I first travelled to Fürstenberg, a town just outside of Berlin, to meet a family friend, Sabine. My aunt, Sabine and another Berliner, Magdalena, joined the Medical Mission Sisters, became friends and have kept in touch. This connection not only gave me multiple places to sleep, but also gave me the opportunity to meet some truly incredible women.
Sabine works at Ravensbrück, a former Nazi concentration camp, so we had a lot to talk about. Ravensbrück was the only all-female concentration camp run by the Nazis and, therefore, has a relatively unique history. I plan on dedicating an entire post to this unfortunately “unpopular” Holocaust tourist destination because it is, to me, one of the most under-appreciated sites for Holocaust education.
Sabine and I after having coffee with some people from her church community
Sabine also helped start an aid organization in Fürstenberg dedicated to assist in the assimilation of refugees. Germany, as you probably know, has had a controversial relationship with the groups of refugees, mostly from Syria, that have entered its borders in astounding numbers since the Arab Spring. I got the opportunity to visit the housing facilities Sabine and her organization have fought to get for the now 70+ refugees living in Fürstenberg. Saturday was also a special time in the town because it was the first day of school celebration. In Germany, it is tradition for children entering kindergarten to be welcomed to their school in a ceremony and the reception of Schultüte, a cone-shaped object filled with sweets. The ceremony is usually held on the weekend to ensure family members from out of town can travel to the school and see their 6 year-old attempt to carry a 3.5’ cone. On my first day of Kindergarten, my parents took my picture by the bus and I probably got a hug. I’m not bitter.
There were four children from refugee families that will be beginning Kindegarten this year in Fürstenberg. Three other children will be starting at the elementary school and, because it is their first year at a German school, they got to participate in the ceremony as well. I was moved by the way the school welcomed these children with complete acceptance, something not always expected by a small, monoculture town.
After the ceremony, we joined the families in a trip to the local ice cream parlor. The families speak various levels of German depending on how long they have been in Germany. Sabine and some others are volunteering their time to teach German classes at night to adults that would like to learn and the children are taking extra German classes provided by the school. Most of the children didn't speak English and, because I don't speak German, I could only interact with them through play which they were pretty receptive too once we were all on a sugar rush from the ice cream. Coming off the sugar high, I found myself sitting at a table while a 3 year-old Syrian girl taught me how to count in German. I taught her how to count in English and she caught on right away, while I forgot the German numbers almost immediately. I have been in college as long as she has been alive, and she outsmarted me without even knowing the English language!
On Sunday, I journeyed back into Berlin (only an hour train ride) and met Magdalena, a therapist at a rehabilitation center. I ate so much plum cake, learned a lot about the German Holocaust education curriculum and got all my dreams psychoanalyzed: it was a well-needed, different experience. That evening, we decided to go to the Philharmonie and see the John Wilson Orchestra. I have never been to the orchestra and I didn't really know what to expect. I thought it would be all classical music and, because that is my genre of choice for studying, I was worried I would automatically take out a notebook and feel like I had to take notes. To my delight, the orchestra is conducted by a young, British man who created a set list of songs from famous movies. I had some interviews that day, so I was dressed in “co-op chic” and attending the orchestra: this is adulthood, people.
The orchestra warming up before the first act
After a reluctant goodbye and a couple more slices of plum cake, I made the 12 hour journey back to Oswiecim. I had a connection at a station called “Praha,” which I assumed was in Germany or Poland, but once the conductor came around asking for our passes to go across the Czech Republic border, I realized my layover was actually in Prague. In 72 hours, I took 8 modes of transportation across 5 cities in 3 countries: what did you do last weekend?
This sounds like a whirlwind of a weekend! The Kindergarten welcome ceremony is so adorable and I so wish that we had that here :)
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to your next posts!