Weimar-- Mid Stay Seminar

Weimar is a charming city in the middle of Germany. It is home to Germany's most famous writers, Schiller and Goethe, the first German Republic founded after World War 1, and the second Concentration Camp in Germany.

The 47 Americans from my program were together again for the first time since August at our Pre-Departure Orientation in Washington D.C. To say I was looking forward to this 5-day trip would be an understatement because it has obviously been awhile since I've seen my exchange friends, especially the ones who were at language camp with me. The trip turned out better than I expected. It was also quite different than our orientations in Spain, which served more as time to reflect and do activities having to do with our year. Not exactly super fun. Here though in Weimar, we had tons of free time to hang out with our friends, we got to see the city, and we only spent three hours total sitting in groups of 15 talking to each other about our experiences so far.

The first day was weird because I had spoken face to face with another American one time since September, and now I had 46 other Americans all in one room. The thing is, Germans are not typically loud people and Americans are. If you ever need to find the group of Americans, just find where the loud noise is coming from. The other weird thing was on the first day when everyone was arriving and you would go up give them a hug, say hello or whatever and then ask --what I will call-- the three basic questions: how are things with your host family, how are things at school, and generally with friends and the language. Most people asked these questions to most other people. It was strange because I couldn't help but wonder if we were asking some people who we hadn't even spoken to in 6 months because it was polite or because we actually cared. According to the Germans the whole "asking people questions out of politeness" is a typical American thing.

Part of our Weimar Program was visiting the houses where the German writers, Schiller and Goethe, lived. Personally I liked Schiller's house better because we got an audio guide for it, so I actually feel like I learned something. Whereas in Goethe's house we didn't have an audio guide so we just walked through the house while looking around and that was it. We also went to the concentration camp that is in Weimar called Buchenwald. That makes the third one I've visited and it definitely doesn't get easier each time. The moment you walked onto the grounds there is this somber mood that makes for a silent atmosphere. At each one, I have learned something new and the exhibitions and museums are set up differently, so it really a distinct experience each time. 

Obviously the free time was great, it was like we were given a free trip to explore a new city with our friends. We found this place where people could play pool and air hockey, and quite a few games of Cards Against Humanity were played. There is something very enjoyable about simply sitting down and hanging out with people who haven't seen in a while, and also becoming better friends with more people.

At the end I got sick, so I didn't go to school today. Lucky for you readers, that means I was able to make this post today.

Enjoy the photos below!

Shannon

Jessica and me

Schiller's house

Goethe's house

The Schiller and Goethe statue 

The square in front of the town hall

Weimar Town Hall

The building with the tower is where watch was kept, it also serves as the entrance. The wing on the right is where the torturing cells were.  

This steel plate is kept at 37 degrees Celsius, which is the human body temperature. It symbolizes life in a place where thousands and thousands of people died.

Thank you to Jessica for taking this photo.

My trip to the German Bundestag

Back in November I received an invitation from the member of Parliament who represents the region I am living in here in Germany to visit the Bundestag and meet with him. This is one of the many perks of the scholarship I received. So, last Thursday my host family and I went to Berlin. We met one of Mr. Steineke's aids and she took us around the building. It was cool because the Reichstag building doesn't look that big, but there are other buildings with offices that are apart of the Bundestag. There are underground tunnels connecting them. Only the general public would need to go outside to get from one building to another. Quick lesson here: Reichstag refers to the building and Bundestag refers to the people and the parliamentary things being done (ie making laws). Reichs means imperial and Bundes means federal. All of it used to be called the Reichstag back then with the German Empire and Third Reich, for example. Since 1945; however, the word Reichstag stopped being used to refer to the people of the Bundestag and what they do. The Bundestag is the current national parliament. 

In the basement, there is this a wall of boxes (size: big enough to fit a 3x5 index card, color: rusted brown) with names of former members of Parliament and the years they served. The boxes contained the cards with which the members used to vote. The interesting part is that there is one box that is completely blacked out. That particular box belonged to Hitler.

We then went to the plenary chamber, which is where the members of the Bundestag meet. We watched and listened as different members give speeches. The topic was Investing in Germany and Europe's Future. I'm taking the wording from my host mom when I say it is a bit of a circus in there. Attendents are constantly moving around, members on the lower floor are coming, going or talking, and groups are always coming in and out from the viewing section.

We then went on to meet with Mr. Steineke. One thing we talked about was the program I am on and the scholarship I received. This leads me to something very important. This program is in danger. Everything is explained on the website, but I'll give a quick overview. Congress is planning to cut program funds in half starting this year; potentially jeopardizing the entirety of the program. The Bundestag has agreed to cover the what the USA does not fund, but only for this year. This petition is to get Congress to reverse their decision and restore the funding. Most exchange students on this program, from both Germany and the USA would not have this opportunity if it wasn't for this scholarship (myself included). It is very important to keep this program running so that future exchange students have this amazing opportunity as well.
Here is the link to sign the petition.
http://savecbyx.org/

We then went up to the dome. There is an upward and downward spirialing ramp circling the dome and you can see the city of Berlin. Actually, directly under the dome is where the plenary chamber is, so natural light comes down to the chamber. There is also an audio guide for the dome that I have previously done, although this time we had the aid as our guide. She explained the tasks of the Bundestag and pointed out all the sights you can see from the dome. Outside the dome is also a rooftop terrace, which is great for photos and views.

That was the end of our visit to the Bundestag. Although I had visited before, this time was obviously cooler and better. The aid was knowledgeable, nice, and super friendly, too. The whole thing felt very official and it was quite the experience.

The absolute coolest part of the whole day, though? I saw Chancellor Angela Merkel. 

my host sister and me

The plenary chamber. We went inside but we couldn't bring our cameras in.

My host family and me with Mr. Steineke in the middle.

My host sister took this photo at the top of the dome.

Hello there

Rooftop

Reichstag building (this photo was actually taken in November)