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The Team at Gliwice, Poland
By The Team | August 28, 2008
We arrived here yesterday afternoon after spending a couple days in the amazing city of Krakow. There is so much to see and do in that city — we wish we had 2 weeks to spend there instead of 2 days!
The history in Krakow is amazing. We took a city tour Saturday morning and had a chance to see several churches that were built before the US was even discovered! The tour also took us to the oldest Jewish Synagogue in Poland, as well as a street that was used in the film Schindler’s List, and his factory.
Some of the highlights from the team about their visits to Krakow:
It’s incredible architecture and history.
The center square - the food, shopping, and people watching.
The friendly people.
The flowers. Many of Krakow’s buildings have beautiful flower boxes and hanging baskets on their balconies. There are also flower shops with beautiful fresh-cut flowers.
After leaving Krakow on Sunday morning, we toured the concentration camps, Auschwitz and Birkenau. It was a very moving and sometimes painful experience. Several people commented that when they were done, they felt emotionally drained. It is very hard to put into words everything we saw, heard, and felt. Simply because there are no words to explain such horror, and such evil. To understand a hatred so intense for a person just because of their race is almost impossible. Our tour guide, Wojteich, was above and beyond what I expected. He spoke with such a passion about all that went on at the camps. A quote on one of the walls that struck me reads:
The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again. George Santayana.
May we never forget!
Yesterday, after ariving in Gliwice, we split off into small groups and spent the remainder of the day with some of the Habitat partner families. Last evening at our team meeting, we all shared our experiences. It was so wonderful to have the opportunity to meet them, to see their houses, and to put a face and personality to the names. For me personally, it makes working in the houses all the more meaningful, knowing the people who will call these houses home. Some of us spent our afternoon walking around the city, playing games, sharing stories about life in America and in Poland, and sharing a lot of laughter. We all had wonderful meals!
And, finally, today was our first day on the jobsite. After our safety orientation, we went straight to work. Some of us spent the day mixing concrete, some poured a concrete stairway, unloaded materials for Stanislaw’s flat in Building 7, and most of us spent a majority of the day pounding nails out of wooden forms, so they could be used again. I think I speak for most of us when I say that I will be perfectly fine if I don’t see another nail for awhile.
But, all kidding aside, it was a great first day. We accomplished everything they expected us to do, and we are ready to start again tomorrow!
Topics: Travelers Stories |
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