History, Memories and Pictures, lots and lots of pictures.....

It is mid-November; school is starting to come to an end for this semester (woohoo!!!), Thanksgiving is just around the corner and the countdown of me returning to Alberta for Christmas is on!!! Just thinking of being around family and friends, good times and laughter, creating new memories and pictures is going to be my biggest strength to get through these next couple of weeks.  So all this being said, a couple of weekends ago (again, I am totally slacking on keeping this blasted thing updated), Kalyn and I decided to hit the National Museum of American History.  It was a pretty kick ass place to go check out (http://americanhistory.si.edu/) and deciding to go to that Museum was a conundrum as originally we were supposed to go see the Air and Space Museum, but then I wasn't really feeling all 'air and space-like', so then we were going to check out the Museum of Natural History, but when I was watching Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, I decided I wanted to see the Sesame Street characters, but they weren't on exhibition anywhere, so basically when we got to the Museum Map, I did the classic close-the-eyes-spin-spin-spin-and-point move and we found ourselves heading towards the American History Museum. 

 
Walking through it, Kalyn and I talked about our grandparents and the different way of life and it just got me thinking about all the family events that I have gone too, all the stories sitting around tables or campfires and all the memories I have about my own family and how, if it will be any different, generations from now will think back to this era. With it being Thanksgiving in a couple of weekends, I figured having a family posting would be the best thing right now.  Also, with the passing of my Godmother, it has made me a little nostalgic of family members that have left us and the ones who are still around.  So, as I take you back through memories and pictures (lots of pictures), you will see some music links, if you want to enrich your experience all the more!!!  So first song: get up and dance if you feel like it
 

 My uncle and aunt suited each other to a T (yes, a capital T).  I remember the story of my uncle lighting their house on fire when he was little:  when he was a little kid, he liked to play with matches (perfectly normal - did not turn into a pyro thankfully) And he would blow the match out and then throw them down the hole in the wall of the bathroom (not exactly sure what the hole was for). Well one of the matches was still hot enough to catch the tissues on fire and eventually the fire department was called as was grandpa who passed the fire truck on his way there. Apparently my uncle never got into any real trouble for almost burning he house down, which surprises me as Grandpa apparently enjoyed putting his hot pipe against the back of an ear just to watch them jump and squeal, just for kicks. But then again, maybe that is where my uncle got his fascination for hotness/fire/burning from..... As for my aunt, she was crazy, like craaaaaaazy, about Halloween.  When I lived with them, the first time I remember walking through the front door and not knowing about this side of a very gentle, soft spoken, innocent seeming aunt of mine was almost obsessed with Halloween and seeing skeletons, pumpkins, witches, all things associated with Halloween everywhere.  It honestly threw me for a loop. 

  

A huge family tradition of ours, and it is something that I look forward to all the time, is playing cards.  My gramps got me hooked on crib; I never could beat him for some reason, but there was a time that I did beat him and he got all pouty and grumpy and accused me of cheating!!!  There were many times that he and I would be playing crib while Grandma was sitting there, watching her Blue Jays play and get mad at us for speaking over the game.  Whenever my one sister and I get together, we play crib - I use the word 'play' kind of loosely as it is more like I have to reteach her how the play the game hahaha.  Also, my stepmother and I play crib quite a lot and it sounds like it is a hunting tradition between my brother, his wife, my dad and stepmom.  It is something that is just woven into us, and it makes sense as it is something that our parents did.  Not only do we play crib, but lately, and I don't remember who got us on this kick, but for the past couple of Christmas', we have been playing Uno like it is going out of style.  When the Uno cards get broken out, it is mayhem as laughter, shouting, cameras and memories are involved. 

 

Next song is a doozey so watch out folks:  warning: may cause tears.  The memories I have of my Grandpa's are both vague and clear all at once.  My one grandpa, I don't really remember him before he had his stroke.  However, there are a couple of things that always make me remember him:  first, itchiban - this was his meal of choice for lunches.  And he made it so much better than I ever have, I don't know what his trick was as it is just noodles and water.  I also would like to think that the part of me that wants to work in forensic hospitals is because of him - he used to be a psych nurse at Souris Valley and Dad would tell me stories about being at the hospital and seeing all the mental patients and their behaviors; I like thinking that when I feel like I am struggling through this part of my life, Gramps is up there, just watching me, cheering me on.  He was probably one of the most gentle and patient man I have ever know.  Now, as for my other Grandpa, I got his stubbornness, his love for cards and as I get older, his crying gene.  He was both a strong and soft man; patient when teaching me crib, but such a sore loser when I would rarely beat him.  One game he actually quit playing because I got a 26 hand, and he was so sure that I had cheated hahaha.  He would play so dirty though - until I knew the rule, if I shuffled the cards more than 3 times, he would say I lost my turn.  When Grandpa smiled, it was such a childish smile that it warmed your insides. And when he cried, I do not know anybody except for my brother who would not get tears in their eyes when they saw that.  I love knowing that I have a little bit of both Grandpa's in me that makes me have the drive and determination I have today. 

 

Now, each man has to have an equally, or better, other half.  Enter, the grandmothers, the rocks of the family and this song embodies them perfectly: they are *the* women.  I would love to say that I got my mom's moms classic beauty, but alas, I didn't.  I got my dad's mom's moms hips....hahaha.  And boobs.  And curly hair.    However, I didn't get her baking skills.  I didn't get any baking skills.  Oh, I digress. All of that aside, I tend to think I am my dad's mom:  sarcastic, stubborn, bingo-lover, card lover and reader.  I will always remember her in her hair curlers, sitting at the kitchen table.   And that green rooster - I need to somehow tell her that I want the rooster when she, sadly and unfortunately, passes away.  That rooster is a part of my childhood.  But going to her house, I would just read so much while there and she always had new books by the time we visited again.  She had 4 boys, my dad obviously being one of them, and kudos to her for putting up with my uncles all the time.  I could only imagine her yelling at them all the time to take whatever they were doing outside hahaha.  And then there is my mother's mom:  quiet, reserved, regal-like; my oldest sister got most of Grandma I think.   I couldn't imagine Grandma raising her voice at her children, all freaking 14 of them.  She was so into her looks, a quality I did not pick up from her at all) it was pretty funny.  One of the last reunions, she didn't like her glasses for the pictures, so I lent her mine hahaha.  And the purple sweater that she had that she was worried she didn't look good in, that woman had class and style (not saying my other grandma didn't have style because I am way more like her in clothing hahaha). 

 



Looking at the two of them and trying to realize what it must have been like to raise their children in a time where there was no electricity, no indoor plumbing, and making the best out of their situation makes them by far the most bravest and strongest women I have met (probably a little crazy at times).  My dad told the story of growing up with no indoor plumbing: no running water, bathroom in an outhouse, having baths in galvanized tubs  in the kitchen from boiled water from the outside hand pump.  And then came the day that they got indoor plumbing - the excitement of flushing a toiler or turning a tap to get instantly hot water (the picture is the expression I could see my dad having back when he was younger and seeing a toilet flush hahaha). For those women, my grandmothers, to make sure their children got the best life they could in the situations there were in basically tops any trials or tribulations people have nowadays in living - oh nos, the Internet connection is down, my 5th tv doesn't have satellite cable.  I think it really hit home for me when we had the hurricane warning as I got candles out and used the hurricane lamp candle holder thingy (probably not the technical term) that Aunty Sylvia got me and when I was trying to figure out what I would do if my power went out and I lost my laptop power, or my cellphone went down, it probably would have been a very calming (yet panicking) feeling to just sit there and read by candlelight.  It made me think about how much stuff we take for granted nowadays.  

 

Being so far away from my family, and not having the ability to just decide 'hey, this weekend I think I am going to go home and see my family' has been the hardest adjustment of all.  I get pangs of homesickness and with the wonderful technology of Skype, I can see them basically whenever I want to, it just isn't the same as sitting in the living room with them, or having supper with them (oh my goodness I can't wait for home cooked meals) and just being home again.  Some of my fondest family memories is just when we are all sitting around, being ourselves, talking, laughing and being with one another. 

 

 From my great grandma's hips to my uncle's smile to my mother's voice, I am my history, I am my family and I am my own legacy. 

Life can't get any better when you realize how much you love your family.

And so I leave you with a link to one of my most favorite songs ever, I hope you enjoy:
 I love and miss you all!!!!

 



President Pierce was a hot drunk, US Marshalls are pretty damn attractive and a Prof wants to "humble" us

So I am writing this posting which is very long due past (seems like a recurring theme with my postings).  However, I felt the need to write this post more sooner rather than later as we are under a Hurricane Sandy warning where we may be powerless for a bit, technology will die when the juice runs out or the satellites get all wonky and in a lack of tea twitchy state.  So I am going back into the memory vault to see what I have been doing the past couple of weeks. 

After what seemed like a hiatus in the touristy aspect of my life, I decided to change that and go do something not school related.  So, it was off to a history day for me, and along for the ride was Riya (who loves the one president most of our day was geared towards), Kayln and her brother.  I figured who better to be around than Americans to learn about American History (note to people - I would make a horrible guide when doing something Canadian history like).  As well, I learnt that movies do lie (**shakes fist up at movies**).   So first stop, Ford's Theatre (http://www.fordstheatre.org/home/plan-your-visit) .

Now, for some of those who don't know what Ford's Theatre is, that is the place where President Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth.  And plus, who does not like all the controversy surrounding his death and all who were involved with the planning (see the movie The Conspirator as it does not lie unlike some other movies *cough cough National Treasure: Book of Secrets*).  It was a nice day, in my books, and standing outside, waiting for our turn to get into the Theatre, I got quite a lot of 'she's crazy' looks; probably because I was wearing a tank top when everybody else was wearing long sleeved shirts and jackets....Riya said that I should be wearing a sign that said 'I'm not crazy, I am Canadian'. 

 

Anywho, we got inside the place and it was quite amazing to see all the history and information on Lincoln.  There was an area that was dedicated to all those who were known to be involved with his assassination.  To be able to look at the gun that shot President Lincoln was quite amazing as well as to see the actual balcony where it happened.  They have not touched the balcony since that night so to see it exactly as it was that night was quite a historical feeling.  We got a talk from a Ranger about the events around that night; at first his voice was quite the 'waaa waaa waaa' (the teacher's voice from Peanuts) but it gradually grew on you.  And, for future purposes sake, a line that apparently people just cracked up when they heard back in the day was "Don't know the manners of good society, eh? Well, I guess I know enough to turn you inside out, old gal; you sockdologizing old man-trap!" Saying that nowadays will give you crazy looks......wait, I get them anways, so might as well go around saying this line to peoples.....hahaha.  Oh, so one thing that I knew that the American's didn't know, and don't ask me how I knew this, is that a Civil War Union General Joesph Hooker popularized the term 'hooker' because of all the ladies that would fratnerize/follow Hooker's troops.  Or something along those lines.  Anywho, the purpose of this is to say that I knew something of American history that the American's didn't know.  Who would have thunk....hahaha. 

 

From Ford's theatre, we got to go see the Petersen House which is where President Lincoln actually died.  Now Lincoln was a pretty huge guy, standing past 6', and the bed that he was brought to seemed to be like a 5'5 bed, so imagining him laying on that bed just seemed off.  After the Peterson House was to the Center for Education and Leadership.  The best part of this was the 34-foot tower of books all about President Lincoln.  Also here was the Aftermath Gallery where we got to see his funeral travels from Washington, DC to Springfield, IL.   I can honestly tell you that people came from miles around to see his body and mourn their beloved President. 

 

After Ford's Theatre, we went to Madam Tussaud's Wax Museum.  The one in Washington (I went to the one in Las Vegas) has all the presidents as well as movie stars, sports people and news people.  It was fun to see all the presidents as I could probably recognize about 5 of them hahaha and learn some fun facts about them all.  Like, for example, President Howard Taft got stuck in a bathtub. One of them, President Pierce, was actually pretty hot for back in the day.  And me being me, I, of course, think that the drunk and a guy who ran over an old lady with his horse was the hottest President for back in the day.  I know how to pick them right?? hahaha.  And I can't forget about Johnny Depp - oh dear lord I was about to jump that statute right there and then it looked so much like Johnny....oh so hot......(http://www.madametussauds.com/washington/)

 



After that weekend, it was nose to the books for school - midterms, papers, presentations and a field trip was on the list for school.  The field trip was to St. Elizabeths Hospital - this is the state hospital for forensic patients.  Now, it was kind of saddening as it has been totally revamped and doesn't look like your imagined psychiatric hospital (I was thinking like Souris Valley) but not so much (old St. E's is top, new St. E's is the bottom).  The way it is set up is that the one side is for the transitional patients (the civilly committed folks) and the intensive patients (the forensically committed folks).  We were not able to go over to the intensive side, so that was saddening, but at least we got to walk around the place and see how it works and is set up.  I would have loved *loved* to have run into John Hinckley Jr. but we had no chance of that happening.  My goal is to still work there, so one day it will happen.  Our psychopathology professor works on the intensive side at St. E's and she always tells us stories about the patients she sees there and it just makes me want to work there all the more.  One day it will happen; one day. 

 

I finally started to do my volunteering with Survivors and Advocates For Empowerment with their Court Watch Program.   What this entails is that I go and sit in Domestic Violence Court and take stats about who the Respondent/Petitioner are, their sex, their race, if they got the Protection Order, if they didn't, yadda yadda yadda.  All the statitics then gets entered into a program and it will say if a particular judge is more lenient towards some people, rude towards others, and how to make the system better overall, so it is quite interesting.  I did learn that the US Marshalls (who are supposed to be in the courtroom for all the hearings) are quite hot, like very hot.  It must be a requirement to be hot to join the Marshalls, like Firefighters.  So sitting in the courtroom for 4 hours looking at a US Marshall is not a bad way to spend one's morning hahaha.  And also, there can be some Judge Judy like drama.  I saw a case where it was two roommates (which can be domestic violence fyi) arguing back and forth about rent and if one can go into the others' bedroom.  It got quite heated.  But on a better note, while I was heading towards the DC Superior Court, I stumbled upon the Canadian Embassy.  I should probably remember where this is just in case I ever need it......

 

So, back to school.  It is getting kind of stressful - lots of people getting tense and heated about the way classes are going, the feeling that classes are useless and papers due that we had no clue how to do.  The paper that we didn't know how to do was a Case Conceptualization (basically you take a client's behavior and justify it with a theorist - Freud, Adler, Erikson, Horney, etc etc) and this paper was a beast of a paper - mine turned out to be 22 pages long.  With no clue what I was doing.  So here comes the day to hand in the paper, and we all happily hand it in, just to be done with it.  The prof, as nice as she is, tells us that she will mark us more on the lenient side as we didn't have time to go through most of the theorists before this paper was due and had to basically muddle through the theorist ourselves to apply it to the behavior.  Oh wonderful - great news.  Especially since getting anything below a B- is considered a fail.....not a happy thought.  So yeah, she tells us that she will leniently mark us.  Then, in the same breathe, she tells us, however, that everyone needs to fail a paper to "humble" them, and if we fail this paper, consider it a gentle fail. Oh, okay, that doesn't sound nice at all anymore....hahaha.  So now I am in limbo waiting for this paper to get back to me seeing as we have another Case Conceptualization due the week of Thanksgiving.  Oys.  Gotta take the bad with the good when it comes to school I guess.  As such, I will leave you with this picture of a sculpture in a sculpture garden I stumbled upon a couple of weekends ago. I call it "The Alice in Wonderland version of The Thinking Man". 

 

So, with all this being said, sadly no touristy stuff is happening this weekend.  Hopefully next weekend will be something fun done.  Take care and I love and miss you all!!!  I will have a countdown going once I book my tickets for coming home for christmas!!!!! 

24 Hours, 5 Miles, 3 States and 2 Pizza's Later.....

So with midterms looming on the horizon and the stress of practicum already in the forefront of our minds, it was decided that a girls weekend was definitely what the doctor prescribed.  But let me backtrack a bit for you to help you appreciate how the weekend went down.

Our classes are quite tiny - for the most part there is a maximum of 15 people per class, which makes it wonderful for getting discussions going, asking questions and participating.  But with us having such small classes, we basically need to get along with the people as we will be stuck together for the next two years.  It wasn't that hard to do with this bunch of people as we are all in the same situation in that we are all here for school and without family.  People are from all over - Ohio, Tennessee, Alaska, New Jersey, South Carolina, Massachusetts and many more other states. So since we are all in the same boat, might as well get to know each other and have a family within ourselves.  That being said, there is about 5 of us who get along very well and spend time outside of school with each other. 

What I find amazing about all of this is that I have created more friendships just in this one month of living here than I did in the 7 years of living in Calgary.  Maybe it is because all of us don't have any family in the immediate vicinity, or maybe it is because I am like a 'pet' to them being Canadian and all, but whatever the case may be, these people are very welcoming and open.  I like it.  And all of our personalities seem to compliment each other and balance each other out - we have the 'mother' of the group, Steph, that makes sure we have foods for when we get together, makes sure that when we go out we are in pairs, those types of things.  Then we have the free-spirited, doesn't know the concept of an indoor voice gal, Colleen, that just makes one laugh and laugh.  Her stories about her experiences and the way she lives life is such a breathe of fresh air.  She is one crazy cookie.  Then we have another girl, Meghan, who says what she thinks and does what she wants.  Sometimes the things she says makes me shake my head and try to figure out what goes on in that head of hers.  And then we have the person who gives us an ethnic twist to everything as she is from India, Riya.  When she mimics her dad, it makes us all go into stitches from laughter and when she is joking around, her facial expressions are just priceless.  And she is a States girl through and through - she keeps asking me if we have certain things up in Canada as they do down here (example - what kind of music we listen to up there).  Just the best group of girls to spend the next two and maybe even more years with. 

So there is a tiny background for you guys to know who exactly will be under one roof for one evening and together for a full 24 hours.  The plan was to have a slumber party at Colleen's place as she is best set up for company.  Best part (not so much) is that she lives in Virginia.  So Steph and I hop on the metro and meet at the station for Colleen to pick us up (Colleen also has a vehicle - very important).  We have time to kill before picking up Meghan so we go to Walmart for munchies and booze (it still feels weird that booze can be bought in random grocery stores), to Target to get plaid shirts so that we are all matchy matchy at the Pumpkin Patch and then to Meghan's.  Pick Meghan up and finally get to Colleen's place.  We sit around the table and bullshit away, drinking and laughing.  We decided on pizza to order, and holy canoly, what a rigmarole that was.  Steph was in such a hankering mood for a Marguerite pizza (never heard of it before) and so found a place that delivered one. Perfect!!! Not so much.  It comes and to Steph's chagrin, there is no tomatoes on it.  Apparently there should have been tomatoes.  So she phones the pizza company back and explains to them that she ordered the pizza because she wanted a Marguerite pizza, which has tomatoes, so they appease her by sending another pizza.  Crisis averted.  Not so much.  Second pizza arrives, and while she is walking up the stairs, we hear in a very loud, very annoyed voice "THERE ARE NO TOMATOES".  So us being Master students and whatnot, we decide to do some research to see if this pizza company screwed up our pizza not just once, but twice.  Low and behold, on the ingredients listed online, it does not mention tomatoes.  Whoops....

Now it is the next morning, where I will have to say I slept wonderfully as it was more on the chillier side at Colleen's place, so I was in heaven.  Waking up, I found that most of the girls had slept in sweaters and long pants....I don't think they would survive in Alberta winters hahaha.  I will have to say, for getting ready to head to the pumpkin patch and have 5 girls shower, we did it quite efficiently.  So, once we were all in our plaid, we pile into Colleen's car - a Vibe.  Not a every big car, and there was 5 of us.  Kind of packed and since it is a small car, you feel everything.  I was gracious enough to take the middle back seat, and wow - I was smushing everyone in the back seat.  The Pumpkin Patch was all the way in Maryland so we bypassed DC and got there (we got a little detoured taking a scenic route of different highways).  When we got there, we instantly realized that a) we were a little over dressed and b) we were about 15 years older than the average person there....hahaha.  But we carried on as this was the plan for the day. 

First up was a hay wide which was pretty awesome.  And then, da da daaaaaa the corn maze.  At first glance (since we didn't really look at the map) and with Steph holding our flag proudly, we decide to venture forth.  One of the rules of the maze - not using profanity - was broken a couple of times by yours truly......I don't know how long we were in the maze but we found ourselves back at the front.  Okay, in we go again to try this again - I mean, there is 5 of us, master students at that, we should be able to figure this thing out......not so much.  So we walk and walk and walk and suddenly I say 'we have been here before', wheren I get a snarky remark 'the corn all looks the same'.  So we keep walking, and find ourselves at the beginning again.  So then we decide to call it quits.  A good thing as when we went to get foods, one of the workers there said it took her 4 hours to get through.  Cripes almighty I would have broken that profanity rule a lot more.....Next up was the pumpkin chunkin.  I thought that we would be able to slingshot uber huge pumpkins, but not so much.  Tiny ass suckers, but fun nonetheless to slingshot.  There is a technique that is involved - I was actually quite efficient at making mine go pretty far.  And then lastly the girls went to the pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkin to carve for halloween.  Once the pumpkins were found and loved by all, back into the clown car we go to head to DC to prepare for the Out of the Darkness Walk. 

We got to the Walk (after getting lost in DC for parking) and I was astounded at the amount of people that were there.  There were 605 people walking for the cause, which is amazing.  It took some time for the event to get started as people kept coming in to register.  We were all given battery style candles that we could light for the walk and were giving out beads in different colors representing the person you had lost to suicide.  So candle and beads in tow, we start the 5 mile walk around the Tidal Basin - we walked past the Jefferson Memorial, Martin Luther King Memorial and FDR Memorial.  With the sun setting low and a nice night out, the walk was amazing.  I definitely need to go back and do that walk on my own time so that I can actually stop and appreciate/take in the memorials and get some pictures.   It felt quite amazing to be part of something like that; a cause that many people know about but doesn't get the recognition it needs to save so many lives.  I am glad that I decided to partake in it.  The mental pictures I have of people walking, holding signs of their loved ones they lost and seeing the trail of candles is a powerful image. 

Finally, the walk is over, we pile back for the last time into the clown car and head back to Virginia were we get something quick to eat (FYI - avoid ordering calamari at a diner.....probably won't be that great) and then off to our respectful homes.  I think I got home around 10ish and I was quite happy to be on hardwood ground and in my four walls.  Don't get me wrong - spending 24 hours with the gals was wonderful, but I needed my space hahaha. 

This is a fairly long posting as it has taken me about 2 weeks to write it.  It is Thanksgiving at home today, so HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!  Midterms and papers are becoming due, so I don't know how much touristy stuff will be happening, but I will keep you entertained with my life adventures anyways, so never fear. 

I miss you all very very much and hope you are all doing wonderful.  Thank you for reading my posts and following along with me - it makes me smile knowing that you are with me in this journey. 

 

 

The Place Where Silence Shouts the Loudest

So, with it not being fall around here (on the weekend we got up to 32 out), I needed a place that was going to be more on the cooler side of the thermostat which hopefully would not be too busy. So I look in my trusty and handy guide book and what kind of slightly jumps out at me - the Holocaust Museum.  A classmate of mine went a couple of weeks ago and said that it is uber depressing (I don't see how they could make it cheerful of a place) but highly informative and interesting.  And, on the plus side, it read that they keep the museum on the cooler side as they want to preserve all the artifacts.  Perfect!!! To the Holocaust Museum I go (http://www.ushmm.org/ if you want to check it out online). 

Here is some background knowledge for you guys on this wonderfully informated, uber depressing and nicely chilled 4 floored museum.  The Museum first opened April 26, 1993 and since then it has had nearly 30 million visitors.  There is a whole schwack load of information to absorb when there - more than 12,750 artifacts, 49 million pages of archival documents, 80,000 historical photographs (which were probably my favorite), 200,000 registered survivors, 1,000 hours of archival footage, 84,000 library items and 9,000 oral history testimonies. The tone of the museum was also quite amazing - if you know me at all, you know that my ipod is forever in my ears; however, I could not bring myself to listen to music while I was there (firstly because some videos had sound to them and secondly, it just felt wrong to not listen to the silence and hear the people sniffling (because of the air conditioning or tears, I don't know) but for those 3some hours, I did not listen to a single song). 

When you first enter the museum, you pick up an 'Identification Card' that you can keep with you which tells you a story about a real person who lived during the Holocaust.  There is a stack for women and a stack for men.  I, because I have some of my sister in me, took both.  Sadly, neither person in my identification cards made it through the Holocaust alive.  I wonder if anybody did in those cards.......So, after you pick up your card, you are shuffled into this elevator that feels like a steel cage, and you watch a video of the prisoners in the concentration camps, something that will basically tell you how the whole tour is going to be.  Once you get off the elevator, the first picture you look at is a picture of the bodies dumped at the Ohrdruf Concentration Camp.  I knew right then that it was going to be a very somber, yet somewhat enlightening experience I was about to have. 

Another thing, if you know me, is that I am a quote fanatic and this place was full of them.  I drained my phone battery from trying to write them all out on my notepad since we were not allowed photos (which reminds me, all of the photos you will see below did not come from me - I googled them and took them from other peoples sites).  So instead of telling you the history of the Holocaust and the timeline of what happened, which we learn in school and you can easily Google and Wikipedia, I will just share with you some of my favorite experiences and readings while I was at the Museum. 

One of the first quotes I came across was from General Dwight D. Eisenhower on April 15, 1945 which said: "The things I saw beggar description ... the visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty and bestiality were ... overpowering... I made the visit deliberately in order to be in a position to give first hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to 'propaganda'".  It, along with the first picture of the concentration camp, foretold the visitors what exactly they would be looking at, reading about and experiencing. 

 

A prayer that was said on the Jewish Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) in 1938 was as follows:  "Our history is the history of the grandeur of the human soul and the dignity of human life.  In this day of sorrow and pain surrounded by infamy and shame we will turn our eyes to the days of the old.  From generation to generation God redeemed our fathers and He will redeem us and our children in the days to come.  We stand before our God; we bow to Him and we stand upright before man". 

 

The shoes was probably one of my favorite areas.  It was just this room with all shoes from victims of the concentration camps.  The quote that is above the shoes is as follows:  "We are the shoes, we are the last witnesses.  We are shoes from grandchildren and grandfathers from Prague, Paris and Amsterdam and because we are only made of fabric and leather and not of blood and flesh, each of us avoided the hellfire". 

This quote from Elie Wiesel was close by the shoes:  "Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never."

 

Another one of my favorite parts was there two rooms that just had pictures going up to the roof; pictures from 1890 to 1941 of more than 100 families.  Just standing there, looking at all the different photos was breathtaking.  The history behind those pictures is astounding.  Just looking at the photo now takes me to a quote that I read from Harry S. Truman on February 25, 1946:  "There are left in Europe 1,500,000 Jews, men, women and children whom the ordeal has left homeless, hungry, sick and without assistance.  These, too, are victims of the crime for which retribution will be visited upon the guilty.  But neither the dictates of justice nor that love of our fellowman which we are bidden to practice will be satisfied until the needs of the sufferers are met". 

 

Another interesting part of the museum was a Karlsruhe freight car, which was one of the several that deported the Jews.  In this tiny space, nearly 100 victims were packed in, not knowing where they were going to go.  There were two different types of camps that they were getting shipped to:  either the Death Camps where they got gassed right away (Chetmno, Betzec, Sobibor and Treblinka) or the Extermination/Slave Labor Camps where they basically got worked to death (Auschwitz-Birkenau and Majdanek).  This car was unbelievably tiny that I could not fathom putting 100 people in it. 

 

So the last, wonderfully spectacular part of the Museum was when I got teary-eyed.  It is called the Hall of Remembrance.  You walk in to, and this is mind boggling, even more quietness than the rest of the museum.  There is a guard who just walks around the area and you see candles lined up along the walls.  In the middle is an eternal flame that says the follow:  "earth gathered from death camps, concentration camps, sites of mass execution and ghettos in nazi occupied Europe and from cemeteries of American soldiers who fought and died to defeat Nazi Germany".  Just standing there, lighting a candle, and thinking of everyone who died during that time was such a powerful feeling. 

Okay, so hopefully I didn't just totally depress you and get you all sad and whatnot, although it is a very morose subject.  I wouldn't hesitate to tell people to go there just to see everything and read everything.  There is a sound booth where you can sit and listen to survivors tell their story, which is enlightening and inspiring.  You get to see children's toys and drawings, children who made it through the Holocaust.  There are uplifting things to see there, but it is shrouded by the misery and sadness of the word Holocaust.  That being said, I am going to leave you with one final quote, this one from Albert Einstein:

"A desire for knowledge for its own sake, a love of justice that borders on fanaticism, and a striving for personal independence -- these are aspects of the Jewish people's tradition that allow me to regard my belonging to it as a gift of great fortune.

Those who today rage against the ideals of reason and individual freedom and who seek by means of brutal force to bring about a vapid state-slavery are justified in perceiving us as their implacable enemies. History has imposed on us a difficult struggle; but so long as we remain devoted servants of truth, justice, and freedom, we will not only persist as the oldest of living peoples, but will also continue as before to achieve, through productive labor, works that contribute to the ennoblement of humanity."

Have you ever heard of a Fishing Cat? The Cuban Crocodile? African Pancake Tortoise? If not, you can see them all at THE ZOO!!!!

I finally (after close to a month of living here) had the chance to start striking things off the Washington To-Do/To-See List. How to pick what to do is probably going to be the hardest part as there is so many things to do and see that it will be hard to figure out what *exactly* to explore that day.  But, with it being a Sunday and me feeling a little homesick, I decide to tap into my life back in Calgary which meant, drum roll please, I WENT TO THE ZOO!!!! I can tell you that the Zoo will be a common ground for me; and no, it is not because I belong there (for all you people that had a joke on the tip of your tongue).  First and foremost, it is free, which is awesome.  Secondly, there is so much to see and learn while there that it will take me lots of trips to probably see every animal there.  Also, the metro ride there is pretty simple as I don't need to get off my line and the area of town that the zoo is in is one to go explore further (I think it has a Vietnamese place which is something I have been trying to find as I have been craving salad rolls and bubble tea).  I was like a kid in a Disney store when I was walking up the path and into the zoo; it was so exciting to be finally doing something, and that something being the zoo!!

 

So just a bit of some background for you guys on the zoo- it was founded in 1889, covers about 163 acres and holds 2000 animals from 400 different species.  If you want a more detailed list of all the animals, click here:  http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/exhibits.cfm. I don't even think I could list all of the different animals that I saw as my mind was going miles a minute just looking at everything.  I was like a squirrel - everywhere I looked there was something different to see and I am sure I back tracked a lot to make sure I got to see every exhibit.  I originally decided to forego the Bird House as birds free to fly in enclosed spaces and me do not go hand in hand (something I picked up from my dear mother hahaha) but I thought that if I was going to do the zoo, I was going to see every part of it. 

I really do not know where to begin in telling you about my experience there.  It truly is one of those things that you need to experience for yourself, but I will try to guide you through my time of being there, show you some pictures that I took (I took around 244 pictures so I won't post them all hahaha, but I will eventually get a picture of every animal there) and some write ups (courtesy of probably Wikipedia hahaha) of some of the animals that I have never heard of before.  And you will have to pardon my comparison to the Calgary Zoo as that is the only zoo I have ever been at before. 

 

I am a cat person; always have been and probably always will be.  So one of the first animals I get to meet at the Zoo is called a Fishing Cat.  Never heard about them; never had an inkling that they even existed.  But alas they do.  Sadly, I never saw one actually go 'fishing' for food, but just to see them was quite interesting. 

 

What is interesting about this cat is that they will attract fish by lightly tapping on the waters surface with their paws, mimicking insect movements.  Then, when their prey is close, they will DIVE (yes, a cat diving into water) into the water to catch the first.  They will also apparently swim underwater to prey on ducks and other birds.  Their paws are slightly webbed to let them scoop their prey out of the water as well to help them swim underwater.  Their tail is flat, kind of rudder-like, to help them steer underwater.  I really really hope one day I will be able to see it actually diving into the water or something like that. 





So next stop I see is the Asian Small-Clawed Otters.  Holy canoly, these guys are like cockroaches - freaking everywhere.  They seemed to be tinier than the North American River Otter (which is what the Calgary Zoo has) and I am going to take an educated guess and say that they have longer claws than the American Otters.  But seriously, the exhibit was over run with them. 

So I go walking and walking and more walking and I find myself in the American Trail, which consists of animals like a beaver (which I sadly did not see), seals and sea lions, the bald eagle, and also, and this is pretty cool, grey wolves.  What is cool about the grey wolves are that they actually came from the Calgary Zoo!!!  So it was like I was back at home when I saw these two wonderful animals.  I am hoping their transition to Washington has been more stable than mine has been hahaha. 

 

The Zoo also has an aquarium type area, invertebrate house and reptiles/amphibian place as well.  There were many different types of fish, crocodiles/alligators, reptiles, frogs, coral and sting rays a plenty!!!  In this area is also the creepy crawler type things like tarantulas (I hate that psychological feeling that when you are looking at things like that you have this sensation that something is crawling on you/over your feet - I am pretty sure I visibly shuddered when I was taking the pictures) and so many different types of snakes.  I finally saw what a Rattlesnake looks like up close and I hope that is the one and only time I get to see one (except for behind very thick glass where it can not get out). 

 

So while I am walking throughout the zoo, which I would like to know just how much I walked that day as it seemed to be a lot of walking,  I am noticing that it is becoming more and more the 'Zoo of the Turtles'.  I seemed to have been seeing turtles is every area of the zoo.  According to the website, there are 15 different types of turtles at the zoo - crazy. 

 

Oh, there is also a kids part to the zoo - you know, the kids farm type area with farm animals and all those wonderful creatures.  I had to laugh because they had cows in an area, and people were actually stopped to see and look at the cows.  I keep forgetting that I live in a very city-type atmosphere and that maybe some people have never really seen a cow out in the 'real' world.  I know that there is a girl in my classes that has never seen a moose before. 

One really interesting part of the zoo is what is called the O-Line; it is the Orangutan Transport System.  It consists of 8 50-foot high towers that goes from the outdoor orangutan yard at the Great Ape House to the outdoor orangutan yard at the Think Tank.  The line is supposably usually accessible for the Orangutan's between 11am and 2pm.  Now, and if you were thinking what I was thinking in that what stops the Orangutan's from climbing down and experiencing the zoo with real people, the surrounding grid and whatnot are electrically charged, so that will stop the Orangutan's from climbing down and people climbing up.  Sadly I never got to see the Line being used, but I am hoping that one day I will (if statistics play in my favor hahaha). 

 

I could go on and on and on more about everything that I saw, but I think I will stop.  I will definitely be going back to the Zoo more times to get the full experience and to be able to see everything and read about everything and all that educational stuff.  There are programs there that you can watch and learn about the animals (I think there is one at the Seal exhibit that I would like to catch).  When it all boils down to it, you need to come and experience this zoo for yourself to be able to see everything, and it is free, so why wouldn't a person??

 

With this I leave you to your everyday life and hope that this small escape to the National Zoo in Washington was a good break for you.  Stay tuned for all of my next adventures that I am going to have - there will be a crapload for you to read, laugh out loud too and smile at.  With that said, I will leave you with this kick ass picture I took, which is probably one of my favorites from this trip. 

 

The Golden-Headed Lion Tamarin