DAY 8

DAY 8

Today would go down as the most emotional day of the trip -- at least for me. I can't speak for my other delegation members, of course.

I woke up sleepy because we had to get up at 5:15 or so in order to get ready in time for breakfast. There was another delegation coming to eat right after us, so we had to eat and clear out. Breakfast was almost warm, with slices of ham and fresh milk and scrambled eggs. I had a really bad experience with scrambled eggs somewhere along Europe, and after that they all tasted nasty, so I avoided them like anyone would avoid a toxic egg. I had a ham sandwich, but had to scarf it down too quickly because I had to go upstairs and grab my suitcase. Since we weren't allowed to use the elevator, I dragged down my suitcase five flights. Better than the drag upstairs yesterday!

We hopped on the bus. I was excited, for today, but also wary. Today was going to focus on D-Day, and so I knew I was going to weep.

 Grey clouds knit closely together, and rain began to sprinkle us as we stepped off of our bus. I am glad that I took precautions and brought my rain gear, or my fun would have been "dampened". (HAHAAHAHAA) We walked to a cliff side where Germans had been encamped on D-Day, about twenty miles from Omaha beach. Destroyed and ruined bunkers littered the area, along with ones that were still in fine condition. We saw turrets and fox holes and a stand where a massive gun would have stood, being able to shoot over 5 miles if I rememeber correctly.

The spike in the center is where a giant gun would have been.

We toured a bunker, which was quite interesting indeed. We learned that bunkers were practically invicible structures, and the only way to destroy them was to blow them up from the inside. An example of this stood not far away, where a massive stone more than ten feet tall stood many, many yards where it was originally before the bunker it was a part of blew up.

A bunker intact.

A destroyed bunker.

We also saw the cliffs that American soldiers scaled on their way to capture the German base.

We went to Omaha beach shortly after that, where I filled a bag (that was previously filled with delicious fruit snacks) with sand. We didn't stay long, since a delegation was coming for a ceremony.

We went to the Normandy American Memorial Cemetery next. It was a great experience, but I really don't want to tap into the emotions that require me to write about it. It's just too sad. I'll just be weak and take it from my journal.

The rain was pouring by the time we got on the bus, and it still was as we arrived at the cemetery. I think it's kind of symbolic that it was raining. I didn't know beforehand, but we were doing a memorial service for our fallen troops. We stood in a line and recited the national anthem. Some were chosen to place a wreath on the monument that stood overlooking the graves. When I stood there singing, I was pummelled with sadness, but with pride, too.  The tears didn't hit until we walked the cemetery. I just wanted to sit in the rain and cry my eyes out.

I remember that my voice was strained when I sang, and afterwords I just stayed silent. If I talked I would have burst into tears. It is truly something to stand before those who have given their lives for you, indirectly or not.

We went to Caen's memorial museum after that. It was fantastically informative! And of course, I cried here too, but not as badly. I wish I could have stayed in each exhibit longer, but my fellow delegates blazed through each room so fast I could barely keep up! It was like that with all the museums I went to, but at least I got a taste of them.

Standing in the Caen's memorial museum

We set off for our ferry to England! While we were at the building where the bus picked us up for the ferry, I had time to relax. I played some games with my friends and had a really good time. Then we boarded our pick-up bus to the ferry. It was HUGE! Massive, gigantic.

We had a quick orientation about the place, and then were sent to our rooms. Because we were welcome guests, the ferry was going to hold a private disco just of us. I'm sure it would have been fun, but I decided not to go. We were only going to get five hours sleep, and if I had gone it would have been cut down to four. Instead, I went to my room. One of my friends stayed behind too, so I wasn't alone. I put on my PJs and let the ocean lull me to sleep.

Getting ready for sleep!

Day Three

I'm baaaaack! I might have lied about updating yesterday, so yes, my word is technically useless by this point, but hey, I was studying for my learner's permit...*grins*

DAY THREE, AMSTERDAM:

I was fully asleep when the hotel room phone rang and jolted me awake. I was thankful for it, actually. I was having a terrible dream about checking in my luggage at the airport. There was a lady with a really big black hat in my dream, and she told me that my luggage was too evil to pass through the force-field of good, past which was where all the luggage was kept. And then all my delegates were all like, "Boo you, Esther! Boo!" Anywaaaay....

Breakfast! It was in a dining hall and was a large, white table laden with food -- mostly bread. Europe likes bread, I really must say. So I had a bowl of unsweetened cornflakes (the only cornflakes Europe has, because Europe is also health conscious) and ham. I LOVE ham!

Shortly after this, we got on our bus for our tour of Anne Frank's house. I was really looking forward to visiting Anne Frank's Huis, because there is so much history rooted in such a small building. I used to read a book about Anne Frank's life when I was young over and over again, so I had sentimental memories attached to it as well.

We stopped in front of an Anne Frank statue to regroup.

Anne's house is right around the corner.

And then we took a thirty second walk to the real-deal.

Ain't she a beaut?

I've seen pictures, but the house is definitely smaller in person. There was already a massive line building up in front of the museum, and it wasn't even open yet! But being an all powerful people to people person (P2PP) we got to bypass the line and head straight in. Myahahah.... Before we did that though, we all paused to take pictures.

Me and a friend on the front steps of Anne Frank's house.

And then in we go! We had a short presentation on the history of the place, which was interesting to say the least. Past this point we weren't allowed to take pictures, so I took pictures of the ... pictures on the wall. I have a tendency to take pictures of pictures, a habit that you will be familiar with by the end of this blog.

Diagram of the main house and annex.

Time line. The picture above 1941 really had an affect on me: I loved the wistfulness of it.

Next we had our tour. Wow. Everyone was still tired from jet-lag, including me, but you just had to wake yourself up for something like that. I wrote something in my journal that kind of sums it up:

I knew of Anne Frank because I had read of her, but as I walked through that house I felt as if I actually knew her. It was great, and it was depressing. . . When I looked in her room and saw all those pictures glued to the walls, (Note: all cut and pasted by her from books and magazines) I realized that she was real. She had to go through all of it.

 I learned a lot about how she lived, and it was a very small space to live in, yet she made in bearable. I have yet to read her actual diary, which is kind of shocking because I have wanted to read it for so long.

We saw the toilet, which is an odd thing to say, but I thought it was interesting because they could only flush it when the building below was closed, which was very late at night. They also had to be dead-quiet, no sounds or anything to give their position away. I couldn't imagine living like that, especially for so long like Anne and her family did. A life like that should be the stuff of fiction, but it isn't.

After our tour, we exited through the . . . Okay, I'll give you a chance to guess. . .

We exited through the gift shop! Shocker! It was actually really neat. They had Diary of a Young Girl in every major language, and lots of post cards. I grabbed a couple of the latter, but when I got home I realized they had been smushed. A shame, since they were some of my favorites. A friend of mine grabbed a muffin, and shortly after declared that it was the best muffin he had ever had. I never throughout the trip bought food, which is a good thing because my money ran out at the end. Instead, I feasted off the snacks of richer, junk-food-loving delegates like a vulture. Good plan, right? P2PP TIP: Spending-money is important. You get three square meals a day, but sometimes breakfast won't be enough for people with big appetites.

We had lunch next! We had to do something new where we had to pick someone we had never talked with before, and talk to that person throughout lunch. I got a tall guy named Tre, who had a one thousand dollar camera.

Word.

We got to choose our meal. I chose the giant bowl of Ramen.

I think that green stuff is grass.

My ramen tasted like grass. I think the green things were chives, but they tasted like grass. I filled up fast though, since the bowl was the size of my head. The chicken was good.

Tre messing with my camera.

Next up, canal tour! The canal tour was a lovely chance for all the delegates to unwind, or in some cases, fall asleep immediately.

"Lullaby, and good night...oh, they are already asleep."

I got some good pictures of Amsterdam.

A boat!

A boat house!

Anne Frank's house.

The world's largest floating Chinese restaurant..and possibly the only floating Chinese restaurant.

Next up, diamond factory! I have to say that I don't really care for diamonds. They are basically just very shiny rocks, and I would actually rather someone buy me a PS3. But after the tour, I was enlightened a little bit. A lot of hard work and talent goes into making the perfect diamond, so I respect those shiny rocks a bit more. I have tons of pictures, but I will only show a few because my internet has a horrible upload speed.

After learning a few things, we went upstairs where our guide locked us in a room so he could show us the pretties. We were all still tired, so when we weren't going crazy over the shiny beauties, he declared that we must be very bored. I was actually quite interested, but like I said, but I didn't go bombastic.

Our guide pointing out the various carat sizes.

My favorite necklace. I liked the ruby.

Here I learned that the price of a diamond is not determined by its size, but rather it's clarity and color. Interesting, huh? That's why the black diamond isn't valuable.

After our tour, we went back to our hotel. Yay! I had a very nice day that day, and learned a lot. Amsterdam is one of the most interesting cities I visited. Just don't visit the gift shops, unless you want to buy something X-rated, ha.

I'm off to bed!

Esther