Monday, May 11, 2015

One Retrospective on Our Journey to Krakow


























I preface this post by apologizing if it in any way comes off as sentimental. 

I think everyone on the study tour went in with different expectations. Seeking new knowledge. Exploring a new world and culture.  Eating good food. Making new friends.

And I think all of us came away with more than that throughout our one week journey.

New Knowledge? We took courses at the Jagellonian University, one of the premiere institutions in all of Europe and experienced a variety of teaching styles from professors of different eras. We were even challenged by one professor to explore the abstract dimensions of knowledge, something that many of us seldom experience. We saw how the public radio works and that the decision on culture comes down to one man. We explored a massive commercial newspaper and saw it cling to an era that us Americans have already abandoned. We even learned that not all Catholic publications are in love with the Vatican's decisions and claims.

And on one day we managed to watch the bureaucratic process unfold in its numerous facets. I would even wager that some of us even picked up a few phrases in a language many probably never dreamt of exploring.

New World? We immersed ourselves in a culture that in some areas displays the splendor and romance of a medieval city and in others the rigidity and homogeneity of communism. We walked up a historic castle and managed a panoramic view of this wondrous city. We saw a fire-breathing dragon. We saw a trumpeter perform a mysterious unfinished work from the top of a church. We saw how churches in this incredibly Catholic nation put our own American cathedrals to shame with their often overwhelming sense of splendor and might. We saw how the Polish value their McDonald's more than we do, with a bathroom more luxurious than those of high-end American restaurants.

And of course we stepped foot into Auschwitz, the ultimate machine of murder that left every one of us on the brink of anger and frustration. It was an experience that I repeated described as "harrowing" to those who asked for my perspective and even as of this writing, it continues to reveal itself as painful and simply confusing - how can it be possible that humans could do something so perverse and horrifying; I feel that even those words cannot express the magnitude of this blight on human history.

Eating New Food? We certainly saw how pork could be cooked in a variety of manners. We ate food in a variety of restaurants, from the more upscale Miad Molina and historic (and four-floor) Wierzynek. We now know that Piorgi is plural and Piorg is the singular; we also know that they can exist with spinach, cheese, potato, pork, chicken... We ran into a culture that probably likes ice cream more than we do (and sure knows how to create serve it in spectacular ways). We even learned that Polish version of Ketchup is closer to our version of Marinara sauce.

Making new friends? When all is said and done, our connections to other people is what keeps our experiences alive. In each of us, we have shared an instant and it is through our continued interactions that they remain alive and well. We may not be in Krakow any longer (and some may never return), but we all come away with strong ties to that area through our relationships with the students and people that we met. We will all on some level remember vodka shared, failed attempts to engage in salsa, snoring and sleeping on a bus ride home from Auschwitz (at least I will since I was awake) and a climactic evening of dancing to 80's and 90's music in a former communist bar after a night of eating in a wide range of restaurants. It would not be too far-fetched to state that during our time our group and the Polish students bonded like a family.

The bubble we all lived in for a week has burst and our journey Krakow will slowly but surely fade into memory. But it will be a memory that will linger yet for times to come. 

1 comment:

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