Alright....  I know I haven't posted in forever again....  things are really crazy, sorry!   So Fall Break!  I went to Poland, which was absolutely unbelievable.  We started in Warsaw, then went to Torun for a symposium, then ended the week in Krakow.  All three cities were gorgeous.  I now love Poland as well (this is really a problem, I kind of love every city that I go to... Europe is gorgeous).  We did a ton in Poland though because it was almost a full week, so here goes. 

Friday: Plane got in and then we went to dinner and just walked around Old Town.  It was a really chill night, but a good first day in the city.

Saturday: We had a tour Warsaw and of the Jewish ghetto.  It was a really long day and a lot of walking, but our tour guide was awesome and very informative.  Even though I have read a lot about WWII and the ghettos and the concentration camps and everything, there is always something new to learn, and so much history from this time period. 

 These are around Warsaw where the old walls of the ghetto used to be

 Iconic but controversial building in Warsaw.  It was a gift from the Soviets.

 Map of the old Jewish ghetto

 View of Warsaw

 View of Warsaw

 View of Warsaw

 Giving Christine a dirty look (I don't remember why)

 But Pedro saw (SLA, kind of like an RA) and decided that I needed a hug

Then he overdid it....

Later we went to the Warsaw uprising museum (where I mostly just have pictures of informational boards because I'm probably going to write a paper on it).  Then we went to the hotel that the alumni were staying for a quick lecture and drinks.  While we were there we saw the German national soccer team!  Which was awesome.  Here's some pictures of a few of them: 

The next day we went to Torun to start the conference. Train rides are boring, but we slept some

Left is Sam (my Poland roomie!!!) and right is Christine

That night was the opening of the symposium, and we watched Ghosts of Rwanda and listened to a panel.

John Kurowski (sp?) Head of the conference

 

Monday: We had the conference, and then we went to the gingerbread museum (which i must say was just a tad strange but pretty cool) 

 Carl Wilkens, the only American to stay in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide, and the keynote speaker at the symposium.  I could fangirl for a while, but basically he's just amazing and it was really awesome getting to know him.

Christine and I at the gingerbread museum

Tuesday: Train ride to Krakow (that was most of the day) and then a tour of Schindler's Factory

 Names of Jews helped by Schindler during the war

Wednesday: We had a guided tour of Auschwitz and Birkenau.  Easily the saddest day.

Thursday we had a tour of the salt mines, which was just kind of crazy.  Everything in there was made entirely of salt!!

And then we had out closing dinner

 Left side of table: Anne (professor) Dom, Matt, Andrew

Right side of table: Matt, me, Sam, Boshena (sp? professor)

 Group picture !!!

Friday we went home.  It was almost 12 hours of traveling, and it was really good to be home.  Here's some more pictures that I missed while trying to keep all of this organized (and failing) 

Saturday was a good day to just sit back and relax, and then Sunday was the hunger run in Rome! 

 Sam and I walking in our Team USA shirts

SLA Pedro pumping up the team !!!

The walk went right through downtown Rome.  I will never be used to the fact that just walking by the Colosseum is totally normal here.  Afterwards we went for an American barbeque at the ambassador's house.  Which was DELICIOUS I might add!!! 

All in all, Fall break was pretty awesome!!!  Next up will be the WWII trip and Greece where I leave for tomorrow (hopefully)  I promise I'll try to catch up eventually!!!

Ciao for now!