add so much flavor to ordinary life. I remember in Atlanta that I heard a singer standing in the streets and singing "I Can Only Imagine" as loud and as beautifully as he could. I felt like I walked away from that street being forever changed and that's the same feeling I had in Germany. We went for Dunkin one night in Berlin and found a fountain and a man playing guitar. It was quite cold but I never wanted to leave the edge of that fountain. I could sit there forever listening to this man play songs I didn't know and quietly sing along to the songs I recognized. I wanted to take that guy home with me and pay him to play music all day long but unfortunately that didn't happen. I will always remember that moment by the fountain.
Number Nine
Mom was wrong.... it's ok to stare.
It's still not ok to stare at people but go ahead and stare at other things. Actually, take as long as you want and study the world around you through staring. If we don't, we miss a lot of the beauty that makes the big picture. We could miss the streaks of color in a flower petal or the textures of a painting. Take the time to take in the ordinary things and realize how amazing the ordinary really can be. I can't tell you how often I just stood in one spot and stated at what was in front of me. To quote the great philosopher, Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." He was right and I don't want to miss anything. BRB Imma go stare at some flowers.
Number Ten
The world I came back to didn't actually change, I did.
I think often times that we think that the world we come back to changes but we don't that stays the same but we change. I didn't come back to a different Georgia, I came back a different Marilyn. I came back seeing though different eyes because I gained perspective. I came back with a changed heart because I left pieces in Europe. I am different because I went beyond my comfort zone and went to places that I have never known before. You can't go somewhere new and not be changed. You have tried things, seen things, met people and throughout things that will change a part of who you are... if you let it. If you go into a new place and don't open up to change then you are missing out on one of the greatest experiences. I have changed for the better because of my study abroad and I don't regret a single minute of it.
Number Eleven....
I can't wait to see where I will go next. :)
