June 20th, 2011

Today was the normal morning routines for everyone, except for me. My German partner Marie is sick, so I had to get on the bus by myself and get off at the right stop to catch the connecting bus to school. Thankfully, I made it there safe and on time. I was quite proud of myself, because German public transportation can be so confusing!
After everyone arrived to school we boarded a bus for our trip to Weimar. After the hour ride we got off and toured the city. We were able to see many museums and monuments. The main topic of the day was the poets/philosophers Goethe and Schiller. There are many museums and monuments throughout the tour that praise both the genuis men. The hard part of the tour was that we were given a worksheet to fill out during the tour. It asked questions such as name 5 museums in Weimar, name 5 important people who lived in Weimar (Bach, Carl August, Goethe, etc), and other trival facts that could be learned if you payed attention to the tour guide. It was a great way to learn about the history of the city and the importance of it. Whoever had the most answers won; and the winner was Zach Grewe, with Mrs. Wehr as a close second place! Also during the tour we went to a indoor museum/movie. It was more like a story, with each room containing a different scene from history and narration to explain it. The topic was the history of the city Weimar. It was very informative and a neat experience.
After the tour was over, we had a little over an hour to eat lunch and shop on our own. For lunch I had Döner, which is a Turkish food. This is pretty much a wrap with meat, onions, lettuce, etc. It is quite a hit with all the American students. Many people went to the "best ice cream shop in town" according to our guide. We then browsed through the little stores and made our way back to the bus.
The next stop on our trip was the concentration camp, Buchenwald. This is something that I will always remember. As we drove onto the campsite, the eerie mood was set by the strong breeze and dark rain clouds. We walked to the entrance gate, and crossed into the camp. It is extremely quiet throughout the entire area, everyone is in complete remorse. As we went through the barrack living chambers and the cremetorium where the dead bodies were burned, you cannot help but to think of all the horrible things that once happened here. It was truly shocking to see the small prison like cells that people were crammed into. The part that shocked me the most was going into the cremetorium and walking past the huge ovens that bodies were burned in. The oven doors were open, and it was truly scary to imagine bodies being dumped here. It is so  hard to explain the feeling you get while at a concentration camp, it is just so creepy and sad. We were truly walking in the path of history. Next we watched a very informative movie about how Buchenwald was run during the war. This specific camp was used as a labor camp. Our guide pointed out that there are no gas chambers on the campus, because they did not need them. They worked the inmates to death. After the movie, we walked down to the memorial site which had many paintings portraying the harsh life that people had while at Buchenwald. We also saw three mass burial pits. They are big crater-like holes in the ground;  but at the time they were used they were said to be completely level with the ground. That put in perspective how many thousands of lives were lost at the camp. The experience of going to a concentration camp is truly moving.
After we were done touring the camp, we loaded back onto the bus. The original plan for this evening was to play beach volleyball and go swimming. But due to rain the plans were cancelled. I spent my evening at home with my host family and started packing.
Lauren Mann