Home again

Well the trip is done and after a lot of frustration with flying and lost luggage we finally arrived home last night around 9pm and our bag this morning around 10am :). What a wonderful trip, I learned SO much and together we saw alb the wonderful sites that DC has to offer,well almost all of them! I am so anxious to share all I have learned with my students and fellow teachers and really anyone else who will listen!! Thank you to all who "went with us" through following my blog. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Day 2 of sightseeing and our last full day in DC

Got up late (8) and headed to Fords Theatre-we figured out we could walk there,over one street and down 8. Fortunately the spy museum that we were booked for was also in the same area-just one street over. We both really enjoyed Fords Theatre, it was very well done and being able to see the actual theatre was amazing. Tim decided that it was his favorite! Then we had a small lunch at the cafe attached to the spy museum and made our way through. A lot of history-especially about WWII and The Cold War. We liked it but not as the best. Although I did feel a little like Maxwell Smart with all of the gadgets (especially all of the shoes with microphones in them)!! We then looked into taking a riding tour of the monuments but decided we would just walk. Did I mention it is 90 degrees? It was a bit further to the WWII memorial then we realized but we made it, unfortunately the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial is being repaired and is basically just dirt, but the walk to see the memorials was stil with it. So on to Lincoln and the Vietnam Memorial. After coming back to Constitution Ave and realizing we were at 21st street and we would have to walk 7 streets over and 8 blocks up, we decided it would be worth the $8.75 plus tip to take a taxi. Now off to our last dinner in DC.

Best meal yet

Around 7pm we set out for the National Mall following our usual route down 15th street which ends up directly behind the White House. We walked past the White House and down towards the mall, stopping across the street from the Washington Monument and back up 14th street to an Italian restaurant that had been suggested by the front desk here at a our hotel. Potenza was probably the best Italian restaurant we have ever been to. We had a delightful waitress who made great suggestions for our meal choices-Tim had rigatoni with a trio of meat-short ribs,meatballs and sausage. I had manicotti-that was made with homemade pasta, filled with ricotta and braised beef. We were speechless as we ate our delicious dishes :) for desert we had cannoli and although I did not like it, the rest of the meal more than made up for it. We then walked the 7blocks back to our hotel. What a nice evening :)

First day of sightseeing

Headed out this morning to Georgetown- took a taxi over and decided to walk back:) we went to DC Cupcakes- got Gab a t- shirt and I had a coconut cupcake and Tim chose the peanut butter fudge- they were both delicious!!! We had tickets for the National Geographic museum at 3 and it was just a couple of blocks from our hotel- it was very very disappointing. They only had 2 displays- one on the south pole and another on the Etruscans. To be honest it was quite boring. We then walked around to find some lunch - we ate at a little dive but the burgers were good and we are now trying to figure out what to do tonight. The sun is still very hot so we will wait until it goes down before venturing out again. Only one more day and then headed home- boy the week has gone so fast!!!

Last day of conference

Another full day and more free books!!! :) today we mostly focused on what the museum calls "from memory to action" and addressed the current examples of genocide in places like Bosnia, Darfur, and Rwanda. There was a lot of good ideas about how to include this info in lessons and then we heard Eli Rosenbaum ( the Nazi hunter) speak - he was very interesting. Again the highlight of my day was meeting another Holocaust survivor,this one was Erika. She was a lovely woman with bold blue eyes and a wonderful sense of humor. She did not go to one of the camps but escaped from a Romanian ghetto to Kiev, Ukraine with her sister and eventually made it to Prague where they met up with their parents and stayed for the rest of the war. She married in 1945 and after his death in 1957,she and her sister (and her children) came to the US. I also saw my friend Henry- who spoke the first day of the conference and for the first time saw a tattoo on a survivors arm. It was quite moving. I was sorry to leave the museum and the new friends I had made, but was glad for the experience of it all.
In the evening, Tim and I went on a DC Ghost Tour- it was a lot of fun- our guide, dressed in Victorian attire, showed us several houses, churches and even the white house that were "haunted". He was very informative and entertaining.

More conference day 2

Received so much info today my head may explode!!! The speaker today broke down the origins of antiSemitism into groups of years starting with Biblical times. He said what started as a "family squabble" between Jews and those who converted to Christianity was taken and twisted into something that became about race. The Jews are a religion not a race. He further talked about how b/c they are a group that is different in every way that ppl basically made things up about them and b/c they stay to themselves, marrying within a small group that they have eventually begun to portray certain common characteristics , but that the age old stereotype of all Jews with big noses and ears is just that, a stereotype. He then developed the ideas of Nazi discrimination against the Jews and they were the ones who promoted the idea of Jews being a race not just a religion and of course then the implementation of the Nuremberg Laws making the discrimination legal and in many cases acceptable. So much to consider and try to process. The highlight of my day was meeting Helen, another Auschwitz survivor. She is from Czechoslovakia. She was very sweet and kept thanking the teachers for helping to share h story. As she told her story, I cried and she stopped and held my hand and apologized for upsetting me. All I could do was thank her for being willing to share her story. I have a picture of us, I will post it in Facebook when I get back. In some ways this is such an overwhelming experience, but mostly it is humbling.
looking forward to tomorrow.......off to bed

Day 2 of conference

Well today has been full and I am exhausted!! Tim and I are getting better at getting around-not as much wandering going on! :)
We started at 9 this morning with Tim going to the Newseum and me of course at the Holocaust Museum. We received more free goodies today and listened to a man who is an expert on Nazi Propaganda - I learned SO much!!! I am also gaining on my understanding of how the Jews view the death of Jesus and where a lot of the ancient prejudices towards Jews comes from. The museum has a large exhibit on Nazi propaganda- it is SO disturbing!!!!!!

Well back to class,will post again later.

More museum and food :)

So the museum gave each of us a bag FULL of books and other resources- and I think all of my fellow teachers would agree with me that teachers Love free stuff!! :). A lot of interesting conversation this afternoon about answering the "why" question, which led to a Very interesting discussion about religion and that many teachers that were there do not believe the Bible is literal when it says that the Jews killed Jesus. I was a little shocked by this and then shared that who killed Jesus is not the "problem" the problem is that they denied the Messiah. Many were shaking their heads in agreement but did not say much. A girl from Louisiana who was sitting at my table, talked to me during the break and said something I am still thinking about. She said that during that time those of us who claim to be Christians would have been Jews. The difference didn't come about until they denied Christ. That they crucified Him because they did not believe Him to be the Messiah. Some of that I believe wholeheartedly but I am still thinking about "we all would have been Jews" part. I read in a book a few weeks ago were the Jews deny having killed Jesus, a statement which has troubled me ever sense, I feel like maybe I am beginning to sort it out a little. Back to the museum tomorrow- my first stop is to see one of the survivor-6 or 8 come everyday to speak to the museum guests.

Now for supper :) we ate at a place called the Commissary - it was cute and Very busy. We started with some chips with salsa and guacamole that was very yummy. Then Tim ordered a pepperoni, ham and bacon pizza with fresh basil that was to die for!!! I had a ham, prosciutto, bacon, ham and mozzarella on Ciabatta and an olive spread-from the first bite I knew this was the right choice!!! It is unbelievable how good the food is here- can't wait to eat tomorrow!!! :)

Museum

Last time I was in dc I had such an emotional response to coming up out of the metro and seeing the National Mall-I was thinking last night that it was too bad thatbi would not have that "first time feeling " again-I was wrong! It is such an awesome thing to be in our Nation's capital.....the museum program ismeverything I thought it would be and more, Henry Greenbaum, a Auschwitz survivor, spoke this morning, it was so emotional I forgot to take notes!! We have been allowed to tour the exhibit twice so far and both times I saw something I had missed the first time. Headed back to class......will write again later

Food addition to Day One

We ate at a little bar/grill called Stoney's (recommended by the guy at the hotel desk). It was just one block away and it was excellent. We started with chili cheese fries that were to die for!! I had a grilled chicken Reuben sandwich minus the sauerkraut and Tim had a grilled chicken sandwich - both were very juicy and tasty but overall the chili cheese fries were the hit of the meal!! We have now figured out our route to get me to the Holocaust museum in the morning and Tim to all the museums on his list. Looking forward to day two!! Good night all :)

Day one

Well we made it. Our flights went well although the run through the airport in NY made me wonder if we would make our second flight-but we did:)!!! We got to the hotel and decided to set out for the National Zoo-I wanted to see the Pandas. We got a little turned around and 2 1/2 hours of walking and a couple of metro rides later we are back at the hotel. I am sorry to say it was too hot for the pandas - we did not see one! But we did go to a little Italian restaurant called Italian Pizza Kitchen and for only $11.50 we had a delicious Panini called the Roma- it had Italian ham, Roma tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and greens all drizzles with olive oil on some rustic bread and it was to die for!!! We also had iced tea :) so now we are off to find a great place for supper-well after a shower and a little rest

Leaving tomorrow....

Well, we are packed (almost) and hopefully all the last minute details have been done.  Nervous, but looking forward to going at the same time.  Getting an early start-6:30am for out 10am flight.  Thinking about all the things I will learn and see while we are gone, hoping I can remember it all or at least can write it all down...good thing I like to take notes!! :)

Probably should do one more check and then go to bed, but just might play angry birds instead :)

Getting ready

Well we leave first thing Tuesday morning and I am nervous to say the least....... so many things to consider before leaving.  I have no idea what to expect when I get to the Holocaust Museum, but I think that is good, that way I won't be disappointed.  I have decided to blog my experiences as a way to try and express everything I will be experiencing, I do have the feeling that I will be overwhelmed......