Kraków Momma

There is nothing in this world that a mother’s hug cannot solve. That is why I was so incredibly excited to have my mom fly all the way from Catonsville, MD to come and visit me in Oswiecim. My mom and her childhood best friend, Kate, made a vacation out of the occasion and decided to stay in Kraków, the closest city to Oswiecim. Despite its proximity, I haven't actually made the two hour train ride into Krakow since I have been in Poland. My mom’s first time in Poland, therefore, became a sightseeing trip for me as well.

My mom and I outside of a castle in the center of Kraków 

My mom and Kate saw the necessary sites during the weekdays, including the Jewish Quarter, the salt mines and Schnidler's Factory. This gave my mom and I  time on the weekend to do what we do best: laugh and eat. And boy did we do a lot of both. I could spend hours discussing my new favorite dining spots in Kraków, but, instead, I would like to highlight one particular place: Make Hummus Not War.

Milk bars are pinnacle to Polish culture. The idea behind this type of restaurant is for the busy, hard-working Polish citizen that wants to save money without sacrificing a good, hearty meal. Milk bars are particularly popular for lunch time, when workers need a quick, cheap fix before finishing the work day. A milk bar will specialize in only a few dishes, usually Polish classics, that they can make in mass quantities. Closing time is whenever the food runs out.

My mother and her friend Kate before they devoured two giant plates of Polish latkes and cabbage rolls at a traditional milk bar

In the Jewish Quarter of Kraków, there is a new, modern milk bar specializing in Israeli cuisine. We stumbled upon this restaurant, that more closely resembles a heavenly garden, and I immediately had to eat there. As a vegetarian, there are few things that will make me happier than a restaurant called “Make Hummus Not War.” And it did not disappoint. We got to choose three of five Israeli classics that had a modern twist. My favorite was the mango cranberry hummus.

Trekking across the globe to Poland, my mom needed to see my place of work for the past two months. Touring my mom around Auschwitz was a surreal experience, in more ways than one. It was strange teaching the Holocaust and the role of Auschwitz to someone that has taught me almost everything I know. Seeing this place through the eyes of someone who is seeing it for the first time really puts my entire co-op experience into perspective. I have found a sense of normalcy behind this barbed wire. It sounds odd, I know, but when you spend 6 hours out of the day in any place, normalcy is inevitable. Every place has become associated with parts of my job or my daily life. My office is in Block 23, Jacek (whom I call my Polish father because of his striking resemblance to my father) works in Block 24 and fellow Northeastern student, Manish Laungani, works in the former camp kitchen. I walk by the crematorium on the way into work and through the infamous “Arbeit Macht Frei” sign on my way home: this is my daily life.

I don't remember what it felt like to walk through Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau for the first time last summer. My new memories of these places have overshadowed the old ones and I cannot get them back. Watching my mom see each remain and each exhibit for the first time, I began to remember why I wanted to work in a former Nazi concentration and extermination camp. The sadness, frustration, anger and confusion that every visitor experiences on their three hour tour are what makes this museum necessary. I believe every person should at least try and journey to Oswiecim and see what we, as human beings, are capable of doing to one another. In reading about the Holocaust, it is easy to consume oneself in the facts and figures of this time. Visiting the sites in those textbook photographs allows one to unveil the raw and personal side of this history that can only be experienced through seeing, not reading.

I am grateful for my mother for so many reasons. Today, I am grateful that, as I begin the second-half of my time in Poland, she reminded me that my co-op work is important for this institution and for myself.