The memories will come, but Jetlag likes to hang around too

Hey Gamecock Nation,

What a crazy three weeks it has been. From the start of our travels here to Budapest, sunny Prague, a modern Warsaw, a quaint beachside Gdansk (or Danzig if you're of German background), or Berlin, to hearing about the run-off results to that sweet College World Series Championship back in Carolina, it has been quite the adventure for the 14 of us.

Now, as weary travelers waiting for our normal lives to catch up with us back in Columbia, I just want to take a moment to look back on some of our exciting and not so exciting moments.

As we landed in Budapest none of us quite knew what to expect. We had all seen movies with a dark and dreary 1970s Eastern Europe, but as we landed it didn't appear so. There was hustle and bustle all over the city, and things looked fairly prosperous. As we began traveling between countries, we saw the steady increase in prosperity all the way t

o the Brandenburg Gate. Socialism as they knew it was history, and all of the countries were looking forward to brighter futures.

Some times were better than others. Everyone please make note of this: unless you are traveling on the Orient Express, always fly over training in Europe. It must be because we got blessed with "the best 2 weeks of weather for all of European summer" that we were cursed with trains with no windows and broken air conditioning. It's ok, don't worry. No student were harmed in the making of this class on trains; however, there were times that we all thought there was no end in sight on an 8 hour ride and were ready to get off at any stop along the way.

Now that I'm sitting comfortably in my air conditioned apartment, I'll move back to the finer things of Europe. Most of the meetings we had throughout our thre

e and half weeks were exceptional and really supplemented what we all learned in the classroom. The backgrounds of some of the people were complex, intruiging, and all around just what we needed. From former Communists, to journalists working in communist Germany, to students who only know their parents' stories, we've started to gather a sense of what life was really like during Socialist control and how life has changed for the overall betterment of this part of the world.

I also enjoyed meeting people outside of our meetings. If you go to the right place at the right time, its amazing who you will actually meet. For example, after getting a dinner recommendation from Dean Bierbauer in Warsaw, I met with the leader of the majority party in Polish government there dining with his family. He sat and talked with me and Ashley for quite some time about journalism and government and the complex relationship it can have. Then in Berlin, after a very disappointing loss to Spain in the World Cup semifinals, I ended up hanging out with interns from another major political party in Germany. We talked about everything from culture to how the party has reshaped its goals once Communism fell and Germany was reunited.

I guess I'll close now, and although there is more I would love to tell you, it is buried deep within my brain, processing right now, trying to find its way around my jet lag. Because like any three week, intensive hands-on class moving about Europe every 5 days, time catches up with you on that plane ride back. So until August and Carolina Football,

Eljen! Hura! Nasrovia! Probst! and Cheers!

Auf Weidersehen and Carolina love,

Zach

Goodbye Berlin

After a long and incredible trip across Europe we wrap up our final days in Berlin. We scheduled some fascinating meetings with people directly affected by the Berlin Wall and the GDR. These meetings enlightened both the students and faculty to the oppressive nature under the socialist rule. The division of families and lack of free speech are only a few of the many examples given to the group. The trip has brought us on an adventure to important historical sites all over the city including the Brandenburg Gate, Hitlers Bunker and The Jewish Holocaust Memorial. It has been a trip like no other that has inspired me to continue researching the past so that my generation can provide a brighter future.

Sincerely,

Dave

Berlin Video!

Hello again- I hope you've enjoyed reading our blog updates over the last three weeks! It's now our final day in Berlin, and our last few hours of a journey that's been incredible. Tomorrow morning at 5:45 AM (or 15 minutes until midnight back home) we'll be loading the bus with our much-heavier luggage and all the memories we can possibly hold.

Before we leave, however, I wanted to be sure to post a video that highlights some of our numerous experiences in Germany. Be sure to turn your volume up, and I hope you'll enjoy the sights as much as we did.

Always,
Alex

The Prism of Time

BERLIN--Each day of this trip presents us with a new picture. Today, remnants of the infamous Berlin Wall, photos of those who died trying to cross it, personal accounts of those intent on not letting the wall fade from memory.

But for many young Berliners with whom we have met, the wall is a memory from before their time. It is more than 20 years since the night in 1989 when the wall was breached and, as communism crumbled, the dismantling began. In Berlin, there are those who would remove every trace of what the wall meant during the 28 years it stood. There are others who would build it back.

What was East Berlin is a different place from what I first saw about 1970 and even from what I last saw just five years ago. The challenge our post-cold war students have is to grasp why this is a significant piece of history and what it must have been like to live on either side of the Berlin Wall. Perhaps today, standing in the middle of one of the few preserved sections of what had been the "death strip," that became a bit more real.

When I used to cross Checkpoint Charlie between the American and Soviet sectors of Berlin, it was serious business. The Vopos--East Germany's volkspolizei guards--were purposefully intimidating, even though I had the security of an American passport. Checkpoint Charlie today is an anachronistic commercial circus. An ersatz Vopo will stamp your passport, your arm or forehead--for two Euros. A sloppy impersonator of a U.S. soldier will pose for a photo with you by the old guard shack--two Euros, please. That's hardly the mental snapshot I have of Checkpoint Charlie.

As we have travelled through Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany, we have gathered a collection of snapshots. Our students have shared some of their digital files. Mine tend to be on a mental file. It's good to have both kinds.

Five years from now, if our students come back--and I hope they will--these places will have changed again. But if you hold the prism just right, it reflects back on time and captures the changes.

CB -- July 8

FIFA 2010

Spain 1, Germany 0


It is a sad night in Berlin, but we had tons of fun watching the game tonight in a pub down the street from the hotel. Be sure to watch the game on Saturday to see if Germany can clinch the 3rd place title!


-Alex

Some fun on the beach in Gdansk on the 4th of July

I mean, all Americans need to celebrate our country's birthday somehow, right?

Zach

Guten tag from Berlin!

So our first day in Berlin turned out to be amazing. After a fantastic bike ride tour through the city from Fat Tire Bike Tours centered at Alexanderplatz, we visited a Berlin radio broadcasting station as well as the Reichstag building for a guided tour of parliament (and easy access up to the glass dome that overlooks the entire city)! From start to finish, the whole day was filled with interesting sights and stories to see and learn about Berlin.

First of all, we stopped at Bebelplatz, the sight of the Nazi book burning in the 1930s. Books written by Einstein were among the thousands burned in the center of this square, and an underground memorial of empty bookshelves now commemorates the tragic event. This week, however, the platz has turned into the center of fashion as the Berlin Fashion Week 2010 has set up a huge white tent covering the entire square furnished for famous designers and models. Luckily, the memorial was still accessible by the public (and it was awesome to get to see all the VIPs everywhere setting up for the event!)

From there our group headed toward Checkpoint Charlie, the Holocaust Memorial, and the Brandenburg Gate. Unbelievable sights, each had its own history and intensity. Checkpoint Charlie, one of three main checkpoints between the West and East during the Cold War, has turned into a giant tourist trap- fun but expensive! There, you can get a stamp on your passport for two Euro, or approximately $2.20. Also, you can take photographs with American guards at the checkpoint who are no longer stoic and resilient, but fun-loving and loud tourist-attractors calling out at the audience to join them in front of the small triangular-roofed white building for professional photographs.

The Holocaust Memorial, however, proved a stark contrast to the touristy-Checkpoint Charlie. A huge block of land near the American Embassy, the memorial is a cobblestone surface with thousands of huge grey concrete slabs painted in anti-graffiti paint that tower over you dauntingly. The memorial, with no explicit definition, is left up to individual interpretation, whether that leads to ideas of a graveyard for the Jewish masses, an empty city where you're constantly looking over your shoulder to see who's close by, or a physical manifestation of the jailed-in feeling created as thousands of Jews were forced like cattle into concentration camps, many of them to their death, the site is incredible as it reminds you of Nazi-ruled Germany and the genocide that Hitler's Third Reich created.

And lastly (on a slightly brighter note), the Brandenburg Gate is an awe-inspiring sight, a once-division between East and West Berlin that used to lie in the middle of the death zone inbetween the dividing walls. Today, we rode bikes under the gate, a feat that would have been impossible 20 years ago. Atop the gate sits a satue of a chariot with four horses led by a woman (now called Victoria after the victorious defeat of Napoleon) that humoursly looks patronizingly down upon the very military-looking, dare I say ugly, building that houses the French embassy. Whoever said the Germans don't have a sense of humor was sadly mistaken.

In general, it's truly hard to imagine Berlin pre-1989. But, after seeing the sights and memorials all around the city, I can tell you it's quite an emotional place filled with hope for the future. As we continue learning about the final events in the Cold War and those that led to the ultimate demise of Communism, we'll be sure to keep you posted here on our blog!

Alex