Coming to a new continent alone, I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, a lot of my fears disappeared after getting to know the other professor/students as everyone is quite supportive and. I’ve been thankful to try a few new foods today – including a Milky Way chocolate bar, European fanta, a German waffle (Herzwaffeln), wheat beer, and potato dumplings (Kartoffelkloesse), both from Hofbraeuhaus. I loved the lightness of the Milky Way and felt the bar was a lot easier to bite into than the ones I am used to in the States. The fanta was much lighter in taste as well as carbonation. The waffle was great – yet could have done well with the addition of chocolate or fruit as the one I had was plain. The beer was quite light and didn’t have too much of an aftertaste compared to some of the other versions. I didn’t quite like the texture of the potato dumplings. I’m extremely excited to try more of the food here in the coming days!
In today’s excursion, we visited Dachau – an immersive experience of one of the concentration camps in Germany. As we walked the grounds, I felt a mix of emotions: fear, confusion, shock, disbelief. As I passed through the gas chamber, the smell of gas was evident. The mistreatment in all areas of the camp – including the lavatory – was heartbreaking. I appreciate the lecturer’s hopeful ending note where he mentioned that it is our role to ensure this does not happen again – and that there is power in taking small steps towards improvement.
