Home in America

It's now June 9th, and I have been home for approximately 10 days now.  It's so weird to be back in America!  I never thought that I would experience culture shock going back to my own home country, but the culture shock is hitting me almost as hard as it was when I first got to Europe.  Some things are so nice to be able to come home to, like the restaurants that I love, as well as the little things like free ketchup and free water.  I really do miss Europe though, I really miss the culture there as well as constantly exploring new places and learning new things about the world.  I absolutely cannot wait to go back! I'm going to start saving with my first paycheck so that I can go back again either next summer or the summer after. It's unreal how big of an impact that traveling Europe had on me for only being over there for three months... I feel like a completely different person now than I did before I left. 

For future study abroad students, believe me when I say that you are in for the best three months of your entire life.  You will gain a whole new perspective of the world and yourself, and you will definitely change as a person (for the better) because of the incredible new places that you are about to go and because of the amazing experiences that you are about to go through.  Don't get me wrong, there will definitely be some really rough times, like when the airlines lose your bag for a few days, or when you start to really miss everyone from back home. However, the good times make all of that completely okay, and the few rough times that you go through will make you a stronger and better person.  Have the time of your life! Here are some helpful tips that might make your experience a little bit better.

1.  DO NOT TAKE AN ONLINE COURSE WHILE YOU ARE STUDYING ABROAD!
      I took business stats online while I was abroad, and that was without a doubt one of the worst decisions that I have ever made in my academic career.  You are studying abroad for the experience, while yes school does still matter, don't make it all that matters. Get out and experience everything that you can, after all that is why you decided to study abroad isn't it?

2.  Travel as much as possible!
     There will be plenty of time for you to travel on your own, take advantage of it!  While Olomouc is a fun and cultural place to be, you should try to travel as much as possible on the weekends and on breaks.  Trust me, the travel that you do on your own time will help to make for the experience of a lifetime. 

3.  Say yes!

  When a new opportunity presents itself, don't be nervous or shy, just do it!  While in Croatia we did a lot of activities that some people might get nervous about, like renting a little motor boat and taking it out onto the Adriatic Sea, but those memories will become some of your favorite memories of the entire trip.  I don’t mean to go out and make clearly stupid decisions, but what I do mean is to go out and try something that you probably never have done before.  So go out, have fun, do things that you normally wouldn’t do, and make memories to make it the trip of a lifetime.

Auschwitz-Birkenau: A Hell on Earth

Auschwitz.  A name synonymous to hell. I recently had the experience of touring the concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau and seeing a glimpse of the atrocities that the Jews and other targeted groups had to endure on a daily basis.  Mostly Jews were sent to this camp, but Poles, political prisoners, USSR prisoners of war, gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah Witnesses, Slovaks, among others, were also sent to work and be murdered in the camp.  As much of 75% of the people getting off the train:  the women, the children, and those unfit for slave labor, were marched straight to the gas chambers upon arrival in the camp.  The remaining 25% who had survived the selection process then had to endure terrible living conditions.  They were fed food that amounted to roughly 300 calories a day, a number that the Nazis had calculated would result in living for about an additional three months after arriving in the camp.  They could only visit the bathrooms twice a day, and for only thirty seconds, and if they dared to use the bathroom more than that they could be shot on the spot.  These are just some examples as to of how terrible the conditions at the camp were.

The camp was the most (I can’t even think of words to describe it) place that I have ever been to, and I will never forget it in my life.  It is pure sickening to see what some “people” can do to others.  Between 1 and 1.5 million people were murdered at this one camp alone.  1.5 million.  To put that in perspective that is 83% of the population of the state of Nebraska being murdered at this one camp.  Visiting this place was unlike anything I ever have, or will experience again.  The feeling is simply indescribable; words cannot even begin to describe what this place is like.  I cannot even begin to imagine what this place must have been like 70 years ago when it was in operation.  It is amazing to me that humans can lose their identity and morals to a point where they can actually treat other people in this kind of way.

The tour led us inside one of the original gas chambers of the camp.  I stood directly under the hatch that was used to drop Zykon B pellets to kill everyone in the chamber.  The feeling knowing that you are standing in a spot where literally tens of thousands of people have perished is unlike anything I have ever felt in my life.  The tour led us to another gas chamber that was blown up to cover up the crimes that were committed, and next to it was a small swamp area.  The guide explained to us that this gas chamber was used to kill literally hundreds of thousands of people, and that after their death the bodies were burned in massive crematoriums.  The guide then pointed to the swamp area and explained how the swamp was being filled in with the ashes of the people that they had murdered.  It is so unbelievable that this could have ever happened.  It is so disgusting, how can people do this to another fellow human being?  The Holocaust, and the use of camps like Auschwitz-Birkenau is arguably one of the darkest periods of human existence; however, their memory must be forever remembered, no matter how much society might want to forget this terrible time. “Forever let this place be a cry of despair, and a warning to humanity…” This warning must never be forgotten, for he who remembers his history shall not be condemned to repeat it.

Locals (3)

The character of Olomouc is really unlike any other city that I have been to.  The people here for the most part are really nice, and the ones that speak English are even nicer. Most of the people are really helpful; however, at times the language barrier can be really frustrating to deal with.  However, it is usually possible to communicate main ideas to people who speak little to no English with a little bit of time and patience.  Most food establishments usually have at least one employee who is fluent in English, and many places have English menus.  Like I said, for the most part people seem really nice, but it can be difficult to really have a conversation with most Czech people as most only speak basic English.  It's also been kind of hard to meet Czech students and Czech people in general.  We live in the multicultural dorms, where none of the students are Czech. There are people from literally all over the world that stay in our dorms, but no Czech students live here.  It's also kind of challenging to meet new people because of how much we traveling that we do.  However, I have met a few really nice Czech people, and even got invited to a house warming party this month from a couple of students that I have met.
Like I said earlier, MOST of the people here in Olomouc that I have talked to are really nice; however, no place in the world is completely perfect, and Olomouc is no exception.  There have been a couple of instances in which I had to deal with some pretty rude people, which is to be expected anywhere you go.  Surprisingly enough though, nearly every time that I have had to deal with someone rude it is usually always an employee at Globus, the Czech version of Wal-Mart.  I posted in an earlier blog about one of the encounters that I had with a cashier who tried confiscating my credit card, which was by far the worst encounter that I have had here.  I had another bad encounter with the cashier while I was there today, and thankfully I had my card signed this time because she was really double checking the signature on my card versus the one on the receipt.  They mean business there when it comes to credit card theft/fraud I guess!  Overall the character of Olomouc is a friendly small city with very nice and helpful people, but like everything else in life, it does have its imperfections.  I really do hope that someday I will be able to return to this friendly city that I currently am calling home.