Counting down the days until I return

11) Personal Choice

After my finals were completed and our last field trip came to the end, I had one last week to travel around Europe.  My friends and I couldn’t think of a better place to spend our last week than on the beach.  Fortunately for us the Croatian beaches were everything that we thought that they would be. 

Out flight landed in Split and my first day in Croatia I spent lounging by the beach.  The beaches in Croatia were unlike anything I’ve ever seen.  The water was as blue as the pictures on screensaver.  The beaches were a little rocky, but the views made it worth it.  I also got to see palm trees so I was a happy girl.

After a day in Split, my friends and I took a boat to Hvar, an Island about an hour away known for its beautiful beaches.  There are a few Islands very close to Hvar that have the best beaches, so Louie, Emily, and I decided to rent a boat.  None of us had ever navigated a boat, so we were a little nervous, but it was our last week in Europe so we had to try.  Fortunately, the “boat” was incredibly small and Louie took the liberty of driving.  That day we went to three different coves and got quite a lot of sun.  Unfortunately, that sun turned me in a tomato, but it was still worth it. 

Our last day we spent river rafting.  We had the opportunity to raft down the longest river in Croatia.  It was a bit more shallow and rocky than anticipated, but we still had a great time.  Rafting down the river was a great change of scenery.  We got to see the terrain by the lake which was almost as pretty as the Ocean. 

I don’t think that there was any destination that would have prepared me to leave Europe.  Studying abroad has been the best experience of my life.  I learned more in the last three months than I ever could have imagined.  I met people from all over the world and learned something from every one of them.  I met people that grew up speaking a different language than me and people that practiced a different religion.  Studying abroad showed me I could learn so much from just a simple conversation with someone who had always seen life from a different perspective than I do.  I am incredibly sad to be leaving Europe, but I am excited to take all of the knowledge I obtained back to the United States.  

Admiring Culture

5) Cultural Comparisons

Despite the large amount of churches in the Czech Republic, the majority of the inhabitants are not religious.  60-70% of the citizens of the Czech Republic are not part of an organized religion.  Due to the history of the Czech Republic many Czech citizens are very suspicious of the church.  Religion is also viewed as a private matter that should not be a part of the public sphere.  Czech citizens do not like being asked about their religion.  Politicians also do not discuss religion.  I personally find it refreshing that religion is not involved in politics, as I tend to agree that religion is a personal matter and should not influence the law.  The way religion is viewed is a large cultural difference in comparison to the United States.  The majority of people in the United States are religious, especially in conservative Nebraska. 

The way health care is viewed in the Czech Republic is completely different than how Americans view the health care system.  All citizens in the Czech Republic have access to health care.  Health care is not connected to your job like it is in the United States.  The Czech Republic government just recently added a co-pay system so that people would not go to the doctor as a social call: this is one of the few health care restrictions.  In one of our lectures the teacher told us that even the most conservative elected officials would not attempt to revamp the health care system.  This is because as the vast majority of Czechs believe that everyone should have access to health care.  The majority of Czech citizens would not stand for the way the health care system functions within the United States.  Czech people could not fathom sick patients being turned down for life saving surgeries because of money issues.  Overall, I have inferred that Czech population considers access to health care a right rather than a privilege.  A few of our Czech professors have also pointed out the astronomical amount of money that is spent on health care in the United States.  

"For ever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity"

9) Field Trip 3

Yesterday I had the life changing experience of touring the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp while I was in Poland. Through years of schooling and numerous educational projects, I have learned quite a bit about the holocaust. While studying European history in Olomouc, I have received an even more in depth view of the massacres that were carried out during the holocaust. However, none of these lessons truly prepared me for seeing a concentration camp first hand.

Before the atrocities of the holocaust began, there were 11 million Jewish citizens living in Europe. Hitler and the Nazi party murdered 6 million of these people leading up to and during World War Two. There were a total of 6 death camps around Europe. Auschwitz-Birkenau, one of the death camps, was where one and a half million people lost their lives. The majority of these people were Jewish.

It all began when the Jewish citizens were "relocated". These people were deceived by the Nazis. They were told that they were simply being rearranged to work in another area of Europe. The inhabitants of the concentration camps even had to pay for their transportation to the camps. 80 people and their suitcases would be packed into one tiny rail car for the journey to the camps. These trips would last between seven to ten days depending on the distance. The people would not be given any amenities; no food, water, or restroom facilities. The train car also had no windows. 30 to 40 percent of people died before they even arrived to the death camp.



Once the trains arrived at the camp they were instructed to write their name, deportation number, and birthday on their suitcases so it would be easier to find later, another blatant lie. Today in Auschwitz 1 you can see some of the suitcases that survived the war. Some of these belonged to children that were under the age of five. The suitcases with the prisoners valued possessions were sent to warehouses called the “Canada” Warehouses. They were called this because Canada symbolized wealth. The items in these warehouses were sent back to Germany for the military and citizens.










After the prisoner’s suitcases were confiscated they were put in a single file line. The Nazi's separated people based of if they were fit to work. All of the prisoners that were capable of performing intense labor were sent one direction and all of the people that were not healthy were sent another direction. This selection process was done by a SS doctor, and only 25 percent of people were chosen to live. Pregnant women, children, the elderly, mentally ill people, and everyone deemed unfit to benefit the regime were immediately sent to the gas chambers. They were told that they were going to the showers, the Nazis even installed fake shower heads to make the story more believable. These innocent people were forced to strip and were locked in the gas chambers. There were a total of seven gas chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau. It took about 20 minutes for everyone in the gas chamber to die. Some of the gas chambers could fit 2000 people in at one time. It only took 12 cans of chemicals to kill 3000 people. After everyone was murdered the doors were opened and left to air out for 30 minutes. The heads of the deceased were shaved. The hair was sent to Germany to be used in the textile industry. The people receiving the hair knew exactly what was happening to the prisoners of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Next, the Nazi's would search for any valuables on the bodies including necklaces and wedding rings. These items were confiscated and the bodies were sent to the crematorium. The human ashes were used as fertilizer around the camp. The people that were immediately sent to the gas chambers were killed before they were put on record, which makes it hard to estimate the exact amount of murders the Nazi's carried out.







Polish citizens were actually the first prisoners of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Poland was the first country that resisted Nazi occupation and was therefore considered part of the resistance. During World War Two the Nazi's killed around 20 percent of the polish population.

The 25 percent that were chosen to work were shaved, showered, and given striped pjs. They were given no underwear, socks or shoes. The prisoners had a mark that showed why they were imprisoned. For example, there were different colored patches for homosexuals, political prisoners, Jewish people, professional criminals and so on.

In order to keep prisoners from attempting to escape, whenever someone escaped the camp they would randomly choose 10 prisoners to kill. They would take them from the section as the run away and put them into a starvation cell for 10 days until they died.

Men and women were sentenced to death for various reasons. There were many different methods that the Nazi’s used to kill. One way was being shot by the death wall. When this happened, they were forced to strip and shot in the back of the head at the death wall. When children were ordered to die at the death wall, the Nazi officers smashed their heads into the wall in order to save bullets. A total of 10,000 people were shot at the death wall. The original wall was dismantled, but it was remade by survivors of the camp in order to honor the innocent people who lost their lives there. Another form of death was standing. There were tiny cells that prisoners could only get to by crawling. Once they crawled through the entrance they were forced to stand all night and then were retrieved in the morning to resume their work as normal. This process continued until they died. An equally awful death was the suffocation room. The Nazi’s would put around 40 people into a sealed off room and simply wait for them to die.



When I was touring Auschwitz I didn’t think I could see anything worse, until I entered Birkenau. The Nazi party expelled polish farmers from the area in order to build the death camp. Men lived in wooden buildings as they were cheaper to build than brick buildings. The living quarter that we visited was originally a stable for 50 horses, but the Nazis used the area to house 400 men. There was no central heating, as the prisoners were giving no gas or items to burn. For breakfast prisoners received black coffee water. Lunch consisted of rotten vegetables. Finally, black bread with cheese and a teaspoon of jam was served for dinner. On average, prisoners were given 250 calories a day while being expected to work 12 hours a day. The Nazi’s calculated that the average person would live no longer than three months under these conditions.







Prisoners were also only allowed to use the toilet facilities once in the morning and once at night. Prisoners would be shot if they were caught leaving work to use the restroom. Each prisoner only had 30 seconds to use the "restroom". This was because there were so many men and so few toilets. The female section of the camp had 15,000 occupants and 16 toilets. Prisoners were starving and weren’t allowed to use the bathroom, so those on the top bunk often threw up and used the restroom while sleeping. As you can imagine, this lead to extremely horrible living conditions that allow disease to spread rapidly.



When Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated, there were only around 7000 sick people that were left to die in the camp. All of the others were marched to other concentration camps in Germany. 56,000 prisoners were forced to march to Germany, but 9000 died on the journey. The Germans knew the Soviets were coming so they destroyed 3 separate gas chambers. This was an attempt to hide the true horrors of Auschwitz-Birkenau.


It's difficult to explain what I gained from visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau. At first, it was in complete shock. I've learned about the holocaust since I was a young, but visiting a concentration camp helped me to grasp the hell that the prisoners of Auschwitz-Birkenau knew as a reality. I've read about how many people were ruthlessly murdered, but seeing thousands of shoes made the numbers seem even bigger. It's terrifying to think that only 75 years ago the Nazi party murdered millions of innocent people.

In hindsight it seems like something that would have been relatively easy to stop.  Maybe France and Britain should have stopped Hitler before he gained as much power as he did. After all both France and Britain were well aware that Hitler was breaking the sanctions placed on Germany after World War One. Some argue that the United States should have joined the war earlier. Some people would simply say that the people of Germany should have never elected Hitler in the first place. The immediate question is how did this happen? How did a democratic society elect someone into office that had irrational views of a sector of society? Jewish people were simply a scape goat for Germany to blame all of their problems on. The Nazi party then used massive amounts of propaganda to convince the citizens of Germany that this was true. It is incredibly important to study the horrific parts of the world’s history, but what is most important is to ensure that something like the holocaust never happens again.

Sitting here writing this blog it is easy to proclaim that the world learned their lesson and would never allow something like the holocaust to happen again. But I have to ask myself if that is honestly true? We still live in a world where discrimination is part of people’s everyday lives. People are constantly treated differently because of their race, sex, religion, sexual orientation and many other unimportant things. According to UNHCR, there are more than 50 million refugees around the world, half of which are women and children. So I am challenging myself and everyone else to ask themselves some difficult questions. Do you truly believe in equality? Do you stand up for those who aren’t being treated equally? How far are you willing to go to ensure something like the holocaust never happens again? Do you take part in elections in order to vote for a candidate that will better not only your country but the world?

It is essential to fight for human rights. With power in the wrong hands, appalling morals can turn into horrific actions in a short amount of time. In Germany, the Nazi party slowly introduced a distaste for the Jewish religion into the public sphere. After gaining more support and more power, they exterminated millions of innocent men, women, and children.

Jsem z Ameriky, I am from America

4) Language Issues

Before I began my study abroad experience I knew that language barriers would be a challenge.  However, I was under the impression that most people in the Czech Republic spoke some English.  Looking back, I realize how naive of an assumption that was.  I am embarrassed to even admit that I believed everyone spoke a bit of English.  Nevertheless, the language barrier has allowed me to be more empathetic of a person as well as acquire some new skills that I would not have otherwise learned.

At restaurants the language barrier is very evident.  Although some restaurants have English translation, many are only in Czech.  On the bright side, many have pictures so it is easy to point at the picture of the food you would like to order.  As many of the waiters and waitresses only speak Czech it is difficult to try and order a meal without a particular item, such no sauce.  Only receiving food with all of the original ingredients on it has helped me become less picky.  My trip to Europe has helped me become more adventurous in my food choice.  I have even learned to enjoy some spicy food since I have been overseas. 

Another area of my life that becomes more difficult when living in a country that speaks another language is getting directions.  It is nearly impossible to ask anyone here for directions.  Even if someone could understand me and was willing to help, I probably could not understand their response.  At first, this was incredibly inconvenient.  However, I have gotten a lot better at reading maps.  I can go to public transportation centers and understand what trams go to what stops.  This trip has allowed me to feel comfortable navigating throughout Europe.  I hope that this knowledge can help me navigate throughout larger cities within the United States as well. 

The other students that live in our dorm thankfully speak very good English.  This has allowed me to meet students from a variety of different countries and be able to communicate with them.  Overall, the language barrier is difficult, but it has helped me grow as a person.

Lectures in the Czech Republic

2) Academic life

Academic life at Palacky University is much different than at home. Granted my schedule is condensed into a two and a half month program, so it differs from regular students schedules. I have class Monday through Thursday from 3pm-7:15pm and Friday from 10:30-1:30.  It is convenient that we only have morning class on Friday's, so we can travel on the weekends.

My schedule varies quite a bit as we take a substantial amount of field trips with the class. The four hours of class time is split up into three separate lectures. The first lecture is usually over a historical topic and is taught by a different professor every day. Some of the professors speak better English than the others, so the level of difficulty varies.  I enjoy having different topics every day because I am learning about a lot of different historical events within the Czech Republic and Europe.

The second lecture is Czech language class. This class always goes by quickly as it is very interactive.  The Czech language is all about pronunciation, so we spend a lot of time learning it. Once I can properly pronounce words I can order food easier, even if I am unsure what I am actually ordering. We have also learned basic phrases that help us communicate including my name is Tess and I am from Nebraska. The goal of the class is for us to know enough of the language to feel comfortable getting around Olomouc. Being a foreigner that can't speak the language has made me much more empathetic to people living in the United States that don't speak English.

The third lecture is usually taught by Jan or Martin, the professors that take us on our class field trips. They are as intelligent as they are interesting which makes for a pleasant end to the day.  Most of the lectures are about the holocaust. It is beneficial to learn about the holocaust in a country that was occupied by the Nazis during World War Two. The Czech Republic sadly lost the majority of their Jewish population during the Holocaust like so many other European countries.  

Most of the professors in the Czech Republic aren't as interactive as the ones back home. It is mostly just the professor reading off of a power point. However, I have found learning history in Olomouc to be a great comparison. Growing up in the United States I have always heard the western world’s view points on important issues such as The Cold War.  Some of our professors were in school when the communism government was in power. They have the ability to tell us personal experiences explaining what it would've been like to live under the communist regime.  When you are from a country in the west, it can be easy to condense the outcome of The Cold War into communism is bad and democracy is good.   However, it is also important to look at the countries that didn't want a communist government but had it forced upon them. Learning history from people that were here to witness it has been an incredible experience.

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor"

10) Personal Excursions

The first country that I independently visited on spring break was Amsterdam.  Amsterdam is unlike any city I have ever visited.  On our first day in Amsterdam we went on a walking tour where the most important value of the Dutch, tolerance, was explained.  The Dutch have always been a tolerant people in comparison to surrounding countries, but their current liberal policies are tied to the most recent World War.  After World War Two the Dutch people decided it was time to implement policies that would stop innocent people from being persecuted.  Amsterdam was one of the only places during the Second World War where the non-Jewish citizens attempted to protest the treatment of the Jewish people in their community.  This was a non-violent resistance to the Nazi occupation of the Dutch, which began after Jewish citizens were deported during the day bringing the injustice to the public’s attention.  Unfortunately, this protest led to the death of Amsterdam’s mayor who refused to force the citizens stop protesting.  Still it was inspirational to hear about a group of people risking their own safety to stand up for their neighbors. 

On our second day in Amsterdam we made a trip to the Keukenhof Gardens.  Simply calling this place a garden is the understatement of the century.  Kerkenhof had more than 7 million bulbs this spring and 800 different types of tulips.  It was amazing to see so many different colors of flowers.  Amsterdam also had lots of pretty flowers scattered throughout the city.

On our last day in Amsterdam, I had the privilege of visiting the Ann Frank house.  I had to wait in line for over an hour, but the experience was more than worth it.  Visiting the Ann Frank house really helped me see the holocaust from an individual level.  I was able to see where the Frank family went into hiding and how they had to live their lives while they were in hiding.  Blurbs from her diary were posted throughout the house where she discussed what it was like to live in hiding.  The sentence that stuck out to me the most was “I long to ride a bike, dance, whistle, look at the world, feel young and know that I’m free.”  This particular statement grabbed my attention because Ann Frank was living during the most devastating World War and was being for persecuted for something she had no control over, but she was still just a kid.  She wanted a normal childhood, but the Nazi’s took that from her.  She wanted a bike, but antisemitism forced her into hiding and the Nazi’s murdered her and the majority of her family.  After this unique experience, I headed to Berlin where I had the opportunity to learn even more about World War Two and the aftermath of the war.

Berlin looked different than any other city that I have visited, as the buildings were much more modern.  Most of Berlin was destroyed during World War Two and the majority of the buildings were rebuilt with a modern design.  This was different than Dresden, who seemed to rebuild the city exactly the way it was before it was bombed.

Berlin was so interesting to me because the history is both crucial to American society and very recent.  During our time in Berlin I was able to see the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.  This memorial is unique for a couple different reasons.  First, the name is much longer than most memorials.  Our tour guide pointed out that this is purposefully done to point out that the persecution of Jews is unfortunately not limited just to the holocaust.  Second and more importantly, the architect who designed the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe will not explain the design or what it means.  The memorial can mean different things to different people. 

My friends and I also took a tour that was specific to Berlin after World War Two.  A large portion of this tour discussed the Berlin wall and its effect on the community.  Something that I didn’t realize was that at the beginning the people of Berlin could freely move from East Berlin to West Berlin.  Because so many people disagreed with the government in East Berlin, around 3,500,000 moved from East Berlin to West Berlin before the formation of the Wall.  This rapid movement of qualified workers from East Berlin to West Berlin is what prompted the Berlin Wall’s creation.  I also didn’t recognize that the Berlin Wall went up in one night.  That meant that brothers and sisters, lovers, and best friends that lived only a few miles away could have been separated for more than twenty years with no contact.  It was heartbreaking to hear some of the stories of people who woke up on the wrong side of the wall and suffered the consequences for decades. 

The Berlin wall itself was not that high, but was thoroughly protected.  There were actually two walls, the shorter wall was the first wall that could be seen from East Berlin, and the Berlin Wall was the actual boundary.  The area between the two walls was known as the death strip.  The death strip was filled with sand, so that footprints could be easily detected.  If footprints were found in a certain area, the Soviets knew which guards to blame.  There were also nails underneath areas of the sand, so someone could jump over the small fence and think they were landing on sand but land on nails.  There were also over 100 watch towers that were occupied by three different guards.  These guards never knew who they were working with so that the government could ensure no groups of guards would plan escapes.  The guards were also hand-picked from a certain section of East Berlin that couldn’t get access to West Berlin radio, so they were the most influenced by Communist propaganda. 

I was able to see the memorial for the 136 people that lost their lives attempting to escape from East Berlin.  Some of the slots had pictures, but no names.  Some had names, but not pictures.  It was difficult to keep an exact death count as the Soviet Union attempted to keep these deaths discrete.  The stories of people dying while trying to escape were so heartbreaking because I realized how desperate someone would have to be to attempt to escape East Berlin.  These people would rather risk their lives for freedom than be stuck in communist East Berlin.  My trip to Berlin certainly made me realize how fortunate I am to be a citizen of a free country.  

Studying First Hand

8) Field Trip 2

Our second group field trip started in Vienna, Austria.  The first day we visited the Maria Theresia Platz which is the main square in Vienna.  In the middle of the square is a large statue of Maria Theresa.  Maria Theresa was the only queen during the Habsburg rule.  During her time in power she ruled over Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria, Galicia, part of the Netherlands and Parma.  It was unheard of for a women to be ruling during her time, but her father had attempted to ensure that she would be allowed to rule after her passing as she was his only heir.  However, after he died Saxony, Prussia, Bavaria, and France changed their minds and attempted to take over her empire.  Maria Theresia was successful as she kept most of her empire intact and continued to rule.  It was inspirational to hear about such a powerful women that was able to effectively rule a large empire. 

While we were in Vienna we also got to see the Imperial Treasury of the Hapsburg Dynasty, which was filled with extravagant clothes and items that used to belong to powerful rulers.  While I was touring the treasury I kept thinking about how different it would have been to be born in a time where monarchies were in place.  It was easy to see how flashy the rulers were and easy to infer how tough life would have been as a peasant.  I am incredibly thankful that many of the strict class systems throughout the world have been abolished.  Nevertheless, it was very interesting to see the outfits and jewels of such a large line of rulers. 

After the treasury a few of us decided to wander around the city and ran into a beautiful garden.  Some of my best discoveries in Europe I have simply stumbled upon while exploring. 

Bright and early on Wednesday morning we left Vienna to head to Venice.  The bus ride was about seven hours, but it was hard to complain when I could see the stunning Swiss Alps from my window.

Once we arrived in Venice we headed to St. Mark’s Square.  It only took me a twenty minute walk to the square to fall in love with the city of Venice.  We passed by dozens of canals, pleasant musicians, and an abundance of Italian restaurants before we reached St. Mark’s Square.  This square is the most breath-taking square I have visited yet.  The fact that it is surrounded by water only adds to the beauty. 

For dinner, I decided it was imperative to eat pasta while in Italy.  The spaghetti I ordered was easily the best pasta I have ever had in my life.  I continued the tradition of eating strictly Italian food for the rest of my time in Italy and the only thing that suffered is my waistline.   

The only downside of Venice was that it is incredibly busy.  Because of this, some friends and I decided to get up at 6:30 am the second day and explore before most people were out.  Our instructor wasn’t kidding when he claimed that Italians are paralyzed until 9am, as no one was at St. Mark’s Square when we arrived.  It was a completely different experience to see the city when it was empty.  This was when it really hit me how large St. Mark’s Square was.  We met up with the rest of the UNK students and toured through Basilica of St. Mark and Doge’s Palace.  The Basilica was composed of intricate artwork and high ceilings.  My favorite part of Doge’s Palace was seeing the prison that was underneath.  A thought-provoking contrast was seen between the beautifully decorated upstairs and the grungy prison downstairs. 

After our tour of Doge’s Palace spring break officially began.  However, the group that I was traveling with decided two days in Italy just wasn’t enough, so we decided to stay in Venice for one more day.  Just when I thought that Venice couldn’t get any more beautiful, the four of us decided to take a gondola ride.  This was one more activity I got to cross off my bucket list thanks to my study abroad experience. 

When we felt like the main square had been thoroughly explored, my friends and I hoped on a boat and headed to a different Island.  We spent time at Lido and were lucky enough to stumble upon a beach.  The water was freezing, but I couldn’t resist at least putting my feet in the water.  I felt like I could have spent another two weeks in Italy, but I had other countries to explore.